Just because your dog is AKC registered doesn't mean it is a show quality dog. I have 2 dogs that are AKC registered and they are nowhere near being show quality so I had both fixed. One actually has health defects (hip dysplasia) and should never be shown or bred. A dog should never be bred unless it is to better the breed.
Before you can breed your dog, you should have all of the proper testing done to ensure there are no genetic defects that won't get passed down to the pups. You should have your dog's hips scored and eyes tested and spine ex-rayed and various other tests done that only reputable breeders bother to get done. If you are not willing to do that, then you probably shouldn't breed your dog. There are enough dogs in shelters right now without breeding more. There are 78 chihuahuas in Orange County shelter right now waiting to be adopted. 90% of those will be euthanized before Monday because there aren't enough homes for them and there isn't enough room at the shelter to keep them. That is only the chihuahuas. That does not include any other breed of dog they have, and they have hundreds of dogs.
People who really care about dogs would think very seriously about breeding them. A reputable breeder puts in a lot of time and spends a lot of money in order to better their breed. They never breed their dog just because it has papers. Having papers doesn't mean your dog is a quality dog. It just means it's parents are purebred. I would never breed my saint bernards because they are not outstanding specimens in their breed. They both are AKC registered, but they aren't even close to show quality. My female has severe hip dysplasia and my male has cow hocks and his frame is more square than it should be. He is also smaller than a show quality saint bernard should be. It helps before you breed that you get to know your breed and have a mentor that is a reputable breeder of your chosen breed.
After you have mentored for a few years and have lots of hands on experience about whelping then you can start breeding. You should have an ultrasound done to determine how many puppies your dog is having in case your dog doesn't deliver all of them and you need to have an emergency c-section at the vet. You should $2000 in the bank set aside in case something goes wrong and your dog does have to go to the vet and deliver. It costs $700 for the ultrasound and $900 for hip ex-rays and $300 for an eye test. It could cost anywhere from $500 to $1000 for stud fees for a male dog. You always want to find a stud that compliments your dog and offsets it's faults. You never want to take two dogs and throw them together to make pups just because they both have papers. If either dog had a genetic defect, it could be serious for the health of the pups. It costs $120 for shots and vet checks for each puppy born.
Remember though, that 2/3 of all dogs born end up in shelters and rescues. Over half of those are put to sleep because there aren't enough homes for every dog. After your puppies are born, YOU are responsible for every single one of their lives. Your dog didn't ask to be pregnant or have puppies. Those puppies didn't have a choice about being born. A reputable breeder would make sure those pups were well taken care for the rest of their lives (chihuahuas generally live about 15 years) and would take any dog back that they bred for any reason no matter how old the dog was or what happened to the owners. So if you plan on being a reputable breeder, you would make sure no puppies or dogs that you bred would end up in rescues or shelters. You would stay in contact with any person who adopts a dog off of you and you would talk to them every few months to make sure they still have the dog and make sure that everything is working out. You would treat those puppies and protect them like they were your own children because even though it was your dog who gave birth in the end it was YOU who are responsible for allowing your dog to become pregnant.
Before you even think of breeding, I would attend dog shows without your dog and get to know the people there. Ask one of them to come over to your house and score your dog to see if it is even quality enough to show. If it isn't quality enough to show, I would do the world a favor and have your dog fixed. When we got our male saint bernard, we bought him with intentions of showing him. He did not turn out to be show quality so we did ourselves and him a favor and got him fixed. Even if he was show quality, we would not have bred him unless he was an outstanding specimen of his breed and we had a long line of people lined up that wanted one of his puppies.
This is a lot to read, but it would seriously help you to read all of it. I don't know how mature you are for your age, but before any person considers breeding, they should go to their local shelter and watch a puppy being put to sleep because it wasn't adopted. And remember the 78 chihuahuas in Orange County shelter that probably won't find a home before Monday.
I keep on thinking about what you said about your dog being skittish at 5 months old. If you got it from a reputable breeder, then your dog would be socialized enough that it wouldn't be skittish. Did you get your dog from a show breeder, because if not, chances are you might not be able to show your dog at all because your dog wasn't socialized properly from birth and it is probably only a pet quality dog. You might be disappointed but I'm not sure, with the information you gave, that you can show your dog at all. You could probably show your dog at juniors or in 4H but I would be deadset against breeding it. I would save breeding for a more experienced dog owner.
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Last edited by Lunareclipse; 01-13-2012 at 02:30 AM.
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Need help on how to start showing my dog!
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