What Are The Good Things About Breeding? What Satisfaction Is There In

[Fleuri]

What are the good things about breeding? What satisfaction is there in breeding?

I was reading a thread in the Breeders Section called -Cost of Breeding?

Almost every response mentioned the doom and gloom including the high cost of breeding. They really made it sound like a huge burden. There must be something good, why would you do it?

Many also mentioned time off from work to care for their dogs. Am I right in my assumption that most breeders would have to be somewhat well off in the first place so they can afford to put their jobs at risk to care for litters when things go wrong? Otherwise why would you do this? (It just sounded like a lot of things go wrong a lot of the time). What are the good things about breeding? What satisfaction is there in being a breeder?

[Edenishy]

I assume some good things about breeding are knowing you are improving the breed...Im sure there are 100's of good reasons to breed.

And really, it's a hobby...just a full on one.

But the risk isn't any higher really than going to play some football on the weekend, or sky diving etc.

Like all good hobbies, it comes at a cost.

I think to many people look at breeding to earn money and that where it crosses into breeding farms etc.

[Fleuri]

It just sounds like such a risky hobbie.

[Sayly]

To look after the breed and improve it (in health, temperament, conformation, ability). To preserve the breed for what it is.

[Edenishy]

Obviously the risk is outweighed by the joys that one must get. I cannot speak from experience in breeding dogs but can in regards to other animals.

I didnt breed to make money so the risk to me was low. If I had to take time off work to care for animals (which I have never needed to) it wouldnt be a problem or a loss of wage etc. It would be a little hiccup and a few sick/leave days.

I love cooking for example.

It's expensive so comes at a high cost but I love it so its all worth it.

I have even had 2 occasions where I have had to go to hospital from cooking related accidents and had to take time off work.

Again, its worth the risk to me.

Everything comes at a risk.

[dancinbcs]

It is a risky and expensive hobby but also a very rewarding one if you do it for the right reasons. The main reason is a love of your chosen breed and the desire to deliver into the future better examples of the breed than you started with. This is the main reason that truly dedicated breeders have.

Another good reason is to produce the very best dogs you can, that prove themselves in your chosen area of competition. There is huge satisfaction in handling a dog to a Best in Show win, but that win means so much more if you bred the dog as well. If your passion is agility, obedience or herding, the same satisfaction is there when you win with dogs you have bred for a purpose. Most of us really only breed to get the next generation to go on with the quest to produce the closest to perfect dog possible. Aiming for perfection in conformation, soundness, health, temperament and performance.

Many of the wealthier dog breeders just enjoy the satisfaction of producing winning dogs and spend vast amounts on their chosen hobby. In some countries breeding and showing dogs is only a pastime for the very wealthy but it is a bit more affordable here. Probably on a similar cost level to more expensive hobbies, like golf or tennis but within reach of the average wage earner.

The world of pure bred dogs becomes a way of life when all your friends have the same goal and the longer you are "in dogs" the more you realise there is to learn. Studying pedigrees, looking for new lines, discussing the merits of various dogs is what you life revolves around.

There is also the sataisfaction of making life long friends with puppy buyers who dote on the puppies you bred and then come back to you years later for their next dog. But this is a bonus, not the main reason to breed.

I have no idea why anyone would put all the time, effort and expense into breeding puppies just to sell to others as pets. Selling desexed or limit register pets does absolutely nothing for the future of the breed and I am amazed at the number of breeders, now breeding this way. If you keep the best to breed with and sell the rest as pets, fair enough, but producing litters with no other purpose than producing pets is not contributing to the betterment of the breed in any way.

In the days when dads went to work and mums stayed home with the kids (and a mortgage could be paid from one wage), it was reasonably common for families to breed and show dogs as a family interest. The puppy sales helped offset some of the cost of keeping and showing the dogs and time was not an issue because there was always someone at home. Life has now changed and for many breeders, having a litter means saving up two years holidays, to take them to raise a litter, or using up your long service for the same purpose. Far too much time and effort to put in just to produce pet puppies for someone else.

[Lyla]

Response more on the emotional side in addition to the obvious betterment side of things:

I tend to get very attached to my puppies, and their new owners before puppies leave. It's so exciting taking pics, sending them, and getting all their lovely replies. I've made a couple of good friends from my puppy buyers too. I am even "friends" with 2 of my puppies on facebook!!! It's so funny to see a very professional couple (a doctor and an editor/journalist) write posts as if the dogs are talking. It is also really satisfying for me when people are already in love with their pups before they have gone home, and when these people finally get to meet their new babies, it is really lovely.

I kept my first home bred pup from my litter last year, so it is really interesting to watch her development. You do so much research into the mating, and then to watch it all unfold month after month is really interesting, albeit a bit stressful! My pup went through a serious case of the "uglies", and I was becoming really disappointed, but at 10 months old she is really starting to blossom. There is something a bit more special about a pup you have birthed and kept. :p

I have had 3 trouble free litters, which were wonderful experiences. This year though, I lost the whole litter 1 week before due date. It was devastating, very heartwrenching. Makes you think twice about if you are strong enough to keep going.

While the first 3 litters were "easy", ie: all pups were healthy, there were also some negatives such as poor health test results, and having to rehome loved pets, a bitch who we discovered hated being a mum, so all the hard work associated with making sure the pups were cared for etc. I had to do mouth to mouth with one pup to get him going, so the whole family had a soft spot for him. It's quite amazing to see some of the smaller, struggling ones really thrive and become so full of life.

Yes, there are plenty of disaster stories with breeding, but when it goes well, there are lots of warm and fuzzies to make it all worthwhile.

[Silversails]

This was posted by "Jed" some time ago.

From time to time the question arises of whether breeders make a profit or not. Who cares? Obviously someone does, or they wouldn't ask. Why? I have no idea. Is it wrong to make a profit? Is it right?

I never respond from a personal point of view. I have no idea whether I make a profit or not. I care for the dogs, spend whatever needs to be spent, and sell the pups for the average price. Sometimes things don't go well, and it costs more than I get back. Sometimes the income from the pups is more than the cost of getting them. That's life.

I don't keep records of income and expenditure. If I wanted to know, I would probably work it out, and I would probably find that over a year I was covering the costs. I don't worry too much about it. The profits are not in the money in the bank.

But there are huge profits, for me, from keeping and breeding dogs.

The profits are in seeing happy, glossy dogs playing in the garden, waggy tails and wide smiles when I come home from work. In constant smiling companionship. The pleasure of grooming them, or stroking them, or playing with them. They don't care what's on TV, they never complain if I am home late, they never fret or sulk if I don't have as much time tonight as I had last night. That confiding little nose pushed under my arm at night, that little body curled at my feet.

The profts are in seeing the little mummies so thrilled with and proud of their babies. Proud, strutting daddy dogs thinking they rule the world. Seeing little pups grow into nice dogs that I can be proud of as a breeder; each one special, unique, never to be repeated, and loved for his own little self for the short time he is here. Seeing gentle adult dogs playing with babies in the garden, running, jumping, chasing - then falling in an untidy heap - instantly asleep.

The profits are in the diversity, yet the similarity in the breed, the profits are in calling one of the 4th generation home bred, and realising I have the wong dog - because my dogs are now a line, and resemble each other.

Those little insensate hairy newborn blobs turning into real dogs, barking, running, playing, going cheerfully off to new homes with never a backward glance, as I wipe away whatever it is that got in my eye.

The profits are in the photos and letters I get back from puppy buyers, sometimes for years, sometimes for the life of the dog. The profits are in sorting out any problems so the dog has a lifetime home.

The profits are in encountering a new problem - veterinary, training, whatever - and finding the solution, and learning more so I can be a better breeder from the experience.

The profits are in studying the bloodllines and the type in my yard, and scheming and plotting and planning how to improve them - and doing more research.

The profits are in good friends, always ready with good advice, or an understanding shoulder. Who else but a breeder would understand the grief that losing a day old pup brings? Or a stillborn? Or an eagerly awaited preganacy which doesn't evenuate. Or losing an oldie - your "regular" friends say "it's only a dog, and an old one at that", but your breeder friends understand you have lost your friend, your easy companion who never needed calling, because she knew where to be when, never needed a hard word, because she understood how things worked as well as you did - the great-grandmother of the pup which is winning for someone; or the grandmother of some little kid's nice pet; they understand you have lost part of your history, and they grieve with you.

The profits are in the ones you keep, the pleausre in training them, in having them, in enjoying them, in seeing them as good canine citizens, growing old in easy companionship, lying by your feet.

The profits are in seeing a beautiful dog - whether mine or not - which fills my eye, and gives me pleasure, just by existimg, and being his own individual, special doggy person.

Those are the profits for me. I don't know whether I make monetary profit or not, and I don't care - as long as there is enough for our needs, I am happy.

If you make some money, why not? You certainly wont keep breeding if you are going bankrupt, and then the puppy farms will be able to sell more pups. And if enough breeders go bankrupt, the gene pool will be so reduced, it will be impossible to buy a healthy registered pup.

and that's a bad thing.

[Fleuri]

It is a risky and expensive hobby but also a very rewarding one if you do it for the right reasons. The main reason is a love of your chosen breed and the desire to deliver into the future better examples of the breed than you started with. This is the main reason that truly dedicated breeders have.

Another good reason is to produce the very best dogs you can, that prove themselves in your chosen area of competition. There is huge satisfaction in handling a dog to a Best in Show win, but that win means so much more if you bred the dog as well. If your passion is agility, obedience or herding, the same satisfaction is there when you win with dogs you have bred for a purpose. Most of us really only breed to get the next generation to go on with the quest to produce the closest to perfect dog possible. Aiming for perfection in conformation, soundness, health, temperament and performance.

Many of the wealthier dog breeders just enjoy the satisfaction of producing winning dogs and spend vast amounts on their chosen hobby. In some countries breeding and showing dogs is only a pastime for the very wealthy but it is a bit more affordable here. Probably on a similar cost level to more expensive hobbies, like golf or tennis but within reach of the average wage earner.

The world of pure bred dogs becomes a way of life when all your friends have the same goal and the longer you are "in dogs" the more you realise there is to learn. Studying pedigrees, looking for new lines, discussing the merits of various dogs is what you life revolves around.

There is also the sataisfaction of making life long friends with puppy buyers who dote on the puppies you bred and then come back to you years later for their next dog. But this is a bonus, not the main reason to breed.

I have no idea why anyone would put all the time, effort and expense into breeding puppies just to sell to others as pets. Selling desexed or limit register pets does absolutely nothing for the future of the breed and I am amazed at the number of breeders, now breeding this way. If you keep the best to breed with and sell the rest as pets, fair enough, but producing litters with no other purpose than producing pets is not contributing to the betterment of the breed in any way.

In the days when dads went to work and mums stayed home with the kids (and a mortgage could be paid from one wage), it was reasonably common for families to breed and show dogs as a family interest. The puppy sales helped offset some of the cost of keeping and showing the dogs and time was not an issue because there was always someone at home. Life has now changed and for many breeders, having a litter means saving up two years holidays, to take them to raise a litter, or using up your long service for the same purpose. Far too much time and effort to put in just to produce pet puppies for someone else.

dancinbcs - Your Post has given me a little glimps on my questions. See the thread that I read really sounded so gloomy I couldn't quite understand why someone would be a breeder. I can almost feel through this post your love and commitment for what you do.

Thank you for your response.

[Fleuri]

Got nothin and to Silversails

After reading your posts I have a smile, you guys really just love your dogs/breeds. It's really nice to see how much you care and that you have something that you love so much. I am speechless.

Thank you.

Edited to correct my lousy spelling.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Fleuri

[Red Fox]

Because the thread was started with the intention of passing on to someone planning on breeding their BYB dog with a papered bitch to make money and who believes that there is "no cost involved". Many of the breeders who posted were already aware of the circumstances and therefore probably accentuated a bit on the doom and gloom and what can and does go wrong

[Gayle.]

I have no idea why anyone would put all the time, effort and expense into breeding puppies just to sell to others as pets. Selling desexed or limit register pets does absolutely nothing for the future of the breed and I am amazed at the number of breeders, now breeding this way. If you keep the best to breed with and sell the rest as pets, fair enough, but producing litters with no other purpose than producing pets is not contributing to the betterment of the breed in any way.

While I can see your side, I applaud those breeders who are putting time and effort into breeding litters of gorgeous purebred puppies for the pet market. Why shouldn't people have top notch, well bred pet dogs? These are the breeders who are truly doing something to stop the sale of one more puppy farm or BYB pup. For each pet puppy that comes from an ethical registered breeder, that's one less puppy that's sold by an unreputable, unreliable source.

Edited September 1, 2010 by GayleK

[Souff]

Gayle, you make a good point. I just wish more people would consider that breeding GOOD QUALITY dogs should be the most compelling reason to breed dogs.

I recently just stood and watched one beautifully put together senior citizen and reflected on the fact that she had also produced some equally good quality dogs and bitches, a couple of which are now used in breeding programs, the others are in pet homes. It is comforting to know that her good genes have been passed on.

The sad thing is that many people are not breeding for quality, or breeding to improve, and when I see dog after dog that has faults which could have been bred out of their lines, I find it very depressing.

Kennel blindness is part of the problem, but the greater problem is that there are too many people breeding dogs and it is the minority who are registered to breed dogs.

There is very little "quality control" and ultimately the dogs suffer.

Souff

Edited September 1, 2010 by Souff

[dog geek]

Because breeding purebred dogs is more a vocation than a hobby

[Steve]

This is a good question and one Ive looked at pretty closely over the last year or so. There is a difference between someone who breeds dogs and a breeder.

Anyone can breed dogs - all it takes is putting two dogs of either sex together and 9 weeks later you get puppies.

But Raising the best dogs you can using science,experience and skill is much more than any business or part time hobby could ever be. It’s a passion, an honour, a labour of love and a huge lifelong commitment.

Research tells us that the average length of time someone remains a dog breeder is around 6 years - that's about 2 dog generations - so lots of people do get to a certain point and ask the questions you're asking and decide its not what they thought it was or what they hoped it would be. Ive asked my self these questions too often to count.Sometimes you see some people who give it a go - walk away and then come back and give it a go again when they are more prepared.

Every person has different reasons for breeding dogs and its no different for this activity than it is for any other.No matter what the reason is its whats in it for me.

For me it gives me a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to study, to research, to experiment.It gives me feelings of accomplishment when I know Ive had a hand in changing a new owners life or ensuring that owners way into the future wont have to deal with a bad temperament or genetic health issue with their dog because of the decisions Ive made.

For those who dont have the passion its difficult for them to understand but people dont [or shouldnt] breed dogs with papers just to be superior. The papers are a tool to being able to use the science to select the best mate for everyone - not just now but for generations to come.

People dont just attend dog showS to feed their egos and attach their self importance to the end of the lead. They do it to help them to interact with experienced dog people, to help them select the best dogs for their breeding programs and to assess whether what they are doing is whats best for the dogs and the breed way past what they see in front of them but for generations of dogs and their owners to come.

Take a good look at the breeders who have been doing this for 30 plus years - Jed, Marg Coles, Judy Gard,Lesley Stewart,Debbie Egglestone, Diane Gunn Scarcella, Bob Knight to name a few and it is there the answers lay because it takes that long to get it right.These older more experienced breeders help new kids and do all they can to encourage them and while they have had their bad times and they have had to scratch money together to pay their way they rarely ever think of the bad times or the cost - they only think of the benefits and whata wonderful way of life breeding dogs has provided for them - not in monetary terms but in the feelings of fulfillment and intangible things which wont show up in a bank account.

Bit of a joke really that these days breeders like this get told what to do. When to mate a bitch, how often to mate a bitch, how old a bitch should be etc by people who have never had the opportunities they have had to test what works and what doesnt- and worse - usually by people who have never bred a puppy.

[WreckitWhippet]

Steve

It’s a passion, an honour, a labour of love and a huge lifelong commitment.

Absolutely and at the end of the day, no matter how low the lows are, there's a little spark that keeps you going.

The experience itself is rewarding, so is the learning, watching pups go off to their forever homes, knowing you've done the best you can and hopefully you've got it right and the future of the breed is in that litter.

God how I miss Debbie and Di, their experience and their knowledge.

[dogbesotted]

It is a risky and expensive hobby but also a very rewarding one if you do it for the right reasons. The main reason is a love of your chosen breed and the desire to deliver into the future better examples of the breed than you started with. This is the main reason that truly dedicated breeders have.

Another good reason is to produce the very best dogs you can, that prove themselves in your chosen area of competition. There is huge satisfaction in handling a dog to a Best in Show win, but that win means so much more if you bred the dog as well. If your passion is agility, obedience or herding, the same satisfaction is there when you win with dogs you have bred for a purpose. Most of us really only breed to get the next generation to go on with the quest to produce the closest to perfect dog possible. Aiming for perfection in conformation, soundness, health, temperament and performance.

Many of the wealthier dog breeders just enjoy the satisfaction of producing winning dogs and spend vast amounts on their chosen hobby. In some countries breeding and showing dogs is only a pastime for the very wealthy but it is a bit more affordable here. Probably on a similar cost level to more expensive hobbies, like golf or tennis but within reach of the average wage earner.

The world of pure bred dogs becomes a way of life when all your friends have the same goal and the longer you are "in dogs" the more you realise there is to learn. Studying pedigrees, looking for new lines, discussing the merits of various dogs is what you life revolves around.

There is also the sataisfaction of making life long friends with puppy buyers who dote on the puppies you bred and then come back to you years later for their next dog. But this is a bonus, not the main reason to breed.

I have no idea why anyone would put all the time, effort and expense into breeding puppies just to sell to others as pets. Selling desexed or limit register pets does absolutely nothing for the future of the breed and I am amazed at the number of breeders, now breeding this way. If you keep the best to breed with and sell the rest as pets, fair enough, but producing litters with no other purpose than producing pets is not contributing to the betterment of the breed in any way.

In the days when dads went to work and mums stayed home with the kids (and a mortgage could be paid from one wage), it was reasonably common for families to breed and show dogs as a family interest. The puppy sales helped offset some of the cost of keeping and showing the dogs and time was not an issue because there was always someone at home. Life has now changed and for many breeders, having a litter means saving up two years holidays, to take them to raise a litter, or using up your long service for the same purpose. Far too much time and effort to put in just to produce pet puppies for someone else.

:p i agree..... especially with the underlined statement..

H

[benshiva]

I have no idea why anyone would put all the time, effort and expense into breeding puppies just to sell to others as pets. Selling desexed or limit register pets does absolutely nothing for the future of the breed and I am amazed at the number of breeders, now breeding this way. If you keep the best to breed with and sell the rest as pets, fair enough, but producing litters with no other purpose than producing pets is not contributing to the betterment of the breed in any way.

While I can see your side, I applaud those breeders who are putting time and effort into breeding litters of gorgeous purebred puppies for the pet market. Why shouldn't people have top notch, well bred pet dogs? These are the breeders who are truly doing something to stop the sale of one more puppy farm or BYB pup. For each pet puppy that comes from an ethical registered breeder, that's one less puppy that's sold by an unreputable, unreliable source.

But they'll get them anyway (well most certainly in our two breeds where the litter sizes are usually generous). A breeder can't keep the whole litter.

I agree with DancinBcs 100% with this comment.

[dancinbcs]

I have no idea why anyone would put all the time, effort and expense into breeding puppies just to sell to others as pets. Selling desexed or limit register pets does absolutely nothing for the future of the breed and I am amazed at the number of breeders, now breeding this way. If you keep the best to breed with and sell the rest as pets, fair enough, but producing litters with no other purpose than producing pets is not contributing to the betterment of the breed in any way.

While I can see your side, I applaud those breeders who are putting time and effort into breeding litters of gorgeous purebred puppies for the pet market. Why shouldn't people have top notch, well bred pet dogs? These are the breeders who are truly doing something to stop the sale of one more puppy farm or BYB pup. For each pet puppy that comes from an ethical registered breeder, that's one less puppy that's sold by an unreputable, unreliable source.

The problem is that those breeding purely for the pet market are not ethical breeders. There are so many breeders listed here on DOL that produce plenty of pet puppies that are health tested, etc but being an ethical breeder involves more than that. It is about producing the best puppies possible in every litter. You can pick those whose only interest is producing numbers of puppies because they usually have their own "stud dog" who sires ALL of their litters. No dog, no matter how good, is going to be the best match for every bitch you own and a sure sign of someone not doing the right thing by their breed is them using the same dog, that they own, for every litter. Many of these so called "stud dogs" are not what ethical breeders would consider "breeding quality anyway, let alone worthy of siring multiple litters. These comments are aimed at the more common breeds, not the rare breeds where breeders have limited breeding choices.

There are always plenty of puppies available as pets from the very best breeders. In any given litter there is only one "best puppy". In some litters there may be a few outstanding ones and in other litters, nothing that you were aiming for. All the puppies that are not an improvement on their parents are generally sold as pets so there is no reason for anyone to just breed pets. Most of our puppies go as pets anyway, but the aim should always be to breed something better to go on with.

[Fleuri]

I feel somewhat humbled and respect/reverence as you disclose your passion and great love for the great work you have chosen to pursue. It appears that being an ethical/reputable breeder is a lifestyle and for some a life’s quest.

It’s beautiful to see people that are honourably and lovingly trying to maintain/better dog breeds for future generations.

Not that this may mean much as you don’t know me but I want to say …..Thank you.