Not Breeding..Am I Crazy

As you all know, Kenzie has earned her Canadian Championship, and we are going to continue to show her as long as she enjoys it as much as she does and we do. Her breeder has even offered to take her to the US and believes she could also get her AKC Championship, as did her Dad, Mom, and sisters, (her uncle just won the title of Best In Show at the Eukaneba Show (Costello). Anyway, we are often asked at the shows if we plan on breeding her, and the answer is definately not! The reasons are as follows, am I nuts for feeling this way? (I respect and admire those who can responsibly, but:

1. First and foremost, I can't imagine putting her through the pain of labor, lol (even though I've had 3 easy ones myself)2. There's too many Alaskan Malamutes who don't have loving homes as it is, my breeder also does Rescue and has 5 needing homes now.
3. I don't know enough about breeding, although my breeder would handle that part
4. She'd have to be away from us and live at my breeders home for all those months, and we couldn't stand to be away from her that long, shoot, never even left her overnight!
5. Too many doggys need loving homes as it is.

But as I said, First and foremost is the not wanting to put her through labor. Even if all the other reasons were rectified I still wouldn't breed for that reason alone, lol! Am I crazy?

Well I wouldn't call you crazy because how you feel is how you feel and in undertaking such a huge responsibility as dog breeding it wouldn't work in your favor to be unsure of yourself. And breeding isn't the only way to make a contribution to your breed. If you really want to promote, protect, and improve your breed you can educate people. Education is so far reaching. You can convince so many people to breed and own their dogs in a manner that does not put more dogs in the shelters or give the breed a bad name and some dogs' lives will be saved or improved because of it.

omg i love alaskan malamutes, do u have any pictures of her?
well done for getting her her championship

No, you're not crazy. If you have any type of mixed feelings towards breeding, you shouldn't do it. It's wonderful that your dog is a champion and all, but I don't think breeding should be a requirement of any dog.

No. You are not crazy.

You are sensible.

Your dog is a pet who also happens to be a show dog. Not a thing wrong with that. Show her all you want, and when you are done, spay her. And don't forget, you can show in veterans with an altered animal.



Her dad is simply gorgeous. I've met his owner/breeder, and she is a very nice person.

RedyreRottweilers, thank you, she is GREAT! She's been with us every step of the way and is always very supportive, and very responsible. Tobe(Kenzie's dad) is a gorgeous Mal and btw, going to Westminster, yeaa! She's always willing to share, patient and has an absolute passion for the breed and keeps in touch with every puppy owner throughout their lives! We were lucky to meet her when searching for a mal, and luckier to have been blessed with one of her pups

Stevinski, I think I have a couple on the board if you do a search for Kenzie, but here's one of my fav shots waiting patiently to go to a show:

I agree I have malamutes too, if you dont feel comfortable with the idea of breeding her then that is entirely your choice, I have to admit I bred my oldest bitch once, my personal reason was I wanted a working team, I already had a male (he is not the sire) had my bitch (who BTW was best bitch at Crufts 2004) but I wanted another to add to my team, so I bred Willow with a view of keeping a bitch from the litter, as it happens I kept a dog and bitch, and they all get on very well at the moment, before I bred I did all the required research, had all the health checks (if anything wasnt right I would NOT have bred) I also had a very long waiting list of potential owners who I did home checks on I did not go into it blind. but I must admit it actually upset me a lot when I first took her to be mated, she was my little girl, I have no regrets whatsoever now as I have two more wonderful dogs from the mating, but it was hard, I certainly do not think everyone should breed, and I applaud you for not jumping onto the bandwagen, enjoy your girl for what she is a lovely pet and a wonderful showgirl.

Mo

Your not crazy...there is no reason to bring more pups into the world.

We had 6 purebred Canadian Championship Alaskan Malmutes end up in our rescue centre over the summer...it's really been the year for show dogs to end up in rescue in my area

I think you're very responsible and sensitive also! There are too many dogs needing homes.

Though I didn't see labor that big a deal for dogs... I could never have my dog whelped by anyone but me. You're wise not to breed.

You have to do what is best for your dog. Everyone tells me that I should breed my Kenzy, when she is old enough. But I always say no. I don't want to have the added resposibility of taking on puppies that might not get homes, for starters I can't have more than 2 dogs in my home ( we are military living in housing and are bound by a 2 pet rule). Also I don't want to risk losing my dog. I wanted a companion dog for me and my family. I always tell others to rescue first if you don't have a specific breed in mind or if you do to do research before buying.