There are no certifications required to be a dog breeder!

Have you ever heard the saying, "Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should?"

Here are a few of the more common justifications I’ve heard about breeding dogs:

“I wanted my kids to experience the miracle of life, ‘just once’.”

“I figured it was easy money, plus my dog is soooo cute.”

“My neighbor/friend loves my dog and said ‘I bet my dog and yours would make nice pups’.”

Unfortunately, it’s most likely none of the above ‘breeders’ were educated on how much goes into producing quality puppies. Stop by your local animal shelter as many dogs produced by irresponsible breeders will end up there.

Breeding dogs has been around for many centuries and I don’t see it going away anytime soon. We, as breeders though, CAN and SHOULD do better.

Breeding purebred dogs is time consuming; not in just raising a litter properly, but ongoing education, pedigree research, training, titles, health clearances, pre-breeding checks, and more.

A reputable breeder’s primary purpose should be to improve the breed – not to produce puppies.

Most breeders have no formal qualification; however, have learned from experience, by networking with fellow reputable breeders, dedication to never stop learning, and to always strive to do better.

Breeding is a combination of science & art wrapped in 200% dedication.

So going back to breeder certifications.

Are they required…No!

Are they important…Yes!

Not the certification itself, but the knowledge learned AND applied.

I started training dogs in 2010.

I started breeding dogs in 2013.

I’ve been breeding better dogs since 2017.

In addition to the below certificates, I've attended:

Sean O'Shea & Ashley Smentek: The Good Dog Concepts Seminar

Myra Savant-Harris: Dog Reproduction & Whelping, Breeding & Puppy Care

and regularly participate in multiple online webinars & podcasts by: