Breed a Farm Dog and Raise at Least 6 Puppies - animal.straw.raisepuppies

Wow......having been a responsible dog breeder myself, this one needs some serious adjustments. The raising of a litter should be the final step to earning a PEP Animal Care badge, not the beginning one.

Suggestions for steps.....
...criteria testing for choosing the “right” dog & bitch. Included should be health, temperament, and workability certification. DNA testing by Embark. Veterinary certification for hips, eyes, and any other inheritable health concern within the breeds being used. Understanding of pedigree evaluation.
... Demonstrate an understanding of safe breeding methods, care during gestation, preparation and care during delivery, neonatal care.
... Demonstrate an understanding of emergency methods for when things go wrong.
... Create a safe whelping area and box.
... Create a safe environment and area for puppy growth to weaning age and to “sale age”.
... Demonstrate knowledge of proper puppy and bitch husbandry, including preventative medicine health care, nutrition, and socialization.
... Create a plan for rehoming strategy  beyond simply just advertising.

Oh my, I think I could write a book on this one. Just throwing two dogs together, having a bunch of puppies born.....well, that’s simply irresponsible in my book. It’s not like raising pigs or chickens where you could just slaughter your mistakes and eat them to make your failures disappear.

6 puppies. Now how do you suppose one could guarantee a litter of at least 6 pups? Over the decades I’ve had plenty of litters that had less than 6 pups in it. Sooooooo, if somebody bred their litter and only got 4 pups does that mean that they need to breed yet another litter of excess pups in order to qualify for this badge?