Should you breed your dog?

Max's shelter picture...Awwww.

Puppy and kitten season is almost upon us and while I love the puppy breath and kitten pounces, I've decided I would wade into the thorny issue of pet breeding. When I set out to create this blog I meant recycled rover not only in beds and toys, but in pets too. There are thousands of amazing pets of all species in shelters and odds are high you can fall in love with one sheltered within a day's drive of your home.  If you want a purebred dog, a breeder is sometimes the first thing people think of and there are some wonderful breeders out there, but roughly 30% of shelter animals are purebred. (Max, the ninja, is.) And hey, if you want an awesome mutt-a-doodle-poo-kie, they show up at shelters too. I'm also a firm believer of spay and neuter to not only help overpopulation but to help keep prevent a whole host of problems, the least of which is an "oops" litter.

So now I sound kinda harsh so I'll clarify. Am I going to brow beat someone who buys from a (good) breeder? No. Am I going to frown on pet store puppies and internet deals from back-yard-breeders? Yup, every time. (I live in Missouri, puppy mill capitol of the world. We DON'T NEED any more puppy mills or BYB's.) Am I always going to encourage consideration of rescue or shelters? Absolutely. If you need any inspiration check out the adoptable dogs in the top right corner of the page. Foster parents, adoptive parents and the rescue community (many of whom are also great breeders) are my heroes.

If you think you want to breed your dog check out the handy flow chart below to double check. (who doesn't love flow charts anyway!) If you think you want to buy from a breeder, check out the flow chart for things to ask about. If your breeder can't pass the flow chart, don't buy a dog only to give them more space to have more puppies.

Grain-Free Bacon Biscuits!

Waiting for the flash to go off...

Max has been having some eye issues lately and so yesterday we went and saw the vet (henceforth known as Dr. Awesome).  Thankfully he didn't have any abrasions to his eye but boy was his eye mad! His lower lid was swollen, the eye was cloudy and the skin around the eye had been scratched at. Max was very good for Dr. Awesome's exam, eye stain, and as she gave him his first dose of eye ointment. It does help that she passes out freeze dried chicken treats like candy at Halloween and he's no fool.


Since Max was so good for Dr. Awesome (and the all the clinic staff are great with him) I thought I'd try some cookies for Max. Max is explicitly grain free so cookies can sometimes pose a challenge but I was looking around last week and ran across Garbanzo bean flour which was perfect since Garbanzo beans are a legume, not a grain. I ran by the local health market this evening and grabbed a bag. I also hit my regular grocery store on the way home for bacon and I was set to make treats. What I like about this recipe is that these treats could be customized just about any way you want with whatever flavors work for your dog.

Here's what you'll need: