To have a litter of puppies?

[BeeKeeping]

I'm fully aware that this will be controversial - but hear me out..

It's not always possible to rescue a dog. When we were looking we had a 1y0 and a 3yo, chickens, 3 cats and (rightly) no rescue would entertain us. Lots of families have young children/ other pets and need a puppy in order to ensure that they have the correct exposure to all of these things.

I think in the past it was common for 'back yard' breeders, folks with good bitches to have a litter and sell these for much less than the current pedigree prices. Or just to find good homes for the pups for free.

The breeder that I got my bitch from is a professional who has started to outcross rough collies in order to improve their physiology and health statistics. She's created a 'new' crossbreed called the 'tofty sheepdog'. They look a lot like rough collies but with much shorter easy keep coats, the dogs are more athletic but retain their family friendly laid back 'lassie' vibes. Mine is an angel and perfect for our family.

When I got my bitch the breeder encouraged me to keep her intact in case I should want to breed her as she was a very good example of a tofty. She has done extensive health testing on all of her dogs and would be able to match me with a suitable tofty male or back to a Welsh sheepdog.

I am torn though, as lots of folks that I know (and lots of folks on mumsnet) think that breeding a dog is irrisponsible due to all of the dogs needing homes in shelters. My main motivation would be that I think there should be more tofty's in the world and that they're a good alternative to labradors/cockapoos/more common breeds. They're rare and have not yet taken off - but could be popular if more folk knew about them.

Rough collies are becoming very rare and are now classed at 'at risk' by the kennel club. I do not think that continuing to breed from a closed register would be good for the breeds health statistics - so I'm fully behind the tofty ethos.

Am I being unreasonable?

People are weird about dogs, OP. I'd do it, IF you are committed to finding good homes for all the pups and keeping them yourself until you do.

My sister is one of the many who are taken in by the hard sell of breeders who crossbreed crossbred dogs. Hers is a mix of the three breeds. He is healthy but looks like any other mixed breed ( mongrel) dog. But she paid a small fortune for him without any guarantee he would not shed hair, be easy to train or have no health problems. Turns out he does shed but also needs grooming. He was almost untrainable, even the professional trainer gave up, my DSis is no novice with dogs, and said that he was the first dog that had defeated her.
My purebred labrador cost half the price ( average for pedigree lab at the time). She sheds hair, we knew she would. Was easy to train, not a surprise. She looks like a Labrador.
I understand that having a mongrel dog is pot luck and would happily have a true Heinz 57 variety. But I would not pay thousands of pounds for one. Genetics is so random and no breeder can guarantee what you will end up with. There is also a big risk of throwback genetic problems emerging.

And willing to risk your bitch’s life and mess with her mental health.

So there's potentially hundreds of back yard breeders getting dogs to do their thing just to profit from an animal that is 'healthy enough' with having a face like its own arse, and having a cute name.
No, the whole scene is absurd. Just get a mutt folks.

Im on me 7th rough collie ..4th from.same breeder

For starters rough collies are not becoming extinct lol. Smooth collies are considerably rarer and even that does not mean the solution is for random pet owners to start producing designer mixes because they think their dog is lovely and the world simply needs more of her. Every backyard breeder on earth thinks their dog is special. That is not a breeding program.

And calling a mix a “Tofty sheepdog” and talking about wanting it to “take off” does not magically turn this into breed preservation. If your concern is genuinely preserving collies and improving their health then support actual preservation breeders who health test study pedigrees understand structure and temperament track what they produce for generations and have an actual goal beyond “people might like these because they’re easier than a rough collie.” Deliberate outcrossing can have a legitimate place in breed conservation but that requires an actual structured program and a reason for every breeding decision. It is not the same thing as somebody being encouraged to leave their pet intact so she can have puppies because she is apparently a particularly nice example of a newly named crossbreed.

And “there should be more of them in the world” is honestly one of the worst reasons to breed your own dog. You like yours. Great. I think my dogs are fantastic too. That does not mean I need to manufacture eight more of them. Breeding should be about what the individual dog contributes to a carefully planned population not about wanting your favorite dog photocopied into puppies.

The bit about them potentially becoming popular is especially bizarre because popularity is not some conservation goal. In dogs it can be the exact opposite. If you actually care about health temperament and preservation you should be terrified of people seeing a cute new designer name and deciding they can make money producing them. We have watched that movie approximately 900 times already and somehow people are still surprised by the ending.

We do need responsible breeders. We need preservation breeders. We need people producing healthy predictable dogs for families who want and need them. What we absolutely do not need is more people deciding that because rescues would not give them a dog and they really like the particular mix they bought they should now become part of the supply chain themselves. “My dog is an angel” is a lovely review of your dog. It is not a breeding qualification.

Hey no need for that the breeder is not back yard breeder .ive know her over 40 years .she great breeder .and yes ive had 3 collies sired by her beautiful healthy stud dogs .all lived well in to their teens ..