How Do You Do It?

[kelpiesrule]

Passion - passion and more passion

The joy of one of our 'puppies' turning themselves inside out when they see us again and yes their owners being amazed when they do.

The joy of one of our 'puppies' nearly escaping from his families car when they turn into our street and then pulling them all the way to the front door.

The joy of hearing the pride in one of our 'puppies' owners voices when they ring to tell us about him gaining his latest title.

The joy of hearing the love in one of our 'puppies' owners voices when they ring to tell us just how great he is with the new baby and how much he adores their 2 yr old.

I could go on and on - the joy sure outweighs the sorrows.

This is exactly how I feel. Yes I have been lucky in the breeding department with only the little hiccup I have in my current litter, which will not stop me from breeding. A young couple came out today to finally meet the little guy destined to be their new family member. They were beside themselves with excitement. I get alot of people asking me if it is hard to let the puppies go.. it isnt, because the joy on the new owners faces when they pick up their bundles of joy, far outweigh missing the puppies. Plus after 8 weeks, im pretty happy to see the backs of the little messy yappy buggers lol. I also breed for myself, so any litter I have, I am keeping at least one puppy, the other puppies going allows me to spend time with my new addition.

Yes breeding can be filled with terror and heartache... but is also filled with so much joy.

[Bisart Dobes]

We have been very lucky with our puppy people and have some now great friends through it all - but then I must admit I go from my gut feeling about someone from the second I speak to them and then if they get in to see the puppys and the bitch doesn't like them - well its all over then. Our first litter, our girl would bring toys to the people to give to the puppies and play with them and generally treat them like she does everyone but there was one family she didn't like at all - they didn't get a puppy .

[Wilderblu]

Yes I too enjoy the whole breeding experience from whelping (heart breaks have been minimal thankfully), raising puppies, finding the very best homes I can for them and most of getting to know the new owners and enjoying the stories of their much beloved pups doing them proud at puppy school, obedience, agility and most of family pets. I have lots of my pup owners as facebook friends so I can have lots of regular photo updates!!

[mollipop]

I just love puppies, especially pure bred puppies!

They start out as little "blobs" but within 3-4 weeks they are like perfect minatures of our chosen breeds.

Sure there is disappointment and heartache but probably 90% of the time it's Mother Nature taking charge and telling us that something is not right.

She is a wise bitch.

The look of joy on the new owners' faces is also makes breeding worthwhile.

I cry as each puppy goes, but happy that they will have their own special people and get the one on one attention that they deserve.

[sandgrubber]

I've bred one litter which caused me lots of distress when the vet asked me if I wanted him to save the bitch or the pups. (the bitch and pups made it btw). That was 11 years ago now and I don't think I have recovered yet.

I wondered in here and read the Litters Due in December thread that has had me absolutely howling.

So how do you do it, knowing all the things that can go wrong? Not just with the birth but with the new owners.

There is a lot of luck in breeding. My first few litters were a breeze. I breed Labbies in WA, so there's a huge market of quality puppy buyers looking for pets.

No puppy deaths until litter three. Have never lost a bitch or more than 30% of a litter. After ~150 pups have only had 3 that showed such serious defects that I had to pay out on my puppy guarantee. I've had more people come back looking for a second pup than puppy buyers reporting problems. I probably don't make enough of selling pups to pay ALL the costs of breeding dogs, but still, my girls tend to have large litters, and the revenue from puppy sales is a nice side feature.

If the first litter had been very sad in some way, I probably would have thrown in the towel. But, in general, I get so much more positive out of breeding than negative, that it balances out in a way that makes me go on.