Myself and my partner had this debate about our previous girl Kintra and decided not to breed her mainly because we were both working full time and felt neither of us to commit, especially seeing as we've had no experience.

Now that we have Keely we are reaching a time where she'll possibly come into her first season soon, and then i plan to have her neutered before her second season if we're not breeding from her, so the pressure's on to decide. 

My reason for considering breeding her are: her fantastic nature, intelligence and drive, her working lineage shines through (to inexperienced me anyway), i would like to become more involved in helping the breed for reasons of health - her parents both health tested, and yeah i admit i would like to gain experience in this area.  We are surrounded by doggy people (working and pet) although no gsp people, i am at home all day, we have a suitable house, garden and whelping area.  I would definately contact other accredited gsp breeders and people commited to the breed - am still in contact with Keely's breeder and have contacted the sire's breeder for the sake of staying in touch. We have the finances and i'm well aware that there's probably little to no profit to be made if approach it in a responsible manner.

My worries are: lack of experience (but how else do you gain it?), human traffic in our house isnt really a regular occurence eg kids, the risk factor (Keely's health/life, puppy health/life, my sanity ).

I wanted to give an honest account of how i feel about doing this. My gut instinct is to do it but i would like some feedback.

Wow, feeling like i'm being seriously underestimated here - the poop thing was one of my first considerations

No, i seriously appreciate the input.  It's fair to say that all-in-all i'm comfortable with the practicalities, hard work and sleepless nights.  I suppose my question has now been streamlined as to whether i SHOULD.  It's strange despite having Keely and Kintra previously as pets i do feel a level of discomfort about breeding because i dont have experience in what they're specifically and historically bred for, but then i still feel there are people out there who do  make hunting and showing a large part of their and their GSP's life, but maybe dont breed responsibly.  This is so difficult!

I'm coming to this as a person without a dog, but researching breeders. So my take my be slightly different than some others. I will not be hunting my dog, but I will be doing performance sports with him. Also keep in mind I'm in the US, so there may be slightly different standards and conventions elsewhere.

The first question I have is how well versed are you in the breed and how did you gain that knowledge? What have you done with your dog to prove that she is worthy to be bred? How, EXACTLY, does she improve the breed? What parts of her need improvement, and how will you go about choosing a stud dog to complement her? Do you know how to choose a stud dog at all?

Keep in mind that many people, even when buying "just a pet", are looking for a reputable breeder that have proven they know their dogs. Very often, this means a proven working line or show line, as they always will have pet quality dogs available. As a buyer, I would trust these people over someone that does nothing with their dog other than keeps it as a pet and decides to breed her... because they can?

For me, a reputable breeder:

-shows, works, or titles their dog in some way, shape, or form to prove the dog is worthy to be bred
-does the proper health testing on the dogs before they are bred, no matter what their parents' health testing looked like (sorry, but they aren't their parents. they may have their own issues) This may mean waiting until after they are two to breed.
-Not be breeding just to produce more pets or potentially healthy dogs, but have a purpose to their breeding program that improves the breed
-Can provide a pedigree, and explain what it means and the good and bad of the pedigree/lines

There are many, many more that involve actually purchasing the dogs, but these are the main ones for why they're breeding. I would not buy a dog that the breeder was not willing to take back if need be, was not available for the lifetime of the dog to answer questions, and I would not buy a dog from a breeder that did not do an inquiry into me as a puppy buyer. Are you prepared to do all these things?

Actually, it wasn't really advice, more of what someone in my position may be looking for and many things to think about when making your decision. Though I may be new to the gsp breed, I have been around dogs most of my life, including breeders of Dobes (in fact, my family did breed Dobes years ago and did obedience and conformation with them).

When I said I would be doing performance sports, I just meant that it wouldn't be a hunting dog. I really meant that more as it would be more of a pet. I don't frown on pet owners, as I would be one. No matter what I do with my dog, it will always be a member of my family first and foremost.

Not making judgments, though you yourself I believe said she was just a pet and not being shown or worked? If I got that wrong, I apologize. This is just true for what I, as a puppy buyer, would be looking for in a breeder - across the board for any breed.

Whether you spay her or not, is up to you. But "the right reasons" for breeding, for me as a buyer, would be to improve the breed, and this includes proving in some way that the dog (stud or bitch) should be bred.

Thank you so very much for that list and the descriptions - exactly what i was looking for to help me make an informed decision.  As i said before (and you know my history on here) i only want to contribute to the health of the breed for genuine and personal reasons but i know i have a lot to learn.