anyone know how i can find out my states laws regarding dog breeders/laws?
i talked to a woman today that said in our state, if you have 4 or more intact dogs, you need a commercial license.

I am in my 30s, but back when I was a child/preteen, I showed my grandparents Dobermans and also (once) my grandparent's friend's Husky. My grandparents were breeders of Dobermans for many years (now retired) and the friend of my grandparents bred Huskies.

I admit to being against BYBs and puppy mills, but I think breeding of show quality dogs is necessary to keep the breed standard around. Otherwise, we'd end up with some horribly bred dogs in the next few decades.

I basically am seeking opinions on what you think is acceptable breeding. I just recently got into an argument with a fellow shelter volunteer about breeding and she can't believe I still talk to my grandparents after learning about pet over population.

I don't seek a right or wrong answer, I am just looking to know what would your ideal way of breeding would go in this country.

I would like to see that pets need to be neutered unless they are currently being shown. Obviously this is a pipe dream, but it's my dream so it doesn't matter how far fetched it is.

Since my dream will never ever come true, what are some feasible ways of helping the country's pet over population problem? Do you have laws in your area or state regarding neutering?
I meant to add re: showing dogs...

Do you think it is cruel? My fellow volunteer thinks it is mean to make the dogs prance around and so forth...from what I remember, they loved it!
For the record, I only adopt from shelters, all of my pets are neutered and I would never breed dogs (or any animal), even if I had one from excellent lines. I have my pets just as pets. It's just my preference.
When I was a baby, my mom was given a pure bred Sheltie for free (with a neuter contract) because the tips of the puppies ears wouldn't go down (or something like that). It was really neat for my mom to have her because she was free and a well bred dog, but was not good enough for the ring. The breeders wanted her spayed because they did not want that trait being passed on. She was an awesome dog! People would pass us and ask how much she cost and they would guess ,000 (and this was back in the early 80s when ,000 was a lot of money).

Mating: A Crash Course In The Reproductive Cycle Part 5

During the first 24 to 48 hours after delivery, take the mother and all puppies to see your vet. The purpose of the examination is to insure healthy puppies with no obvious defects or illnesses, to be sure no puppies are retained in the uterus, to correct vaccination deficiencies, and to give the mother a hormone injection which will aid in contraction of the uterus and removal of the debris from stage 3.

The nursing period begins with the secretion of a complex milk-like substance called colostrum. Puppies nursing during the first 24 hours of life get antibodies from colostrum, giving them protection against diseases for the first few weeks of life. Puppies failing to nurse during the first few hours face a stormy start in life and may fail to survive.

Sick puppies, or those unable to survive the competitiveness of a large litter, soon become too weak to nurse. The result is a vicious cycle: the less they eat the weaker they become, and the weaker they become, the less they eat. Weak puppies require extra help; use an orphan formula to feed them. Several products are available over-the-counter for this purpose. For feeding instructions follow the label recommendations of the manufacturer.

Too weak to respond, many puppies fail to cry out in response to pain. Weak puppies are in danger of death and should be treated by your vet.

The nursing period places a heavy nutritional burden on the mother. The nutritional demands of nursing are greater than those of pregnancy, and close attention should be paid to proper feeding during this time. Dog foods of high quality and vitamin and mineral supplements are necessary.

Milk Fever

Eclampsia (known as milk fever) is a severe complication which can develop during the nursing period. The cause is a deficiency of calcium in the blood, resulting from rapid calcium loss into the milk during periods of high milk production. It is identified by severe convulsions and a rapid rise in body temperature. When it occurs, it is usually seen in the second week of nursing. Eclampsia is an emergency requiring immediate medical attention to prevent death.

Final Word

When the basic principles of reproduction are fully understood, the chances for successful mating will be greatly enhanced. However, the problem of how to deal with the excess puppies which result from over-breeding still remains. A number of methods are currently used to control vet over-population; none of them have been particularly successful, however, simply because of the enormous number of animals involved.

Again, attacking the problem at the source by halting unnecessary mating is a more sensible, and humane approach, than allowing dogs to mate indiscriminately and then seeking methods of disposing of the unwanted puppies.

where can i find info on dog breeding laws in WA state?
Hello,

Where can i find info on dog breeding laws in WA state? Licensing and so on.

I have recently been growing more interested in breeding dogs and have been hunting for none bias information. Before, or if you reply, I want to stress the fact that I am not planning on turning this into a large operation and my focus will be on pure quality in small numbers. HOWEVER, I am also not interested in doing this for free please don’t take that in the wrong way, I am a full time business student and try to do everything efficiently. I am not looking to get rich off this but I wouldn’t mind it helping put a tiny dent in my tuition debt.

Continuing on...

Every article I read to try to better my understanding of dog breeding is quite obviously written by fellow breeders only interested in convincing anyone interested in becoming competition, not to do so. To me this is understandable, I mean, no breeder wants competition, why would they? No business encourages competition.

Mating: A Crash Course In The Reproductive Cycle Part 4

When it is time for the female to give birth to her puppies, the 3 stages of birth allow the breeder to accurately assess the condition of both the health of the mother and the puppies. Once the allantoic membrane (or simply called the water-bag) has broken then you know labor is close.

True Labor

Stage 2 is the time of true labor. Hard and forceful abdominal contractions occur which results in the delivery of puppies. The first puppy should be born within two to three hours from the time these contractions start, and the interval between puppies should not exceed this length of time. If no puppy is born then contact your veterinarian immediately.

Upon seeing the head or feet presented, assist delivery (only if necessary) by applying gentle traction in synchrony with the abdominal contractions of the dam. Forcefully tugging and pulling to deliver a difficult puppy may inflict unnecessary injury.

Once the puppy is born, the mother will instinctively lick the placental membranes from it and severs the navel cord with her teeth. If she fails to remove the placental membranes enveloping the puppy, you must do it yourself or the puppy will suffocate. Tear them away gently and quickly. Free the head first, allowing the puppy to breathe, then swab out its mouth with gauze pads.

The placental membranes are slippery, so use gauze pads to aid in removing them. After the puppy is free, cut the navel cord two inches away from its body, using scissors boiled in water. To control excess bleeding, pinch the navel cord with your clean fingers until it stops. Tying the navel cord with thread or string, or a similar foreign substance, will invite infection, demands cautiousness, and is generally ill-advised.

After the bleeding has stopped, swab the navel cord with iodine, dry the puppy vigorously in a towel, and place it with the dam. If she is nervous about her new puppies then separate them from her and place them together in a box until delivery is complete.

Cesarean sections are needed when a dog, failing to deliver within a reasonable period of time, also fails to respond to medical methods if inducing labor. The majority of cesarean sections are done on the smaller breeds, which lack the powerful muscular contractions needed to deliver puppies naturally. This is a successful technique which, in most cases, results in live puppies.

The Final Stage Of Birth

Stage 3 is the final stage of labor. It occurs when the uterus contracts and begins to return to its normal size. As it contracts, fluids and placental membranes remaining from stage 2 are forced out.

Mating: A Crash Course In The Reproductive Cycle Part 2

Dogs mate early in estrus in association with ovulation. There are three ways to determine when a female dog is ready to mate:

(1) Put her with a male and see if anything happens.

(2) Note when proestral bleeding starts and mark the 11th day on the calender, taking into account individual variations, then put her with a male and see if anything happens.

(3) When your dog is delivered from home to spend a night or two with a male, you may need an accurate account of the most likely mating time. Ask your vet to examine a vaginal smear. (It is often necessary to examine a series of smears on subsequent days to determine the proper time to mate.)

Anatomically, it is difficult for a male dog to separate himself from a female immediately after mating without causing injury. Because of this, dogs remain tied up together for 15 minutes or longer. This is completely natural and attempts at forceful separation risks injury.

When several male dogs mate one female, it is possible for more than one percentage to represent itself in the offspring. This is because the female ovulates several eggs at one time. Some of the eggs may be fertilized by one male and some by another.

A stray male dog may call unexpectedly, mating your female. Male dogs have been known to swim wide rivers, dig deep holes beneath fences, and tear planks away from barns to get to a female that is in heat.

When a mating accident occurs, avoid unwanted puppies by requesting your vet to inject a hormone to prevent pregnancy. Chances are good that pregnancy can be avoided if this is done during the first 24 to 48 hours after mating has occurred. (Keep in mind that many veterinarians may recommend a series of injections at weekly intervals and some vets may refuse to give abortion shots completely).

If Your Chosen Male Will Not Mate

Lacking experience, young male dogs may be a bit uncertain of what to do. Injections of male hormones may help, however, by the time the problem is apparent hormones are often too late to be effective. Make arrangements for a substitute in case the chosen pair will not mate. Male dogs with defective sperm cells often have a normal sex drive and a normal mating instinct; they will mate, but pregnancy will not result.

Artificial insemination serves as a substitute for natural mating when, for any reason, dogs refuse to mate. Sperm cells collected from the male by artificial means are inserted into the uterus of the female. This technique frequently results in pregnancy.

Mating: A Crash Course In The Reproductive Cycle Part 3

If the future mother is due for vaccinations, have her vaccinated prior to (not during) pregnancy, since vaccines may cause adverse effects on fetal development if given during pregnancy.

Vaccinations before pregnancy accomplish two goals:

(1) They boost the future mother's immunity.

(2) They provide the temporary immunity puppies need after birth for protection against diseases. (Puppies are not capable of building their own immunity until they are a few weeks old.)

If the mating is successful then pregnancy will follow like metestrus it lasts two months, taking into account individual variation. Most vets can diagnose pregnancy four weeks after mating; earlier diagnosis is difficult.

One of the best available aids is good records, which tell when dogs are mated, give insights to previous breeding problems, and by their thoroughness, point out potential problems. Without benefit of breeding dates it is easier to determine that a dog is pregnant than to determine that it is not pregnant.

A good balanced diet and vitamin and mineral supplementation, which are vital during pregnancy, becomes much more important during nursing. Health problems related to pregnancy are uncommon in dogs. Although an occasional dog may abort, even this is not common. Most problems of practical concern involve breeding, delivery, and nursing.

Birth of The Puppies

The birth process, called parturition, is conveniently divided into three easily recognized stages. They are simple termed stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3. Stage 1 is the preliminary step to true labor. The female may act to prepare a nest and personality changes may become more evident (which include irritability, nervousness and pacing).

If the female's body temperature falls too low then this may indicate serious diseases. The rectal temperature, should it fall from the normal range of 101 -102 degrees (F), is a meaningful indicator that birth may take place in the next 24 hours. Another sign of stage 1 is the rupture of the allantoic membrane, or water bag. Upon its rupture, a large volume of fluid is spent, which leaves no doubt that labor is near.

Following is stage 2 and stage 3, which is known as true labor and the nearing of the end of labor. The first puppy should be born within a few hours. If there are no puppies being born after several hours go by then you will need to call your veterinarian. A cesarean may be needed if there is a problem.