What you should consider before breeding Bolognese
Make a list of reasons why you would want to start breeding Bolognese. If earning money is on that list, please stop right there. A person that has earning money as it’s primary goal is not called a reputable breeder.
It takes so much time and dedication to come up with a plan to select the best dogs for you, that suit your ideas and work well for you in working towards your ideal, that you will, at the same time, know you will never reach. You have to study the breed standard, pedigrees, genotype and phenotype, look into health issues, talk to other breeders, do research into the breed’s history. Read a lot about genetics and what is a responsible way to deal with genetic issues. Try to read about what a correctly build dog looks like, independent of the breed. What does a dog need to move with ease, to use it’s body in a natural way? Then look at what the breed standard says for the bolognese. You can find it on the FCI website. Also very interesting is it to look at the images and to read the comments made on the standard on the website of the Italian Breed Club CBM. Here you can also find a lot of information on the breed and on the health issues in the breed.
Dedicate yourself to this breed and your dogs, take care of them, their needs and their coats. Take your time to see if breeding is indeed something you want to do. Read about breeding and what it takes. You need to be willing to learn and keep learning, you need the ability to stay humble.
One of the most important things about being a good breeder is avoiding kennel blindness. It has been the undoing of many a good breeder. The key is to recognize the faults or weaknesses in your dogs. Not to disappoint you, but no dog is perfect! But your goal should be to try and correct these faults. Keeping an animal who has one fault (not a disqualifying one, I might add) that can be corrected when the rest of the animal is exceptional is intelligent and responsible breeding.
Another thing to remember is that just because a dog is doing a lot of winning does not necessarily make him or her an asset to your breeding program. Breeding just because a dog wins is not “thoughtful” breeding. It is breeding to win, not breeding to improve the breed, and that way of thinking can backfire on a breeder. Next to this it can be dangerous if certain dogs are used too often. The most winning males are many times the easy choice to use as a stud for people wanting to breed a litter. This dog wins a lot, it should give amazing puppies?! This is not necessarily true. The combination needs to be right, also pedigree wise. What is in the background of both these dogs. Next to this there is the popular sire effect. Especially in a breed like the bolognese with a small genepool, this can be disastrous. Read more about this here!