How to Make 2026 the Best Year for your Breeding Program

2026 is here and it’s time to make an intentional plan for your dog breeding program! Here are a few ideas for an ethical dog breeder’s New Year’s Resolutions.

Cheers to the best year we’ve ever had!

Resolution #1: A Written Plan

My first New Year’s resolution for my breeding program has always been the same- and yet not redundant because the information changes each year, so never skip it!

Outline your long-term game plan to improve the breed in a specific and thought out plan. In my plan, I include what positive traits I want to produce more of, what negative traits I want less of, which pairings will accomplish this, and what steps I need to take.

Get a calendar handy! I write important dates such as when each female’s heat cycles are likely to begin, when her vaccinations need to be updated, which heat cycles I want to skip and which I prefer to breed, when the puppies will likely be due if the breeding is successful, when OFAs need to be renewed, when Brucellosis testing is due, reminders to check in on my puppy families from previous litters, etc.

This calendar helps so much when it’s time to make vacation plans- I always factor in my dogs’ needs.

The main question to ask yourself is this: How will I improve the breed? Which positive trait will my breeding enhance for generations to come? Which negative trait will my breeding eradicate in my lines forever?

As you are making decisions, list the traits of your parent dogs- both good characteristics and less desirable ones. Using this list, note which breedings you hope to accomplish this year and what the purpose of this exact pairing will be. If you need an outside stud service to accomplish your goal, make a detailed list of what you’re searching for and start looking right away, as the perfect dog is not easily found.

Which parents will be the best to pair together and why? What traits are you hoping to see in the puppies?

Once the puppies are born, commit to take note of your success or failure regarding the traits you were targeting. For some traits, you may need to ensure long-term communication with the family to know if your breeding successfully produced the qualities you wanted. Did your pairing accomplish what you hoped?

Note any successes or failures and use this information to adjust in the future. That’s why this particular resolution repeats every year for me! Time to assess my choices and adjust according to the new data I have gathered over the last year.

Resolution #2: Educate Myself

Even experienced breeders can always learn more! Doing so can make the difference between saving a puppy’s life, producing a healthy litter, responding appropriately to an emergency, choosing a perfect parent dog to introduce into your program, and more.

Select a topic to research that I currently don’t know much about and dive in! I can be an expert in anything if I dedicate myself. There are some topics that are easy to research: how to determine the timing of breeding, safely birthing puppies, and when to vaccinate puppies. Don’t forget the nitty gritty topics: genetics, health conditions, how the dog’s body works, the wolf ancestry and how it impacts modern dogs, what developmental phases puppies go through, what early exercises to provide for your puppies, how to help the litter avoid illness, what to do if a problem arises, etc.

Find a user-friendly place to take notes. The things I have learned can only help me if I remember them!

Consider implementing a routine to review what you have learned so that it stays in the forefront of your mind, not fading into forgetfulness.

Here are a few ideas for a beginner breeder to educate yourself:

How do I become an ethical dog breeder?

How do I know when my female is ready to breed?

How do I find the right family for my puppies?

What colors will my dogs produce?

What if I lose money breeding dogs?

How many litters should a female dog have?

What illnesses are common in puppies?

Resolution #3: Prepare for the Worst while Hoping for the Best

As the primary care provider for my puppies and dogs, there is a huge weight on my shoulders. My knowledge, skills, equipment, and wisdom could make the difference between life and death.

Every year, I want to increase my preparedness for emergencies in order to save more lives.

For beginners, there is no better place to start than with this whelping kit. It contains the most basic equipment and information for you to get started! Here is a shopping list to help you prepare for the birth of your puppies.

For more experienced breeders, consider equipment such as an oxygen concentrator, a puppy incubator, play pens with more brain stimulating items and activities for older puppies, cleaning tools such as a carpet cleaner or a steamer, an ultrasound machine, an at-home progesterone machine, etc.

Resolution #4: Enjoy the Babies

Embrace each developmental stage of the puppies. Take time to slow down and soak up their precious progress!

Each phase comes with its own fun and its own challenges. For example, newborns must be kept warm, must eat well, need help to go potty, and must be weighed often to ensure that they are thriving. If any pup needs extra help, it’s the breeder’s job to fix the problem- even if that means caring for the pup every 3 hours night and day. That’s a heavy load, but holding a newborn puppy- seeing that innocent, sweet, curious, snuggly, loving little angel cuddle into your hands- is worth every bit of work.

The same goes for other developmental phases- each passes so quickly that I can miss it if I don’t slow down. As I slow down, I am better able to give each puppy exactly what he needs during each phase.

Here is a guide to week-by-week puppy needs.

Resolution #5: Streamline my Processes

Raising puppies comes with a lot of mundane tasks: feeding, conducting daily exercises, organizing information about each dog or puppy, lots of vet visits, screening potential customers, communication with existing customers, training, and SOO SOOO much cleaning up puppy poop and pee (especially if the pups are indoors).

These tasks are all necessary, but they can distract me from what is most important: time with my puppies.

The New Year is the perfect time to ask myself this question: What mundane tasks can I perform in a more efficient way so that I can give my puppies more of my attention? Are there any tasks that are unnecessarily taking too much of my time?

Resolution #6: Find the Best Matches

One of the greatest goals in my dog breeding program as a whole is to match each puppy to a family who is simply perfect for that puppy- the right temperament for a forever fit. This is a big job that can take a lot of time!

In 2026, you can cut down on the work without sacrificing the end result. Outline a specific, repeatable plan to find the best homes for each puppy.

Here is a quick tool to help you find the perfect family for the perfect puppy!

This tool outlines:

1. Prove every positive fact that you listed in your advertisement about you, your puppies, and their upbrining
2. Have a balance between professionalism and love
3. Understand the Sales Funnel for a family searching for a puppy
   • NOTE: This is a great place to begin as you write out a clear and concise plan to find great homes for each puppy!
4. Make every visit extraordinary
5. Questions to ask the family
6. Red flags to watch out for

Take this information and write a specialized process that is just right for your program! With a written tool in place in advance, you’ll find that you spend less time in screening and more time enjoying your puppies- while still finding amazing families.

Resolution #7: Long-Term Support for the Families who Home my Babies

Each year, I get a little better in this area, but I’m still not perfect. In 2026, let’s all commit to support our puppies’ forever families a little more- not just for today, but for the dog’s whole life!

I am a strong believer that a dog breeder is responsible to ensure that the puppies find a forever family situation. We’ve already discussed screening families well, but how can we help the family prepare before they bring their puppy home?

Giving a family tools can help ensure that the placement is successful.

For example, this “Preparing for Puppy Packet” is easy to send to all the families on your deposit list. It guides them through the basics of training- helping the families begin important planning and discussions with each other well before the puppy is ready to come home.

Each puppy can be sent home with a bundle of goodies to ease the transition- toys, chew items, travel items, a scent item, and information. Here is a great resource for every dog breeder to prepare the puppy and the family before it’s time for the puppy to go home!

Our Whelping Kit includes “Transition Notes” to help each family and puppy smoothly transition the puppy from the breeder’s home to the forever family’s home. I prefer to review this information with each family in a special visit or zoom call about 1 week before the puppy is ready to go home.

After puppies enter their forever homes, it is common for new questions to arise. The family may not know how to respond to unexpected training challenges, health needs, feeding questions, etc. Be ready to answer any question they might have! I don’t know everything, so I like to maintain positive relationships with other professionals- a trainer, a groomer, a vet- who I can pass along these questions to. This wonderful and supportive team help me to get the families the best answers, quickly!

This New Years, ask yourself: How can I better help the owners of puppies from previous litters, the families on my deposit list, or future families who I have not met yet? Create a plan!

Resolution #8: Increase my Professionalism

It seems a little funny to think of dog breeding as a “job” because to me, it’s much more of a passion. I spend my days nurturing, which feels more like a character trait inside myself, not a business move.

I have to remind myself that this is a business with business tasks at hand which are vital to my dogs’ success, vital to my puppies’ finding homes.

This year, dog breeders can increase their professionalism in the following ways:

1. Always follow your state and city’s regulations and requirements. If you’re not sure what they are, do some research!
2. Sign contracts between your business and each customer during each transaction. These documents protect you both!
3. Document everything– puppy births, puppy homes, puppy weight gain, puppy exercises, which dogs you breed together and when, health testing and the results, brucellosis testing and the results, vaccinations, deworming, transportation, vet visits, EVERYTHING! Records protect you and keep you organized.
4. Be sure your policies are clear, both to yourself and your customers. Don’t change your policies for anyone.
5. Carefully track your expenses and income. When were you paid/did you pay someone else, in what amount, by whom, for what, from what account. Tracking your expenses can be a tax write-off. Recording your income makes filing taxes much easier. Failing at either can lead to a big mess!

Resolution #9: Recommit to the Best Practices

Every year, I recommit to the standards that I live by and raise my puppies by.

Here are a few:

1. Genetics testing for every parent
2. Health testing for every parent- be sure to update OFAs if they expire
3. Yearly brucellosis testing for all parents
4. Never breed before the age of 2 and always complete all testing before breeding
5. Keep all dogs and puppies up to date on vaccinations and deworming
6. All puppies and dogs have recurring preventative-care vet visits
7. All puppies participate in early exercises, including ENS, ESI, and Desensitization
8. All puppies are socialized safely
9. All puppies are kept in a clean and sanitary living environment
10. All puppies get outside time every day (in cold weather, it may be just a few minutes at a time)
11. All puppies are given beginner training such as using the Misty Method for early potty training and intro to kennel training
12. Puppies will stay with mother and littermates until the correct developmental age
13. Mother dogs will not be over-bred
14. Puppies will find the best family based on temperament (not based on looks or money)
15. Families will be charged a reasonable price for my time and care for the puppy, not overcharged
16. Careful records are kept in my breeding program

What are your standards that you commit to live by?

Resolution #10: Educate Others

How can I spread ethical dog breeding and combat backyard breeding or puppy mills?

That’s why I am here, writing this very blog post today.

Let’s all take responsibility to spread ethics everywhere we go. Like a ripple in the water, it will grow until ethical breeding becomes the new normal.

That’s my ultimate goal in 2026 and every year.