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Breeding; how to change her mind.

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3.8K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  Kelly_Jean  
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#1 ·
Hey all.

My mom wants to breed our German Shepherd, however I don't think it's a good idea, at all, and I want to change her mind. How can I do so? How would you go about doing it?

Here's a short back story; we have a German Shepherd/ with a little Husky. She is a year old, and only one heat cycle so far. My mom wants to wait for a couple for cycles, but she still wants to breed her. I'm only 16, and she's not entirely just my dog, that's why I can't just so no and so be it.

Reasons why I don't want to breed her;
1. She isn't full blooded, and we have enough mixed dogs out there that need homes. Enough full blooded for that matter.
2. She clearly isn't registered and her lineage is semi unknown, other then her parents.
3. Not bred for any reason, other then to have pups. Not service dogs, or anything.
4. We are currently staying at my gmas house to care for ger, and there's just not enough room for german shepherd pups.

I've tried explaining this to her, she still wants to do it. Any help?
 
#4 ·
here is a list of the health tests recommended for GSD

Canine Health Information Center: CHIC Information

and for husky Canine Health Information Center: CHIC Information

if there are possibly other mixes in her lineage, the tests for those should be done as well. And of course testing must be done on the sire as well.
Which brings us to the hard part. No one with a quality health tested proven male is going to breed with a mixed breed female, even if she passes all of her health testing and is titled in some venue. So you are going to be left choosing from unproven males at best, substandard at worst. Or you can pay for all of the testing on the male as well.
There is simply no way to responsibly breed from this starting point. Even if you do all of the health testing on her and the sire, you aren't going to know what may be in her background. What recessive traits may she be carrying? Without that knowledge you have no way of picking an appropriate male.
 
#5 ·
You can talk about the risks of breeding? The female may have a birth complication. One to all the pups could die, the mother could die during birth, she may have to have an emergency c-section which would be quite expensive. I have a friend whose dog has had several litters, this one is the dogs last litter and there was a complication, dog had to have a c-section all but one puppy died and the mother has no interest in the puppy. Which brings to next point the dog may not end up being a good mother. If she isn't a good mother she may kill or ignore her puppies. So you'd either have to bottle feed the puppies or force her to let them nurse.
You'll also have to get the puppies their shots and take them to see the vet that can be pricey. As well as having trouble finding good homes for all of the puppies. If she has a large litter like say 12 puppies it may be hard to find homes for them all. So you could be stuck with 2-4 puppies that are difficult to find home for, might end up with them for several months.

Let her know that these aren't risks that happen to other people, they are a very real problem in breeding. Maybe bring up something like, "Hey mom we should start saving up money for the future litter!" When she says why tell her about how the dog might need the emergency vet bills, food and vaccinations for the puppies, whelping box for the mother which will have to be cleaned regularly as it gets messy so you'll need plenty of newspaper or towels. Try to get her to do OFA testing on your female, if you don't know what that is it's an x-rays to insure you dog has good hips, can also do elbows. Hip dysplasia is a problem in larger dogs. If you want to breed to a purebred german shepherd you might have to pay a stud fee, things like that. Make her realize it won't be cheap and all fun to have little puppies.

Maybe make a very intimidating list/checklist of items using google of things you guys need to do before you breed?
 
#6 ·
Several years ago, an animal welfare organization hired a nationally renowned marketing consultant to do interviews, focus groups, and ad testing in parts of the US where people allow their dogs to breed at will -- they were testing how to change attitudes in areas where shelters are putting down thousands of dogs a year. The ONLY message that resonated consistently in changing minds was the one that focused on outcomes of the puppies that people had bred. Some version of these kinds of questions:

Do you know where your grown-up puppies are? How many of them grew up and were put to sleep, unwanted in an animal shelter, because the home you sold it to didn't want to keep it?

I would emphasize that kind of messaging -- her personal responsibility for ensuring they all end up in good places, taking them back (for life!) when it doesn't work out. (No one bats a thousand in picking placements, especially not newbies, so the chance of one or more littermates needing to be rehomed as adults is very high.)

We've had a few local people who thought there was "no harm" in bringing their pups to our (high kill) shelter, thinking they were maybe even doing a good thing by giving the shelter puppies to adopt out "since everyone wants puppies." The shelter workers asked them if they had time for a tour, and took them to the wing that's FULL of mixed breed puppies. The day before several entire litters of healthy puppies were euthanized for no reason other than lack of space. If you live in a community like that, see if she'll go visit the shelter and talk with the intake manager, just to know what they're up against.
 
#7 ·
Show your mom the threads on breeding here. You are wise. Ask her if she is willing to take the pups back when they have health and/or behavior problems, if she is willing to bail them out of a shelter. Since we created the dogs, we are responsible for every dog we breed, whether you own the dam or sire.
 
#8 ·
One Emergency C section - $4000.00 - yes FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS


Anohter 1030 pm C section at regular vet for female in labor 20 hours - 5 live pups and another one not coming - spent afternoon at vets with dog.....surgery cost only $1000 this time.....

Is she willing to euthanize the dog, let the dog die or spend $4000 at an ER clinic if she has problems giving birth???


Lee
 
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#14 ·
Exactly what I was thinking - if that is her motivation (says someone who has cleaned up a TON of poopy papers in the past 4 weeks!!!! a 50 gal contractors heavy duty plastic bag pretty much every other day that weighs a ton to try to get to the curb!!!!)


Lee
 
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#15 · (Edited)
Yes puppy poop lol! Lots of it!!! It?s a big responsibility pups sending out into the world to make their owners happy. Established breeders who do every thing right still can have issues with their pups behavior/ health wise. It can be a huge headache to deal with unhappy customers and customers who are clueless and don?t care to learn anything. There was a thread here of someone?s knowing a person who kept a puppy tied to a dog house outside. Some people are not that careful who they sell their pups to when they should.
 
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#16 ·
Thanks everyone it's really helpful. We can't exactly foster, as our dogs don't allow just whatever dog. However they're okay with pups, so that's another reason she wants to have them herself.

We recently fostered a preg cat that had five kitten, tiny kittens, and we barely have enough room for them. I can't imagine having 5 pups. Omg there's no way hah.
 
#17 ·
If her motivation is just to have puppies, I would ask her what her plan is for the rest of their lives. Bringing a litter of pups into the world is a 10-15 year responsibility.
I would also ask if she is willing to lose the mother, because complications happen often, they happen fast and they are expensive and life threatening. Is a puppy worth losing your dog over?
 
#18 ·
If she is dead-set on breeding her, chances are that there won't be much you can say in terms of getting her to change her mind. Have you asked her for what purpose she plans to breed? If the answer is anything close to just having puppies, I'm afraid there's not much you can do or say. If that's the case, the health, temperament, breed-ability of the female (or even the male), possible stillborns or c-section or other complications, veterinarian care, lifetime support, possible return of puppies from buyers, etc etc. is not at the forefront of their purpose...it's simply to produce puppies. Someone who has it in their mind that it would be great to have puppies, doesn't usually want to hear the negative talk...essentially and unfortunately, they may have to experience raising a litter firsthand in order to understand the enormous responsibility that comes with it. I hope you can find a solution that satisfies both you and your mother, and the dog isn't the one who suffers as a result.
 
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