Breeding my chocolate lab with a golden retriever

[chickendreams24]

I must say I agree with the above poster puppies are adorable and it can be tempting but while many backyard breeders love their dogs it's just adding to a problem of overpopulation leafinl to thousands and millions of dogs being put down in shelters each year.

The same goes for cats.

If we don't consider ourselves as part of the problem that is humanity and not spaying our pets etc. Than the problem will never get better and we are all to blame.

 

[dainerra]

Some things to consider that are far more important than whatcolor the pups will be.
Have you had hips and elbows evaluated? Do you have homes lined up for as many as 12 pups? Do you have a contract in place for when the pups are ready for their new homes? Do you have experience in evaluating potential homes and matching the right pup to the right family/

Are you ready for the possibilty that your female can die? Are you financially secure enough that you can pay emergency costs if your female needs a c-section? What if you lose her and have to bottle raise the pups? Can you take time off work to provide 24/7 mommy duties for the first couple weeks? Do you know what to do if a puppy gets stuck and mom panics and tries to rip it out? What are you going to do if she doesn't take to mothering and starts killing puppies? It's not unheard of for a frist time mother to be stressed and weirded out by pups and attack them. Not to mention dogs that are just poor mothers.

Do you have time and ability to do the proper groundwork of training and socializeing before the pups go to their new homes?
There are mutts being euthanized every day. How are you going to be sure that these pups don't join that statistic?

 

[dainerra]

all puppies are cute. And they can be tempting and everyone "wants" a puppy until it's time to actually take them home. Now you have 5,6,7 puppies that are growing fast and becoming more and more unmanageable and they are no longer cute babies but wild gangly teenagers.

 

[dainerra]

Other things you have to consider before pairing any two dogs. What other diseases are in the pedigree? Allergies, cancer, arthritis, longevity are controlled largely by genetics. All are things a good breeder can predict the risks of on paper before even considering breeding.