Breeders: Why do you breed??

Question

what really is your reason, for money??

Ravan staff: I said for money as a guess not an answer. read th question it says what is YOUR reason for breeding. For money is simply a guess and I was wondering how many people actually do breed for money.

Answer 1

Well, as far as reasons,, If you love a particular breed, and wish to preserve it for the reasons that the breed was developed.. Ironically in some breeds this does mean that these same dogs ARE not suited for the average family dog.. so you have to be VERY carefull what homes the dogs are placed into..

As far as money,, sometimes you cover your expenses.. for a particular litter (stud fees, health checks, food, toys time) but generally if you actually do things with your dogs Show, Performance work your dogs you spend far more $$ annualy on that stuff than you can ever make up on some litter..

There is NO money in dog shows BTW there are a "few" select individual shows in the country, or individual classes that offer cash prizes.. and generally this is under $100 Keep in mind it cost about $30 just for the entry fee to enter, not to mention gas, hotel, dining expenses.. But at leat 95% of the shows,, the only prize is a ribbon, and honor of placement. ==== NO MONEY..
Even if you happen to win a little cash it generally will cover lunch.. that is it :)
The few invitational shows that do offer the Big money.. are for the select dogs with the win standing to be invited.. it cost at least $10,000 a year...to campaign a dog to top in its breed/group standings with a handler and this is the minimum cost,, several of thoes dogs that you see on animal planet.. or the westminster show/crufts double or triple that has been spent to rack up the wins on thoes dogs..

So why show? personally most do it as a activity to enjoy doing with the dogs they love, and also a chance to have their dogs evaluated by a impartial judge and rated against others in their breed.. Yes there is some ego involved.. the love of competition and win.. but not because this dog will become some big source of income for the owner or co owners... Showing does prove your dogs merit.. however.. and dogs overall quality when compared to others in the dogs breed..

So why.. Because owning showing dogs is a fun hobby.. once in a while you are looking for a paticular trait/quality or looking to contue the same.. so you breed a litter.. Keep somthing out of that SAME litter (no good breeder breeds a litter without keeping somthing out of a litter) and go from there.. the rest of the pups, need good homes, are placed either for free or a fee,, to help cover expenses,,into approperate homes,, so each individual dog can enjoy its own home and family.. as a buyer you not only can have some indication as to what health concerns may or may not crop up in life, but you also can predict to some extentent size, personality, character.. if as a buyer you have specific qualities you are looking for..

Amanda

Answer 2

Why ask a question when you've already decided the answer. Why not just ask what are youre reasons for breeding? How can we answer to such a closed mind?

I would LOVE to make some money out of breeding dogs. Ive invested thousands into my stud dog and if I could get some money back that would be GREAT. Ive never bred for money tho, I breed to improve the quality of the breed and my philosophy is the pups must be an improvement on the parents or I dont breed. All pups my male has sired go with papers by fully registered breeders only and bred for quality not quantity, sorry to misinterpret youre question but I dont understand why you needed to write money, just let people give their reasons, many people assume the worst about breeders before they know the facts, breeders are not puppy farms! But having said that if I could retrieve a tenth of what Ive spent I wont knock it back. I need to raise money to have DNA health testing done and it costs a fortune, whateva money I make goes straight back into my dogs! But I wont give up breeding it gives me so much pleasure, I love it.

Answer 3

I am not a breeder myself, but i have a good friend who breeds Malamutes and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

She breeds to improve the breeds, and loses money on 99% of the litters. The 1% where she doesn't, she only breaks even.

With the Cavaliers, the females are all excellent examples of the breed and have been evaluated by other breeders and have won shows themselves. If they do not do this, they are not bred from. Any female which makes it this far is then taken to the vets and given a clear bill of health from them, including having their eyes and hearts tested and certified. They are also scanned for a condition called SM.

If they pass ALL of these then they are considered high enough quality to breed from.

The males have to win MULTIPLE shows and have the same health requirements before being considered as being used as stud dogs. If they are used they are only used with bitches who are of excellent quality and have passed all the health checks.

All puppies are sold with a spay/neuter contract and a return to breeder contract, meaning she takes back ALL dogs who are returned to her, no matter what their age or health is like.

The only exceptions to this are potential show quality puppies which means only if they do well in shows then they do not have to be spayed or neutered - if they do not then the contract still applys. These pups only go to experienced show homes too.

The puppies are FULLY vaccinated and all homes are checked before the puppies are placed, and with all the health checks etc, she loses a lot of money. But she does it for the love of the breed.

Answer 4

A GOOD breeder does it to improve the quality of dogs, their health and temperament. Although it seems unwise to breed dogs when there are so many that go homeless, without GOOD breeders, dogs wouldn't live nearly as long as they do, they might not have the friendly personalities that we've come to expect.

Most GOOD breeders do NOT make a lot of money, their expenses are simply too high. It costs a LOT of money to properly take care of one dog, never mind many!

Unfortunately, there are far too many BAD breeders out there, scumbags who don't care at ALL about the living creatures under their control and who breed indiscriminately. The quality of puppies they breed are far inferior but most people don't know the difference so they make money anyway. These type of breeders are evil and sick.

Answer 5

I race sled dogs. When I need to replace older dogs on my team I will breed I select the best female I have and breed her to the best male I know of. Sometimes this involves paying a very expensive stud fee. Usually I keep about half of the litter for my team and sell the rest to other mushers. Raising puppies is expensive, about twice the cost of buying from another breeder. Money is definitely not my reason for breeding. I choose to breed because I have some very good bloodlines that I want to keep. The object is to improve my sled team.

Answer 6

Breeders don't breed for money. If they only bred animals for money then they would be living in poverty. It's usually a hobby or they love that particular animal and love looking after litters of kittens or puppies or whatever they breed. The money they earn from the animals goes straight back into the animals. You don't win much money from shows and really, cats and dogs on average cost about $500 from a good breeder and it would probably have cost the breeder more than half that to feed the animals and look after them. Retired people usually take up cat breeding but some younger people do it because they can rely on their spouse to provide for them.

Answer 7

TO say that breeders breed for money is an unfair generalisation - There is not money in breeding. Take vet bills, food, advertising costs into account.
Alot of breeders breed because they have a genuine love for dogs and want to breed a well rounded animal that will give joy to some family.
It is the same as asking a professional golfer why he plays golf? - often because they love the joy it brings.

Not to say that there are not breeders who breed for the wrong reasons.

Answer 8

I breed to provide myself with another working dog that has the qualities I need.

I breed to preserve the working qualities and heritage of my breeds.

I breed because I like knowing what type of dog I will end up with.

I made money on one litter. It came out to be a whole 19 cents an hour.

Without the above reasons, I wouldn't breed. Its simply a ton of work to do it well. I hate interviewing dozens of people to find the best home for each pup... its difficult when I have a certain pup who I know will not fit with a particular person's life (quiet pup, active person) and I refer them to other breeders. Its all tremendously time consuming and expensive doing health tests, deciding on parents, looking at pedigrees, doing the breeding, whelping and raising pups, screening owners, assisting new owners... its for the lifetime of EACH pup. Its a lot of work to do it well.

Answer 9

If someone is breeding for money then they own a puppy fram or are backyard breeders who care little about the breed. A good breeder makes little money because they do the right things to ensure healthy puppies. I breed my APBT becasue he is such a high qualty dog I would like to see his genes past down. The two females that are used are very good dogs too. I want this breed to contiune and by breeding puppies with good tempments is the only way.

Answer 10

Responsible breeders breed to improve their breed and to make sure that responsible pet owners have an ooption other than supporting puppymills and backyard breeders.

Clearly you have no idea of how much it costs to properly raise a litter or you wouldn't think that responsible breeders are making money on a litter. Responsible breeders spend thousands of dollars doing genetic screening and providing proper care for the mom and the litter. They spend hundreds of hours doing research to find just the right mate.