🐶 Dog Breeder's In-Depth Starter Checklist

“Breeding dogs is not just about puppies. It’s about health, ethics, responsibility, and legacy.”

📋 1. Foundational Knowledge

✅ Understand your chosen breed’s standards, temperament, and common health issues
✅ Study canine genetics: coat color inheritance, hip/elbow dysplasia, inbreeding vs. linebreeding
✅ Learn dog breeding ethics — responsible breeding vs. backyard breeding
✅ Join national breed clubs (e.g., KESCBA, AKC, FCI clubs)
✅ Attend shows, seminars, and breeder conferences

🏥 2. Health & Vet Requirements

✅ Have a reliable vet who understands reproductive health
✅ Prepare to conduct pre-breeding health screening for sire and dam:

  • Hip/elbow X-rays

  • Genetic/DNA tests

  • Brucellosis test

  • Eye, heart, thyroid exams
    ✅ Microchip and vaccinate all breeding dogs
    ✅ Maintain deworming and flea/tick prevention schedules

🐕 3. Selecting Breeding Dogs

✅ Choose dogs with:

  • Excellent temperament

  • No disqualifying faults

  • Strong, traceable pedigree
    ✅ Match mates with complementary traits
    ✅ Avoid overused studs and poor bloodlines
    ✅ Ensure dogs are at least 2 years old and fully mature

🏠 4. Facility & Equipment

✅ Design a clean, quiet, warm whelping space
✅ Must-haves:

  • Whelping box with pig rails

  • Heat lamp or heating pad

  • Digital thermometer

  • Scale (for weighing pups)

  • Puppy-safe cleaning supplies
    ✅ Post-whelping:

  • Puppy pens/play area

  • Socialization toys and surfaces

  • Secure outdoor potty space

🛠️ 5. Breeding Supplies

✅ Progesterone test kits or vet testing plan
✅ Artificial insemination tools (if not doing natural breeding)
✅ Puppy milk replacer
✅ Feeding bottles/nipples
✅ Thermometers, towels, gloves
✅ Disinfectants, calcium supplements, vet contact on speed dial

🧾 6. Legal & Record Keeping

✅ Register with a recognized breeding authority (KESCBA, KVB, etc.)
✅ Keep records of:

  • Heat cycles

  • Mating dates

  • Whelping logs

  • Weight charts

  • Deworming and vaccination
    ✅ Understand local animal welfare laws and kennel licensing requirements
    ✅ Prepare puppy contracts for buyers

💬 7. Marketing & Screening Homes

✅ Set up professional communication:

  • Email, phone, social pages

  • Kennel name & branding
    ✅ Take quality photos/videos of pups
    ✅ Screen potential buyers:

  • Home checks or interviews

  • Pet vs. show-quality matches
    ✅ Educate clients on the breed’s needs
    ✅ Prepare go-home kits: care guide, vet records, small food bag

🍼 8. Whelping & Puppy Raising

✅ Be on call 24/7 during whelping
✅ Monitor for complications (e.g. dystocia, mastitis)
✅ Ensure puppies latch and nurse within the first hour
✅ Start early neurological stimulation (ENS) from Day 3
✅ Begin gentle handling, crate intro, noise desensitization

🐾 9. Socialization & Training

✅ Start potty training and crate training at 4–5 weeks
✅ Expose pups to:

  • Other animals

  • Kids and adults

  • Sounds (TV, vacuum, doors)
    ✅ Begin basic commands by 6–7 weeks
    ✅ Encourage problem-solving with puzzle toys

💡 10. Exit Strategy

✅ What happens to dogs that don’t sell? Have a backup plan
✅ Offer lifelong breeder support and consider a return policy
✅ Be emotionally prepared for the responsibility of placing every pup

🧡 Final Reminder:

Ethical breeding means prioritizing health, welfare, and betterment of the breed — not profit.

“The best breeders aren’t the ones who sell the most puppies — they’re the ones who raise the best dogs.”

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