The breeding of dogs is an undertaking not to be taken lightly. There is a great deal of thought and work that should occur before the final decision is made to breed a dog. First of all, you should ask yourself why you would like to breed your dog. Every breeder's goal should be to improve the breed. If this is your goal (and hopefully it is), a great deal of education awaits you, both in learning about your breed and what would improve it. We must have the ability to look beyond ourselves and our dog and honestly ask ourselves: Would breeding my dog be beneficial to the breed?

Quality is probably one of the toughest things to be objective about concerning our dogs. We all have the tendency to think our dog is the greatest ever born.... and maybe he is to us, but remember love can be blind!

Another thing to consider should be the type of contract under which you purchased the dog. If the breeder you bought the dog from sold it to you as a pet (on a spay/neuter contract), you should honor that contract. Breeders have spent many years evaluating dogs, and if they have already made a predetermination about the dog's quality, you should be willing to accept that evaluation. If you bought your dog as a show/breeding prospect, you still must make an honest evaluation of your dog as an adult. All dogs should not reproduce, no matter how much you love them or how many titles they may have.

To honestly know if our dog will help improve the breed, we must first be very familiar with the breed standard. If we aren't familiar with the breed standard, how will we know what we are striving for? Knowing the breed standard is more than memorizing it, it is understanding and visualizing what it means. This takes time and experience. Look at many different dogs; at shows, at various kennels, etc. Find breeders who are willing to be honest about their own dog's strengths and weakness - you'll learn a lot. Remember at shows to watch the dogs, and not the judge's choice, since their choice may or may not be the soundest dog at the show. Educate yourself on sound dog movement and structure of your breed, as well as others. Also, consult with the breeder of your dog. (Hopefully you have chosen one who is willing to honestly evaluate the dogs they breed.) Be cautious about opinions solicited from other breeders whom you don't know well. It often puts the person on the spot to be asked what they think of your dog. Most people will be hesitant to give you an honest answer, since most dog owners want to hear compliments about how perfect their darling "Rover" is, not the truth. Find a few people whom you know well and trust, then be willing to hear the truth.

The next step is to study your dog's pedigree. Most of us don't have the privilege of personally knowing all the dogs in a pedigree, but ask people who do know, search for old photographs, and study the other offspring of the dogs listed there. Find out about your dog's siblings. Conformation, obedience, and herding titles in a pedigree have value, though their value is limited. If there are no titles there, it may be an indication of a general lack of quality. On the other hand, a pedigree may be a veritable "Who's Who" of the Aussie world, and still your dog may not be of the quality to breed. Search, search, search, and find out all that you can.

Another way to evaluate your dog's physical quality is by showing it in conformation. Gaining a championship is not necessarily proof that a dog is of good quality (some champions simply don't deserve the honor), but if your dog consistently doesn't win, perhaps there is a real reason.

Another consideration is genetics. Evaluating quality looks on the outside, genetics looks on the inside.

The merling gene causes the beautiful color we all identify with Aussies. Normal merle Aussies carry one merle gene. When two normal merle Aussies are bred together, the resulting litter will be composed of roughly 25% tris, 50% normal merles, and 25% homozygous merles. Homozygous merles carry two merle genes. One merle gene only affects the dog by changing its coat color. Two merle genes cause serious side effects, such as blindness and deafness. These puppies are easily identifiable by their excessive white color, and should be humanely euthanized at birth. If you don't want this serious responsibility, don't breed merles to merles.

Another thing to consider before breeding your dog is the question... Is my dog free of hip dysplasia? Hip dysplasia is defined as the failure of the rear femur (thigh bone) to fit firmly into the acetabulum (hip socket). Though severe hip dysplasia causes a wide variety of symptoms, such as lameness and movement irregularities, dysplastic dogs may show no visible symptoms. Though unusual, some dysplastic dogs may even have outstanding movement. X-rays are the only method for evaluating hip dysplasia.

X-ray of the dog's hips can be done, after the age of two, at your local veterinarian office. Results are then sent to be evaluated by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Hips free of hip dysplasia will be rated excellent, good or fair and will receive a certificate with a permanent OFA certification number. Dysplastic dogs will not receive an OFA number and should not be bred under any circumstances.

Hip dysplasia is genetic, with many different genes contributing to the factors that may lead to it. Not only should your dog have an OFA number, but the dogs in your dog's pedigree should also have OFA numbers.

Your dog should also be free from eye abnormalities. There are a wide variety of eye defects in Aussies. Some of the more serious defects include: Juvenile Cataracts (opacities of the lens occurring from birth to six years of age), "Aussie Eye Anomaly" (which includes several defects and is classified by some opthamologists as Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA), while others classify it as a separate entity, which shares similar characteristics to CEA), and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (a progressive degeneration of the retina). Some other less serious eye abnormalities that cause little change in the dog's vision are: Iris Colobomas (holes or abnormal openings in the iris) and Persistent Pupillary Membranes (a fetal pupil covering which fails to disappear by 5 weeks of age).

Your dog's eyes can be certified to be free from eye defects by a certified canine ophthalmologist. A regular veterinarian cannot do the eye exam, but may be able to refer you to a local opthamologist. Once examined, the evaluation may be sent to the Canine Eye Registry Foundation (CERF). If the eyes are clear you will receive a CERF number. A CERF is only valid for one year, so all dogs should have their eyes checked annually. Though some people do choose not to send their eye exam report to CERF, they should still have a exam report dated within the past year. Having a clear eye exam or CERF does not guarantee that your dog will never have eye abnormalities, but that at the present date he does not.

Do not breed your dog without an eye clearance, and since most eye abnormalities are inherited, your dog's pedigree should also reflect generations of dogs with eyes free of eye defects.

Dentition is another area to consider - Does your dog have a scissors bite? Does he have all of his teeth? Or are there many missing teeth (not including those lost to an accident)? The correct bite in an Aussie is the scissors bite, with full dentition ( 42 teeth). Level bites or a missing tooth are minor flaws, which must be weighed in light of the overall quality of the dog when determining whether to breed it or not.

Male dogs whose testicles aren't descended are called cryptorchids. This may be unilateral (only one testicle descended) or bilateral (neither testicle descended). Cryptorchids should not be bred since it is hereditary. They should also be neutered for their own health, since testes that don't descend often become cancerous.

There are an endless array of other physical problems known to affect various breeds of dogs. Read as much as you can about heritable defects in dogs, especially in Aussies. Aussies in general are a very sound breed, but if your dog is the occasional Aussie with other physical problems, such as epilepsy, bleeding disorders, heart abnormalities or any other severe problems, do not breed your dog.

Temperament is an extremely important issue in breeding dogs. Though a dog's temperament can be affected by its environment, temperament is inherited. Be honest with yourself about your dog's temperament. We often spend a lot of time excusing our dog's poor temperament.

Showing our dogs in conformation, obedience, agility, tracking, herding or other areas of competition, gives us a way to evaluate our dog's temperament. A dog with a poor temperament won't usually make it through these types of situations well, though a title is not a guarantee of good temperament.

There are different levels of intelligence, trainability, and herding instinct in Aussies. Will your Aussie be a benefit to the breed in these areas? Think about it.

Age is also important. All dogs need to have the chance to grow up mentally, and physically themselves, before they are bred. Aussies typically mature very slowly, and since you can not get an OFA until a dog is two, it is best to wait until after this age. This also gives you plenty of time to train and show your dog, and make a proper physical and temperament evaluation.

Once you have gone through this grueling process and have decided your dog would help improve the breed, what now? Decide what your goals are. Plan a breeding with a goal in mind. Ask yourself why you want to breed your dog. Do you plan on keeping anything? If not, should you even be considering the breeding?

Once again, read, do research, and talk to those more knowledgeable than yourself. There are many resources you can avail yourself of to learn about: how to breed dogs, the care of stud dogs, the care of bitches in whelp, whelping puppies and raising puppies. Try to witness some of these events before you experience them for yourself. First hand experience is better than all the books in the world.

If you own a bitch, another concern is selecting a stud dog. Spend as much time researching the stud dogs you may be interested in, as you have your own dog. The criteria for stud dog selection should be the same as mentioned above for your own dog.

Don't necessarily look for the most popular stud dog in the country or the dog with the top winning record. These things could be the result of a fad, or as a result of a small fortune spent on advertising and showing. On the other hand, there are some dogs who are popular, and who do win a lot, because they are outstanding individuals and sires. Sometimes it's hard to get the stars out of our eyes, but do your best to evaluate the dog on its own merit as an individual.

Not only should you like the dog, but perhaps more importantly, do you like his offspring? Are his offspring consistently of good quality out of various bitches? Some stud dogs are of excellent quality themselves, but don't reproduce themselves. Some stud dogs produce offspring that are of better quality than themselves. Which sire would you rather choose?

Also, in choosing a stud dog, decide what your goals for the litter are. Would those goals be met by outcrossing, linebreeding or inbreeding? Become familiar with those terms. Know your dog's faults. Even dogs that are of breeding quality have their faults. There are no perfect dogs. If your dog has a weak area, breeding to a dog who is the opposite in that area probably won't fix it. Breed individuals who are compatible, not opposites. On the flip side, don't double up on your dog's faults.

Remember also, that the dog that you choose needs to be registered with the same registry that your dog is. Registries will not register a litter of puppies unless both parents are registered with their registry.

When you contact a stud owner, be frank about your dog and what you are looking for. Most stud dog owners will want to be assured that breeding to your bitch will benefit the breed. If they don't care, maybe you should look elsewhere. They should know their dog's strengths and weaknesses, and may even suggest that you don't use their stud dog, if they think it won't be a good cross. Respect their honesty and concern and don't take it personally.

Finally, when you have made your decision, let the stud dog owner know you are interested and when your bitch is due to come into heat. Make sure you forward all pertinent information (OFA, CERF, pedigree, etc.) about your dog to the stud dog owner well in advance. Responsible stud dog owners will require these things of you before they agree to breed to your dog. Make prior arrangements - Don't wait until your bitch is in heat to call, and then expect to be accommodated.

Promptly contact the stud dog owner as soon as your bitch does come into heat. Most stud dog owners will also require a current brucellosis test to be done shortly before the bitch is bred, and usually like to have the bitch come to them around the 7th to 10th day of her heat cycle. You can usually count on a stay of about a week.

From there on out it is the count down - roughly 63 days!

Time and finances are another real consideration. Breeding dogs is an expensive venture, and seldom makes money. If a litter does, you can count on using that money to help cover expenses on the next litter that doesn't. The first financial outlay will be in the evaluation process: showing, health care, OFA, CERF, etc. Next are the expenses incurred to cover the breeding: stud dog fees, shipping the bitch to the stud dog, health check and brucellosis test. These can be quite considerable. Be prepared.

Now that your bitch is home the expenses don't end ....consider long distance phone calls, postage and supplies to mail information to prospective puppy buyers, advertising, etc.

And if you aren't gasping yet... it's time for the puppies to arrive! Hopefully when the puppies are whelped you won't experience any problems, but it can happen. Things do go wrong, and when they do it can be very expensive. Make sure you have the assets to handle problems if they do occur.

As the puppies grow there are expenses for food (puppies can eat you out of house and home!), eye checks, vaccinations, health checks, etc. Don't skimp on money in this area. Use an excellent quality food and provide the best health care.

Time is another issue. There are many hours spent in the care of puppies: feeding, clean up, grooming, training, etc. If you are going to do it right, puppies require a lot of time. Make sure you have the time required.

Placing puppies is another consideration before breeding your dog. Often a novice breeder has no reputation and no referrals. This is a hard reality. We all have to start here, but please keep this fact in mind. Many times even established breeders are left with puppies that aren't placed right away. Could you realistically keep all of your puppies if you couldn't place them? If your answer is no, don't breed your dog. Although it may not happen, always consider the worst case scenario.

In placing puppies, there are some basic issues to consider. The primary concern should be that the puppies will be loved and well cared for. A concerned breeder's hope is that the dog/owner relationship will be a lifelong relationship, where dog and owner are both happy. Matching a puppy based on his individual temperament, and the owner's needs and goals is essential. (As an example: Don't place your most dominant, spitfire puppy with an elderly couple.) Just use common sense.

All prospective puppy buyers should be carefully screened. Ask questions such as: Where do they live - House/Apt? Do they have a fenced yard? (An essential criteria.) Do they have children? What other dogs have they owned? (Did they give "Rover" away, because it wasn't convenient to keep him? Was "Poochie" killed in the road? Investigate and think about it.) What other dogs do they own? (Will that breed work well with an Aussie?) Do they train or show their dogs? What are the goals and expectations they have for a puppy?

You also need to ask yourself if you have the ability to determine the difference between a show/breeding prospect and a pet puppy? Honestly represent your puppies. Your future reputation depends on it.

Remember placing puppies should be the beginning of an ongoing relationship, not a lasting farewell. Many wonderful, lasting friendships develop out of puppy sales, but there is another side of placing puppies. Puppy buyers often end up in unexpected circumstance: moves, divorces, etc. Are you willing to take back a dog that you have bred if needed? If you aren't prepared to take your dogs back, don't breed dogs. You need to make sure dogs you have bred don't end up at the pound, or in dog rescue. Remember - Dog rescue starts at home.

So, you've bred your dog and lived to tell about it! All your puppies are in happy secure homes and you can breathe a sigh of relief. Now it is time to evaluate again. Keep good records and take photos. They will be an invaluable aid in the future.

Were any genetic problems produced? How severe were they? What was the mode of inheritance of the problem? Does the problem flag your dog as a carrier? Even though your dog may be free of genetic defects themselves, if they are proven a carrier, or if they repeatedly produce problems when bred to different dogs, don't continue to breed your dog. If there were genetic problems in the litter, contact the stud dog owner to let them know. Don't spread it through the grapevine.

Study and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the litter. Was it a good cross, why or why not? Try to avoid the common reaction of giving all the glory to your bitch if the litter turns out well, or putting all the blame on the stud dog if it doesn't turn out. Be fair in both scenarios - it takes two to tango!