Dear Stud Dog Owner, /Brood Bitch Owner

The Ridgeback, like so many other purebred breeds, is suffering from being over-populated and more and more specimens of this wonderful breed are showing up in shelters, poor and abusive homes and puppy mills.  Our local and national RR rescue people are being over-worked with trying to recover these Ridgebacks and then care for them until they can be made well and/or  trained and then to find safe and loving homes. I am one of these people.

Whenever rescue people are able to trace the origins of the Ridgebacks are found in shelters, on the streets and puppy mills, they find that they are products of pet owners, who only bred their dog one time or from pet shops who have gotten them from a puppy mill, or new pet owners who were overwhelmed by the size, time and work involved in raising and training a well-behaved Ridgeback .

For this reason, everyone should think carefully before putting a litter of pups on the ground….. either by standing a male at stud or
through breeding your own bitch.  The owner of a stud dog is as accountable for what happens to the pups as the bitch owner.   The owner of the litter and even the stud dog owner can be held legally responsible for the genetic health of the resulting litter if any of the pups are affected.  So knowing the genetic make up of your male as well as the bitch that the male is about to impregnate is of the utmost importance.

Breeding a litter of Ridgebacks requires more then a just a passing interest.  It requires years of intensive study of the breed and a close association with well-versed, well-known breeders who are considered to be responsible and knowledgeable people.

What is your reason for wanting to breed your male/female?  Whatever your motives for wanting a litter of puppies, I'll bet that you really want to be a "responsible breeder/stud dog owner" -  someone who has the love of the breed at heart.  However, when the general pet owning public finds out how much time, work and expense, as well as legal responsibilities, that go into being a breeder, they are truly amazed.

If you think you have the right stuff to be a breeder, then the first step you need to take is to start showing your male/female and prove his/her quality. Showing your dog will also put you the position of being able to meet long-time, knowledgeable breeders who can help you get started finding out more about your dog and the breed in general.  

Being a responsible breeder means that you have to learn how to be objective and honest in being able to evaluate the stud dog, the brood bitch and the resulting litter and then follow that up by being able to guarantee the puppies health.

Anyone can breed a litter of pups, but breeding,  when done properly, is hard work and is certainly NOT the road to wealth.  Every breeding must be well thought out, with a sincere desire on the part of the owner to breed better dogs.  Because the ONLY GOOD reason for breeding any litter is for the "Betterment of the Breed."   Any other reason can't be justified.   The only way that anyone can better the breed is through knowledge…….. in knowing what is "real quality" & then being able to follow up a well-bred litter by placing those pups in great homes. 

An important point to remember is that a non-champion, untitled, male dog is NOT going to attract a top quality bitch or a responsible bitch owner to his court or vice versa in the case of bitches.  No matter how good you think your dog is, the best that you can hope to attract will be a poor to average quality bitch and  an owner who will not know how to properly raise and place the litter.  

So often the reasons we are given for someone wanting to breed their dog is because they feel their dog is so special and perfect. They just want to have one that is just like him or her.  But no matter how great your dog is, it will only be making up half the DNA of the litter and if you don't know the genetic make up of your dog or the bitch , the chances of getting a pup that is just like "good old Champ or good old Bess" is a  shot in the dark. Besides, are your children just like you? Well, neither will the pups be just like your dog or bitch! 

And what about the rest of the litter?   Most Ridgeback litters produce 8-10 pups, (18 is the record). What is to become of these pups once the stud dog owner and bitch owner gets their "stud fee" pup? Ridgeback pups don't sell like "hot cakes" unless you don't care who you sell to and for how much. And if you think you have a bunch of friends and relatives that have been dying to get a pup from "good ole Rover or Bess", just wait until the pups are on the ground and ready to go into their new homes. See how many of those folks have new problems or projects going on now that will keep them from taking a pup!!!

Another point you should take into consideration is that there is no such thing as a "trouble free litter".   Any bitch owner who you may talk into using your dog may find themselves with some "major" vet bills,  should something go wrong with the whelping or the litter. What if the bitch dies?  I can't even put into words the amount of time/work the bitch owners will be subjected to when problems arise.  FORGET ABOUT SLEEP/REST/EATING/ OR YOUR REAL JOB........AND THEY HAD BETTER PRAY THEY
HAVE ENOUGH MONEY IN THAT OLD BANK ACCOUNT!  

There is not enough time and space in a simple letter to go into all the possible problems that can occur.  They vary -  starting from breeding, whelping, raising, placing and taking back pups, refunding money and so on and on  and on.

I'm sorry…. I know this is most likely not the response you had hope to get back but I hope it will give you some food for thought. As I said before,  if you think you have what it takes to be a  responsible breeder,  then please feel free to hop into the fire with the rest of us who have devoted our lives and bank accounts to the best friend(s) a person could have....... the Rhodesian Ridgeback.