How do you become a responsible and respectable dog breeder?

Question

Im going to become a trainer for assistance dogs for the handicapped. I'm still doing research on four different breeds. I'm going to choose just one. But I want to make sure I breed them right. Is there any books or websights that are helpful? And what is a good way to make sure the puppies not trained to be assistance dogs get good homes? Should I have them do research on the breed before deciding they are able to buy one? Should I check out where the puppy will live?
What is propar vet care for new born puppies? How do I find good parent dogs?

Answer 1

have you checked with the associations you plan to "supply"? You would need to start with "tried and true" stock with the type of disposition required from whomever you are breeding for. This is a pretty expensive proposition! Good- really good, animals are expensive. I really think you need to do A LOT more research- and not from this site- from real books on the subject and from real people who are already doing what you want to do. Yes, it is your responsibility to find wonderful homes for any puppies that don't work out as assistance dogs. There is info on this too. I always thought that someone may breed dogs for this purpose, but then the pups were "farmed out" to individual trainers for the first year for their initial training period and then to professionals who trained them to do the work they would be expected to do. If, after the first year, the dog proves to not be the type that is needed, THEN they find a suitable home for it. I have friends who adopted a dog through a program that finds homes for these type of dogs. Good luck though!

Answer 2

Hi! Your questions brought lots of questions to my mind, like: Do you have experience training yet? Do you have a large enough facility to house dogs for training? Do you know what your local laws are regarding the number of dogs you can keep? Have you apprenticed with an assistance dog trainer? And, finally, why do you feel the need to actually breed the dogs you are going to use for training? I was glad to read your questions, because you are trying really hard to be responsible about this, but I can also tell by your questions that you don't have enough experience yet to be getting in to buying and breeding dogs. I would recommend you find a good trainer in your area, try calling the association for people with the disabilites you want to address in your training and find out who trains their dogs, then call them. When you have enough experience to be breeding dogs, you will have the answers to these questions, you won't need to ask! :) If you want to start training an assistance dog right away, go to the pound and find a puppy or young adult with the right personality, and train it. I've been training dogs for 35 years now, and I can tell you from experience that there are loads of great rescue dogs out there who will make perfect assistance dogs. It doesn't require a specific breed, it just requires the right type of dog, as in, for a leader dog, they have to be fairly big with a coat that doesn't need too much maintenance. A hearing ear dog can be any size or breed, but sometimes smaller is better because they are easier to travel with. You are definitely doing your research, but I think at this point you may be coming at it from the wrong direction. Get lots of experience under your belt before you make such big decisions as to what breed and having puppies. If you like you can e-mail me, and maybe I can help you find a trainer.

Answer 3

1. Contact a breed club for your breed. Ask for a mentor.
2. STUDY the breed standard. Learn about dog anatomy and ask your mentor to
clarify anything you don't understand.
3. Learn what genetic faults and diseases run in your breed and test for any
that can be tested for.
4. Show your dog in conformation events to see if it is of the proper
quality for breeding. Winning doesn't always mean a dog is breeding quality,
but being around so many others that know your breed and will talk to you
will do wonders for your self-education efforts!
5. Study the past history of great dogs in your breed. You will see how your
breed has improved and progressed since the beginning of the breed.
6. Study the breed standard some more! ;-)
7. Join any Yahoo groups about your breed.
8. Live, dream and study your breed.
9. Get a good book on canine reproduction, and educate yourself about the
pitfalls, problems, and proud moments of breeding. Learn about the
physiology of reproduction, such as heat cycles and venereal diseases in
dogs, potential for problems specific to your breed, and what you need to
expect at whelping.
10. Remember that whelping (giving birth) can kill your female. Being used
as a stud dog can encourage bad behaviors common in intact males such as
territorial marking, aggression, and desire to roam from home.
11. Prepare to be broke. Breeding properly is EXPENSIVE.
12. Line up potential homes for any puppies you produce and write up a
contract. Remember to include that you will be willing to take back your
puppies at any time in their lives that they might need you. If you bring
life into this world, it is your responsibility FOREVER.
13. Prepare to spend sleepless nights attending whelping females, caring for
fading puppies or puppies orphaned, and practice cleaning up after 24/7 poop
machines.

I'm sure there are many things I missed because being a responsible breeder
isn't just a job. It's a way of life. You will live dogs. 24/7/365. There
are lots of hard decisions. There is a lot of expense. There will be pain.
But, if you do your darndest to always keep the welfare of your dogs and the
future of any of their offspring, you can go to step 14.

14. Enjoy the love and success of a job well done.

Also, once you choose a breed, get in contact with the breed club, and ask for a mentor. They will teach you how to pick homes for the ones who aren't cut out to be service dogs. They will help you find good foundation dogs, and they will give you advice on the best vet care for the breed. You can learn from any book or website, and the more you learn, the better off you will be. But your mentor will the the best thing ever for your education, so be sure to get one.

Answer 4

Many dogs (regardless of their breed or if they are a mixed breed) from an animal shelter or an animal rescue can be trained to assist the handicapped.

The dogs are evaluated at the shelter or rescue to determine whether or not they have the temperament to be successful in a training program.

Save a living dog rather than breed new ones. Dogs love to care for people.

Answer 5

After training dogs in the assistance field for many years, all of these answers will become apparent. You dont' just jump into providing dogs for the programs involved with handicap assistance. It is my understanding they have their own supply of breeders. They dont' simply go a-searching for breeders and their dogs.

After you are involved with the training, you could then be involved with learning where the dogs are coming from, how the breeding stock is chosen and then become involved with THOSE breeders and learning how to assess the dogs appropriate for handicapped persons.

I work near a state school for the blind, a state school for the deaf and I lived in a city that was a satellie training city for dogs of the blind.

Answer 6

the best thing for you to do is do some research on studiing on this and get advice from dog trainers and website, there are special and important things to take into consideration about breeding, its really easy, it dont take much to understand, a trainer will be a better way to go to gets some helpful tips

Answer 7

determining to purchase a pup from those human beings you're taking of venture. by way of fact they are exterior breeders you haven't any longer have been given any thought if your pug will finally end up with wellbeing issues. Esp. if the two parents are under 3yrs. previous. some issues would possibly no longer happen till the canines is 3-5yrs. previous. APRI is a "fake" registry. It does not recommend a lot of something. AKC registration is not any assure of high quality. i could ask in the event that they are offering any wellbeing ensures....I doubt they are. i could learn what wellbeing issues are elementary in pugs and choose in case you may discover the funds for the invoice if the canines seems to have a project. by way of fact you in basic terms desire a puppy and should no longer be breeding from it, I in basic terms desire you get one which lives a healthy existence. Pugs are often very candy and humorous canines. Get any pup/canines you get to a vet ASAP for a radical examination.

Answer 8

You are a good girl!
Books are good for general information, but finding a breeder that will work with you, teach you the ropes and give you that information that you rarely find in books is a better idea.. Jennifer T has a book she recommends to people.. I am sorry I can't think of it off the top of my head..

Read everything, listen to people, talk to people, ask questions.. When you choose your breed, talk to the breeders.. People aren't keeping things a secret, breeders are very willing to share with you. In fact breeders tend to love to talk about dogs and can over whelm you sometimes :)

You want to come up with a good questionaire that you get people to fill out before you sell them a puppy. Asking about their house worked, dog experience, plans with the dog etc.. Check their references.. A cop friend suggested that I get background checks done on people.. I don't know if you need to go that far, but you could do it for people you aren't all that sure of.

It is best if people do some research before even coming to you for a dog.. But generally people don't.. If you had something you have written up on the breed, and their care, and what they are like etc.. Get people to read that, and if they still feel like the breed would be good for them, then they can fill out the questionaire. People tend to fall for dogs based on what they look like and do nothing when it comes to learning about what the dogs are like .. what they were bred for, their health care etc.

You want to have a good vet.. One that you can talk to and doesn't mind answering your questions.. I like vets who also breed.. They tend to have spent more time learning, and have actually gone thru certain things.. where some vets tend to have book knowledge only on certain subjects and they don't spend the time to learn breed specific needs and health problems.

Puppies need to see the vet w/ mom after they are born to check to make sure they are all healthy.. They need to be wormed and vaccinated properly. You find yourself a good vet and they'll help you out with everything from breeding, to whelping, to raising puppies properly when it comes to food, and other things.

You have to research your breed you are interested in.. Find out who is breeding dogs that are doing the work you want to do.. Talk to them... Learn about the dogs in pedigrees.. Meet people at shows, and other dog events..

Answer 9

You're asking a couple of great questions.

My opinion is to begin you need to decide where your focus lies. Is your primary focus to be responsible and respectable breeder or is it to raise and train assistance dogs? You have 2 different places to start for each of these and combining them means you have to scale down BOTH.

I speak from experience. I started as a breeder... I've bred champions from great stock (did a ton of research to learn about choosing and breeding dogs well, joined clubs, found many different mentors... went to seminars, audited a class on small animal reproduction at the local university, took classes on choosing good puppies- which is different from looking at pedigrees). I lived with and trained dogs.. worked in agility and obedience as well as conformation... again took classes and seminars.. Decided I wanted to do a bit of helping others to train their dogs.. more classes and seminars.. and I started training people to train their dogs... I developed an illness and started training various dogs I owned to do various tasks. A friend who trained service dogs pointed out to me that I was essentially training multiple dogs I owned to do service dog tasks and maybe I ought to consider simply training one.

So.. back to learning.. I had a lot of the basic training components but needed more information and enrolled in classes given by a local training facility. They trained primarily Golden and Labrador Retrievers to assist the handicapped partially because of their willingness to retrieve.

I train other breeds of dogs... basically fill a hole that some of the groups leave.

I rarely breed anymore. To do it well (or, just the way *I* like it done) is exhausting. I spend nearly 24 hours a day with the pups from the time they are born. I start "training" them nearly immediately.. stimulating them etc... I spend hours pouring over questionnaires people submit to me requesting pet pups and hours and hours of interviews and calling references to find the right home for each pup. I keep one pup usually, who will be the next Service Dog I train (yes, I also help people choose and assist them to train their own dogs also.. these are often shelter dogs). My second pick puppy usually is sold at 14-16 weeks... already fully housetrained, knowing sit and down as well as a few other "tricks". I occassionally buy pups from people who I know raise them well... but always have the best success from pups I've raised from the beginning.

Then its on to hours and hours of training for the pup I've kept. Taking it hither and yon, socializing it. Basically, as a friend says, making it bomb proof. I train a specific dog, from the beginning, for a specific person... so.. do not work on a strong retrieve for someone who simply does not need it. This is vastly different from the style of training most training groups take. I'm a "small" operation.. I place one dog every 2 years or so (I don't charge for the dogs I train and place) I assist a couple people to train their dogs as Service Dogs a year. I train a LOT more people how to live with their pet dogs.

Feel free to email me at [e-mail] if you want more information

Answer 10

Go to the AKC web site:
http://www.akc.org/breeders/resp_breeding/index.cfm

It will give you a basic outline of being a responsible breeder. Go to dog shows, speak to breeders there. Talk to Veterinarians. Join your local kennel club (membership for all breeds) as it will be a fountain of information and perhaps, you will find a mentor.