As I patiently wait to see if Mirage is, in fact, pregnant, I wonder how many people will ask me why I chose to breed her. Why create puppies when there are dogs dying in shelters every day. At least, that's what the Animal Rights nuts want you to believe. There are several answers to that question but first let's debunk the AR message that "there are dogs dying in shelters because people won't stop breeding" which is right up there with some of their other lies, like "if people stop breeding dogs the shelters will be emptied" and "there are thousands of purebreds available at the local shelters that really NEED homes". Let's tackle those one at a time:
Every puppy you sell puts a shelter dog on death row. Um, nope. First of all, there are so few dogs currently in shelters across the nation that many are importing dogs from other states and even other countries just to have product to sell as a way to raise funds for the other things they do, such as pick up strays and offer low-cost rabies clinics. People looking for "just a pet" might very well find exactly what they're looking for at a local shelter, if they search often and are happy accepting whatever they get and however old it happens to be, whatever size it grows up into, and whatever temperament it has and behaviors it has learned. People looking for particular, predictable things in their next companion dog will be looking to breeders to ensure they get a puppy that will grow to a known size, with a predictable temperament, and with reasonable reassurances from a responsible breeder as to the longevity and health of the puppy as it spends the rest of its life with them. And should they no longer be able to keep the dog, at any age, there's a breeder they know will take the dog back and relieve them of the stress of wondering how they'll rehome their precious pet during what is most likely a time of stress for them. Those people, the ones that need to know how large the dog will be, what the temperament and color and activity level will be, those folks won't find what they're looking for in the grab-bag known as a shelter.
People who want or need a purpose-bred dog will never go to a shelter, they'll just wait until the right puppy is born and then purchase it from the breeder. Shelter dogs are not able to meet the needs of someone with specific must-have items on their list, such as the ability to be trained as a service dog or the large size needed to provide mobility assistance. Shelter dogs also aren't able to compete in conformation or produce puppies that are a generation closer to breed standard. And shelter dogs can't be guaranteed to remain a certain size, given their unknown parentage and genetic potential. So folks looking for a purpose-bred dog will not "settle for" a shelter dog, they'll continue to seek out and wait for the right puppy to be born to purpose-breeding homes / kennels.
There are seldom if ever true purebreds at shelters, simply because most purebreds purchased from reputable, responsible breeders are returned to those breeders should the owners not be able to keep them, and are microchipped before leaving their breeder so the shelters can always locate the owner and/or breeder from the information on the microchip. Especially in Canaan Dogs, the opportunity to purchase a purebred Canaan Dog from a shelter or rescue is slim to none and I've only heard of it a few times, most notably the dogs from the Texas 56 that were not relinquished by the Florida shelters to the Canaan Dog Rescue Network after being transferred to them by the agency who had removed them from the home in the first place. That was, I'm sure, financially driven but hopefully those dogs ended up in loving, Canaan-appropriate homes.
Purebred puppies are being produced purely for profit at the expense of the mother's health and just so the breeder can get rich. Hmm, if breeding for money worked, everyone would do it. Breeding is expensive, especially when done responsibly, and has risks including loss of puppies, loss of the mother, high-expense medical procedures, mess and smell, weeks of sleepless nights and crazy messy days, etc. Now, everyone knows someone whose dog just had puppies without a problem and all the puppies were sold, with the owner not even having to lift a finger or spend an extra penny. Those aren't the breeders I'm referring to here; I'm talking about the ones that campaign their dogs and bitches (either in the conformation or the sport ring) to prove them worthy of being bred, have them health tested according to the recommendations for their breed towards their CHIC number to ensure they don't carry any of the genetic disorders that can be passed along, then carefully select just the right stud to contribute to the litter, looking both at genotype and phenotype (pedigree and appearance/function/feature) before the expense of getting the bitch to the vet for pre-breeding exams and tests including progesterone, then to the stud for breeding, and then home to wait until they can spend money on ultrasound to confirm pregnancy, then xray to count puppies (usually in breeds that have large litters or that always need surgical intervention to deliver) and then the cost of properly whelping a litter from the bedding to the pig rails to the potty tray and starter food. So, after all that, just imagine how many puppies one would need to create and sell just to cover the cost. Besides, most responsible breeders are producing puppies in the hope of finding one in the litter that will take their program one more step towards the breed standard by strengthening the weaknesses of the sire and dam without weakening any of the strengths.
So, now that we know the AR nuts are lying, let's look at the original question, or why did I choose to breed? In this case, I chose to breed Mirage (who proved herself in not only how she lives around here but in the conformation ring, achieving her championship with limited showing due to Covid) to Argos (an outstanding example of the breed as well as having proven himself by producing a litter of superb puppies that got his good points and none of his very few iffy ones. I made that choice because I would like to produce puppies that can perform and win for their owners, to give them all a chance to work happily together towards whatever sport they want. Mirage is a lovely girl with good feet, dark eyes, a gorgeous, square build and speed for days, combined with a sweet temperament that's still typically aloof with strangers, and Mirage is also proving to be an excellent nurturer, which I believe comes from her dam (Galya, a fantastic mother) and should serve her well with this and future litters) and I think will produce really nice puppies for home, show ring, or competitive fields such as obedience, trick dog, farm dog and of course herding,. I also chose to breed Mirage because I think any of her puppies should they inherit her temperament, will adapt well in any home they go to, be it companion, competitive, or working on a ranch. So, I budgeted, saved, got all her testing done, took her to be bred and now, we wait. Tomorrow is the big day, we find out if she's pregnant with an ultrasound. Stay tuned for results!
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