1. The Female

     Do you already own a  female - -   commonly called  a  bitch? 

    Has she ever produced a litter before? 

    Were there complications? 

    What age is she? 

     Dogs do reach a certain age, dependant  on breed,   after  which they should not be bred.

    Do you have at  least  a  3  generation pedigree   on her  to  know  what  is  behind  her to have some  idea  of  what  she  will produce when bred to certain dogs? 

    If  bred  before,  has  she  produced any puppies  with hereditary (genetic) problems  (monorchids,  pups   with epilepsy, glaucoma,  low thyroid, hip dysplasia, short upper arms,   light eyes,    in beagles - - "funny puppies",  in bassets - - flanged ribs, out at the elbows, knuckling over, long coats? 

    Do you have a quiet, out-of-the-way place for her to whelp the puppies, that can be kept at higher than normal temperatures for the first week? 

      If  you  do  not  already  own a female, are you prepared   to  purchase  or  lease  the  very  best representative  of  her  breed  of  the  type  and lineage  you  prefer?    Don't  settle  for a second-rate bitch,  because you will often have second-rate puppies no matter who she is bred to. 

2.   The Male 

    Do you  have a male - - commonly called a stud dog in mind?

   Has he been bred before?

    What has he produced?  (See hereditary problems in #1)

   How old is he (see #1)? 

   When was his last brucellosis test?

    have you seen his pedigree? How well does it mesh with the bitch's?

    Does the male's owner want a stud fee or pick of litter?  Are you willing to part with the pick of litter? (their pick may be different than your pick) Why do they want pick of litter - - to sell or to keep?

    Is the stud fee  paid up front or once the litter is delivered safely? 

   Will they do a repeat breeding if this breeding is not fruitful? 

    How many puppies constitute a litter?

   Will you be required to pay board while the bitch is at their facility for breeding? 

    If you do not have a stud dog in mind or he does not meet the following criteria in #3, are you willing to wait on breeding your female until you find one who does? 

3. Testing for Hereditary Problems, Shots and Condition of Sire and Dam 

    Have both potential sire and dam been tested for or do they exhibit signs of any hereditable diseases common in the breed (hip dysplasia, low thyroid,  epilepsy,  glaucoma, etc.) ?

    Are both male (the sire) and female (the dam) in good health, and free of any contagious diseases, including Brucellosis?

    Are they current on all their shots?  These include:  rabies, parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, adenovirus, and possible those for coronavirus or leptospirosis, following your veterinarian's recommendation.

    It is recommended a bitch have her shots within the last 6 months before being bred so she will pass on a degree of maternal immunity to her puppies through her milk. She cannot receive any innoculations during her pregnancy or breeding period.

  Are both dogs in good weight and condition?  If not, they may not be fertile or may have underlying medical problems.

    If they have or exhibit signs of these conditions they should not be bred! 

4. The Breed Standard 

(See links to basset and beagle breed standards at end of this page)

   Are they good representatives of the breed? If you do not know the  standard as put out by the AKC and the parent breed club, I suggest you go to your local library and see if they have a book on the breed you can look at. Almost all the breed books have the standard in them. 

5. The Whelping  

    Are you prepared to stay at home and watch over a litter of newborn puppies (anywhere between 1 puppy and 12 puppies!) for up to 2 weeks to make certain that the mother doesn't accidentally lie on them and smother them?

    And if you need a good night's sleep to function, forget it for those two weeks or so! 

    Do you know how to assist in the delivery of puppies, the signs of trouble during the whelping (the actual labor of the dam and birth of the puppies) or pregnancy, how to tube feed, what to feed newborns should the dam not produce milk or acquire an infection - - or die?

    Do you know the signs of trouble in puppies - - "fading puppy syndrome", inability  to  nurse,  infections,  cleft palate,   parvovirus, distemper  or  other infectious diseases? 

6. Financial Considerations

   Are you financially able to provide the various costs associated with producing a litter: 

       possible shipping costs to and from the stud dog ; 

       stud fee; 

       pre-breeding tests;

       prenatal care (vitamins, extra nourishing food); 

       the postnatal care (puppy shots starting at 6-8  weeks   and  continuing  through  4  months  of  age,   even  more  food  for  mom,  possibly handfeeding the puppies with puppy formula);

       the  possible  veterinary  expenses  of   an emergency Caesarian section - - even spaying - - or x-rays, sonograms, and other tests needed to insure the safe delivery and upbringing of the puppies?  

7. Raising the Litter

     Are you prepared to keep a litter of puppies until they are at least  8 weeks old, properly weaned,  up   to  date  on  their  shots,  screen potential buyers   and  know  that  they  will be going to good homes, with fenced yards, and that they will not be just thrown out in the yard with little human contact once they outgrow their cute stage or have a few accidents in the house?

   You could end up with unsold puppies for many months.  Can you provide the room for them?  Can you provide all those extra shots until they are 4 months old? 

     Are you willing to take back any  puppies that do not work out and keep them until they can be placed in another home after returning them to good health if they are returned in less than satisfactory condition? 

8. Socialization

     Can you provide the critical socialization the puppies will need to different situations, noises, people and handling?     

9.  Money-Making

   If you are considering breeding to earn some money, think again!  Few of us make anything at all.  (see #s  1-3, 5-7) 

10. Breeding Responsibility

   You should never breed a dog unless you think can improve on the sire and/or dam and have buyers for the puppies, already lined up, with deposits in hand. Remember, deposits are non-refundable unless they want a female and all you have are males, or other such stipulations. 

   A responsible breeder breeds only with the good of the breed in mind!

   Ideally, a responsible breeder breeds for himself, not the market, trying to achieve better than what he/she has already, keeping the best bitch and/or dog out of each litter to continue to improve his line.

  If there is no dog better than its sire or no bitch puppy better than its dam,  improving   on  them where  they  have  faults,  but  keeping   their attributes, you should keep nothing out of that breeding to further your line.  The whole idea is to improve, not remain stagnant in your quality.

  No  breedings  should  be  taken lightly.  They are time-consuming,nerve-wracking, and financially draining.  You might end up with a best in show winner, an obedience trial champion, an all around field champion .... and  you  might  end  up with a dead bitch, dead puppies and an  enormous  vet  bill . . . . . . . . . . . or  anything   in  between.