The Anguish of a Breeder

All too often, the media reports that breeders are horrible and breeding dogs just for profit, looks, purposefully unhealthy, and loads of other things. What rarely gets reported on are the responsible breeders that spend any spare money they have on preserving their breed at all costs.

This year, we attempted two breedings and imported semen from two Swedish Hamiltonstovare. Those two breedings failed and we did everything that we could to make sure that they didn’t. Our dogs are on excellent food, supplemented with raw, bone broth, kefir, berries, Nupro supplement, and other things so that they are at their peak in physical health.

Thankfully we still have 5 frozen semen breedings left that we will use at a later date. However, after the second breeding failed, our vet has recommended that we do live cover breedings for Raven and Selene. This puts us in a bit of a bind as we have spent over $10,000 on attempted breedings in the past 2 years from semen shipping, to vet visits, and even a second opinion from another vet.

Each one of those attempted breedings take a toll on us emotionally. We cry when the ultrasound is empty. We grieve for would should and could have been. These litters already have their names and themes picked out well in advance. We dream about that future puppy carrying on the lineage of their parents, grandparents, and the breed as a whole.

We will never make enough off of puppy sales to counter the loss of 4 attempted breedings (one in 2017, one in 2020, and two in 2021), but making money has never been a goal with us. It has always been preserving this amazing breed and making sure that those puppies go to the best and most honest homes possible.

We are deeply saddened by this loss on so many levels. We know that our puppy homes are growing impatient and the best that I can say is that “I’m so sorry, and we tried our best.” We have not given up, we are still grieving what should have been. We desperately wish that we could have a whelping box with a litter of puppies in it this February but it looks like that isn’t meant to be.

Breeders like myself aren’t unique, we feel deeply about our dogs and about the future of the breed that has captured our hearts. So please, thank your breeder because there is a chance that a good one has cried over what should have been over and over again.