Reconscope
Prized Citizen of ZV
Does it make a dog live longer (people keep saying that)? Are there benefits to it besides the obvious offspring result also obvious side effects of risks (like death) that could happen?
But... Question are there benefits to the parent dog?It reduces the chance of pyometra and some cancers in bitches...I'd expect there's benefits for studs as well, but I can't think of specific reference.
With that said... Consider carefully what's involved, as this is a serious responsibility to take on- this is like taking on a full time job. Puppies are very expensive and time consuming to take care of properly. A litter of 10 means you're going to be giving over 500 baths, at least 20 shots, and many many many hours of cleaning and social conditioning- if you fail on this the pups will never achieve their potential, it may even cause them serious complications and a shortened life.
Your going to be cleaning up puppy crap many times every day after the first week (the mother will likely eat it before then- good luck stopping her strong instincts on this). The shit gets everywhere....everywhere....Turn you back for 5min and one will crap, another will step in it, and quickly through play a few of them will be covered in it and will track it through your whole house before you even notice...anywhere they have access to you're going to need to clean every day multiple times. The pups need big spaces to play and socialize- They need exposure to multiple people and environments, inside/outside/house/car/park... You can't separate them for long or restrict them too much or they won't develop proper social skills- play is very important in this. You're signing up for at least 8 weeks of this...it can easily be 10-15 before you've found homes for all of them....in that time they'll be loud, smelly, terribly messy- and you need to treat them gently and love them absolutely and unconditionally in spite of it all. (don't assume this will be easy) Harsh physical discipline could easily ruin a pup for life.
Then you need to advertise the pups and feel out all those potential homes/owners, least one of your pups end up in a bad situation- you need to offer a fall back for the new owners in case something doesn't work out- be prepared to take a pup back if necessary- if you vet properly it won't be likely. You may need to vet 2-4 homes for each pup... 4-5 people will likely waste a lot of your time and not even get a pup or pass the vetting process...
All this means you need to have a whole lot of time and money and resolve to do this properly.... The world can be cruel even under ideal conditions. You're setting the pups up for success or failure with your care- a well socialized pup will stand a much much better chance then one whose neglected and not given a proper chance to develop robustly and dynamically. There is a HUGE difference in how dogs end up depending on how well their cared for in this time.
The last litter I had I took in around 3k$ while giving over half the litter away (money returned in trust- didn't really give them away- just refunded what they gave me so it could be used for the dogs care- I did this for people who seamed to offer excellent homes but whose financial stability was more questionable) - I did not break even on expenses much less time... It was a wonderful experience though, no regrets- I've traveled all around the country with one of my pups whose now 9yo and every day I see so much of his parents in him- this is, in a word...priceless.
Pet overpopulation is also huge issue, and sadly you're adding to that if you chose to breed. People may jump down my throat for saying this- but a good lineage of a popular breed will be much much easier to find homes for- those owners will be more invested and more financially capable of providing good care and a solid stable life. Not trying to be elitist here, just trying to tell it like it is... Good bloodlines matter- you should do a lineage check and make there there's no crossbreeding going back 7 generations, in both the dam and sire, and between them- this will greatly reduce the chance of birth defects and serious health issues. Having AKC registration numbers in you ad's, health checks like hip's, or anything else the breed might be subject to, and some working titles in the dogs lineage will really help attract good potential homes.
Oh ok i just wanna make sure IF i went this route.Yes- that's the first thing I said. it reduces the chance of pyometra and some cancers in the mother. Staying sexually intact also has a host of benefits for the male- at the cost of increased risk of testicular cancer... but I can't recall any specific reference to health benefits of breeding for the stud- other then joy and passing on his genes.