Would like to breed my Handsome German shepherd

[DonnyG]

I have a one and a half year old German Shepherd named Gino. I have never wanted to breed any of my dogs before but there is something about Gino and his instincts that make me me feel like I should breed Gino at least once. I don't know where to begin for this process. Can someone please give me some advice?

[jocoyn]

"Should I breed my dog?" Flowchart

[Liesje]

As the owner of a male dog you need to be able to prove to breeders and owners of female dogs why your stud dog should be chosen. That includes training, conformation, health, temperament...

[angelas]

Throughout the animal kingdom the male must impress the female as being the best available male to procreate with.

What is impressive about your dog that isn't available from other males?

Are his hips/elbows certified through OFA? His eyes through CERF? Is he DM-clear? Are there EPI, allergies, thyroid issues in his family?

What is his temperament like? Not just around your home and family, but in a crowd downtown, next to a busy street? Heck, how is he next to a speeding train? Does he ignore new people or want to check them out? Or does he try to "protect" you by barking and/or lunging at everyone new?

Who has determined your dog is handsome? Obviously you think he is, but everyone thinks their dog looks great. What independent, non-invested source has evaluated him? It's a miserable life to have the heart to live but be failed by a crippled body. Secondly, handsome is subjective. Many people find Kevin Bacon handsome. I think he fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch twice on the way down.

So, since the female dog doesn't get a choice in mates you have to impress the female's owner. If you want to find a good female to breed to you will be dealing with someone who needs more than a set of testicles to be impressed.

[zivagirl]

Originally Posted by angelas

Throughout the animal kingdom the male must impress the female as being the best available male to procreate with.

What is impressive about your dog that isn't available from other males?

Are his hips/elbows certified through OFA? His eyes through CERF? Is he DM-clear? Are there EPI, allergies, thyroid issues in his family?

What is his temperament like? Not just around your home and family, but in a crowd downtown, next to a busy street? Heck, how is he next to a speeding train? Does he ignore new people or want to check them out? Or does he try to "protect" you by barking and/or lunging at everyone new?

Who has determined your dog is handsome? Obviously you think he is, but everyone thinks their dog looks great. What independent, non-invested source has evaluated him? It's a miserable life to have the heart to live but be failed by a crippled body. Secondly, handsome is subjective. Many people find Kevin Bacon handsome. I think he fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch twice on the way down.

So, since the female dog doesn't get a choice in mates you have to impress the female's owner. If you want to find a good female to breed to you will be dealing with someone who needs more than a set of testicles to be impressed.

I don't have anything to add. Just thought this bore repeating.

[Neko]

Originally Posted by angelas

It's a miserable life to have the heart to live but be failed by a crippled body.

agreed

[wolfy dog]

Originally Posted by angelas

It's a miserable life to have the heart to live but be failed by a crippled body. .

Reminds me of certain breeds' breed standards like Eng. Bulldogs and Pekinese.
Let's keep the GSD healthy by not breeding unproven dogs.

[Jag]

Originally Posted by angelas

Throughout the animal kingdom the male must impress the female as being the best available male to procreate with.

What is impressive about your dog that isn't available from other males?

Are his hips/elbows certified through OFA? His eyes through CERF? Is he DM-clear? Are there EPI, allergies, thyroid issues in his family?

What is his temperament like? Not just around your home and family, but in a crowd downtown, next to a busy street? Heck, how is he next to a speeding train? Does he ignore new people or want to check them out? Or does he try to "protect" you by barking and/or lunging at everyone new?

Who has determined your dog is handsome? Obviously you think he is, but everyone thinks their dog looks great. What independent, non-invested source has evaluated him? It's a miserable life to have the heart to live but be failed by a crippled body. Secondly, handsome is subjective. Many people find Kevin Bacon handsome. I think he fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch twice on the way down.

So, since the female dog doesn't get a choice in mates you have to impress the female's owner. If you want to find a good female to breed to you will be dealing with someone who needs more than a set of testicles to be impressed.

Not only does this need repeating... I think it should be a sticky to answer every single person who ever posts anything like this.

OP-- We ALL have handsome dogs! Most shepherds are handsome. Simply stated, you have a LOT of work to do before you even think of breeding your male. You need X-rays with good results, the health tests mentioned above, temperament testing, a title in some working venue (or at the very least work the dog with good result and for some time in something), a good pedigree, AND you need to know about the dogs in the pedigree and how to match them to a female's pedigree. Until all of that is done, put breeding out of your head. Do some reading here about people who have fear aggressive dogs and pups. Or just plain aggressive pups. That was created by someone who wanted to breed and didn't know what they were doing, or didn't care. The dog suffers, the owners suffer.. anyone involved suffers. I don't see how your want to breed your 'handsome' shepherd trumps the suffering that you could create. There are plenty of good shepherds still out there. There's no shortage of back yard breeders, either. In fact, people that don't know what they're doing with breeding are producing more pups than the folks that do. So the market is pretty much saturated with pups like the ones you're thinking of creating. Now- if you do all of the above, then go ahead and breed away!! You may find some good females with reputable breeders that may even consider it. Also keep this in mind. There's a sexually communicable disease that your male can get from a female. It's more likely that you'll only be able to breed your male to a female of the same caliber. So you could end up harming your male from it, too. Bottom line is, neuter your male and enjoy your handsome boy unless you're going to do the work. Each time you feel the need to breed, go read the aggression forum. Go volunteer at a shepherd rescue. That should make that feeling go away awfully fast.

[doggiedad]

being happy to be alive could make it less miserable.

Originally Posted by angelas

It's a miserable life to have the heart to live but be failed by a crippled body.

[selzer]

If you have a bitch, and she has good conformation, temperament, is titled, her x-rays check out, you can evaluate her pedigree and her structure and determine in what lines to look for an appropriate male, and then what attributes the best male for your female will be.

Males can be used for multiple breedings. He might breed 10, 15, 20, or more bitches in a year's time. I bitch breeds to one, maybe two dogs in a year's time. Therefore bitch owners are going to be very choosy. Well, at least the good girls' owners will be very choosy. They can afford to be. They can get sperm from a top quality stud dog for the price of a puppy or less. It is one of those things that you don't just choose the boy down the road because his stud fee is cheaper, or even free.

If you really want to breed your boy therefore, you have to prove that he is exceptional. How do you do that? Well, you start by getting him out there where the serious people are training, and trialing, and showing their dogs. Get him titled. Get multiple titles. There is no biological clock ticking on your boy, just rack up the titles.

If your dog is truly special, bitch owners will look you up. And then you have to be careful. You will want for the bitch to be screened for hip and elbows, etc. You will need to require a brucellosis test. You will want to accept the bitch, her pedigree, structure and most importantly her temperament. A bitch with a poor temperament gives a pup a double whammie, and she bestows her genes on them, and then she imprints their behavior while she takes care of them in the whelping box. Do not be in such a hurry for pups, that you allow your dog to mate to the wrong bitch.