Dog Breeding: A Guide for Success

You may have noticed that dog breeding has become extremely popular in the United States; furthermore, it is becoming a big-money business for people that own purebred dogs. However, not all dogs are suitable for breeding and many people don't really understand what is required to be successful at breeding dogs. Therefore, here's a quick list of things to consider when trying to breed your dog.

Choosing a Mate

One of the most important factors in successfully breeding your dog is choosing the right mate for your canine friend. The mate for your dog should possess the types of traits and qualities that you want to see displayed in any offspring that are delivered. Always remember that both the male and female dog should be healthy and have no signs of genetic faults that could jeopardize the health of a litter of puppies.

Supporting the Female Dog

The health of the female dog is extremely important to the success of a good dog breeder. You should ensure that the female dog is always well fed and provided with excellent nutrition, vitamins and supplements. While you should always keep your dog as healthy as possible, it is extremely important during pregnancy. Therefore, consider allowing your pregnant female dog to eat as much and she needs to keep her strength and remain healthy.

Keep a Record

You will find that good record-keeping practices on both the male and female dog will help increase your success in dog breeding. However, it is even more important to keep good records for the female dog. You need to always keep a folder with a detailed history of your female dog that will contain important date information is such as the day you notice the dog going into heat, any changes in behavior or temperament, as well as any medical or health issues. You also want to make sure that you are in constant contact with your veterinarian and that your veterinarian is aware of the information in this folder as well.

Choosing the Right Time

With most failed breeding attempts, the main reason is wrong timing. Most of the time, it is difficult to tell when the right time is without a hormone test. Your veterinarian has a number of ways that he/she can test hormone levels to determine the best breeding time; however, even with the best techniques it is often a guessing game.

However, most female dogs will go into heat about every six months starting around the end of the first year of their life. It is always important to allow your female dogs become fully grown and developed before trying to breed her. This will help ensure fewer complications in pregnancy and allow her to deliver more pups in a single litter. Furthermore, you should be aware that with many larger breeds a female should not be bred before she is two years of age.

When to Put Them Together

Once a female dog has been in heat for about 10 to 12 days, she will usually be ready to stand and hold for her male partner. Therefore, you should start to count the days as soon as you notice the first signs of blood discharge in your female. Every dog is different; therefore, you should always be aware of your dog and how she acts as well as be able to notice any changes in temperament.

Many times, the discharge color of the blood in a female dog will change from a darker red to more of a tan color when the bitch is willing to receive. Furthermore, you may want to place the bitch and the stud together for several days, and several times throughout the day, during the female's heat period-up to about the tenth or twelfth day.

These are but a few tips that you might find successful when you are ready to breed your dog. Of course, there are many more things to consider when breeding your dog, and your veterinarian will be able to help you with most of them. However, the most important thing to consider is that if you're not successful the first time, there will be other times that you can attempt breeding again.

 

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