breeding dogs?

TallyHo123

TallyHo123

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 March 2009
Messages
2,387
Location
North
Visit site
Hello :)
I have never posted in this section before, just after a bit of advice.
I was just wondering if there is any money in dog breeding? I don't mean fortunes at all
Just as in a bit of pocket money?

I have a chihuahua but I have wanted another dog for a while and after my holiday will have the money.

I am thinking about getting another toy dog and would be very interested in having puppies from her?

Can you make a bit of money? Is it an alright idea?

Thanks :)
 
Sorry I don't agree with breeding for money, at all.

I have an unneutered bitch and I would not breed from her if I was living on the streets with not a penny to my name.

Because while she is well bred, she does not have all the required health tests for her breed, she does not have the temperament or the construction or as I said, the health requirements. Her brother also has a number of health problems I would be loathe to pass on, he has been neutered and she will be soon.

I'm struggling at the moment. I could breed her to any old dog tomorrow and charge £500 a pup but I can see the bigger picture, it would be the wrong thing to do in the interests of the German Shepherd breed as a whole.

As I said the other night, the man I bought my dogs off is a multimillionaire. But he has never made a penny from breeding dogs, because he does it right.

IMO if you want pocket money, get another job :)
 
No don't even try it!

There are already hundrend and thousands of little dogs in rescues.
There are already thousands of dogs killed every year because people are breeding "for a little pocket money".
 
I wouldn't. I have a lovely, well natured, well put together JRT. From good working dogs, but I would never, ever even dream of it. There are so many sorry sad little faces, euthanised and slung in wheelie bins ever single day, for THEM alone, I would not breed my average bitch and certainly not for money.

If I had an outstanding pedigree dog, who I felt could bring something wonderful to the breed and IF I was happy to keep the entire litter should they not get forever homes, then I'd consider it, but still, not for money...

Take up crafting instead.
 
Toy breeds are notorious for having whelping problems, and small litters. If this happened to your bitch, at best you would have a huge vets bill, at worst you would lose your dog. Speaking as someone who used to breed, I never took a litter with making money in mind. In most cases it was because I wanted to keep a pup myself, or I had other people wanting one of my pups, by the time you factor in all the costs of producing a litter you would probably make more pocket money from a few hours a week working in a bar or similar.
 
You should never, ever consider breeding a litter for money. Even if it is 'pocket money'. It is just plain wrong.

Sure you might make some money but you may also end up a lot out of pocket if things go wrong and your bitch needs emergency veterinary care. This is more common than you might think.

You then also have a duty of care to the puppies. That means finding them fantastic homes and also being willing to have them back at a moments notice if the owner(s) can no longer keep the puppy.

Before even thinking about it you have to pay for all the relevant tests to ensure the bitch is the very best example of the breed. Then you need to find a dog of the same standard. Then you need to find homes - good ones.

Once the puppies are born you would need to take time off work to be there and pay money for extra food (bitch and puppies), worming, microchipping and vaccinations. Should the bitch have complications during whelping you would be talking a pretty hefty vets bill. Same goes for if any of the puppies become poorly. Oh and don't forget the stud fee.

I hope now you will see that it is NOT something to make money from. Breeding should only ever be done to improve on the breed and if you can guarantee good permanent homes with control over breeding from the offspring. In many cases it costs money to breed a litter.

Surely in your case it would be better to give a home to a dog that's out there already and doesn't have one. There's plenty of them.
 
What MM said. You really cannot do it for money, if you need some pocket money find a little p/t job. Both for the ethical aspect, and for the fact that's it's very unlikely you'd make any money anyway.
 
OK, if you really want to make some money, be sure to do absolutely no health tests whatsoever, don't bother with trifles like first sets of vacs or worming either. Oh, and registration with the KC? Total waste of money, gotta think of the old profit margin, right?

Of course you'll need to sell to the first numpties that show up, any mucking about trying to find clued up homes will really eat into the margins as well. And if said numpties then can't cope with their little furry handbag decorators, obviously there'll be no point in taking them back - they'll just have to go to the nearest rescue and hope they end up in one that can home them before they end up getting the needle.

Make sure you get as many litters as possible out of the bitch, after all she's got to earn her keep, right? And when she's knackered, you can chuck her out and get another.

Basically, if you remove any vestige of conscience you possess and excise any sneaking regard for animal welfare, then yes, there's money to be made. Responsible breeders are lucky if they even cover their costs.
 
Breeding isn't for the feint hearted and no there is no money in it but done correctly a lot of pleasure from watching your little ones grow into happy healthy well loved family pets.

I do breed and have done for 10 years. I have 3 bitches all health tested, wonderful temprements and lightly shown to gauge their suitabilty and that they are of the breed desired standard. I only have the occasional litter and only when my waiting list is sufficient to gaurentee what I judge to be excellent homes. I vet my potential owners and grill them on their knowledge, experience and situation and do not sell to those who work away from the home. I offer a commitment for the life of my puppies and will take them back at any satge in their lives and make sure their owners always have my full contact details , I am always on hand to help, advise and support the owners.

However I can say although I greatly enjoy my little ones things can and do go wrong and it is heartbreaking. There is so much to think about and certainly pocket money is not a consideration when deciding to breed. You could end up in a much worse situation after a c section for a dead litter :( The payment is in love and joy and pride from seeing and hearing about the wonderful healthy happy dogs that go on to give their owners years of love and companionship.

I work ( from home, part time) to earn money I breed dogs for the love of the breed to give people the choice to buy from a responsible breeder and therefore to avoid people going to puppy farms. Yes I agree there are a lot of dogs sadly in rescue centres and unfortunately a great many of these are unsuitable as family pets. Bless them I feel for them but they come with their problems and some are beyond help but that is another story.

Dog breeding has it's place so please don't tar us all with the same brush to those who slate breeders.
 
Beatrice5 said:
Dog breeding has it's place so please don't tar us all with the same brush to those who slate breeders.
Click to expand...

Given that several of the people who have posted on here saying in one way or another 'noooooooooo!' have bred litters, I think I'm safe in saying that the slating here is for IRRESPONSIBLE breeders who put £££s before the welfare of their puppies:)
 
I see you are in the Northeast, im also in the Northeast and my mam has a rescue with exactly 42 dogs in it, and we get a large influx of small breed dogs, as already suggested in the posts above with excellent points, breeding is no way to make pocket money if you have a conscience, it's ok to think having puppies is all good and they will get lovely homes because they will be cute and people will pay good money, but that could not be further from the truth, we have dogs in our rescue that have exchanged between £500-£1000 at one time and still they end up in rescue, we have just rehomed about 5 puppy cavaliers in the last 4 months alone, when dog gets older and become an issue they will be shot of by any means, so think about that, the fact that any of the puppys u breed could end up in a not so nice situation, and be bred from themselves by others wanting to make a quick buck, you have to safe guard anyhting u breed which could be taking them back at any age of their lives, otherwise you are placing that responsibility on rescues.

This particualr breed does indeed comes with health issues, so you would have to have her health checked and as suggested they commonly suffer problems whislt whelping (due to their size), and I can tell u as a nurse on the emergency shift if you called me tonight because she was having problems and needed to be seen and possibly need a caesarean, you are looking at no less than £800, and obs there is always a chance you could loose her, is that worth the price of a bit of pocket money?

Lol, edited cos I said 45 puppy cavs, instead of 5:o:D
 
Last edited:
You do make good points there beatrice from a responsible breeders view, but I have to say we get far more dogs in our rescue that are perfectly suitable as family pets who have quite literally been sold by and too complete knobbers with not a brain cell to their name but obs money to burn, and their "problems" as such are very easy to correct, most human induced problems are.
 
Last edited:
We used to breed too Beatrice (and had a c-section and dead litter as you described, typically it was the litter my mother had waited years to breed :() and if done correctly (ie not for money, not too often, for the good of the breed) and with every available concern of character, health and conformation addressed then I don't have a problem.

I would love to rescue but my current hobby means I will probably have to go for certain breeding lines for the forseeable - I have actually gone to see some sheps in rescue on recommendation but they did not have what I was looking for, sadly :(

As Cayla though, most of the dogs I meet in rescues are delightful. I actually read the intakes book at a local one (these were ones on the waiting list, must have been at least 100 :() and it made me want to go on a murder spree, the reasons the dogs were being given up were ridiculous.
 
Woah wasn't expecting that.

I wasn't meaning itto come across like I was wanting to make money out of them, I just know a few people who have bred for that reason, not long term i.e. my friend and her husband sold puppies and used the money to buy a horse, all went o fab homes, people they know etc.

I see a lot of horses bred the same way, out of s*** mares just to make a bit of money? I know 3 people currentley who have their mare in foal so they can make a bit of money selling the foal.
It happens with lots of animals.
Surely having a litter of puppies and selling them to good homes isn't bad?

I was just talking a bit of extra cash for a weekend away or whatever. Just seemed an alright idea as I like dogs so a nice way to get a bit of money
 
It probably wasn't what you wanted to hear or the response you expected but its all good advice. Seriously some of the reasons dogs end up in rescues are just jaw dropping - and lets not forget that a lot of rescues are now having old breeding bitches dumped on them (thats if the bitch is lucky - being tied up and left seems to be pretty common at the moment).

Years ago, when staffies were not overbred and villifid as they are now, my mother bred from her bitch - all her puppies had waiting homes. Good lines, good character. She did plan carefully and still ended up losing a pup during the birth - which was a C section and later, having a bitch back when it all went badly wrong and we had a very traumatised little puppy who came back and needed to be sorted out. Money? not a chance! She would no more consider breeding now than fly to the moon. Theres a place for breeders who can breed the best of the best but its the same as breeding an ordinary horse - just no point.
 
None so blind as those that don't want to see!

What do you think happens to those foals? Why on earth do you think the BHS is campaigning against random breeding - to give themselves something to pass the time with????

If you do it right, you won't make any money - end of. If you put the money before your dogs and do it wrong, shame on you.
 
But money is still the main motivation. And how many horses are selling for peanuts in markets or going for meat because of it. Look at the story in NL about the racehorse going for meat in France a few months after he last ran here - I bet when he was bred, his breeders didn't think that would be where he would end up.

Just because other people do it, doesn't make it right.
Like I said earlier, if you want to earn some extra cash, take on another job.

I heard people I know say the other day that they'll expect their (dog aggressive, not great looking) bitch to help pay for the runs they have been building. I threw up in my mouth a little.

I like dogs too, as companions, not to make money out of, for a weekend away or whatever else. I'd starve before I'd make money out of my animals.
 
I would never put money before a dog, I never said I was going to.

It obviuosly isnt as it seemed so I am not going to do it, all I asked was did it work like that as I know a few people who do it to fund horses or whatever. But obviously it doesn't work like that, thats fine it was just a thought

I get the whole responsible breeding thing - it means you can breed, but responsibly.
 
I know some of us sound harsh but some of us see the end product sadly - go on Gumtree or Preloved and see the reams and reams of pages of puppies (especially toy breeds like chis - and coated breeds like lhasas and shi tzhus who although really cute need maintenance and have seen many chucked out with horrible matted hair and eye infections because people didn't know how to look after them) for sale being bred for 'extra money' or because the dogs are 'nice' or they thought the dog or bitch 'deserved' to have a litter.

What will happen to them all? :(
 
Indeed, I second what most others say. I've worked for a few "top" breeders, one who bred bassett hounds who had about 40 dogs all kennelled - it was like some bizarre production line. I also assist in training classes... and oh the amount of owners who buy totally unsuitable breeds of dogs makes me want to scream! As you know some will (and have) given up and sent it to a rescue.
I have always advised people to go to rescue and to not breed (especially for money... bloody hell!), HOWEVER, people aren't going to stop wanting puppies. Fact. If you were going to breed not only would I say HEALTH CHECKS but be responsible, be prepared to keep any pups that do not manage to find a perfect home and I would make a lifetime contract with the person who buys it so that if they no longer wanted it, for whatever reason, it would come back to ME.
 
Most replies didnt sound harsh, I just simply wanted to know how it worked as I have never been 'into' dogs if you get me?
It obviously isnt a good idea so ive scrapped it, was simply wondering and thank you to people who replied with helpful posts :)

But saying I put money before dogs, no chance and no need to say that.
 
Toy breeds are probably the hardest breeds to breed and make a wee profit from. You might be lucky to get one or two healthy pups...but too often there are complications which might cost more than the litter is worth. Then as mentioned before, there's health checks, time to vet homes, possibly taking a pup back if the owner doesn't want it and so forth. It's never ever really worth it, unless you want to be a puppy mill and produce lots of pups with no health screening, no morals to take pups back and so forth.

And the ethics that come in to play as well would preclude many from going down the route of occasionally having a litter for cash.

Most responsible breeders I know don't ever profit. They breed because they want to bring on the next generation of good quality pets/show animals. They've done the research in to bloodlines, conformation and health tests. They take money for the pups which maybe just covers their expenses.

At first I thought you might be a troll to wind up some rather passionate dog owners. But it doesn't seem that way, given that you post lots and that your response hasn't been antagonistic. :D
 
sugarmia said:
Most replies didnt sound harsh, I just simply wanted to know how it worked as I have never been 'into' dogs if you get me?
It obviously isnt a good idea so ive scrapped it, was simply wondering and thank you to people who replied with helpful posts :)

But saying I put money before dogs, no chance and no need to say that.
Click to expand...

Good decision, you also have to consider the possibility that you would lose your girl too , We had to hand raise 9 puppies 2 years ago after losing the mum ... absolutely heart breaking and if you work then you can't leave mum and then Mum and pups at home alone, my other 1/2 even sleeps next to mum and pups for 1st week
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top