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SO, YOU WANT TO BE A BREEDER ....
So you want to be a breeder do you? Good for you! That's what I am, a
breeder. But before you decide to go ahead and breed dogs, here
are a few things you need to know, and a few things you need to have.
1. You'll need to be willing to clean up vomit, urine, feces, chewed up
sofas, ruined shoes, and destroyed books, TV remotes, curtains and
wallpaper. Then you'll need to be willing to do it all over again the
next day, and the next, and the next....
2. You'll need a
strong stomach when you are forced to humanely destroy a puppy that is
deformed or when you lose that litter of babies you've planned for so
long, or the dam that you have loved and saw such a future in.
3. You'll need a strong heart to be able to nurture and love your
healthy puppies until they're ready to be sold into the
hands of strangers with prayers that you have read their intentions and
plans for your little ones correctly. You'll need that strong heart when
the puppies in these wonderful new homes end up run over by accident,
or put down
from illness. You'll need it when the tears of those 'good owners' are
pouring their way into your heart or when they contact you blaming you
for something out of your control.
4. You'll need lots
of room to be able to keep females in heat away from stud boys, stud
boys away from each other, and puppies away from everything.
Don't forget about those last two pups that you couldn't
find homes for, or the rescue your breed club begged you to take in, or
the pup from your last litter that the owners decided just
wasn't right for them.
5. You'll need to be able to
stand grief and loss. Like the way you'll feel the first time you lose a
female during labor, and realize that it was your decision to breed her
that killed her. You'll need it when you explain to your kids and
friends why the miracle of birth has a dark side as well.
6. You'll need an employer that will understand if you have to take
time off work because your female died in labor or you're hand feeding
the new puppies every 2/3 hours day and night.
..........Wait a minute you're saying by now! Give me a break! All you
breeders are the same. You only tell us the gory stuff, the stuff
intended to scare us off breeding forever. What about the money? I mean
you guys just don't want anyone else to compete with you.....
Oh yes the money, glad you mentioned it.
7. You'll need money. Lots of it. Probably lots more than you have,
especially if the above mentioned employer didn't turn out to be so
sympathetic after all. Lets do some math shall we? Vet bills, Cesarean
section, stud fees, registrations, vaccinations, worming, check ups,
special diets, birthing gear, FOOD and lots of it .... Let's say an
average of $1000 - $1800 per litter, if nothing complicated arises. All
this must be paid out before the first puppy ever sells,
assuming that they're not all stillborn, in which case don't forget the
cost of post mortems. Even if every puppy in the litter is
show quality (we can all dream after all) and you find each one a dream
home, you're still going to lose about $500+ per litter....if you rear
them the RIGHT way
.........Wait! Where are you going? I
didn't tell you about show fees, travel expenses, or picking the right
stud boy, or cost of paperwork, or kennel club registrations, or dog
pens, or irate neighbors, or licenses.... |
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