in my braintraining4dogs training . I feel like sometimes my job as a dog trainer helping dogs with behavioral issues is treating a symptom and not the cause. The cause being, that dogs who have an unknown history or a history of behavioral issues or health problems are bred through ignorance, simply for profit or the breeder is just in a state of denial creating future generations of dogs with issues whose owners end up either putting in blood, sweat and tears to rehabilitate the dog or the dog ends up at the shelter. If all the people who bred the dogs that ended up in the shelters right now had answered these questions first, they might not have bred their dog or they would have taken on the responsibility of caring for or rehoming their dog’s offspring when the issues arose. If all those who bred their dogs took the responsibility of taking back the adults to rehome or keep, there would be no need for shelters. But instead millions of dogs are left at shelters each year.

Just like humans, dogs don’t just inherit 50 percent of the personality traits, health and structure of each parent but also of past relatives. Puppies will be born varied in their personalities and genetics, some traits similar to the two parents of the litter but others coming from past relatives that were not expressed in the parents. Breeding two friendly dogs with good health doesn’t mean you will get a litter of friendly dogs with good health. The best bet is to at least know the health and behavior history 2 generations back for both dogs being bred.

Here are 10 questions to answer to determine if it is ethical to breed your dog before continuing researching about breeding:

1 Are there concerning behavioral issues in your dog’s line?

Has your dog or the relatives of your dog ever been reactive, fearful, aggressive or had other behavioral issues before being trained? (For example, shyness, anxiety, reactive to people or dogs, or biting) Have the puppies of a previous litter, your dog’s littermates, parents, or distant relatives had unwanted behavioral problems? Has your dog or the relatives of your dog before being trained ever guarded food, toys, space or people? (For example, seeming possessive or protective of something or someone)

Yes? Or I don’t know? Best not to breed
No? Continue-

2 Have you researched the physical health of your dog’s line and have the correct tests been done? Have you researched and done all the health tests for genetic diseases common for the dog’s breed and done the appropriate x-rays? (Dogs can look perfectly healthy but can be carriers of genetic diseases or have hip dysplasia with no outward signs). Have you tested both breeding dogs for the genetics of their coat colors they carry so not to produce deaf, blind and disabled puppies from for example breeding two dogs who carry the merle gene even though they might not look merle at all? Do you know the health of the dog’s litter mates, parents, grandparents, and great grandparents? Have you checked your dog’s ancestry for specific health issues of the dog’s breed like epilepsy? If you are repeating a breeding, have you received health and behavior reports from all the previous puppies during their lives?