Reptile & Amphibian Forums

She is 7 months now-will get pics if possible- and the breeder- responsible, family- wants us to breed and my parents want to breed. She is sable and white. She has perfect health, bu we would wait till she was two to breed, and has since born. She is 4 1/2 lbs. Considering her parents are 7 lbs a peice we hope she goes up to 5 1/2 or 6 lbs. If we do fix her, we would have to do it soon.

>>She is 7 months now-will get pics if possible- and the breeder- responsible, family- wants us to breed and my parents want to breed. She is sable and white. She has perfect health, bu we would wait till she was two to breed, and has since born. She is 4 1/2 lbs. Considering her parents are 7 lbs a peice we hope she goes up to 5 1/2 or 6 lbs. If we do fix her, we would have to do it soon.

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It is not necessary to spay a dog by any certain age or else. It's easiest to do before the first heat just to avoid having to go through the hassle and mess, but can still be done later with no harm to the dog. As far as breeding, though, I wouldn't do that with a tiny dog of mine. No matter how good her health, breeding is dangerous for the tinies, and she could die. I just wouldn't take the risk with a dog I loved. Most average folks who breed their dog decide never to do it again. It is not the experience they thought it would be. It's safer for the dogs and just better all around to leave the breeding to the experts.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

Before even considering breeding you need to do the following:

Have the dog tested for genetic problems. I'm sure as a toy dog, Paps also suffer from things like Legge Perthes, Liver Shunts, thyroid problems, heart problems, etc. There are specific tests for each of these condtions.

I would then recommend that you go as far back into the pedigree as possible to ensure that no dogs in the background have any of these problems or produced any of these problems in any offspring they may have had.

I would then attempt to show this girl. While it's not absolutely necessary it is a good indicator of other peoples (i.e. judges) opinion on how closely your girl comes to the standard for Paps.

NOW, remember the above applies to the MALE as well. And YOU are going to have to check him out, because the owner of the stud dog may or may not be honest with you about the above things.

Then, after all the necessary research and testing has been done I would examine the following:

Is the only reason you want to breed in order to supply frinds and family with pets?

Are you prepared for the consequences of doing this? Like:

the possibility your girl may die trying to whelp,

the possibility that your girl may not want to deal with these pups, leaving YOU to feed them every 2 hours or so,

the possibility that your girl may do harm to the pups when you're not looking,

being up all night, for more than just "whelping" time to get these pups grown;

that there may be puppies that need to be put down at birth or shortly there after (things DO go wrong),

that you may, after all that hard work for the last 12 weeks, find that the good homes you had lined up have now changed their minds and don't want a pup,

that if you place a pup and a year down the road someone's new baby has developed a serious genetic problem and the new owners are now looking to YOU to fix the problem,

If you work, is your boss going to give you "maternity" leave for your girl, so you can be there for the whelping and making sure these pups will be ok,

These and many other things (not enough space here) are very REAL possibilities. Breeding just because friends and family think its a good idea is not the reason to breed. If the "breeder" thinks she's that good, my first question to the breeder would be "Why did you place her?". Most breeders I know keep the best for themselves so they can better their lines.

I hope this will not be taken as a harsh post. Its just the facts.
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Joan
Responsible Breeders spay/neuter Pet puppies.
Statistically, the average breeder remains in a breed for five years. The mark you leave on that breed, good or bad, is entirely up to YOU!

I'm confused. Do you and your family want to breed the pup or does the breeder you bought the dog from want to breed her? Did you buy her a contract saying the breeder can breed her?