Written By Walt Queen

Many people think that breeding dogs is easy.  However, the reality is quite different.

I often have people email me who want to breed, and invariably their bitch has just come into season, and they want to breed without having the skills or the knowledge.  At best, this is careless.  If your bitch is in season, and you are asking questions now, then do NOT breed her.  Wait until you are properly trained and mentored.

If you do not have the competencies required to facilitate the breeding of your bitch, the raising of puppies, and the placement of puppies, it is irresponsible and unethical to breed until you have.

As a starting point, if you can answer the following questions, then you'll be well on the track to being ready to breed.  If you can't answer 90% of these, don't even bother attempting to breed until you can:

Setting yourself up right

What does dog conformation refer to?

How can you test if my dog has the correct conformation?

What important points should be considered on a dog's pedigree?

How many championships should be listed in a pedigree prior to breeding?