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Puppies!

© Nancy McMillan

The big moment has almost arrived

Maggie is pregnant I'm pretty sure . . . .

Tales of breeding for the first time to follow. But setting the background might help . . .

I picked my puppy from a litter of six cute Kerry Blue Terriers.

My breeder said, "I suggest you choose that little female ( Maggie ) if you would be at all open to having a litter." I envisioned having my own brood of cute little black bundles even as early as that moment four years ago.

I pondered the responsibility having a litter would entail — outlined in an earlier article about our first attempt at reproducing. Then I announced to Maggie's breeder that we were prepared to breed. That was a year ago.

That was when my real learning got started. Her answer — "We don't breed for pet stock; we breed to better our breed" — and our follow-up discussion covered the points outlined in Ten reasons to breed your dog and more. Now water under the bridge, this started me on a whole course of action that, for now, culminates in a pregnant Maggie.

First, I wanted to know more, genetically, about breeding a purebred dog. I discovered the following:

In the past few years, some radicals have blamed purebred breeders for the incidence of hip dysplasia and used this accusation to encourage people to adopt mixed breed dogs from shelters. But the charge does not echo the facts on two fronts: first, responsible breeders lead the effort to eliminate hip dysplasia and second, mixed breed or crossbred dogs can also have the disease. Any breed or mix can be dysplastic; however, there are almost no statistics regarding the incidence of hip dysplasia in non-purebreds as these dogs are seldom x-rayed.

Source: It's all in the genes. There is a lot to know about problems that could be associated with the breeding of purebreds.

Once I started researching I found that dog breeding is not for everyone. I found that those that breed sometimes make the decision never to breed again. The trauma for the mom and the owner can be pretty severe.

It is important to note that the best pet owners make responsible decisions. Spaying or neutering offers you and your pet many, many advantages, not the least of which is peace of mind.