I have been involved with pure-bred dogs since 1973, and in that time I have gained a fair share of knowledge on the matter, some of which I will share with you now. There is more to this particular endeavor than you may realize.

First of all, why are you so intent on breeding? Some of the most common rationales are "my dog has such a nice disposition and I want to have another one just like her," "everyone likes my dog so much that I want her to have a litter to give one to my family and friends," "it would be nice for the kids to experience the miracle of birth," and the most common one, "I only want to breed her once." I'm sure one can come up with even more reasons. To the average person, these seem like logical reasons, however to the experienced breeder, the reasoning behind it is totally erroneous.

What do you know about the breed? Although well meaning, the average pet owner lacks an adequate working knowledge of the breed. For every recognized breed, the American Kennel Club has a written breed standard. Most pet owners don't even realize that it exists, let alone be familiar with it. Just because it is a pure bred dog doesn't necessarily mean that it is a good representative of the breed and of breeding quality. Unknowledgeable breeders do more harm to pure-bred dogs than one may realize, regardless of their good intentions. I showed Chihuahuas and studied the breed and the various bloodlines for four years before I bred my first litter.

The first thing my mentor had told me when I chose to become a breeder was that every time you breed, you are putting your bitch at risk. In my own personal experience, I have had 2 bitches that have had puppies die inutero, causing the uterus to rupture, resulting in the death of both of them. How would you feel if you lost your pet due to complications caused by the pregnancy? I have had to have more caesarian sections than I care to remember. None of which were due to my bitches being too small to free whelp. Most of the time the surgery was due to uterine inertia or a dead puppy. Bitches can and do die as a result of c-sections. Do you have access to good round the clock veterinary care? Can you afford the high cost of and emergency c-section and an emergency animal hospital? A fellow breeder recently spent $2100.00 for the procedure when her regular animal clinic was closed. Labor doesn't only occur during normal office hours. To make matters even worse, I just learned that that very same breeder just lost one of her bitches this morning after another section.

Do you know what to do if she has complications with delivery? If you are lucky, the bitch free whelps with no complications. However, it has been my experience that not all litters are whelped without a hitch. Do you have the know how to help her if a puppy gets hung up in the birth canal? It is not unusual for Chihuahuas to have most of their puppies breech. In the case of a hung puppy in a breech birth you will not have the time to get her to the veterinarian on time to save the puppy.

Are you prepared to hand raise the litter if the mother dies or for some reason cannot raise the litter herself? Newborn puppies need care twenty four hours per day, seven days per week. Not only do you have to feed them, you need to keep them warm and stimulate them to urinate and have bowel movements. Are you prepared to react if the bitch goes into eclampsia? Do you even know what eclampsia is?

What is your knowledge of genetics and the bloodlines of the dogs you are breeding? An AKC registration certificate in not a guarantee that your dog is of breeding quality. One of the most common misconceptions that inexperienced people have is that you will be able to predict what the puppies will be like by looking at the sire and dam. Successful breeders base their choice on selecting their breeding pairs on genotype as well as phenotype. You never know what you will get if you make random out crosses >from dogs of which are the products of random out crosses themselves. There are genetic problems that run with Chihuahuas that can be further perpetuated if the breeder is not aware of the backgrounds. I have seen over the years Chihuahuas with bad temperaments, heart problems, liver shunts, patellar luxations, leg perthes, and other maladies from breeders who lack the knowledge of the histories of the dogs they are breeding.

I have no doubt that you love your dog and your intentions are good while thinking about breeding. However, I have spent many years leaning what I have and spend a great deal of time with my dogs expanding that knowledge. Breeding should be done only by experienced breeders or under the guidance of one. The potential problems I have shared with you are only a tiny smattering of what can go wrong. If you still feel that you would like to breed, take the time it takes to learn more about what you are about to get yourself into. Hopefully what I have shared with you will cause you to reconsider your decision to breed now. If all you want another dog, get one from a knowledgeable and responsible breeder. Let him or her take the risks.

Just some food for thought.

John Cipollina
http://www.bealenet.com/~maestro/