How To Breed Your Dog

  • July 28, 2010
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Birds do it for a lark, and bees do it with ease, but breeding your dog will take some work.

You Will Need

  • A healthy female dog
  • A healthy male dog
  • A breeding enclosure
  • A handler
  • Artificial insemination kit (optional)
How To Breed Your Dog: Know your breed

Step 1: Know your breed

Learn all you can about your dog’s breed, including temperament, silhouette, hair texture, and color. Learn which characteristics dominate and determine which ones you want to avoid.

How To Breed Your Dog: Expect little profit

Step 2: Expect little profit

Expect little if any profit from breeding your dog. Typically, the owner of the male dog, or sire, incurs no cost and receives the pick of the litter as payment. The owner of the female dog, or dam, pockets income from sales of the remaining puppies, or whelps, but incurs all vet and boarding costs (including de-worming and shots).

How To Breed Your Dog: Locate a mate

Step 3: Locate a mate

Find a suitable breeding mate for your dog. Exchange pedigrees with the other dog’s breeder.

Peak breeding ages are two years for males and three to four years for females. Avoid breeding immature pups.

How To Breed Your Dog: Prepare the female

Step 4: Prepare the female

Wait for the female to go into heat. Symptoms include discharge from the vagina and swelling of the vulva. The most fertile time for the female is nine to 12 days following the onset of heat.

How To Breed Your Dog: Shave under tail

Step 5: Shave under tail

Shave under the tail of the female to improve your chance for success, especially when breeding a long-haired dog.

How To Breed Your Dog: Introduce the animals

Step 6: Introduce the animals

Allow the two dogs to get comfortable with each other. Sequester them in the breeding enclosure for a day or two.

Conduct the breeding in the sire’s territory. This will help him to perform at his best.

How To Breed Your Dog: Impregnate the female

Step 7: Impregnate the female

Let nature take its course, or use an artificial insemination kit. With direct contact, the handler must hold the male and position the dog’s penis to ensure maximum penetration and prevent injury.

How To Breed Your Dog: Do it again

Step 8: Do it again

After 48 hours, allow the dogs to repeat the mating process to increase the likelihood of success.

How To Breed Your Dog: Avoid false pregnancy

Step 9: Avoid false pregnancy

Don’t be fooled by false pregnancy. Get a canine pregnancy test after four to five weeks.

How To Breed Your Dog: Learn about whelping

Step 10: Learn about whelping

Prepare to deliver the whelps — research the breed beforehand so you know what to expect.

The American Kennel Club sponsors a program to encourage the development of new and rare canine breeds.

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