What a fantastic topic. Have been hoping something like this would come up sometime
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@mavericksam - With the practices of most breeders in Malaysia I totally understand your scepticism and negativity towards breeders.
Firstly I am 100% against irresponsible breeding, back yard breeders, puppy mills or anything similar.
However there is such a thing as a responsible breeder and i shall describe to you exactly how they work:
For informational purpose: Pregnancy in dogs last 9 weeks, not 9 months. Once the puppies reach around 1 month old the mother will start to force them to become more independent. By the time they are 2mmonths old, the mother will barely be phased if they leave the 'nest' as relationships between dogs don't work the same way ours do with our children. Once the puppy is fully independent from the mother the relationship changes to that of 'friends'/'pack member' rather than 'parent/child'.
On to the definition of a responsible breeder:
REASON FOR BREEDING: A responsible breeders primary reason for breeding is to improve their 'breeding line' to conform as closely as possible to breed standards and thus improve and maintain the quality of the breed as a whole. The most common secondary reason for breeding is wanting to ensure people who want dogs get the best experiences possible.
PREPARATION: A responsible breeder will be extremely knowledgeable in their chosen breed before considering breeding. They will often have experience showing or working with the breed for many years before starting to breed. They will also be extremely well versed in the breeding process and fully capable of dealing with any and all possible complications during pregnancy and whelping from breech births to retained placentas and Eclampsia.
A male and female will be picked for suitability (sometimes a stud dog is used from another kennel in order to 'dilute' the genes within the line and introduce/strengthen desirable traits in the subsequent litters). A responsible breeder will often only take a stud dog from a kennel they know well as they will want to have knowledge of the ancestors of their chosen stud.
Most often (where possible, especially in small breeds where there is no difference between standard male and female sizes)the chosen stud will be smaller than the female to prevent puppies that are too big for the female to deliver naturally.
Most commonly both male and female involved in the breeding will be show to champion before being mated. If the blood line is exceptional and there are multiple BOB/BIS within the heritage, showing might be saved until after, however standard practice is to show first.
Both male and female will be given full health checkups well within 6months before mating. This will include a general health check (to ensure the male will not pass anything nasty to the female and that the female is in the best physical and mental health possible). This check up will also include tests for common genetic problems to ensure the puppies do not inherit a predisposition to hip-dysplacia, cataracts, etc.
If either dog has any health issues or fails a genetics test, the mating will not proceed.
A responsible breeder will also have a waiting lists of potential owners who have all been screened for suitability and could expect to wait 2 years (sometimes longer) for a puppy from the mating of their choice (more about new owners later).
BREEDING ITSELF: A responsible breeder will breed one female at most every other heat (more often once every 2 years), starting no earlier than the 3rd heat cycle and stopping by the age of 5-8. If either dog is unwilling to mate (either the male is not interested or the female becomes nervous and a potential danger to herself or the male) artificial insemination can be used instead (artificial insemination is also used if the stud and female are in different countries, semen can be harvested, flash frozen and transported to the female).
Once the breeding has taken place the breeder will take the female to a vet at 26 days to see if the mating has 'taken'. The female will be placed on a very nutritional diet and be closely monitored for the duration of the pregnancy. The female will be given regular exercise (as she always is) until very late on in the pregnancy to ensure she is fit for delivery.
Subsequent vet trips will be taken throughout the pregnancy to ensure everything runs smoothly. At 8weeks into the pregnancy a final ultrasound and sometimes 1 x-ray will be taken to determine how many puppies are expected. At this point the females temperature will be taken twice a day to ensure the breeder has warning that the puppies are coming (a females temperature drops by about 1degree around 12 hours before whelping begins).
When whelping (delivery) begins the breeder will sit with the female throughout the process to ensure everything runs smoothly, to help when needed and to properly record puppy delivery times/weights/sizes and check for any problems.
Within 24 hours of the last puppy being delivered the female and her puppies will be taken to the vet for a checkup. If not all the puppies expected were delivered or their was a retained placenta the vet trip will be much sooner.
After delivery the breeder will inform potential owners that their long awaited puppy could be with them soon.
POST NATAL CARE: The breeder will stay with the mother and puppies 24hours a day for the first few days after birth to ensure the mother is coping with her puppies and everything is as it should be. In the case of premature puppies or a mother who doesn't know how to care for them, the breeder may spend more than 2 weeks giving 24hour care (of course with help) to ensure puppy and mother and safe and grow/recover correctly.
As the puppies grow older and the mother starts to detach herself from them, the breeder will socialize them and prepare them for life in the human world as well as wean them onto solid food.
Puppies will be de-wormed every 2 weeks and will stay quarantined until they have had at least 1 vaccination (at this point they may be allowed to see other dogs from the same household). They will receive their first vaccination between 4-6weeks old.
At this point chosen potential owners will be allowed to view the puppies although strict sanitary precautions are taken and visits are kept short.
Usually, puppies will be released to their new homes at 8weeks of age. However if a puppy is extra small or had any kind of health scares, the breeder may hold onto them until they are a more appropriate size and get a clean bill of health.
CHOOSING POTENTIAL OWNERS: A responsible breeder views all puppies delivered by their dogs as if they were their own. Therefore they are very picky about who is allowed to take one (no amount of money will persuade them to give you a puppy if they have deemed you unsuitable for any reason). They will often have a huge list of often quite personal questions for you to answer including how many children you have, what kind of house you have, your experience with dogs (more specifically the breed in question) as well as your household income (to ensure you have the means to take proper care of the dog). A responsible breeder will also expect you to have done your research and be able to discuss the temperament and looks of the breed as well as the reason why you want this breed in particular.
A responsible breeder will often come to visit you in your house before allowing you into theirs and will expect you to be honest with them at all times.
A responsible breeder will divide their puppies into 'potential show dogs' and 'purely pets'. A pet dog will come with a spay/neuter contract that ensures you will never breed the dog and will have him/her desexed by the age of 1year old (sometimes 6months to ensure breeding is pretty much impossible). Puppies are allocated as pet dogs if they are not seen to be an exceptional example of the breed and therefore not suitable for show (perhaps a Poodle has a parti-coat or a Shih-Tzu is slightly out of proportion). If a puppy is deemed suitable for show (if they are an exceptional example of the breed and have potential to do well at conformation) they will be sold without a spay/neuter contract but at a higher price. A potential owner for a 'show puppy' will usually be grilled even more severely than a potential 'pet' owner to ensure the puppy does not fall into the hands of a BYB or Puppymill.
Both pet and show puppies will come with a contract containing a number of stipulations for the care of the puppy and a condition that if at any time the puppy cannot be cared for by the approved owner of if any of the clauses in the contract are broken, the puppy will be released back to the breeder without any compensation to the owner.
On the flip side, the contract will contain a health guarantee which protects against contagious illnesses in the short term (usually 1week-10days) and genetic problems in longer term (usually 1 year), for show puppies this also includes anything that would compromise their show career (of course, unless caused by the new owner). If any relative problems are found within the time period the breeder gives a number of options for resolution (the most common include, replacement of the puppy or paying for medical expenses up to the price of the puppy).
A responsible breeder will also be available to help the new owner with anything, anytime. They will want you to stay in touch, be happy to answer any questions or concerns during the puppy’s life and probably bug you for news and pictures if they don’t hear from you in a while.
PRICING: A responsible breeder charges money for their puppies. However unless they have a truly exceptional line and their puppies are in very high demand all over the world, they will not make any kind of profit from their puppies.
One of the main reasons a responsible breeder charges money for their puppies is because someone is much more likely to treasure something and care for it properly if they had to pay money for it (especially if they had to pay a lot of money).
A breeder will also charge to recover some of the costs of breeding. Although they will never recover the cost of raising the parents, the vet trips and care of puppies, they will not lose as much as they would otherwise. However this is not always the case, I know of a couple of wealthy breeders (they made their money from business, not breeding) who donate all the funds they make from their puppies to animal related charities.
This is the description of a responsible breeder in the international setting. I think it is unlikely that there is as yet a breeder who takes ALL of these precautions in Malaysia, however any breeder who strives for this and comes as close as possible given the situation in Malaysia can be considered responsible for now (as long as they continue to strive to meet these expectations).
Oh yes also. A responsible breeder would NEVER put their puppies in a pet shop, their own or otherwise and a responsible breeder will not have more than 1 litter at a time (in case intensive care is needed) and will usually breed maybe 3 times a year.
p.s- apologies for the length but this is just the raw steps and stages a responsible breeder takes and says nothing of the fun fluffy care stuff
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This post has been edited by Divas: Nov 22 2010, 10:05 PM 
Nov 22 2010, 11:31 AM, updated 16y ago
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