| STFSC thinks it is extremely important to learn the facts and possible
consequences in advance if you are contemplating breeding your Shih Tzu. In
today's overcrowded world, we, the wardens of our domestic pets, must
make responsible decisions for them and for ourselves. The following
points should be reviewed carefully.
QUALITY:
AKC registration is NOT an indication of quality. Most dogs, even
purebred, should not be bred. Many dogs, though wonderful pets, have
defects of structure, personality or health that should not be
perpetuated. Breeding animals should be proven free of these defects
BEFORE starting on a reproductive career. Breeding should only be done
with the goal of an honest attempt to create puppies
better than their parents. Ignorance is no excuse -- once you have
created a life, you cannot take it back, even if blind, crippled or a
canine psychopath!
COST:
Dog breeding is NOT a money making proposition, if done correctly.
Health care and shots, diagnosis or problems and proof of quality, extra
food, facilities, stud fees, advertising, etc. are all costly and must
be paid BEFORE the pups are sold. An unexpected Caesarean or emergency
intensive care for a sick pup will make a break-even litter become a big
liability. And this is IF you can sell the pups. SALES: First time
breeders have no reputation or referrals to find buyers. Thoughts of
"I want a dog just like yours," change or evaporates. Consider the
time and
money spent for care of pups that may not |
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sell until they are four
months old, eight months old or more? What
WOULD you do if your pups did
not sell? Send them to the pound? Dump them in the country? Sell them
cheap to a dog broker who may resell them to labs or other unsavory
buyers? Veteran breeders with good reputations often don't consider a
breeding unless they have cash deposits in advance for an average-sized
litter.
JOY OF BIRTH:
If you are doing it for the children's education, remember the whelping
may be at 3 a.m. or at the vet's on the surgery table. Even if the
kiddies are present, they may get a chance to see the birth of a monster
or a mummy, or watch the bitch scream and bite you as you attempt to
deliver a pup that is half out and too large. Some bitches are not
natural mothers and either ignore or ravage their whelps. Bitches can
have severe delivery problems or even die in whelp -- pups can be born
dead or with gross deformities that require euthanasia. Of course there
can be joy, but if you cannot deal with the possibility of tragedy,
don't start.
TIME:
Veteran breeders of quality dogs state they spend over 130 hours of
labor raising an average litter. That is over two hours a day, every
day! The bitch CANNOT be left alone while whelping and only for short
periods of time for the first few days after whelp. Be prepared for days
off work and sleepless nights. Even after delivery, mom needs quite a
bit of care and
feeding, puppies need daily checking, weighing and socialization. Later,
grooming and training, and the whelping box |
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needs lots of cleaning. More
hours are spent on paperwork, pedigrees and interviewing buyers. If you
have any abnormal conditions, such as sick puppies or a bitch who can't
or won't care for her babes, count on doubling the time. If you can't
provide the time, you will either have dead pups or poor ones that are
bad tempered, antisocial, dirty and/or sickly -- hardly a buyer's
delight.
HUMAN
RESPONSIBILITIES:
It is midnight -- do you know where your puppies are located? There are
about EIGHT AND ONE HALF MILLION unwanted dogs put to death in pounds in
this country each year, with millions more dying homeless and unwanted
through starvation, disease, automobiles, abuse, etc. The breeder who
creates a life is responsible for that life. Will you carefully screen
potential buyers? Or will you just take the money and not worry if the
puppy is chained all of its life or runs in the street to
be killed? Will you turn down a sale to irresponsible owners or will you
say "yes" and not think about the puppy you held and loved,
having a litter of mongrels every time she comes into heat, helping to
fill the pounds every year with more statistics that are your grand
pups? Would you be prepared to take back a grown dog if the owners can
no longer care for it? Can you live with the thought that the babe you
helped bring into the world will be destroyed at the pound? |
