Letter to a Would-be Breeder
by Dorothy Kendall

This is a letter written in response to a lady inquiring about a mate for her pet bitch.

Dear Beverly,

I understand your predicament; it's hard to find quality stud dogs in every breed, and many times the owners, like my daughter and I, are reluctant to breed to unknown bloodlines. The fact that the breeder of your Precie does not show, makes me question why she is breeding. We only breed to get something to take to the show ring, and even when two champions are bred, most of the puppies are pets. We never produce litters just to sell; there are too many pet puppies on the market as it is, with tens of thousands of helpless dogs put down every year at the humane societies.

It's up to responsible breeders to keep down the pet population, and make sure that every puppy goes to a reliable pet home that will care for them properly. This is why I don't encourage people breeding their pets. Breeding a pet male changes his outlook on life, he becomes very territorial, "marks" his boundaries (often around the home on furniture), more aggressive, etc. Breeding a pet female can endanger her life, especially if she is small, as you say Precie is. Normally Lhasas whelp easily, and are extremely good mothers - but having babies puts a lot of strain on a little dog, and there is always the possibility of a caesarian section, eclampsia (condition brought on by nursing a large litter), uterine inertia and other problems. We love our girls, but we know every time we breed them there is a chance of running into problems. I'm always happy when the whelping is over, and never look forward to it.

Who will help you when the time to deliver the puppies comes? Who will guide you through making sure the placenta comes out entirely, and tying off the umbilical cords? Who will show you how to supplement a weak puppy that isn't doing well - tube feeding, formulas for milk replacement, proper heat in the whelping area, and on and on, ad infinitum? Do you have plans for weddings, graduations, family get-togethers? What if the whelping happens during these events? Are you prepared to sacrifice your family to be with your little girl for the week prior to and after the actual birthing time? I doubt that many people realize the responsibility and sacrifices breeders go through to make sure everything is done right for the dogs. My family thinks I'm terrible for putting the dogs first, but then, that has to be my choice if I'm going to raise dogs.

Making the breeding is just the first step of many that must be taken to ensure a happy, healthy litter of puppies ... it involves cash flow (outgoing that is!), late nights or wee hours of the mornings, special feedings, trips to the Vet, to the stud dog, and lots of your valuable time.

Now if you still think you are the type of person that can handle all this, and not faint at the sight of an emerging puppy, blood, green gore and all that; if you are the kind of person that screens prospective puppy buyers when the pups are three months old (we never let them go before that, as we start them on housetraining and let the mother wean the pups herself) and turns them down, even when you are getting desperate to move out these destructive little poop machines, because they don't seem like responsible people you would want to have one of your babies -- then maybe, just maybe you will be considered as a prospective serious breeder and allowed to breed to a top champion male.

Are you prepared to take back any sold pups that the buyers are unhappy with because they've discovered they have to BRUSH and COMB their dogs and they're tired of doing that? What about a buyer that finds out his puppy has developed kidney disease or cataracts, starts biting his kids and threatens you with a lawsuit ... can you deal with that?

We check our dogs extensively, and stick within our own line - we know that they are healthy and free of genetic faults ... but what about your Precie? There is no way of knowing what genetic problems may be behind her, since her breeder is probably just breeding dogs for sale, and isn't doing any test breedings, studying what problems might be there, etc. What you see when you look at her may be entirely different from what her genetic background is. Do you think her breeder knows or would tell you if there were any serious problems in her line of dogs? Hopefully, she would - but most do not. Whenever an outcross breeding (mixing two unrelated strains) is made, anything can turn up! The owner of the stud dog is usually blamed, but remember it takes two to tango!

The last and most important thing is that our bloodlines are important to us, and any puppies sold must be on blue slips designating "not for breeding", or limited registration papers. A stud service contract must be drawn up that states this intention, with appropriate penalties if not adhered to. Blue slips must come to us, designating to whom the pup is being sold, your signature, the box signifying limited registration checked off, and then we send them to the purchaser of your puppies. This is the only way we know of to protect ourselves and our dogs.

Now if this hasn't completely turned you off, write me back and tell me why you intend to follow through and breed Precie.

Yours, Dorothy