OVER 1,000,000 ANIMALS ARE PUT TO DEATH AT ANIMAL SHELTERS EVERY YEAR. ABOUT 75% OF THESE ANIMALS ARE PUPPIES...
Your puppy may look exceptional. He may have a temperament beyond compare. Your vet may tell you he's in perfect health. The American Kennel Club may have mailed you his registration papers and you may have splurged for his certified pedigree. Just think how much his puppies would be worth! .
THESE THINGS DO NOT MAKE YOU AN AKITA BREEDER!
A dog breed can be ruined by good intended folks who believed the above information was enough to bring a litter of puppies into the world. They may have either bought what they believed to be a breeding pair or made a deal with a neighbor down the road who also owned an akita. Either way, these puppies are destined for uncertian futures. Some may end up in the pound on death row. Shelters are overrun with dogs and puppies that are the product of some ones good intent to have just one litter of puppies.
HERE ARE THE REASONS I'VE HEARD FOR WANTING TO BREED:
Reason: "My children should see the miracle of birth."
Objection: If you want your children to witness the miracle of birth then they should also be able to witness the miracle of death. Take them to the animal shelter and make sure that they understand that this is were "Trixie's" puppies will more than likely end up in time because after you have given them all away, there is no way of knowing what will happen to them. Will her puppies produce puppies and her puppies produce puppies and so on and so on? If you want your children to witness the miracle of birth, then maybe you should get pregnant and show them yourself!
Fact: Over 1,000,000 animals in the United States are put to death every year. About 75% of these animals are puppies! Come on people, think about these numbers and educate yourself.
Reason: "My dog is just so pretty and so nice. I want one just like him."
Objection: Your goal is to breed an entire litter of puppies of say maybe 6 - 10 for just one puppy that may or may not turn out just like the one you're trying to reproduce. It takes breeders years and years of research and study to reproduce a certian dog from the lines they are working from. Why do you think that you can do it in just one litter without any genetic or pedigree knowledge? What will you do with the rejected puppies that didn't turn out like you wanted? Will you simply run a free ad and give them away? Will you dump them in the country? What will you do with them if no one wants them?
Fact: 3,987 akitas were registered with the AKC in 2002. Many of these animals were not produced by knowledgable breeders, but by puppy mills and individuals without any knowledge of breeding dogs other than turning them into the back yard to let nature take its' course. It would be an interesting study to find out how many of these animals were found in shelters across the nation and put to death for doing nothing more than being born.
Reason: "My dog is registered with AKC or another kennel club."
Objection: A piece of paper does not make your dog breeding quality. That piece of paper simply means that your dog has an akita mom and an akita dad. Breeding dogs is a labor of love and requires an understanding for the breed. That paper does not give a license to produce unwanted puppies.
Fact: If you thought AKC registration meant quality...well it doesn't. The AKC will register any puppy whose parents are all ready registered with them. You send money, the AKC looks at their data base. They compare sire and dam registration numbers and voila they send you a piece of paper with another number on it...and he's registered. At no point does AKC check he quality of the animals being bred. Also, buyer beware. If you've bought a puppy from a puppy mill or pet shop, the registration may not be legit. Low class breeders will substitute names and numbers on paperwork just to sell a puppy.
Reason: "My dog has a pedigree with champions in it."
Objection: A pedigree is a list of names of dogs that probably don't mean anything to you unless you are a serious akita fancier. They don't tell you a single thing unless you are a serious breeder and then it is a reference tool for genetics and that is it. Champions in the pedigree are just that...in the pedigree. Unless you plan to show your dog to it's championship, then please do not use this as a reason to breed.
Fact: Any dog can have a pedigree if it is registered with the AKC. That dog may have five legs, two tails, be pink, aggressive, and blind in both eyes. It can still be pedigreed! Registration and Pedigrees are only paperwork. They do not ensure quality. A car undergos more evaluation for registration than a dog.
Reason: "My dogs are healthy. My vet checked them over."
Objection: Do you know the pedigree and the dogs in it? Can you honestly tell your puppy adopters that my dog does not have any genetic halth defects? Not unless you've had him evaluated by the Orthopedic Foundation for Dogs or OFA'd. This requires x-rays of hips and elbows, etc. A dog may look healthy on the outside in the prime of it's life, but it's the genetics that will determine a dogs real health. Thyroid issues, eyes, liver, kidneys and reproductive ailments are also areas to consider since so many purebreds sufferfrom these illnesses.
Fact: Health problems may not present themselves in a dog until he is a senior. By then if you've bred him and produced pups they too may carry the gene for the illness or defect. At that point, you have depressed the breed instead of advanced. I know of very reputable, knowledgeable breeders who have made these mistakes and it is simply too late for correction. Their lines are tainted.
Reason: "These dogs are going for big amounts of money."
Objection: After you've raised a dog to maturity and if you've done it with any kind of love and devotion at all, you have spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. Daily care alone is expensive, but then if you decide to breed, you have to look at the health tests, the stud fee, AKC registration fees, extra feed during and after pregnancy, puppy maintenance and care. It will run you a shocking amount. Puppies do not make you money.
Fact: Not one resonsible breeder will make money from raising dogs. They do well to just break even and that seldom happens. There is no financial profit, only the profit of lifetime friends as well as many heartaches and headaches in the process.
If you bought your puppy from a responsible breeder who guarantees their dogs then you're on the right path. But please consider this, if you did not acquire this animal for breeding and showing purposes then there is probably a reason why your breeder didn't want this particular pup in their breeding program. Visit with your breeder and express your interest in breeding. Get all the knowledge you can before making mistakes that will cost lives when all is said and done.
Be sure to ask yourself these questions:
1. Why do I want to breed dogs?
2. Do I have the facilities to bring innocent puppies into the world?
3. Am I willing to miss work for weeks if necessary because I have a sick pup at home?
4. Am I willing to loose my pet in the whelping process?
5. Am I capable of making a contract and doing everything in my power to make my adopters abide by my rules?
6. If I have to take a puppy back, how willing to do this am I? Do I have the room?
7. Do I have the funds to care for an entire litter of puppies correctly?
8. What if my pet can't whelp naturally and has to have a C-Section?
9. Do I have a vet that will be available for me at any time if I need help?
10. Am I willing to hand deliver each and every pup through all of the blood and guts just to make sure the whole process gets off to a good start?
11. Do I really want to have a future breeding dogs?
Breeding dogs is a life long committment. It includes hours of pedigree searching, phone bills to breeders, trips to visit the dogs in your pedigree, searching files for health records, and paperwork that seems never ending as you document everything you learn and observe.
All breeds of dogs recognized by the AKC are given a written standard. Before you consider doing a breeding and bringing innocent puppies into an over crowded dog world, please go into their website and compare the standard to your dog. If you don't understand the wording, then you're not ready to breed. If your dog has the right tail length, but not the right coat. Then you're not ready to breed. One flaw whether it be physical, mental or health can destroy a breed of dog through generation after generation of poor breeding. Please be responsible and have your pet spayed or neutered. Save a life. No animal belongs on death row.
Laurie Smith
Slip'Not Akitas
2003
