breeding Pomeranian

Question
I have Pomeranians   now  can I breed litter mates?

Answer
Hi Al,

If you have more than 3 breeding females you are required to have a USDA license, but aside from that, there aren't laws about breeding your dogs. There are good responsible breeders, and there are bad breeders.

Breeding litter mates is called "In-breeding" in the dog world. It's widely practiced and accepted in many breeds, but you need to know what you're doing, before doing it.
In- breeding is not "bad", but it is risky. In-breeding is more likely to help "set" or "fix" a particular trait within a breed or a line by narrowing the gene pool to favor those traits. So you need to be particularly careful that you only breed healthy dogs, free of genetic defects.

You can read more about in-breeding here:

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/inbreeding.htm

Before breeding your dogs, you should have them examined by your vet. If your dogs have any of the common diseases or conditions that Pomeranians are prone to develop, the dog should not bred. These are:

Luxating Patellas
Hypothyroidism
Coat Loss Problems
Collapsing Tracheas
Heart problems
Hypoglycemia
Seizures
Eye problems (A veterinarian who is trained to do CERF testing can check eyes for genetic problems.)

Responsible breeders breed dogs because they admire their breed and want to contribute to its betterment. They guarantee their pups free of genetic diseases common in the breed, and replace the pup if the disease should crop up. They consider the puppies they produce to be their responsibility for the life of that puppy, so they follow-up frequently to see what's going on.

It is not an inexpensive thing to breed dogs. There is always the possibility of new born puppies requiring a doctor's care, and that can get pretty pricey.

The fundamental question you need to ask yourself before every breeding is - why am I doing this, and what do I hope to achieve? Is the answer is the money you'll make from the litter, then you should not be a dog breeder. There are already too many bad breeders out there, and no more are needed.
If you're in it for the money, you should read this:

http://www.geocities.com/learntobreed/costs.html

Best of luck,
Patti