I used to try and reason with people about such a notion. That "greeders" as the animal rights activists would say aren't actually making tons of money off breeding puppies. I know a handful of breeders. None of them are making a living at this. The drive-thru window operator at McDonalds makes more money, and if they are full time the get benefits. There is no such thing as "full time" in responsible dog breeding. There is "all the time" plus "on call." I'll show you how this works. You start with one awesome dog. You pay for a fully registered dog, either AKC or UKC or some other reputable registration. That would NOT include the Continental Kennel Club or American Pet Registry. If you breed for one of those you can punch yourself in the face for me. Thanks. You paid, if you are lucky like me, $1000 for that dog in 2010. And you train it, feed it, buy it cool toys that it will just destuff and poop out on the yard. You get health testing done like hip x-rays ($200) and elbow x-rays ($200) and a heart auscultation ($210) and eye check ($50.00) and thyroid panel ($150) and then you send all those results to OFA to publish and you pay them to put it on a website for the whole world to see ($65). And you go to a couple shows or competitions to earn a title, each costing roughly $30. It takes between 3-5 successful competitions to get the title and then you have to pay the AKC or the UKC to recognize that you did receive the title. That is another $25. There is training fees from professional courses around $100 a pop, and then gas and lodging to leave the State to compete. By the time your dog is old enough to breed you have put a minimum of $3000 in, and that doesn't capture the gas, the food, the regular vet care. If you wait longer to breed like me, that just ads up. If you "compete" in search and rescue, don't bother to count. Its around $12,000 a year. And Juno did that for 5 years. ![]() So my search and rescue time gets written off in my taxes. You get a standard deduction, sometimes you get to claim a little more. Sometimes less. But that doesn't get me any money, it just means I pay $2000 less to the government. Now you might think that all that is unrelated to breeding, but its not. Because it is those activities that make your dog worthy of breeding. Its seeing that your dog can be trained and can work that makes people want a puppy from your dog. Everything you do with your dog makes your dog. I chose not to breed Juno until she was 6 years old. I chose a stud, and that cost $1200. Then I had to drive to OH to make the breeding happen. The trip alone was over $600, with an infant in tow. Then there was 4 vet visits to make that breeding happen, another $800. You have to increase her food and give her supplements, $300. Whelping box $250. Whelping supplies, $230. And now come the puppies. ![]() For 8 weeks you are on call 24/7 for strange noises, cries, barks, whines. You have to create a kennel area in your house with a crate, padded flooring, wee wee pads, wire fencing. That was $500. And then you have to clean it twice a day, launder the towels two or three times a day (which is a cost you will never capture). Give them toys, change the toys, worm them, feed them, bath them, train them. You can't get back your time, and you can't put a price tag on it. Although the Puppy Culture DVD is $80. For me, I received $1300 each for 7 puppies. That's $9100. I spent $9357.24. A subsequent litter will be able to use a lot of the same items like the whelping box and the kennel system. So that cost won't be incurred again until they wear out. I'm not going to have enough litters to wear them out. Its more likely they will get lost or broken in a move than to be worn thin by puppies. In fact, Juno will only have one more litter. So, each of my puppies went home socialized and healthy. AND I added prepaid AKC registration, prepaid ISO microchip with AKC reunite. A puppy training book, Lupine leash and collar, new puppy kong toy, and toy that smells like the whole litter ($85). I can laugh now because I didn't charge enough. But that is ok. I have these pups in good homes. I didn't get into this to make money. I decided to raise the price for the next litter, and will provide all the same things for the pups. The stud fee for the next litter is also $1200. The medical AI will still be around $800. If there is a problem with the whelping, I'll cover that also. I could have just 4 pups, or none at all. The ultimate truth is that good breeders get health testing and care for their puppies, so they are hoping to break even. Some years you are ahead and some years you are behind, but in total we spend more in the years leading up to a breeding than we will ever get back from selling a puppy. The goal of a good breeder is to better the breed. That could be through temperament or structure, or even just new genetics. They look to these breedings to find their next dog. One that will continue the work they started. But even that is a gamble. There is no guarantee that that keeper pup is going to be good enough to carry on the line. And we haven't even looked at the fact that someone might return a puppy. Breeding good puppies is a job. It takes dedication. On this first litter I cared for a puppy for two extra weeks until the owner could pick him up. I cared for one puppy an extra week and then delivered him 4 hours away. Those aren't normal services a breeder provides, but they indicative of someone that cares. If you ask my husband, I care too much.
I'm not trying to sell you a puppy. I am trying to sell you on the idea that you should demand good breeders. You should not purchase a puppy from a newspaper ad for $200. One that has no proof of health testing or lives exclusively in a barn. A pet store will charge you $2999 for a puppy that comes from conditions you will never know. The breed clubs I am involved with make breeders promise not to sell to a pet store. Good breeders put time, money, love, and knowledge into breeding and raising a litter. Its the kind of American ingenuity that we should promote and champion. In a world where you can get plastic china garbage in Wal-Mart for $1 we need better quality not more quantity. You might have to wait 6 months or a year to get the puppy you want. So? And don't overlook a reputable rescue. They also care and feed and train their dogs to find them new, loving homes. Have I been rambling? What was my point....Oh yeah, good breeding costs money. Much more than you paid for that well-bred puppy. Now its your turn to put in the time and the money to make that puppy into a great dog. It takes much more training then genetics to get a great dog. You owe it to the dog, and the breeder, not to ruin what they started. How much have I spent on pet dogs that are never bred? Oh, thousands. And I wouldn't do it any differently.
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So you just got a puppy. 8 week old fluffy cuteness that licks your hand and snuggles your face? Nope, that's a kitten. 8 week old puppies are a little different. They poop, pee, whine, bark, chew things up, and barf on the Persian rug you inherited from your Great Uncle Chester. Its only when they finally fall asleep that you say sigh and say "aw, I love puppies." ![]() The puppy is chewing your hand, your arm, your pants, your hair, your imported Italian leather shoes and your sofa because its a puppy. That beautiful silver poodle also did these things as a puppy. In fact she went one step further and chewed a hole in the drywall just above the baseboard. Whose fault is that? Mine, because she had access to the baseboard. You don't blame the toddler for sticking a fork in a socket, you just cover the socket. Duh. Or take away the fork. But right now you have a barking, chewing, pooping, puppy monster. What do you do? First is take it outside. It needs to run and play. Take it outside, bring it back in, take it back out, bring it back in, and then take it out again. This evolution should happen once an hour, and that is just for housebreaking. If you are trying to teach anything else you need to add that to the list not replace it. There is no way around this. It would be like wanting to avoid cavities but refusing to brush your teeth. Does the pup bark all night? Of course, because its lonely and its looking for siblings that were there yesterday and now they are gone. Before bed you need to take away food and water and then go for a long walk. They won't sleep all night at first, but being tired sure helps. You can move the crate closer to where you sleep, or even *gasp* put the dog in your bed. It won't ruin the dog, it will learn not to sleep on the bed. But are you trying to get some sleep or prove to the puppy that it must now survive on its own in this cold, cold world? I've put a puppy in my bed before and it doesn't sleep on the bed now. Does your pup bark during the day? Of course, take him out to play. Then bring him back in and give him something to chew on. When he wakes up from that nap, go right back outside and start over. Walk, play, nap, repeat. This is really hard if you have a full-time job. So you MUST get a dog walker. Before 6 months old they need to come in 2-3 times a day. Otherwise your puppy won't be house trained. Pups have tiny bladders. If they get in the habit of going to the bathroom in the house, or in their crate, its very difficult to retrain them. You could also get a dog door, if you have a fenced yard. Just realize that housebroken in your home doesn't mean housebroken in other peoples homes. Its been three days and the pup is climbing out of the pen and barking. See above. Its not getting enough excercise and its stressed out. If you take a baby and put it in an orphange and then confine it to a crib its gonna cry and find a way out. So, at three days in you need to be honest, are you dedicated enough to see this through or should you take the puppy back where you got it and let it go to a better home? Only you can answer that. But if you are dedicated to the game then put a lid on the pen, either with wire designed for the pen or with a sheet. Some pens are easier to climb out of than others. Certain breeds climb much better than others. And its still barking? He's bored. Go play. I try to help people solve the issues that come up with puppies, or even adult dogs, because they think they have no options. In truth, most of the time, they were told exactly what to do and thought they could get away with a short cut. Well, as it goes "garbage in, garbage out." You can't fake training a dog, like faking Calculus. Or Civil Procedure. If you didn't read Pennoyer v. Neff the whole class if going to know it. So rest assured, your plight is not just your own. I even forget how much work puppies can be, but I deal with it. So if all these horrible things are happening then you need to go back and look at the basics. Did you set up the puppy area correctly? Did you schedule someone to walk the dog? Did you take off work to bond with the dog? Did you remove all the fun things from eye level that a dog can put its teeth on? And then, do you know what the dog needs? Because at this point whether the breed is right for you is irrelevant, you have the puppy now and every puppy is going to be the same. They are a puppy. Some bark a little less, some pee a little more. Look for solutions for your specific dog. Some want to cuddle, some want to swim, some want to play. But all of them have only one way of telling you that they need something. Next, find a puppy class. This is crucial One that will allow you to get around other puppy people, co-miserate, and find out that everyone is having a problem. And I mean everyone. I have three well behaved dogs and I add a puppy, I have the same issues. But the resolution is also the same. Exercise and socialization. For a little while you have to rearrange your whole life. Some times people don't believe that, or don't want to believe it. Your new normal is going to be pee, poop, barking, and teeth marks for the better part of 6 months. This is what you signed up for, didn't you know. If you didn't, then you batter catch up quick. Or resign yourself to failure. It is failure if you give up. According to the SPCA there are 70-80 million dogs in the US owned by 37-47% of the households. I'm thinking a large portion own multiple dogs, so they did this whole training and bonding thing more than once. Thus, its not impossible. Its not even revolutionary. Its just work, like losing weight or crocheting a Christmas stocking for your niece. It takes time and effort, but the outcome, oh man. The outcome is AMAZING. Don't give up. Lean in and be a dog owner. Ian Dunbar, Karen Pryor, Suzanne Clothier etc, all have published books and videos on training and dog relationships. Get into a puppy class! Get into a puppy play group. Get some digestible chew toys! And go for a walk. Its not rocket science. And if Neil DeGrasse Tyson is reading this and needs help, well, maybe you should get a cat.
If you find that you just can't do it. That its been weeks and the dog hates you, you are getting evicted, or you lost your job then take the dog back where you got it. Any good breeder or rescue will take the dog back. They want to see the dogs in good homes, not in animal shelters. If you do have to take a dog back, ok. But you need to think long and hard before you get another dog. Wait a long time. Get a cactus if you must, because it may be that taking care of other living things is not your strength. That is fine, acknowledge it. Not everyone is cut out to own a pet. Thank your lucky stars you didn't get something truly expensive, like a horse. #crazypuppy #ihatethispuppy #puppyproblems #puppyhelp I will start with my recommendation for vaccinations published by Dr. Jean Dodds in California. The basic premise is that you should space out vaccines, give them one at a time so the body can mount an unencumbered defense, and titer before giving another. So what is a titer? A titer is a blood test that shows the amount of antibodies that the body retained from the last vaccine that will fight any future exposure to a disease. Not only do I titer before vaccination, but I send it to Dr. Dodds in CA for interpretation. The short reason is that Dr. Dodd's research shows that when any antibodies exist the dog is still immune while other laboratories have made arbitrary cut offs. What does that mean to you? Nothing really. Whether or not a dog is determined by a certain laboratory to be immune to Distemper, for example, doesn't mean you have to revaccinate. There are no laws required Distemper vaccinations. Only Rabies is required by law. And depending on your State you can get one year or three year vaccinations (that are both the exact same vaccination.) And some States accept a vet note that a dog has had an adverse reaction to a rabies vaccine and therefore doesn't need to be vaccinated again.
(You should note that studies have shown the Rabies vaccine to remain viable in a dogs system for 7 years so far, so every 3 years is still overkill.) The dangers of over vaccination, which would be revaccinating annually, are well documented. The foremost being autoimmune disorders that manifest as itchy skin, food allergies, or general poor health. Some vaccinations have been attributed to severe reactions, even death, but the actual evidence is not conclusory. However, when you get a vaccine you have to weigh the risk. Will my dog get this specific disease? Is it easily treatable? Or is the possible reactions to the vaccine worse than the disease its trying to prevent? Vaccines work by introducing a small amount of a specific disease into the system so the body learns to fight it. Dogs are often tired and sore after a vaccine. You should note that, as I have done previously with a pup that was very sore after a vaccine. I recommended to the new owner that she only give one more vaccine and then titer until the levels were too low. Regular vaccines would certainly effect this dog int he long term, but how I cannot say. But why risk it? Why risk causing an allergy or constant rash? Death isn't common, but its possible. And realistically the only reason to NOT titer in lieu of vaccine has to do with price. Its around $80 to titer compared to $30 to vaccinate. Its your call as a dog owner, but like I said, why risk it for a lifetime of autoimmune healthcare? There are vaccines I don't give even though the Vet's have pushed them on me, such and Lyme and Leptospirosis. Why? Because once you give them the dog always pops positive, and thus you cannot easily rule out both treatable diseases with a simple test. I have search and rescue dogs, ones that regularly pick up ticks and drink dirty water, but I still don't do it. I treat Lyme with Ledum, a homeopathic remedy or antibiotics if they are lame. Even if a dog has the Lyme vaccine they can still get Lyme. Lepto is often in 5-way shots, which I also don't recommend, and is also easily treated. The symptoms are also rather distinct, such as vomiting. But if you have the vaccine and your dog starts vomiting after a hike the vet can't tell you if it is or isn't Lepto. Thus, I don't give the vaccine. Each Vet feels differently. Some Vets are going to accept your desire to minimally vaccinate, other will pressure you into a 5-way. The reason has to do with how they were trained. They were told these things had to be done and they follow that logic without question. They are unwilling, or unable, to look at the new evidence and change their practices accordingly. And at least to some people that reason has to do with greed. They get paid for each vaccine, and its a HUGE margin. So if they tell you that you must do annual vaccines then they get you into the clinic, charge and overhead fee, and exam fee, a vaccine fee, and at least some of them truly want to be sure your dog is healthy. The same reason they only give you 12 months of heartworm. They say to give it year round and its 100% effective, but if that is true why would we need to retest every year? You would not. But then they couldn't keep an eye on your dog and how much you overfeed it. That is a different post. The short of it is, if you vaccinate split it up, do them weeks apart, and titer. I have one 4 year old that was given one Parvo + Distemper combo at 16 weeks. She did not receive another dose. Four years later and her titer results show she is protected, so why would I revaccinate what is not broken? #minimalvaccines #puppyvaccine #drdoddvaccines #titer If you google that phrase you are likely to get a number of videos showing the type of damage a Malinois puppy can do to your house, or still photos of living rooms littered with sofa foam and toilet paper. Its very easy to find evidence of people that have failed to properly breed, choose, exercise, or train their new puppy. You might even come away from these horrible illustrations with the author's intended perception, that no one can handle a Malinois. No one, that is, expect for the person that posted the photos and videos. Because they do, after all, continue to own this said "out of control puppy." Malinois are herding dogs, so they like to chase and herd things. So do lots of other breeds. Malinois are nick-named "maligators" because they use their teeth as in introduction, conversation, and farewell. I laugh, that is just puppy behavior. All puppies relate to the world primarily with their teeth because adult dogs relate to the world with their teeth. If you are going to get a puppy its going to put its teeth on your hand, your clothes, and your furniture. Its just that a Malinois does it a little more. They suffer from an issue of persistence. If you don't want them to continue to put there teeth on everything than you need to show them other things to do. That is where most people go wrong. They want a Malinois but they aren't prepared for the energy and dedication that it takes to make them into awesome dogs. Its not just this breed, most people see an adult dog and just want a tiny fluffy ball of cuteness to spring forth from the dog's womb already house trained, leash walking, and basic obedience. A lot of people get a puppy expecting a trained dog, and so they post videos of their inability to properly take on this responsibility and then blame it on the dog. To be fair, this photo is not a Malinois. But that hasn't stopped people from claiming that it is. Of course Malinois have done their share of damage, as have many other breeds. Its just more likely that the Malinois, once started, is going to persist longer and cover more space on your drywall than say, a labrador. So if you want a Malinois, start by asking yourself why. There are things a Malinois isn't, and things that it is. You might have seen one and assume that the breed is something that it isn't. Malinois are largely not couch potatoes. Of course there are exceptions. Although I think its more likely to find a Malinois that can drive a car than one that just sits on the couch all day without having a serious health issue or being 18 years old. A Malinois wants to do what you are doing. They want to go for that hike or run around while you rake leaves. If you don't spend a couple hours a day doing these things than your dog isn't going to be very happy. Left alone dogs will bark and seek out way to escape and find friends. Malinois are no different. Getting any dog because you saw a celebrity with one is stupid. Getting one because you saw it in a movie is stupid. Getting a dog because you have determined you have the time and money to care for one and want the mental and physical benefits of pet ownership is the ONLY reason to get a dog. You get a Malinois when you want a fantastically smart dog that will relish working with you and stay by your side if you are in danger. But you owe that dog the time and effort it requires to be happy. If you work all day and the dog will be alone, this breed isn't for you. You need to get a dog walker to play with your dog or it will amuse themselves. Also, don't ask for "high drive" unless you are working with your dog. And by working I mean search and rescue, hunting, tracking, etc. You can't handle "high drive" anything. You can't even handle the engine on a 1976 Mustang, so lets not pretend that adding teeth and an attitude is going to make you a better handler. To be honest, you couldn't handle a "high drive" Pekinese because you don't even know what "high drive" means. And to prove it I'll ask you which "drive" you mean? You don't know, thus you can't handle it. But you can handle a properly bred and socialized Malinois, if you want to. By want, I refer back to earlier statements. If you want to walk your dog, play ball with your dog, spend time with your dog, and train your dog then you can handle a Malinois. Otherwise, you can't. And if you can't then like most other dog breeds, you shouldn't get one. Get a cat. Or a senior Basset Hound. If you still think you want a Malinois you should go meet a couple. Try and take one for a walk. See what it takes for others to keep them happy and healthy. Its not rocket science, its a dog. The formula is the same for every dog, exercise+food+ love. For a Malinois you just multiply by a factor of four. Because if you don't follow the formula that cute puppy is going to bark for three days straight. And then you are going to put it in the yard until it becomes 6 months old and chews through the fence. Then you will take it to a shelter and wash your hands of the responsibility of it all because as it turns out, you were never prepared in the first place. This is not the dogs fault, or the breed's fault. Its your fault. You were not honest with yourself or the dog. In a way, owners of Malinois are like the breed. Serious, dedicated, tenacious, and active. If that doesn't describe you then rethink getting one. Even the senior Malinois still have energy, they just are less likely to poop on the floor. Let me make something clear, I work from home. When I got my first Malinois I was a 3rd year law student so I had a lot of time to be at home and raise a puppy. I never left for more than 4 hours at a time. And during those times the pup still pooped in the crate, pulled my deceased Grandmothers knitted afghan in to the crate through the bars and chewed a hole in it, bit my hand, ran off down the hill on my 15 acre unfenced property, and chewed everything that was a foot off the ground or lower. I did not post ANY of those failures online because they were MY failures. Not the dog. She needed more exercise, more training, more attention. And after 4 months I figured it out and finally gave her what she needed, but I also didn't take a full time job at a law firm. In fact, I only ended up working for 4 months in DC before I quit and then found something to do with my dog full time, search and rescue. My Juno is now pushing 7 years old. I have a toddler and 3 other dogs. I have a 1 acre fenced yard on a 6 acre property in the middle of the woods. I chose this life. My dogs thank me for not working all day. There are trade offs you need to make, with this breed you may have to make more of them. But I have opened more windows than I have closed doors. When that dog looks at me, I know its worth it. #soyouthinkyouwantamalinois #belgianmalinois #workingpet #malinoisfamily
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C. CarothersHandler, Trainer, Breeder, Writer. We talk about dog training, gear, competitions, and thoughts of the dog. Archives
June 2018
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