Thinking About Becoming a Bloodhound Breeder?
The Right Way & The Wrong Way
Due to the many inquiries on this subject I decided I would create this page to share some important information.
Before you buy a Bloodhound/or look for a stud dog on Kijiji or through online pet classifieds, please read!
THE PROPER WAY TO START
If you are interested in the breed so much so that you want to become a breeder you should probably follow these steps to avoid "learning the hard way," like many of us have!
I would hope before the next step you have read all you can find on Bloodhounds, including the written breed standard and health issues.
Contact your breed club, eg: The Canadian Bloodhound Club/ American Bloodhound Club. Find out when the next National Specialty is and even though it may be far, ATTEND! Give someone in the club an introductory letter about yourself, let them know you will be attending and are looking for ringside mentoring from an old time breeder. The National Specialty will be a huge eye opener as to what people are producing and the differences in different breeder's bloodlines. What do you like?
Talk to breeders and ask them about their experience in the breed and about their blood lines. What is the health of this line? What are the health clearances on the parents? Talk to the Breeder you choose about the possibilities of being placed on their waiting list for a puppy. Explain to them your full intentions. Who you get a dog from is who should be your mentor in the breed. It takes years to get to know pedigrees, breed type, structural faults and the ins and outs of breeding. This person will likely mentor you until you are on the right path. Different breeders will have different requirements, and do not be discouraged if some do not fall all over themselves trying to sell you a puppy. Keep in mind you could be waiting for the right show/breed quality puppy for 1-3 years.
The Unwritten Rules of Breeding
- Do no harm to the breed. Do not breed any issue, whether physical or temperament, that will harm the next generation
- Keep your eye on quality and breed quality
- Follow the code of ethics of your breed club, but furthermore have your own strict code of ethics you adhere to
- Always be honest about your dogs
- Do not let your heart get in the way do what is right for your dogs and your breed
- Your goals in the breed should never be selfish, but your choices should always be for the betterment of your breed
- Always respect your breeder, if you have a dog from someone else they have a say where and when it is bred. NO means NO. If you cannot agree with your breeder on the the future of your dog or bitch you may have to start over
- Anything you produce is your responsibility to take back for the life of the dog, not to end up in rescue or a shelter
The Wrong Reasons to Breed
Breeding, if done ethically, is an expensive undertaking.
By the time you've picked out a good bitch, waited for her to grow old enough (minimum age: two years before breeding), picked out the best dog to mate her with, gone through all the health checks she needs, ensured that the dog you want to use also passes the same health checks, you've invested a lot of time and effort.
You still have to pay a stud fee (or give a puppy back), you have potential extra expenses during pregnancy, you have the time and expense of whelping (either you take time off from work or something goes wrong and you have to take her in to the vet). You need to keep the puppies for a minimum of 8 weeks before sending them to their homes; you need to advertise and find good homes for the puppies, you need to make sure they have had their vaccines before going. You may have possible vet bills if the puppies require extra attention. If some of the puppies die, or you have a smaller than usual litter, you may not get as much money from the sale of the puppies as you had thought. There are even potential problems later on with dissatisfied customers.
You are better off consulting with a financial wizard about investing the money you would otherwise spend and lose on breeding!
The fact is breeders frequently count themselves lucky if they break even.
My kids should see the wonders of birth and life!
What if the whelping goes wrong and dead puppies are born? What if the bitch dies? These are all very real risks that you are undertaking. Much better alternatives include videotapes that are available. If there are local 4-H clubs, those provide alternatives for children.
Or, you could contact your local shelter and see if there is a pregnant bitch about to whelp or a litter of puppies that need to be raised and socialized before being adopted out. This would allow you to find out just what this could entail, while helping the shelters rather than potentially contributing to the problem.
I want another dog just like mine!
If you want to breed your dog so as to get another dog like yours, think about this for a moment. No matter how special your dog is to you, a puppy out of it is not guaranteed to be just like or even similar to your dog -- half its genes will be from another dog! You will have to find another dog that also has the characteristics you want in your puppy; that dog will have to be unneutered; and the owner of that dog will have to be willing to breed her/his dog to yours.
It is much easier, often less expensive, and certainly less time consuming to pick out an existing dog that you like from the shelter or another breeder. Best yet, go back to the same breeder of your dog, if possible, and pick another puppy out of similar lines.
Every bitch should have a litter!
This is flat out wrong. Bitches are not improved by having puppies. They may undergo temporary temperament changes, but once the puppies are gone, she'll be back to her old self. Nor is it somehow good for her physically. In fact, you will put her at risk of mammary cancer and pyometra. There is absolutely nothing wrong with spaying a bitch without her having a litter.
But my dog is registered!
Well, yes, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. A registered dog, be it AKC, UKC, CKC, etc., simply means that it's parents (and their parents) are also registered with the same registry. This confers no merit in of itself, it simply means that the dog's parentage is known.
Most registries do not make any assertions of quality in the dogs they register (except for some limited breed-only registrations, but these are uncommon). They do not restrict the breeding of their dogs and hence there is no guarantee that a registered dog is a good specimen of its breed.
The AKC has just started a "limited registration" program whereby puppies out of such dogs are ineligible for registration. It remains to be seen what the overall impact on AKC dog breeds will be. Other registries have used similar programs with good results.