Breeders - Why & How Did You Start Out?

[Schnooze]

Im new to this forum, so Hi!

Im interested to find out from some breeders how they started out breeding and what made them decide to breed dogs?

Was it something your family was involved in?

Do you show or compete your dogs?

Do you breed as a business or is it just a hobby?

How did you select which studs and/or bitches to breed from?

Are your dogs just "breeders" or are they family members too?

Reason ive started this topic is because im in two minds at the moment.

Id love to breed dogs as a hobby. But im well aware of the amount of dogs that end up at shelters and I feel uncomfortable about contributing to that.

The dog I love and own is a Staffordshire. (Please no judgement needed - I know how many stafford breeders there are out there)

So this is not something im about to jump into lightly as im fully aware of the responsibilities of dog ownership and reputable breeder standards.

Id love to hear from peoples thoughts on this topic!

Edited February 7, 2013 by Schnooze

[Trisven13]

I had run an all breeds rescue for quite a while and we'd rescued a number of heavily pregnant bitches. I'd really enjoyed the process of whelping & raising the puppies and finding them the right homes so thought it might be something I'd like to do one day "properly". Found my breed of choice and bought my first bitch and started showing. Four & a half years later I had my first litter and have now just had a second.

My dogs are my pets first and foremost - I quite enjoy showing but I couldn't do it every weekend and probably show, on average, 1-2 times a month. I also do obedience with my dogs and plan on trying some other dog sports over the next few years. I live on acreage and have room to have multiple dogs BUT don't want to ever have them kennelled so need to keep my numbers manageable.

I choose dogs based on many, many reasons most of which are too complex to go into as I would no doubt leave something important out.

[Christina]

My mum bred dogs when I was a baby, brief period of time. She was brought up with cats & dogs too. My grandfather was a horse trainer. Most of my family own pets. Guess I inherited a love of animals, we always had cats & dogs & as a child I was fascinated by all kinds of animals. The horrible zoo, in those days, was my favourite day out.

I started showing in my 20's but then had a large family, sick child, emigration & it all got put to one side.

About 20 years ago I bought a pet poodle from a byb. She seemed fine until she was age 3 & then she got all kinds of things wrong with her. She had her own pushchair for the last few years, she could hardly walk & had daily massages & various things to make her comfortable. Loved her so much. I swore I would never produce dogs like this when I got chance & time to start my hobby.

My dogs are family members.

As well constantly learning about all dogs, as well as my own breed, I research lines & get as much info as possible & look at things like the lifespan of the ancestors too whenever possible. Unfortunately I have learned that genes didn't read the pedigree or take too much notice of show results. With what seems like the best dogs things can go awry, as most breeders find out somewhere along the line.

As a business dog breeding to standard & ethically would be a dead loss :) You would also have the sadness of re homing many adult dogs.

All my puppies leave home desexed. Being a toy breed I am comfortable with this so don't have to worry too much about where they end up. Not a breed commonly found in there either. I also make it clear that I do a lifetime re home & mark this on the top of the microchip form.

[Dogsfevr]

I am a breeder but i really dislike the wording" breeding for a hobby".

Hobbies to me are scrap booking ,photography,running etc etc.

Breeding as a business for me is when profit is the main aim,dogs should not be a business from pups

Breeding is a serious life choice that comes with consequences ,ups/downs & decisions to be made

Our dogs to our family members so when a decision is made to breed it comes with alot of questions asked & alot of dedication,thought & above all time commitment.

We show & breed occasionally ,our breed is being devastated by BYB breeders ,they never show,don't compete in anything except breed pups for a sort after market sadly what is being breed isn't what pet owners deserve .

I should add that i also own other breeds one for over 20 yrs that at this stage i don't plan on breeding,done extremely well in the showring & they are my passion but i can get my dogs from people who have great knowledge & breed wonderful dogs so at present i support them by being a good pet owner who shows & get there dogs into the outside world .

Breeding is a last resort for us ,we breed with care but we breed infrequently

Edited February 7, 2013 by showdog

[mita]

I agree with showdog that even tho' ethical breeding is technically classed as a hobby, it's anything but! I've been so impressed with the sheer professionalism of numbers of registered breeders I've come across.

Only yesterday I spoke to an older woman who, for many years, showed Dobes with her husband. Retired with just JR pets now. But she still had that sense of commitment and thirst for further knowledge and genuine care. She said she'll bring her photo album of her 'Dobe' years for next time we meet.

[cruzzi]

You own a stafford, but didn't mention an interest in showing?

Learning the trade so as to speak.

To me that's a bad sign.

[espinay2]

First let me say, Dogs and by breed is my passion (moreso than a hobby). Breeding is just a small part of that.

I started out with a pet in my breed. I had no intention at that point in time of being a breeder. I just waned a nice purebred pet. I had bred and competed with horses in my younger days and saw the value in a purebred even though we had crossbreed dogs (pound and found) mostly when growing up. I joined an obedience club because I saw the value in training. From there it just progressed. I enjoyed learning about dogs and behavior and went on to become an instructor. I met people there who also showed their dogs and became interested in trying that as well. My next dog was purchased with the aim of starting to show. I still had no real Intent to be a breeder, I was just learning, training and competing but all the time getting more and more involved in the dog world and in my breed. Being so heavily involved in my breed over the years, being a 'breeder' just became part of that 'natural progression' of my involvement and passion. IMO Being a breeder is not the end goal. It is simply a tool to be used for the benefit of the breed.

[Schnooze]

You own a stafford, but didn't mention an interest in showing?

Learning the trade so as to speak.

To me that's a bad sign.

Your right - I didnt mention an intereset in showing. In fact, I didnt mention anything about what I do. That wasnt what this topic was about.

But thanks for your valuable input cruzzi

Best in show goes to you...

[Dogsfevr]

I guess the main question would be "why you would love to breed dogs."

What draws you to doing this & if you did head done this path what would your goals be in breeding .

[dasha]

I bred my first 2 litters in 2011. And have just bred my 3rd.

I breed Working Border Collies for sheep work and Sporting homes.

I decided to breed my first litter as I have a brilliant bitch that has all the qualities that I and others look for in a working sheepdog. She has presence, skill, instinct and a beautiful temperament. She is structurally sound, strong and FAST.

The number of times I have been asked by people if they could buy her is really quite surprising.

I wanted to look for a 3rd trialling dog so I had tried a couple out but they didn't suit and so I sold them on.

Then I figured why buy someone else's line when I have one of the better ones around that is currently trialling.

I also wanted a bitch pup as insurance in case something happened to the bitch. I needed to keep those lines. Both her parents were very good dogs but both deceased due to old age.

I then had to pick a sire. So I picked a sire that was structurally similar, had good natural working instinct, and a good temperament............ What could go wrong!!!!!

NOTHING.....the whole litter is a ripper I kept 2, Vickie bought 1 then she was so good and the opportunity came to have one of the siblings at about 10 months old so she kept her too!. One is with NSW police and the other is in another agility home.

My second litter was an after thought really. She was in season, the timing was right for a litter and a sire with complimentary breeding was available to I took it. They are also pretty good pups in various roles. 2 working stock on properties and 2 in agility homes....... 1 killed by snake on a farm......... I kept one of them til he was 20 months old as I was hoping to be able to have a stud male to compliment my bitches however his work style was too different so I sold him as a broken in dog to a property.

I have just had my 3rd litter and this was a repeat of the first.

I bred this litter due to popular demand from agility people. 4 of 5 are preordered and if I had more females, there would be more sold.

My dogs are also pets. They play fetch and tug etc. I take them for trips etc..

I don't see why people shouldn't make money out of a passion.

There is a difference between making money and breeding for the money IMO.

MY main thing that makes me proud to be a breeder is that I feel that if you have a specimen of a dog that is so good, it is almost criminal NOT to allow that dog to be bred to carry on those good qualities. I believe that if I am so priveliged to have such a good dog, and am in a position to allow another person with similar tastes to buy one.... then why not. Otherwise they go and buy an average dog from somewhere else and breed it on. It is better to have superior stock available to be used than average stuff.

I know how hard it is to get a dog that fits a high criteria so I think that as I am currently in a position to provide the opportunity to others, then I will.

[cruzzi]

You own a stafford, but didn't mention an interest in showing?

Learning the trade so as to speak.

To me that's a bad sign.

Your right - I didnt mention an intereset in showing. In fact, I didnt mention anything about what I do. That wasnt what this topic was about.

But thanks for your valuable input cruzzi

Best in show goes to you...

Pass goes to you.

We have enough cowboys in the breed without anymore "entrenpeneurs"

Let me guess.

Blue is your fav colour?

[Salukifan]

You own a stafford, but didn't mention an interest in showing?

Learning the trade so as to speak.

To me that's a bad sign.

Ignore this one Schnooze - he likes attention. Shame he didn't answer the question.

Edited February 7, 2013 by Haredown Whippets

[Janba]

Blue is your fav colour?

Its mine just not in dogs :laugh:

[Salukifan]

I have a registered prefix but at this stage I only have entire dogs. A bitch will be a decision to make down the track and frankly I'm not convinced I'm cut out to breed. As a dog owner, I've always had purebred dogs and Whippets are far less at risk from idiots than poodles are.

But why consider it? For the love of the breed and the opportunity to contribute to the next generation. Don't rush into it - lots to learn and you will need to be a CC member for a period of time before you can apply to a prefix.

Step 1 will be to determine what makes a "good" SBT and to establish what lines you are interested in introducing into your kennel to make your start. That won't happen overnight.

[Diva]

Deleted, it has turned into one of 'those' threads and I can't be bothered with them.

Edited February 8, 2013 by Diva

[cruzzi]

You own a stafford, but didn't mention an interest in showing?

Learning the trade so as to speak.

To me that's a bad sign.

Ignore this one Schnooze - he likes attention. Shame he didn't answer the question.

Ha hahahahah.

Hey!.....bare bones....

I have a staffy & I want to breed.

Duh

five will get you ten the staffy is a blue.

When the breed you love is very popular & is being exploited by entrepeneurs see if your attitude is the same?

That wont happen of course...your breeds "safe"

[Airedaler]

I bred my first litter in 1975. we had bought our bitch as a pet and joined our breed club. The support offered to us by our breeder as well as other long term breeders and exhibitors was nothing short of amazing. the encouragement to show and to have a litterfrom our pet was overwhelming. In this day and age, if many people (not necessarily in my breed) had their way we would have not been sold an entire animal and would have been told in no uncertain terms what we should and should not do.

From our first litter there were 2 Champions produced and all 11 pups lived long and healthy and happy lives.

I went on to become a life member of my breed club and still carry out high profile tasks on the committee. Over a period of 30 years I bred 20 litters so was not exactly a high volume breeder but more or less only bred when i wanted something to carry on with. I showed spasmodically over the years and did some obedience work. I imported both dogs and semen from overseas during my breeding time both with mixed success. I stopped breeding in 2005 largely due to the ban on docking amd the other constraints being put on breeders by so called authorities.

To me it is a package deal, I do what I can for the promotion and welfare of the breed and the club and in return i get the satisfaction of enjoying the breed as a whole and making many friends from overseas who also have an interest in the breed.

[cowanbree]

I have been breeding shelties for many years now. I didn't start out with the intention of breeding. Took my pet sheltie to a dog show and got hocked. Very quickly found out that in my breed if you want a top winning sheltie you have to breed it because they come along so infrequently they are rarely sold.

I would prefer not to breed. I find it very stressful and a huge responsibility but there is a certain pride in owning generations of your kennel name and seeing familiar traits pop up many times over.

[Salukifan]

That wont happen of course...your breeds "safe"

Oh that's right - because NO ONE EVER used poodles to produce popular pups. I have more than one breed Dougie.

Someone asks people to talk about how they became a breeder. You leap to the offensive based on what again?

Its clear you have nothing constructive to add. How about you take Bex and have a nice lie down while people actually talk about how they decided to breed dogs.

Edited February 7, 2013 by Haredown Whippets

[cruzzi]

That wont happen of course...your breeds "safe"

Oh that's right - because NO ONE EVER used poodles to produce popular pups. I have more than one breed Dougie.

Someone asks people to talk about how they became a breeder. You leap to the offensive based on what again?

Its clear you have nothing constructive to add. How about you take Bex and have a nice lie down while people actually talk about how they decided to breed dogs.

Based on what?

Based on I know what.

That's what.

You want to talk about yesterday, find someone who remembers poodles ever being anything other than a handbag with crook knees.

Poodles?

Whippets?

gee...there really is a flourishing BYB market in those two.

This is today.

You tell me how much know, or care, about the Staffords reputation being trashed by unscrupulous "breeders" surfing the popularity of this wonderful little dog by pumping out crappy quality blues for the uninformed & charging the earth for them.

Tell how much you know about said uninformed then thinking how much they can make from blue puppies also & magnifying the problem? Check the SBT puppy notices here & see how many blues litters on offer from people nobody hasever heard of.

Tell me about how much you know about byb's pumping out any old any old crap & calling them Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

tell me how many ethical responsible breeders you know who just got hold hold of a couple of dogs & started breeding.

As a matter of fact, why don't you tell me anything at all you know about anything?

You certainly know jack about the problems ethical breeders of SBT are facing.

There is more to being a breeder than just putting a couple of dogs together.

Damn internet experts...every day a different problem.