Dog breeding

yeah, without several dogs with great bloodlines, your friend would end up spending all the money she made and then some feeding and caring for the pups.  All of the breeders I have visited have a few acres of land and many, many dogs, with many seperate dog runs, outdoor/indoor shelters.  from what i have seen, it looks like A LOT of work.

Hmmm yeah...so I guess if you were planning on going 'full speed ahead' and charging into the industry with a proper, registered kennel, etc...then perhaps it could be the way you made your living? I still can't quite get my head around that. I mean, the daily maintenance would be a lot of work, and so would training and caring for the puppies when they came. But seeing as they only come every 6 months, and in between those intervals you have no income...[&:]

A true breeder will spend more money on health test and such that they come out just about even. A good breeder will never breed for profit, they breed to improve their breed. Also a professinal breeder will not breed their dog every heat, they may only breed the dog 3 times at the most in it's lifetime and not any younger than 2 years old. Many waite till the dog is at least 5 years old to even start breeding.

As sad as it is, it can be done for a career. Instead of just two dogs you would need sevral females and one male. This is how puppy mills are run and the pups come out in horrable conditions with sevral heal problems.

One lady in my town had several female chiwahwahs and a couple of males, she kept them in cat kennels and breed them year round. They had sevral helth problems, most didn't live past a year. The police finaly had to force her to close down because of too many complaints. There are still roomers that she's still breeding. It's people like that, that make me so angry[:@]

ORIGINAL: Xebby

One lady in my town had several female chiwahwahs and a couple of males, she kept them in cat kennels and breed them year round. They had sevral helth problems, most didn't live past a year. The police finaly had to force her to close down because of too many complaints. There are still roomers that she's still breeding. It's people like that, that make me so angry[:@]

That's horrible. I hate puppy mills. [sm=banghead002.gif] How frustrating.
I wonder how many dogs full scale, top-notch breeding kennels have?? Phew, I'm tired just thinking of all the work that would go into that!!

Most breeders who breed on a commercial scale either:

• Also train dogs for a living OR
  
• Have an outstanding line that is actively and frequently sought for by outside breeders OR
  
• Have outside income OR
  
• Are independently wealthy, OR
  
• Keep their dogs in a substandard manner

Just a thought to consider.

If you want to be a responsible breeder, no it can't really be a career.  I feel that by doing this you will end up with a puppy mill, or just a big byb.  If you have so many dogs, you don't have enough time to properly care and train the dogs.   A good breeder spends more money getting the dogs proven (in conformation or performance), health testing, and everything than they'll make breeding.  Health testing isn't just the go to the vet who says it's ok to breed.  The dogs need to get  their hips and elbows checked with the OFA,  eyes with CERF, and many other tests depending on the breed.  I also would never go to a breeder that bred several litters a year.  There are too many homeless pets to be doing this, and IMO if you're breeding that much you aren't planning the litters as well as a breeder who breeds only once every 2 years, and therefore not helping the breed.  Breeding takes a lot, and it isn't very profitable. 

My neighbors breeds her GSDs every heat since in was 6 mo. old. She has paid for her college tuition with the money she made from them. They are registerd with the AKC but are not heath tested and the female is terriably underweight. Right now she has 8 puppies 4 weeks old that she just keeps in her backyard. That is a BYB and no matter what I tell her she keeps on breeding her bitch every heat and every heat it has 6+ puppies that she sells for $600/each.[8|] I could go on with stories of people around me who I just wish I could scream at but there are too many of them out there![] The more I know about dogs the more I notice what horrable things happen to them.

People who breed either do it beacue they already have the money, healthy dogs and want to better the breed or do it because they love money more then they love the dog and don't care about the condition of the dog.

ORIGINAL: Bee

You can't just be a dog breeder for a career, can you?

Unless you run a puppy mill, no. Proper breeding is very expensive.

Trying to live off of your dogs sexual parts, is really low as far as I am concerned. No better than a pimp and slaver all rolled into one. But, that's just me!
 
I spent about $400 just today, doing hips,microchipping, and cleaning teeth lol...yeah...lots of money in dogs! Only if the dogs, their health and the health of their offspring and their future is not at all important to you.

It is possible to make your living dealing with dogs.  Grooming, kennel facilities, training, handling etc.  None of those things can be done without being well connected in the dog world (showing, trial dogs regardless of venue) or filling an empty service niche in the local community.   
 
Folks who expect to make money from breeding are greedy and lazy for the most part.  It takes far more time, effort and money than expected if you do it right and produce a pet that will enrich a person's life for 10-18 years.  It also takes alot to get them back when the person who bought them gives them up for a good or bad reason.

ORIGINAL: Bee

You can't just be a dog breeder for a career, can you?

 
As Nixon said to Haldeman, we could do it, but it would be wrong.

even the puppy mills around here tend to be a sideline rather than a full-time job-- usually a farmer who farms full-time and maintains the mill in a corner of his property.