I WANT TO BREED:
We do not do stud services to Goldens, Labs or any other breeds. There are enough mutts in the world already. If you wish to produce, or own a calm, affectionate big dog that does not shed, get a standard poodle. The breed does not need to be improved on, there is enough breed diversity that Poodles are not inbred.
I wish people would stop using Standard Poodles to Fix negative traits in other breeds.
Mixed poodles do shed and people with allergies will react to them. No Standard Poodle Breed traits will be guaranteed with such a mix such as height, calmness, coat and colour.
People that think other wise, are greatly mislead.
I know what it is like to want to breed. Heck I am doing it.
But I do want you to know that I also earned the right to breed.
I know exactly what I have in my dogs lines health and temperament wise.
I know exactly what I will do for a puppy buyer that is calling with ANY concern.
I am prepared to accept back any puppy whose home is unhappy or disrupted.
I will make the tough choice to rehome or pet out a dog that is not producing what I want, or that fails health testing.
I have the facility, support, finances (through full time employment) to afford my hobby and the care it takes to raise healthy happy dogs.
Breeding is not a passing fancy or an education for my children and I have been doing this more than the usual 5 years.
Breeding and showing is my passion and I will be doing this for many years, which means I will be around to honour my guarantees.
I have the education to assist any puppy buyer with any problem solving, offering real and informative solutions or referals.
How I got here:
I was lucky enough to finally meet a breeder who would work with me.
I pestered her until she agreed to mentor me for over a year before I finally earned the right, in her eyes,
to buy one of her dogs for breeding purposes, all the while continuing my education
of all the ins and outs of proper breeding.
I went to all the dog shows and cleaned up all the poo,
washed and combed out the dogs and took handling lessons.
In return she taught me how to give vaccines, groom, remove tails and dewclaws
(because real breeders use the vet as little as possible).
She also taught me how to train dogs for obedience.
She taught me the value of having healthy dogs with great temperaments.
I also found a behaviour specialist who taught me all about canine behaviour and various alternative
methods of training and how to temperament test my dogs and puppies. I studied pedigrees, colour breeding, genetics.
I joined many dog breed clubs and read and submitted many articles on my breed.
This sounds like a long process ? Well it was.
That is why I say I earned the right to breed.
It took me 3 years from expressing an interest in breeding to actually having my first litter.
Now many years later I am now able to offer my puppy buyers quality and support for any problems they may encounter.
If I am unable to offer solutions, I also know where to refer them.
God forbid there is any health problems, but if there is, I am still going to be around,
enabling my contract and guarantees to be honoured.
WHAT WE ALL NEED TO BE AWARE OF:
Breeding is more than putting two dogs together and in then getting puppies.
You have a responsibility to those you sell to and also the breed you have chosen to breed.
Bred in indiscriminately, the breed you have chosen, will become a dime a dozen with no value
(meaning you can not sell them) and found in every shelter
and health or temperament problems because of excessive inbreeding or poor breeding choices.
You could make a great profit if you sold your 10 pups for breeding purposes,
but do not expect to be in the hobby very long, as the following year you will be
trying to sell your puppies along with the 10 people you sold to.
Basically within the one year there could be 110 puppies for sale in your area also
driving the price down as you compete with each other barely allowing you to cover your costs.
This is another reason why "responsible" Breeders sell with non-breeding contracts
or perform pediatric spay or neuter on their pups before they go home.
Selling puppies as pets ensures that you will have puppy homes for your next litters.
As a breeder you have to think long term and think how your actions will effect you down the road.
If you are going to be a responsible breeder you need to be able to take puppies back
if something happens to their owners (meaning the room), because your pups should NEVER end up in a human society or shelter.
You need to have a great deal of medical knowledge to be able to
recognize signs and symptoms of any problems in your adults or puppies to get medical attention
or treat as soon as possible and to treat appropriately as a Vet could take you to the cleaners if you let them.
You need to understand pedigrees and genetic problems to not perpetuate health or temperament issues.
Remember you offer a Health Guarantee so you would go broke breeding unhealthy puppies and then having to give replacements.
You need to be available to assist your puppy buyers when they call with all sorts of problems
from toilet training, itchy ears, barking, loose stools and yes they will call you the breeder, 24 hours 7 days a week.
You need to be able to offer some comfort, knowledge and support to them.
You will also need the facility to raise healthy pups since sometimes you do not find homes
for them until they reach 6 months because people want another colour or sex than what you have.
You need to be able to have noisy, messy, expensive, growing puppies on your property without the neighbours complaining to the city.
You will need to have proper house insurance to cover the many visitors that will be coming out to see your lovely puppies.
You will need to learn about how to accept payment from puppy buyers without being scammed or ripped off.
You will have to gain great knowledge on how to register and process registration papers (a very expensive, complicated and lengthily process).
You will have to health test or screen (expensive), and title (obedience, conformation ect.)
the parents since most buyers want to know that what they are buying is healthy, smart and meets the breed standard.
You will have to have enough money set aside to be able to advertise the puppies
and to keep advertising until they sell which as I have mentioned could be up to 6 months of age or longer.
I know this as I had it happen to me with 1 planned breeding (12 pups) and one accidental breeding (12 pups)
Imagine housing and raising 24 pups in your home and no one buying your puppies !
Because of this experience we stopped breeding our poodles for 2 years until people started asking for our pups again.
In 2008 we received email offers from 2 breeders asking us to buy their litters of 3-4 month old puppies
because they just could not sell them and they saw our pups were all selling before they were born.
I'm telling you this because this could happen to you.
What are you going to do if you breed and have a litter of pups that you can't sell ?
You will have to have a SUPPORTIVE spouse or family since this is a time consuming hobby
(cleaning, feeding, raising, selling) with no vacation time for up to 4 months.
Pups also keep you up all night through out the night with their barking and whimpering.
Breeding is a noisy, expensive and smelly hobby.
Honestly there is nothing worse than 3 days of interrupted sleep with crying pups because
one little puppy has crawled away from mom and is upset about it.
This hobby is stressful on even the best relationships just ask around you will find most breeders are divorced.
You need to discuss terms of your hobby with your spouse a head of time so you are both prepared
for the many demands and interference in your lifestyle.
I often hear that ...you do not make money.... Well if you breed correctly you can…sometimes...
Basically breeding brings you enough money to pay for the dogs your hobby.
If I used the vet for shots, deworming, dewclaws and tails that usually will cost over $1,000.00 litter
micro-chipping at a vet will cost $650.00 for litter of 10 pups
Vet check and Health Certificates $500.00
Registration can cost $500.00
Advertising could run you $100.00/weekend or $1,000.00/year
Stud fees $800.00+
Health testing in order to qualify for stud service $1,000.00/yr.
but you will also be held liable for any progeny of his too which is a huge responsibility.
Not only that, but for every stud service you do… you are also going
to be taking away puppy buyers from your own puppy sales.
And if there is a problem you can be ASSURED puppy people will find you.
If I choose to show in a weekend I may spend over $1,00.00 (usually a number of shows to get a title so maybe $3000.00 to title one dog).
$65.00-$100.00 for show grooming one dog
$110.00 + for entry fee for one dog
$55.00 for show photo and CD
$30.00 for food for the weekend
$150.00 Gas driving to show for weekend
It adds up.
So quick quiz to see if you are ..mentally.. ready to even consider breeding:
What does pedigree mean?
What does the term papers mean?
What is a heat?
When do bitches come into heat?
When is optimal time to breed?
What is a vulva?
How long is a gestation?
What does whelp mean
Does the male or female determine the sex of the puppies?
What is crate training?
What does gaiting mean?
What does stance mean?
What does rear angulation mean?
What is your breed standard ?
What are you prepared to offer puppy buyers in way of guarantee?
What health testing are you prepared to do?
How do you toilet train or what will you recommend?
What are you going to do if someone wishes to return the puppy?
Where are you going to advertise?
What are you going to do if your puppies do not sell?
Are you going to give or sell breeding rights?
What are you going to do when the puppies stink up your whole house and make messes everywhere and it is winter time?
What are you going to do when the neighbours complain to the police about all the dogs barking?
What are you going to do when someone calls you to complain that they have not gotten the papers?
What are you going to do when you have no money to pay for advertising or the food bill?
Was it all easy for me?
Well now I know you are thinking that if you know the answers to most of the questions you are ready. So I will share with you my negative experiences (yes even with all that education), I have had OR that friends I have come to know, have had (networking is VERY educational). They are not pretty. They are not meant to be. I'm sharing the bad experiences (since this is what I hope you avoid) with you so that maybe you will
1. Reconsider if you would be a good breeder.
2. Get some more education and save yourself and my breed a heart ache.
3. Take the right steps and better the breed.
4. Keep your spouse.
I wish you all the best in your choice.
Story below written by Laura Turner & Friends:
ATTENTION ALL NOVICE POTENTIAL BREEDERS!!!!!
SO YOU WANT TO BE A BREEDER?
Breeding the female:
So you want to breed your female. You know what to expect if everything goes right. Your little girl will present you with tiny bundles of joy. She will lovingly nurse them and care for them until they are old enough to be weaned.
You and your family will find great joy in watching and playing with these little puppies, and then when the time is right they will all (or maybe you keep just one) go off to special homes to live out their lives as cherished companions.
But have you given consideration to what if something goes wrong? I have listed here a few of the problems that I myself have personal knowledge of. Everything listed has happened either to "me" or "someone I know". These are not isolated incidents. I'm sure other breeders could add miles to my list. Please take the time to read and learn by others mistakes or Leave breeding up to those who know what they are doing and have the experience.
WHAT IF DURING THE BREEDING
The stud dog you have chosen is carrying a venereal disease (Brucellosis) and gives it to your female. She not only doesn't conceive but you have to pay the vet bills to get her infection cleared up and she is now sterile.
The stud dog you decided to breed your darling to is not experienced. Once the two dogs are joined tightly in a tie, he decides to chase the neighbour’s cat out of his yard. He bolts for the cat ripping his penis loose and causing your bitch to hemorrhage from within.
Your modest girl decides she doesn't want the attentions of this gigolo mutt chosen for her without her consent. She snaps at him catching her tooth on his loose cheek and rips it open sending blood flying everywhere. He retaliates by sinking his teeth into her left eye. The fight continues, what do you do?
You leave your dog with the stud owner because the breeding is not going very swiftly. In fact, it's been three hours and nothing is happening. The stud owners leave the two dogs alone in the back yard. The dogs get out through a tiny hole in the fence and a truck hits your female.
You pay the $250-$1000 stud fee up front figuring you will make that and more back when the pups sell. The breeder guarantees the stud service to work or you can come back again. After 2 months you discover it didn't work and now must wait another 4 months to try again. Of course it doesn't work again and you get no further breedings. You are out your stud fee and wasted 2 heats.
You get her bred. Bring her home. She bothers you so you let her out she is still in heat and still receptive to males. You hear a commotion outside there is your girl tied up with the neighbourhood mutt. When she whelps there will need to be DNA tests done on the pups as a female can get impregnated by many male’s and you need to know who fathered which pups. AKC sells kits and does this service through an agency at a cost.
You get her bred. Bring her home and let her out. (She is still in heat and receptive to other males) but you do not see the neighbourhood mutt breed her. The pups are born but look odd. You call the stud owner he suggests DNA testing (At your expense). You have a litter of half purebred and half mutts! (yes females can have pups from multiple sires) What do you do about the pups you have already sold?
What do you do with the mutts in the litter
Or knowing she tied with the neighbourhood mutt you decide to terminate the pregnancy and try again being more careful next time. But a few weeks later your female is very sick because you had her given a miss-mate shot creating a hormonal imbalance causing a uterine infection and now she has Pyometra and your Vet tells you she needs a complete hysterectomy. All plans of getting a litter is gone and your female's life is now in danger if she does not have the operation.
WHAT IF DURING THE BIRTH
The puppies are too large for the female. She never goes into labour, the puppies die and she becomes infected by the decaying bodies.
The puppies are coming breech and they drown in their own sacks before they can be born.
The first puppy is large and breech. When it starts coming your female starts screaming, and before you can stop her she reaches around, grabs the puppy in her teeth and yanks it out killing it instantly.
A puppy gets stuck. Neither your female nor you can get it out. You have to race her to the vet. The vet can't get it out either. She has to have an emergency caesarean section of course it is 3:00 am Christmas day.
A puppy is coming out breech and dry (the water sack that protects them has burst). It gets stuck. Mom tries to help it out by clamping her teeth over one of the back legs. The head and shoulders are firmly caught. Mom pulls on the leg, hard, peeling the flesh from the leg and leaving a wiggling stump of bone.
A dead puppy gets stuck in the birth canal, but your female is well into hard labour. She contracts so hard trying to give birth that her uterus ruptures and she bleeds to death on the way to the vet.
WHAT IF DIRECTLY AFTER THE BIRTH
The mother has no idea what to do with a puppy and she drops them out and walks away, leaving them in the sack to drown.
The mother takes one look at the puppies, decides they are disgusting droppings and tries to smother them in anything she can find to bury them in.
The mother gets too enthusiastic in her removal of the placenta and umbilical cord, and rips the cord out leaving a gushing hole pulsing blood all over you as you try in vain to stop the bleeding.
Or, she pulls on the cords so hard she disembowels the puppies as they are born and you have a box full of tiny, kicking babies with a tangle of guts the size of a walnut hanging from their stomachs. Of course all the babies must be put to sleep.
What if because of some Hormone deficiency she turns vicious allowing no one near her or the babies, who she refuses to nurse, or you have to interfere with.
You notice something protruding from her vagina when you let her out to pee. You take her to the vet to discover a prolapsed uterus, which needs to be removed.
Pups are all born and appear to be doing well. You wake up in the morning only to discover no pups, only parts of puppies and a very happy full mother licking her lips.
WHAT IF WHEN YOU THINK YOU'RE IN THE CLEAR
One or more of the puppies inhaled fluid during birth, pneumonia develops and death occurs within 36 hours.
What if the mother's milk goes bad or there is not enough milk. You lose three of your four puppies before you discover what is wrong. You end up bottle feeding the remaining pup every two hours, day and night. After three days the puppies fade from infection and dies.
The puppies develop fading puppy syndrome you lose two. You bottle-feeding or tube feeding the last remaining baby. It begins to choke and despite your efforts to clear the airway, the pup stiffens and dies in your hands.
Your female develops mastitis and her breast ruptures.
Your female develops a uterine infection from a retained placenta. Her temperature soars to 105. You race her to the vet, he determines she must be spayed. He does the spay in an attempt to save her life, you pay the hundreds of dollars bill. The infection has gone into her blood stream. The infected milk kills all the puppies and the bitch succumbs a day later.
All the puppies are fine but following the birth the female develops a hormone imbalance. She becomes a fear biter and anytime anyone tries to touch her she viciously attacks them.
Mom and pups seem fine, the puppies are four weeks old and are at their cutest. However, one day one of the puppies disappears. You search everywhere but you can't find it. A few days later another puppy is gone. And another. You can't figure how on earth the puppies are getting out of their safe 4' x 4' puppy pen. Finally there is only one puppy left. The next morning you find the mother chomping contentedly on what is left of the last murdered puppy.
WHAT IF THE NEW HOMES AREN'T SO HAPPY
You give a puppy to a friend. Their fence blows down so they tie the puppy outside while they go to work. A roving dog comes along and kills the puppy. Your friend calls you up to tell you about the poor little puppy and asks when you are having more puppies.
You sell a puppy to an acquaintance. The next time you see them you ask how the puppy is doing. They tell you that it soiled their new carpet so they took it to the pound.
You sell a puppy to a friend (you give them a good price and payments). They make a couple of tiny payments. Six months later they move to an apartment. They ask you to take it back. You take it back and of course the payments stop. The dog they returned is so shy, and ill mannered from lack of socialization and training it takes you a year of work providing socializing and training to be able to give it away.
You sell a puppy to your best friend with a non-breeding agreement and contract. Your friend knows how much time, love and dedication you have put into your hobby of breeding. Your friend becomes distant when ever you ask about when they are going to spay the female puppy. Finally you barely hear from your friend. You end up finding out your friend plans on breeding the female puppy you sold as a pet.
You sell a puppy to a wonderful home. They love her like one of the family. At a vet check done by their vet it is determined that the puppy has a heart murmur. (Your vet found nothing when he checked the puppy before it was sold.) They love their puppy and want the best for her. They have an expensive surgery done. The puppy is fine. They sue you for the medical costs. They win, because you did not have a contract stipulating conditions of guarantee and so as breeder you are responsible for the puppy's genetic health.
You give a puppy to your mother. She is thrilled. Two years later the puppy starts developing problems. It begins to develop odd symptoms and is suffering. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of tests later it is finally discovered that the dog is suffering from a terminal condition that was inherited. possibly from your female since you know nothing about her father’s lines.
One loving home decides your puppy is untrainable, destructive and wants to return the pup and get a full refund, which you have already spent on your vet bills.
One loving couple calls you and is very upset because their 6 month old pup has crippling hip dysplasia and want to know what you are going to do about it. You have spayed your female so a replacement is out of the question, looks like another refund.
A nice couple calls you to tell you that they had Xrays done and their 18 month old “pet” puppy has dysplasia. Your contract offers a replacement. They refuse the replacement because they love their puppy but they want some sort of compensation. You decide it is only fair that they keep their puppy that has been diagnosed with dysplasia and you offer them a replacement puppy of opposite sex as that is the only puppy you have left out of a litter. 1 year later you see their phone number in the newspaper as having puppies. You call and find out they have bred the dysplastic puppy to the replacement puppy you gave them. They are not only breeding unhealthy dogs but are cutting your puppy market along the way. They also thought they would have better sales by telling people that they are breeding your lines and send them to your web page to see that the dogs are from great lines.
You get a phone call a week after people left with their puppy. They are calling as their child is allergic to the puppy. You take the puppy back, giving them a full refund. The puppy ends up limping. A trip to the vet and you find out the puppy has a broken leg and is very fearful of all strangers.
You find a great home and the puppy’s owners keep in touch with you on is progress. A year later they call you very upset as the puppy had to go to the emergency room for bloat. They decide to pay the bill for surgery to have the stomach tacked in place by their vet. They say the surgery bill and you call your vet to find out their Vet charged $1,000.00 more than your vet would have charged you. Your contract does not cover this ailment. What do you do?
You have an adult male for sale. He is 9 months of age. You sell him to a nice couple as a pet to keep their spayed female company, with the agreement that they neuter him as soon as possible. They call a week later saying the new home has not worked out. You take him back giving them a full refund. He has not been neutered yet. 2 months later you see that this couple now has pups for sale and you know it is your male that is the sire. They are selling the pups as purebred unregistered.
You decide to breed the proper way, doing all the conclusive health testing even getting a championship or working title on your female. You take her to an amazing outstanding specimen of a male. They charged you the going rate of $1,000.00 stud fee and 2 months later you get your beautiful pups. You find caring loving homes and you protect your lines and that of the stud by having everyone sign a non-breeding contract and only selling with "limited" registration. 1 year later you see a number of ads for your breed in many classifieds. You email or call one of the ads to find out that the pups are not registered but are told that the pups are from one of your puppys. The "breeders" tell you that their pups are "purebred not registered" and that you can breed one of their pups if you wish. You call a lawyer who examines your contract and tells you that it is not enforcible and you are out of luck.
THE SALE
You put your ad in the local paper for your pups at the usual price and get only 2 responses and no sales. You cut the pup's price in half and broaden your advertising to 3 other newspapers in which the advertising totals $120.00 a week.
You get a few more puppy inquiries from people who ask all about health testing you did before breeding and if the pups are registered. You tell them your dogs are healthy and it was enough and that you could get the papers. The callers politely thank you and hang up.
You get some calls but the callers want to know why your pups are $200.00 more than the unregistered pups listed in an advertisement next to yours. They want to know why they should pay more and buy from you instead. Especially if your pups have the same lines or you used the same stud.
The pups are now 4 months old and getting bigger , eating alot and their barking is really beginning to annoy the neighbours who call the police who inform you of the $150.00 noise by-law that exists 24 hours a day.
Your neighbours also call the humane society who comes out to inspect the care of your dogs. You pass inspection but end up feeling stressed and harassed.
You and your spouse booked an amazing vacation. Your time is booked off of work and the vacation is paid for. You can’t go because you still have 3 pups to sell and look after.
You finally decide to give the rest of the litter away but still have to pay the $1200.00 advertising bill and the $600.00 vet bill.
You agree to sell and ship the pups to the USA. The bank money order arrives and you send off your puppy to the loving home. You notice that your mortgage has bounced. You call the bank to find out that the bank money order is fraudulent or they cancelled it (which they can) and now you are out your money and you have no pups.
People come out to see your pups and fall in love with a puppy. They didn’t intend to buy a puppy but really want one. They only have $200.00 cash on them so they offer to write you a check for the balance. You decide to accept the check as they look so honest. They cancel the check as soon as they return home. You call them to find out why they did this and they explain that they felt they paid enough as there is similar pups for sale in the paper for only $200.00.
People come out to see your pups and fall in love with a puppy. They didn’t intend to buy a puppy but really want one. They offer you post dated checks, which they assure you they are honest and there will be no problems with cashing. They arrived in an expensive car and are well spoken and well dressed. A couple checks cash without incident but the last ones bounce. You find out they cancelled the checks. You call and they tell you that they puppy they bought from you got hit by a car and so they didn’t think that they should have to pay you for a puppy they no longer have.
Your USA Puppy buyer calls you very upset that they don’t have American Kennel Club papers and they live in the USA and want those or they are reporting you to CKC and are going on all the internet message boards to discredit you.
Your Puppy buyers call and are VERY upset as their Vet can’t find the microchip they are scanning for. Their vet offers to re-microchip but it will cost $65.00-$90.00 and they want you to pay for it since you state that the pup comes with microchip.
You fill out all the paper work and you send it into the Canadian Kennel Club. You end up getting an enormous bill because your puppy buyer called them and requested a video and pedigree and other items that are now billed to you. You know you have to pay the debt or CKC will put your membership privileges on hold.