Dog Breeding

Dog Breeding : What is this?

As with any job, explaining dog breeding to someone who knows nothing about it can be really challenging! In this case doubly so, because dog breeding isn’t really a job. Or is it? For me it is more of a calling, a passion, a lifestyle choice. Something I wanted to do for years before I started and something I won’t give up lightly.

Eating is hard work

Many people breed many dogs. Some do it as a one-off, having a litter from their dog because they love it so. I wouldn’t recommend that, because when done properly, it is a complicated, expensive and often challenging business. It can be an emotional rollercoaster!

Who breeds dogs?

I know some people who believe passionately that all dog breeders are irresponsible criminals and that ALL dogs should be obtained from rescue centres.  Trouble is, if everyone really did do that, there would very soon be no dogs left.  Also, if we could only get dogs from rescue centres, we’d be left with a load of miscellaneous mongrels.

border collie breeder
best job ever?

I know that many dog breeders are responsible dog owners who care about the health and temperament of their dogs.  These breeders pay attention to who takes on their puppies and do their utmost to support those owners as they begin their journey into dog ownership.  If all dog breeders were like this, then all dogs would be better behaved and fewer would end up in rescue centres. Read about being a responsible breeder.

Supply and demand

It starts with what we, the buying public, want from our dogs.  Dogs have been part of our lives for thousands of years and over time our views on what we want from them has changed immeasurably.  We do require dogs to perform a myriad of working roles, from search and rescue, to Medical Detection Dogs.  We also want them to engage in numerous sporting activities with us, from agility, flyball to competitive obedience.

Ultimately though, our demands of our dogs are the same as they’ve always been; we want a companion, a friend, a pet.  Someone to welcome us home and to soothe our troubles.

Specific criteria

We want more and more dogs and we have very specific criteria when looking for a dog.  I have any number of people asking for a ‘classic collie’ or a dog with blue eyes.  People want a dog at a very specific time, or they want one that doesn’t chew, or shed hair.  They want one that is an exact size, or that slobbers, has bulgy eyes, or a curly tail.

The challenge is to produce the dogs people want, but to do that in an ethical and sustainable way.  What makes people become puppy farmers?  Not only the fact that there is good money to be made, but the fact that people demand increasing numbers of particular kinds of puppies. I’ve written more about supply and demand in this post of the blog.

Dog breeding blog

I have tried (several times) to explain what makes a responsible breeder and why you should buy from one. I have talked about puppy farming and why you should try and avoid this.

Here is the list of the topics I have covered so far:

My own journey through breeding

I started this blog as a way of writing about my own experiences as a breeder. These are some of my more personal posts:

dog breeder

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

If you want to breed, read this Dog Breeding Blog and then please CONTACT ME to discuss this, as I may be able to mentor you?

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