Hey everyone. I am 17 and wanted to breed my amazing purebred yellow lab to another amazing purebred yellow lab. I am new to all this. I have bred pigs and other farm animals, but never dogs. So I have a ton of questions :

How much will I spend on my dog and her puppies (I don't need to pay a breeding fee, and dog is UTD on shots and all the other vet stuff)?

How active can my dog be while she is pregnant?

Should I remove the dew claws? My dog had hers removed, but I don't know how to do that. Is it a huge plus to people buying dogs if the dew claws are removed?

When is the best time to breed? I have been hearing 10-11 days from the first day of discharge. Is that right?

Thank you!

[Yogi]

in all honesty, you do not go to a forum and ask this question if you are sincere about breeding. No one here with experience is going to have the time to explain all that is needed. Find yourself a good mentor, generally looking up in the AKC breeder registry for your breed and seek one of them out to teach you. It will take about a year to get all the info you will need to do this one your own correctly. good luck.

Well, I have experience, and I have some time. So I'll take a stab at it.

First of all, you're way ahead of yourself. You need to have both dogs health tested. That doesn't mean a quick trip to the vet and having the dogs pronounced healthy. It means some very specific tests for specific health issues.

You need both dogs to have hip X-rays, and submit them to OFA for evaluation. If either dog shows hip dysplasia, stop. No further testing is necessary for that dog. It should never be bred.

Both dogs need to have their eyes examined for hereditary disorders like PRA. Again, a dog with PRA or any other hereditary disorder should not be bred.

You should not breed before the age of 3. Labs are prone to hereditary epilepsy, which will usually be apparent by age 3. At this point in time, there is no test for this. You just have to wait and see.

Both dogs should be tested for hypothyroidism, which is prevalent in Labs. If either dog is affected it should not be bred.

If either dog has food allergies or contact allergies it should not be bred. Labs are the #1 breed for developing food allergies, and it's hereditary.

If the male you plan to use has ever been bred in the past, he should have a brucellosis test before you use him. Brucellosis is a doggie STD.

OK, now that that's out of the way, I'll attempt to answer your questions.

The amount of money you may spend can run into the thousands. It all depends on factors that no one can predict. But you should have enough money set aside to pay for a c-section, should it be necessary. Even if it's not, you will spend a lot of money on vet checks, vaccinations, and worming for the pups. Mom will need a check-up after she whelps, too. If, for some reason, Mom is unable to nurse the puppies, you'll spend a lot of money on milk replacer. You'll also spend a lot of time bottle feeding puppies every 2-3 hours, day and night.

Dew claw removal is a toss up. Some people do it, some don't. I don't think it adds anything to the value of the pups, one way or the other. But if you opt to do it, it should be done by a vet at 2-3 days of age. It is a simple procedure, but yes, it does cause some pain when they are removed. However, most puppies will settle down within a minute or two, and it doesn't seem to bother them after that, and they don't remember it.

It's also difficult to predict when the best time to breed is. That can vary widely.

Now, with all that said, please reconsider whether you want to breed your bitch or not. It's expensive. It's a LOT of work. It can be heartbreaking. You can do everything right, and still have everything go wrong. Your bitch can die. Your puppies can die. You can have difficulty placing the puppies, and then what will you do?

If you make the decision to breed, you and you alone are responsible for these puppies. You made the choice to bring them into this world. It is your responsibility to see that they get the best care, and to find appropriate homes. And you should be willing to take them back if their owners ever find themselves unable to keep them.