My Breeding Experience

My breeding experience spans 40 years. My mom raised Shelties for about 20 years from the time I was a baby until after I left home. She also worked for a vet for about 12 years. My dad was a rancher & did most of his own vet work & taught me as well. I know quite a bit about breeding animals including dogs, horses, & cattle & have chosen this fulfulling occupation as my full time job. My parents always included me in the daily chores & learning process &, though I didn't know it at the time, was the basis for my knowledge to one day be successful in my own breeding program as well.

However, this job is not for everyone & requires strenuous physical labor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week no matter if it is 10 below or 110 degrees, sunny, snowy, windy, icy, rainy, bitter cold, blazing heat, etc ... chores still have to be done EVERY day. There are financial dry spells, disappointments, & heartbreaks when a puppy, foal, or calf does not survive. Those things are part of the job & must be dealt with accordingly.

Then, after deciding to breed, there was the working 2 jobs to pay for & selecting just the right breeding prospects & waiting for them to grow up to be old enough to breed. Some worked out & some didn't. Building materials have really increased & paying for a kennel & fencing all 11 yards was quite expensive in addition to registration fees, vaccinations, wormer, medications, health clearances, dog houses, crates, towels, food & water bowls, flea & tick control, fans, heating pads, vet bills, winter bedding, dna, advertising, and the list goes on. So if you are considering breeding, you must be able to deal with all of the above mentioned circumstances.