So You Want to Become a Breeder?
By Roseann Fucillo
This article first appeared iin June 2009 AKC GAZETTE

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If you have a truly adventurous spirit, a deep love of Papillons, have an artistic eye, and are willing to devote much of your life to improving the breed, then welcome to this wonderful voyage of becoming a breeder.

The best advice anyone can tell you, is to start out with the best foundation bitch that you can afford.  One that is appealing, lovely in type, soundness and one with a strong pedigree.  Find one who is a show quality bitch that is line bred from preferably proven bloodlines and is not mediocre with an out-crossed pedigree.  You don’t want to start out by always trying to improve upon a multitude of faults.

Don’t be afraid to co-own your foundation bitch with the breeder to get your start.  As your mentor, he or she will become an invaluable resource and may even end up as one of your closest friends.  They will guide you in your breeding program, help you choose the stud dogs that will be compatible with your bitch, and help you pick out your best puppies, since they know their lines best and how they develop.

Research and know pedigrees, line breed on type and traits that you are looking to produce.  Don’t do outcrosses often or continually, or you will lose type and often end up with generic looking dogs, or ones with strange faults.  If you go out in one generation, come back in and line breed in the next.

Don’t breed to extreme types hoping you will get something in between.  Your puppies will inherit one trait or the other from their parents.  Also remember, your bitch’s progeny should always be an improvement, so never keep anything of lesser quality.

Don’t be impressed by a dog because he was a top winner!  Remember no dog is perfect and even a top winning dog has faults.  Just be mindful of what they are.  You are not breeding to a show record but the dog as a whole.

Don’t breed piece meal or have a shopping list of desired traits to achieve one at a time.  It’s the entire dog that counts.  If you forget one virtue while searching for another, you often end up with more faults than virtues.  Pick a stud for your bitch that compliments her.  Hopefully the puppies will exemplify the desired traits.

Look beyond the markings. Don’t eliminate good specimens from your breeding program because of solid heads or ticking.  It is just cosmetic and not structural.  In most instances, those markings can be changed in one generation.  Remember, ticking is not a fault and if all else is equal blazes are preferred.

Always breed to the standard and be mindful of the breed’s characteristics, which make the dog a Papillon.  Don’t lose beautiful heads with sweet expressions, dark round eyes and black pigment, just for the sake of obtaining huge ears!  Keep those silky coats that flow when they move and don’t lose their hare-like feet and plumed tail. Give puppies confidence with love, reinforcement, and positive social experiences instead of fearful situations.

Most importantly for the future of any breed, do health checks and keep abreast of health issues.  Breeding healthy dogs should be the most important goal to any sound breeding program.

Published with permission from the AKC GAZETTE.  This article is not to be copied, whole or in part, without written permission from the author.

Roseann Fucillo