I kind of want to breed my dog...

[Upirium]

Agh, I feel like a derp. Like one of those kids who wants to breed dogs because.
But I really want to breed my dog with my mom's boyfriend's dog before the both of them get spayed and neutered ><.
It's not because omg puppies are so cute it's because the two breeds of dog would, in my opinion, make a crazy a** watch dog.
My dog, the male, is Lab, Great Dane, and Husky.
My mom's bf dog is full blooded sable shepherd. She's very intelligent.
My dog is kind of stupid...But he's only sixteen weeks right now. He'll probably smarten up.
Anyway, I think that mix would make a great watchdog. People have already seen us walking the german shepherd and said if she ever had puppies, they'd buy them...
This is my puppy

(in the front)
And this is the girl

Dont' worry I don't make a habit of tying her up to the sides of fences...

Does this make me dumb?  

[Krissim Klaw]

I'm not seeing what out of the breeds mentioned would make a special watch dog that you couldn't say get just going with a straight shepherd.  

[Upirium]

Krissim Klaw

I'm not seeing what out of the breeds mentioned would make a special watch dog that you couldn't say get just going with a straight shepherd.

I'm imagining the dog would be pretty big..  

[Krissim Klaw]

iDiru

Krissim Klaw

I'm not seeing what out of the breeds mentioned would make a special watch dog that you couldn't say get just going with a straight shepherd.

I'm imagining the dog would be pretty big..

I find the best watch dogs tend to be little dogs. They tend to be far more hyper alert than larger dogs. If you are looking for a dog that will look the part of a deterrent size only matters up to a point and a medium sized dog is plenty big enough to do the job.  

[Shanna66]

i woulsnt really recomend it. nothing about the lab breed says good gaurd dog imo. if you want to breed gaurd dogs thats fine but i would keep a breed that typicly adores strangers out of the mix

im fine with breeding mutts with a job in mind but you still need to put in just as much work as if you were breeding purebreds  

[Ria_The_Wolf12]

I gotta say, I'm not crazy about the idea of you breeding them just for watch dogs. Not to mention, they aren't going to have just one puppy, so you need to be sure to have people who will want to buy them and who will treat them right, meaning they won't just tie them outside, and I hope you won't either. Not saying that you will, but people tend to do that when they have dogs as watch dogs. I knew people who did this, and that dog (while a big dog) was a pure sweetheart.

You also need to prepare for a lot of proper training work. Big pups can be hard to work with, and although I've found both my labs and my german shepard easy to train, if you want a good watch dog, you have to be prepared to train it to heel when you want and to only bark when appropriate. The barking was a problem with my shepard, as he wanted to continue barking even after he'd alerted us.

I would also have to agree with Shanna66, labradors aren't meant to be watch dogs, however it depends on the specific dog. I had a chocolate lab who loved everyone, although he'd protect the yard, and before him a black lab mix who was the most protective dog I've ever seen. My shepard now also loves everyone, but he's a great protector as well.

As for breeding, if you still want to do so, the only recommendations I have, and this is coming from someone who is inexperienced with dog breeding, I would recommend letting the dogs get to know each other first (if they don't already know each other) to see if they're compatible. If they dislike each other and fight, don't force it. If they get along, put them together when the female's in heat and nature will take it's course. Have a whelping box ready for when the female gives birth. This will be an enclosed area she can take the pups and 'hide' with them, but somewhere you can keep an eye on her. It's uncommon, but first time mother dogs have been known to eat or abandon their pups due to stress, so you should also keep her calm and comfortable. A good thing to have on hand is powdered puppy formula in case there is a runt who needs hand fed or she does abandon them. Aside from this, have the usual things such as collars, shampoo, food for when they're weaned. I suggest talking to your vet before actually breeding them and having the female checked out to make sure she is healthy/strong enough for breeding. Best of luck to you then!

 

[SmoothSavage]

If you're going to wait until they're over 2 years old, do all appropriate health screenings like OFA hips and elbows, certify heart, thyroid, and eye health, as well as prove in a working venue with titles that the dogs are good at their job- i.e. being guard dogs- then go right ahead and breed. Otherwise you're just another BYB contributing to the thousands of dogs put to sleep daily due to lack of homes.The Lab looks like he has some pretty major structural issues, though, so I'd doubt he'd pass OFA screenings.

Seriously though, if you actually breed two random dogs just because you think the puppies would look intimidating, I will be sorely tempted to boot you from this guild. confused You should know better with all the time you've spent here.  

[Ria_The_Wolf12]

Savage Destiny

If you're going to wait until they're over 2 years old, do all appropriate health screenings like OFA hips and elbows, certify heart, thyroid, and eye health, as well as prove in a working venue with titles that the dogs are good at their job- i.e. being guard dogs- then go right ahead and breed. Otherwise you're just another BYB contributing to the thousands of dogs put to sleep daily due to lack of homes.The Lab looks like he has some pretty major structural issues, though, so I'd doubt he'd pass OFA screenings.

Seriously though, if you actually breed two random dogs just because you think the puppies would look intimidating, I will be sorely tempted to boot you from this guild. confused You should know better with all the time you've spent here.

I wanted to say this, but wasn't sure it was my place sweatdrop

 

[imderanged]

I'm sure your lab mix is a lovely dog, but I'm pretty sure those people who said they would want a puppy from your Shepard meant if it looked like the Shepard, not if it was a mutt. The comments of a few acquaintances in the neighborhood certainly don't amount to having confirmed homes waiting and a dog like that could have an average litter size or 6 or 7. If I were you I wouldn't do it.  

[Ailinea]

Savage Destiny

If you're going to wait until they're over 2 years old, do all appropriate health screenings like OFA hips and elbows, certify heart, thyroid, and eye health, as well as prove in a working venue with titles that the dogs are good at their job- i.e. being guard dogs- then go right ahead and breed. Otherwise you're just another BYB contributing to the thousands of dogs put to sleep daily due to lack of homes.The Lab looks like he has some pretty major structural issues, though, so I'd doubt he'd pass OFA screenings.

Seriously though, if you actually breed two random dogs just because you think the puppies would look intimidating, I will be sorely tempted to boot you from this guild. confused You should know better with all the time you've spent here.

I love you. I couldn't have said this better myself.  

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

I can see those people who SAY they would buy the pups change their mind when the time actually came, and you being stuck with many pups. And like Savage said, if you were ACTUALLY going to go through with it. You'd have to go through all the health tests and yea, title your dogs to prove that they're not just healthy but good at what you say they are. This would all cost a decent chunk of money. Then you would need to guess how many pups you might get, and get enough people seriously interested (i'm talking down payment interested) and have all the pups spoken for before they even exist.  

[Cowgirl-with-heart]

Savage Destiny

If you're going to wait until they're over 2 years old, do all appropriate health screenings like OFA hips and elbows, certify heart, thyroid, and eye health, as well as prove in a working venue with titles that the dogs are good at their job- i.e. being guard dogs- then go right ahead and breed. Otherwise you're just another BYB contributing to the thousands of dogs put to sleep daily due to lack of homes.The Lab looks like he has some pretty major structural issues, though, so I'd doubt he'd pass OFA screenings.

Seriously though, if you actually breed two random dogs just because you think the puppies would look intimidating, I will be sorely tempted to boot you from this guild. confused You should know better with all the time you've spent here.

heart this heart ^^^  

[Akiska]

Not to mention you could probably find at least a similar mix in the pound.  

[Cowgirl-with-heart]

Akiska

Not to mention you could probably find at least a similar mix in the pound.

and quite a few shelter animals could make decent guard dogs.  

[Zella L.]

Cowgirl-with-heart

Akiska

Not to mention you could probably find at least a similar mix in the pound.

and quite a few shelter animals could make decent guard dogs.

Yeah, just talk to the volunteers. They'll likely know the personalities in advance, and it won't be a gamble.