Thanks for the compliment
Yes - I love my pups. They give me great joy. I am very glad to know that you and your wife are experienced with dogs. It makes me feel a great deal better. So many times of this board we get posts from people that are looking to get a dog and breed it to make some extra money. It makes my blood boil. :mad:
I have to disagree (respectively of course) about allowing a dog to have one litter for health reasons. Recent veterinary studies have proven that spaying before the first heat is healthier for the animal. Dr. Dick Rosebrock wrote a great article about it. Here is the website:
http://www.danesonline.com/earlyspayneuter.htm
Whatever you decide - I wish you the best of luck! And you are right - Shelties are wonderful dogs.
My bibliography as well as sites that should help you make a good decision
Cons
http://www.hhhumane.org/spay.html
http://www.cspca.ie/petcare/spayneuter.html
http://www.goodpooch.com/ISSUES/stopbreeding.htm - An interesting fact in this one. 65% of dogs come from "one time" breeding. Gee thanks.
http://www.geocities.com/jcrowe22/pe...opulation.html
http://dogs.about.com/library/weekly/aa090602a.htm
Pros
Hmm..no addies?? Well I can think of one reason off the top of my head -- cute puppies. Not a good reason? Of course it isn't, I can see cute puppies on my television.
And litterally, I couldn't find any pros to backyard breeding.