Actually I remember when I was younger we had a female JR and was told by vet to let her have her first season then get her spayed (I dont know if this is still common practice but this was back in 73!) - ok says my mum . .. . first sesaon starts - we re v proactive - dog not walked out side = only allowed in garden - we were in a new development with v secure 6ft fencesa all around - excellent - that'll keep her safe - next door had an irish setter - it howled and howled - but we laughed cos we had a big fence!

He jumped it!!!!

Luckily my mum was in the kitchen and saw him come over and ws able to fly out and grab our jr before any rumpy pumpy ensued - BUT had she not been there - could have been some interesting pups!

the one thing that is concerning me in all this conversation is the poster who said they didn't have the spare cash to get their female dog spayed so were considering getting that bitch pregnant to alleviate what are obviously some kind of hormonal problems associated with this....

what she seems to have not contemplated is that the costs of a pregnancy in a bitch can be far, far more than the costs of spaying your dog (who cares if she is cute, cute doesn't correct genetic defects in the puppies!)... can you afford a genetic screening of both your girl and the father to ensure that the pups have no undesirable characteristics - could be anything from nasty temperament to allergies or heart or gut defects. Are you sure your girl will have no physical impediments that could prevent her giving birth naturally (and if she can't are you prepared to pay for an emergency C-section for her - or are you prepared to watch her die and almost certain horrible death? an emergency c-section WILL to cost way more than a scheduled spaying btw...) Can you pay for vaccinations, worming etc etc and any other treatments the pups (and mum) needs after the birth? What if mum gets an infection and needs antibiotic treatment - or even worse an op to remove her uterus. What if mum has a hormonal imbalance and has no milk for the pups - are you prepared to bottle feed upwards of 6 puppies every couple of hours?

If the puppies are less than genetically desirable (ie they won't further the breed) are you prepared to pay to have your puppies spayed/neutered before giving them to their new families(because with the huge amount of unwanted dogs out there, unless your pups are something special (and cute does not count!) you are probably looking at giving them away for free...

and if you cannot get rid, are you prepared to support those pups for their natural life?

IF you answer no to any of those questions, you should not be contemplating breeding your dog - and it would be cheaper for you to bite the bullet and get her spayed... cute is NOT a good reason to breed a dog!

indescriminate breeding"becaue they are cute" is something I feel very, very strongly about - and I have never bred dogs I bred pedigree angora goats.... but same principle - cute still does not cut it -unless they further the breed or are genetically viable or you are breeding for some really other good reason you have no business breeding...

backyard breeders are almost as bad as puppy farms in my opinion!

They'd be a new "breed" and valuable. This week at the dog park we encountered something the owner called an "Irish Doodle" half red (I assume) setter and half poodle. Your dog's nothing now if it's not made of bits.

One of our kids friends has a ShitPoo... I ShitPoo you not..

My aunt used to breed cocker spaniels, and I remember a few years back her telling my mum about someone who used one of her stud-dogs to get some cock-poos...

I can still see the expression on mums face to this day

If you read my post in it's entirety, I said I doubted that I would breed her as I am aware of all the unwanted dogs already out there.

Yes I am aware of the potential costs involved in a pregnancy.
Yes I am aware of the potential upbringing of said puppies.
Yes, I am aware..... blah blah blah.

I was also not suggesting getting her pregnant to alleviate her hormonal problems, I said I had been told it "MAY" alleviate them just as spaying "MAY" alleviate them.

I am not planning on breeding her, nor did I ever say I was.

Actually, I find your post quite insulting... basically implying that I am not a responsible dog owner (which I very much am) and that should I breed my dog I would be no better than a puppy farmer...

Finally, the "because she is cute" was a joke. Hence the "lol" at the end of the sentence.

absolutely bang on ... completely agree with everything here very well said!

When we lived in Korea there was a puppy farm across the road from our apartment. Every time we walked past to hike up the hill, the poor wee things would go crazy, barking like mad.

Such a shame, they looked so tasty. Er, I mean cute.

Did you eat any pooches?

I don't know. We lived in a rural area and not many people spoke English. When we ate out we usually just pointed to pictures, or else just ate whatever we were brought. So it's possible - I know we ate just about every other type living creature that had the misfortune to get within cleaver range.

Having said that, I know that in general Koreans are rather ashamed of their dog-eating, and often go to great lengths to prevent foreigners seeing dog restaurants. So perhaps it's unlikely that we did eat any.

But I wouldn't be bothered by it - it's just meat.

Me neither. I saw plenty of small dogs in cages for sale in Hanoi when I was there - they were next to the pigs and chickens so I didn't think they was pets.