This section addresses material you must study before you consider breeding - from the basics to how to choose the sex or the colour of the pups in advance and how to induce the female into estrus (bring her in heat) whenever you want - and much more.
If you are planning on breeding, wait. Don't decide until you have read ALL the material on this section.
The other day, a young housewife with a 3 years old child talked to me about buying a pup to breed to make some money, she said. She has no idea what she is getting into and as I attempted to explain a few facts to her, her face told me she wasn't listening, didn't understand or didn't believe and she may just have thought I tried to minimize the competition, discouraging her to keep the "business" for me.
If people would only understand.
So if it isn't worth the effort financially, how come there are many commercial breeders?
The only way to make some money breeding is if it is done the way puppy mills and back yard breeders do it. No health care, no supplementary diets, no special programmes, just produce pups and sell them. The result WILL be a Dane with the health problems large breeds experience in nature. Otherwise one would have to sell the pup for at least $2000 in order to generate a $300 pup profit - if such sum is worth such effort. How? well, if you don't believe it or understand it, read the attached material.
Please don't dismiss this until you have read the material here. I hate to see more poor and condemned pups produced to suffer and to make families suffer. I hear about it too oftn, but people generally don't listen. Five new breeders just started in BC recently including 2 right here in town - with no experience, no knowledge of Danes' needs, and I know they will just mate a male with a female, sell the pups and let the victim families suffer a few years later.
Read the break down on expenses. Read the care needed. Remember that it is not as simple as getting a male and a female, they mate and you have pups to sell. Nothing is farther from reality. Not for Hounds, Danes and Mastiffs. These 3 breeds require specxial care, otherwise the Dane WILL have health problems and a short life.
The second issue is, even if the person is willing to do it right and will spend the money for the expenses needed, unless he or she is very knowledgeable and has a solid scholastic background, he can do the future of the pup a lot more harm than good. Breeding toy dogs is one thing; breeding Danes is not meant for house wives and farmers. Please call me to explain. It is not an arrogant comment. In several countries now special giant breeds, namely Danes really, can only be bred by a qualified applicant. The three other reputable Dane breeders are vets and chemists.
Pups from commercial breeders will most likely have health problems, the severe problems common in improperly bred or wild giant dogs and it is no accidents that there are only 3 or 4 breeders in the world who don't have these problems - the reason is the expensive care programme to prevent and correct the problems of nature, including diets for the female pre, during and post pregnancy, diets for the pups and a diet for the male with expensive supplements. If you leave it to nature you'll get the problems they get in nature. Danes as we know them now, as developed by relatively recent genetic alteration with Mastiff & hounds, will have problems if bred as if they are wolves or Sheppard.
I just posted 4 emails from disappointed families who purchased Danes from 4 Canadian & American breeders who did the minimum requirement, the diagnostic (but not therapeutic nor preventative) measure of some tests listed with OFA, yet all the pups from OFA tested Danes developed major problems. The difference is in the corrective and compensating task of supplementary diets. Two breeders have finally just realized this fact and have approached me to coach them and to supply them with the diets material. Take the time to read every word here before you decide on breeding.
