Hello lovers of German shepherd puppies from Banffy Haus:

Of course we love our German Shepherds.  And  we would love to get another just like our current dog.  But should you breed your pet once to try to replicate your buddy?

I talk to a lot of people who say they would like to have full AKC registration and don’t want to get their dog neutered (male) or spayed (female) until they get a litter from them.  Their idea is that they love this dog so much that they would like to get a son or daughter of their dog to get a dog just like their beloved older dog.  The question is, does this make sense?  Other reasons include to save money or to give pups to relatives.

The short and frank answer is…no.

First of all, likely you have not had the dog’s hip stats done with either AKC or a foreign registry if you got it as a puppy.  It is somewhat irresponsible to breed a dog without knowing for certain that their joints are healthy.

Secondly, if it is a male, you can’t be certain that the male will have enough libido and mate well (get a good tie), have enough sperm concentration or motility.  Also, you don’t know what he will produce in terms of health, temperament, or good confirmation.  You have no history to go by.  Also, likely if you do mate an untitled dog the only person who would mate to yours is another person with an untitled dog.  This can be very risky. Thirdly, you probably are not going to be able to select a dog with compatible bloodlines (good line-breeding) because you won’t have much choice in females.  Also, the chances you will get a dog closely mirroring your current “best friend” is not probable.

If it is a female, then you can spend the money for a stud.  But, not everyone is willing to breed their beautiful titled stud to your untitled pet.  You also don’t know if your female will produce milk, be fertile, be a good mother (tend the pups and not harm them).  You will not be expert in timing the ovulation, and certainly could have trouble with whelping since you are likely very inexperienced.  You could easily lose pups if not all of the them and endanger the female’s life.  It could happen at night and necessitate emergency surgery that could cost a great deal of money.  Then there are the vet bills for puppy inoculations and health checks.

After it is all said and done, it would be better to just pay the price and get another puppy from a top breeding, with experienced breeder, with top lines, with a guarantee.  That new German shephed puppy will likely become another family legend and bring you equally as much joy as your last best friend.

I hope this was helpful.

Please visit our website for tons of information at “Banffy Haus K-9 University“ on German shepherd puppies and dogs.