So you have a female dog and you want to breed her for a litter of puppies. Wonderful idea-very simple-lots of fun-make a lot of money. Well, it is a wonderful idea, but stop right there. It's not very simple-and you won't make a lot of money. Having a litter of puppies to bring up is hard, painstaking, thoughtful work; and only a few people regard such work as fun.

BREED BETTER DOGS

Bear in mind this very important point: Being a dog breeder is not just breeding dear Tillie to that darned good-looking male down the street. Would that it were that simple! Such a breeding will undoubtedly produce puppies. But that is not all you want.

When you breed your female, it is only after the most careful planning-with every effort being made to be sure that the resulting puppies will be even better than the parent dogs (that they will come even closer to the standard than the parent animals) and that all the puppies will have good homes. Any fool can breed a litter of puppies; but only a careful, thoughtful, intelligent person can breed a litter of better puppies of your breed of dog. That must be your goal in breeding!

You can become a good novice breeder if you truly love the breed and are seriously concerned with the past, present, and future of the breed. You will breed your female only according to established scientific principles. Your personal sentiments have no place in the careful planning that goes on before you actually breed your female. The science of mammalian genetics is not a precise science like, say, mathematics. And the extensive reading you will do on the science (or art) of breeding dogs before you start to choose a stud will give you some idea of the variable factors you will be dealing with. It is a vast subject; but with the few brief pointers given here and additional reading and study, you can at least start on the right track.

PLAN IT ON PAPER

The principles of animal breeding are the same, whether the subjects be beef cattle, poultry, or dogs. To quote a cattle breeder, every breeding is first made "on paper" and later in the barnyard. In other words, first the blood strains of the animals are considered as to what goes well with what, so far as recorded ancestry is concerned. Having worked this out, the two animals to be mated must be studied and compared. If one does not excel where the other is lacking, at least in most points, then the paper planning must start over again and different animals be considered. With your own dog, there are several "musts" that are really axioms. First, breed only the best to the best. Two inferior animals will produce nothing but inferior animals, as surely as night follows day. To breed an inferior dog to another inferior one is a crime against the breed. So start by breeding the best to the best. And here again, an accurate knowledge of the standard is essential to know just what is best.

MORE ABOUT BREEDING

Some people say, "I just want to make a litter of nice pet puppies". But what does that mean? The following are known inheritable conditions in Dachshunds which can be avoided with careful and knowledgeable review of the sire and dam's pedigrees, and/or through testing. Careful consideration of inheritable defects must be done prior to breeding.

• PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy)
• von Willabrand's Disease
• DDD (Degenerative Disc Disease)
• Epilepsy

Even "pet puppies" deserve to be healthy, loved, and wanted. Have you asked yourself (and honestly answered) these questions:

1. Have both the sire and dam been checked for worms, had current vaccinations, and been tested for brucellosis?
2. Are their pedigrees and physical structure compatible and complimentary?
3. Are their temperaments sound?
4. Can you care for a puppy or dog - for its lifetime - if you are unable to sell it, or if there are problems?
5. Are you prepared to take a puppy or dog back at any time if the home you've placed it in can no longer keep it?

   IF YOU HAVE ANSWERED NO TO ANY OF THE ABOVE QUESTIONS, YOU SHOULD NOT BREED.

6. Have you considered the expense of a C-Section, if necessary? Do you know that there is a risk of losing your female during pregnancy, whelping, and nursing?
7. Would you recognize eclampsia - a life-threatening condition if untreated - in a nursing mother?
8. Are you prepared to vaccinate and have your puppies vet checked?
9. Will you socialize and prepare your puppies to be well-adjusted members of a new family?