Dog breeding has been a part of the dog lover's world for thousands of years, and there's not much cuter than a litter of tiny puppies! However, if you're considering breeding your dog, there are several factors that you need to take into consideration.

While some of the factors are more obvious, dog breeding is still a very serious business, especially if this is your first litter. Make sure you take the time to look at all of your risks and options before deciding if dog breeding is right for you.

Before you make the choice to breed your dog, you need to think about issues like:

Time

Dog breeding takes a lot of time. From the initial breeding to the time it takes to care for the expectant mother to the time it takes to raise the puppies until they're old enough to find new homes, you're easily looking at several months purely devoted to raising a newborn litter.

If you don't have the time to commit to a litter of puppies in the same way that you would to raising a newborn child, it's probably best that you don't breed your dog. Anything less, and you'll be actively hurting the development of the puppies, as well as potentially risking the health and wellness of your own dog.

Space

Puppies take up a lot of space. Especially in the first few weeks, when they're not old enough to start potty training and are still largely dependent upon their mother for pretty much everything, you need to be willing to devote a not insignificant amount of space within your home to the mother and her babies.

As a general rule, the whelping box (the place where the dog births the puppies) should be about twice her size in length and at least three-fourths of her size in height. (Make sure you have plenty of room to spare for when the puppies start running, too!)

Health

This is perhaps the most serious condition to take into account before breeding your dog. A lot of breeds have health problems that are specific to that breed, and you may run the risk of breeding an unhealthy litter if you don't do your homework.

Make sure your dog is in peak health before you breed her, and feed her a healthy diet throughout her pregnancy to make sure she has an easy birth. You may also want to check with your veterinarian to make sure that your dog doesn't have any pre-existing mental or physical conditions that she may pass on to the whole litter, check out this website for more information on the subject.

Improving the Breed

Related to the above, the primary goal of breeding a dog is to create a generation of puppies that is better than the last. Check your dog's pedigree before you breed them, or take them in to the vet for a round of testing to guarantee that they're clean.

You should also check the health of the other dog you plan to breed to. Any pre-existing conditions that could harm or hurt a small puppy should instantly disqualify them.

As cute as a litter of puppies may be, you have a responsibility as a dog owner to make sure that they're happy and healthy instead of just adorable.