Castration query

[Bijoux]

Hi

My Frenchie is now 4 months old, and besides for standard puppy naughtiness he is an angel of a dog. Don't even need to verbalize how in love with him we are!
My concern is that our puppy trainer is quite adamant that we should castrate our little pup. Personally I never had any real intentions to castrate him. Although he is our only baby at the moment, we would be open to mating him should we ever get him a female friend to play with. Although this is not a definite

I would really appreciate any thoughts on this please? Advantages or disadvantages or any wise words from the experienced

[gmacleod]

Your trainer is absolutely right. Pet dogs should not be used for breeding, they should be given the health advantages of neutering and allowed to live their lives as cherised pets and family members - and the breeding left to professionals.

Some information on the health and other advantages of neutering here : http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2109&aid=911

And some information on why pet dogs should not be bred, and people other than those prepared to spend the time and money (both of which are substantial ;)) on learning how to do things properly AND extensive testing to determine whether or not their dog is genetically healthy enough and of correct conformation, etc to even be considered as a breeding prospect in the first place should not be breeding dogs. This info is on our sister site boxerworld - and some of the genetic health issues that should be tested for do differ for Frenchbulldogs - but the general information and certainly the principles apply equally : there is only one way to responsibly breed your dog, and its really not that compatible with just enjoying your pet for the wonderful companion that he is. Since most of us get our dogs for the latter reason, it makes a whole lot more sense to keep things that way and leave the breeding to those who're fanatical enough to do it right ;)
The consequences - mainly for others - of people just breeding their pets (aka backyard breeding): http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/choosing-breeder/76541-backyard-breeding-consequences.html
The basic sorts of knowlegde that should be obtained before anyone even *thinks* of breeding dogs: http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/choosing-breeder/11396-back-yard-breeders.html
The sorts of health screening that needs to be carried out on breeding dogs - BEFORE they're considered for breeding: http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/view_boxer-dog-health-testing.htm

Don't take the above offensively ;) They're not posted to put you down, they're posted because they're facts. ANYONE can become a breeder of dogs if they want to. But there is a right way and a wrong way of going about it. The right way is time-intensive and expensive. But the wrong way has serious consequences - for the breed as a whole, and for the new owners.

If you really want to breed dogs, please take the above as a small starting point, find yourself a breeder who shows their dogs and is willing to mentor you and start learning. But if you just want to shove two pet dogs together - please don't. Let your dogs be the pets you bought them to be, and leave breeding for those who'll do it responsibly. It is, after all, the pampered pet dogs who're the lucky ones, not those who have to pump out litters.