Responsible Breeder |
Backyard Breeder |
| "Into"
Dogs (shows, training, clubs, etc.) |
Not
"into" dogs (has "pets" around the house) |
| Belongs
to dog clubs and organizations |
Is
not involved in the "dog world" |
| Proves
quality of dogs and suitability for breeding by competing
for titles and certificates in conformation, obedience,
agility, field trialing, Schutzhund, herding, tracking,
earthdog trials, etc. |
Quality
of dogs is almost always substandard, however, he does not
test his dogs in shows or trials (Dogs are just pets or
"breeding machines") |
| Pups'
pedigrees are filled with dogs who have obtained show titles/working
certificates; never breeds dogs without "papers" |
Pedigrees
mostly a list of pets bred by backyard breeders; pups may
not even have "papers"; may be mongrels (Cockapoos, etc.) |
| Supports
rescue groups; knows his actions inevitably play some part
in pet overpopulation and euthanasia (one of every four
dogs in shelters is purebred). Even with all his efforts
to stem over- population, he knows "cracks" will lead to
canine deaths |
Honestly
believes that because he places/sells all his pups, he does
not contribute in any way to the needless slaughter of millions
of dogs per year in shelters (Does not see his role in his
pups making pups and them making more pups and so on) |
| Knowledgeable
in every facet of breed, including that of health issues/defects;
researches genetics when choosing mates |
Not
particularly educated about breed, often not aware of his
own breed's genetic defects; does not consider mate's genetics |
| Knowledgeable
about house breaking, training, socializing, breeding, health;
constantly reads dog-related materials |
Has
own ideas which may not coincide with professionals' opinions;
won't bother to read any of the hundreds of dog books available |
| Can
and will help and educate puppy buyers re these issues |
Says
"Goodbye" and "Good luck" |
| Willing
to give you his references |
Has
no references |
| Knows
his puppies' ancestry |
Knows
nothing about the other dogs on puppies' pedigrees |
| Follows
up on puppies' well-being; collects health information affecting
his dogs |
Does
not concern himself with the puppies' well-being or how
puppies' health affects his breeding "plan" |
| Breeds
to improve his own dogs, his bloodlines and the breed |
Breeds
just to breed or make money or see his "great dog" procreate |
| Rarely
breeds as he does not use dog breeding as a business and
strives for quality, not quantity |
Breeds
regularly if for money or if puppy mill; if for ego, breeds
once in awhile, or "just once" before neutering or spaying |
| Rarely
repeats a breeding |
Often
repeats breedings, mainly those that are cheap and convenient. |
| Breeds
only dogs which meet breed standard |
Dogs
used for breeding rarely meet breed standard |
| Breeds
only dogs with stable temperaments |
Breeds
shy/aggressive dogs with poor temperaments |
| Breeds
only dogs over 2 years old, and a limited number of times |
Breeds
dogs at almost any age, and any number of times |
| Mate
choice could be anywhere in the country (almost never breeds
his own males to his own females) |
Mate
choice is that which is convenient, cheap, local (very often
owns both sire and dam) |
| Does
all genetic testing and will provide proof; does not breed
animals with genetic defects or which are carriers of defects |
Does
no genetic testing; ignorantly breeds defective animals
or those which are carriers, thus, perpetuating disease
in breed |
| Puppies
are sold from waiting list created before breeding even
takes place |
Puppies
are sold after birth in the local newspaper, first-come,
first-served |
| Pet-quality
pups generally cost $500-600+ (show-quality costs more) |
All
pups are pet-quality and are relatively cheap, usually $200-$400 |
| Puppies
are sold with health guarantees |
Puppies
are sold with no guarantee |
| Puppies
are sold with contracts |
No
contracts; does not care what you do with puppies |
| Requires
pups back if new homes don't work out |
Says
"Find them good homes" |
| Dogs
on property are friendly, socialized, trained |
Dogs
on property may be aggressive or shy, and untrained |
| Does
not own more dogs than he has room, time or money for; Dogs
are groomed, exercised, healthy, happy |
Puppy
mills are overloaded, "warehoused" dogs are not groomed
or exercised, don't look healthy or happy |
| Will
show you pups' parents if available, or if not, will have
pictures |
Might
have to "lock up" pups' aggressive or shy parents (dogs
that should never have been bred) |
| Raises
puppies indoors |
Raises
puppies outdoors |
| Stays
home to care for puppies |
Dam
and pups are alone for long hours |
| Feeds
only premium dog food |
Feeds
cheap, grocery store dog food (containing 4D meat/chemicals) |
| Visitors
remove shoes and wash hands to prevent spread of parvovirus |
Has
no understanding and takes no precautions to prevent puppy-killer
disease |
| Keeps
pups with mom and litter a minimum of 49 days to ensure
sibling socialization and important lessons from pups' mother |
Doesn't
know leaving litter earlier can cause lifelong temperament
problems or staying too long can hurt bonding with humans |
| Socializes
pups by systematically handling them and exposing them to
various noises, children and other animals before sending
them to new homes |
Does
not understand or want to be troubled with any kind of training;
just tries to keep puppies quiet and contained until sold |
| Tests
pups to match their temperaments and drives with buyers'
personalities and lifestyles |
Knows
nothing about puppy-testing or matching puppies with buyers;
allows buyers to pick the "cutest" one |
| Can
honestly evaluate pups' quality |
Says
all pups are high quality |
| Never
sells to "impulse" buyers |
Is
not concerned about buyers being prepared for pups |
| Never
sells two pups at the same time to a novice |
Would
consider this killing two birds with one sale |
| Interviews
prospective buyers, checks home and references, refuses
to sell to substandard homes |
Sells
first-come, first-served to whomever has the cash; does
not find out which homes are substandard |
| Wants
to meet whole family; won't sell if children are abusive |
Does
not consider anything past obtaining the funds |
| Sells
only to buyers with disposable income (AKC reports it costs
$1327 per year to properly care for a dog) |
Is
not concerned whether or not buyers can afford to properly
care for pups |
| Waits
for buyers who offer lifelong homes (Knows that only 30
percent of all dogs stay in one home throughout their lives) |
Does
not reject high-risk buyers: (renters, young people, those
with poor track records, low income, other pets, dogs kept
outdoors) |
| Understands
dogs are "pack" animals; sells pets only to buyers wanting
to make pup an indoor dog and part of the family |
Doesn't
care if pups live as outdoor dogs or chained dogs, being
unhappy or anxious being isolated and separated from "packs" |
| Sells
only to buyers who make pup's safety a priority |
Does
not consider pups' best interests |
| Encourages
or requires buyers to spay/neuter pet-quality pups |
Encourages
buyers to breed, regardless of quality |
| Encourages
buyers to train pups; refers to good trainer |
Shows
no concern for pups after sale; knows no trainers |
| Makes
sure buyers understand pup's considerable need for time,
attention, exercise and training |
Does
not provide even his own dogs with enough time, attention,
exercise or training |
| |
|
Responsible Breeders
Improve the Breed |
Backyard Breeders
Damage the Breed |
Use this guide to obtain a quality puppy from a responsible breeder.
And be aware that dogs are not "things." They are living creatures who, by no choice of their own, are totally dependent upon us - and are at our mercy - for their very survival, not to mention quality of life. As pack animals, their mental health is dependent upon being with their pack. That may be other animals, or it may be us. It is very cruel to leave a dog alone all day. Dogs need a lot of attention. They need regular, systematic aerobic exercise for at least 20-30 minutes, at least 3-4 times a week, just to be healthy. Few dogs get the exercise they need for good physical and mental health. Lack of exercise is the number one reason, (then lack of training), that dogs become mischievous and burdensome, and are then blamed, then dumped, and too often, killed. ("A tired dog is a good dog.") Having a yard is not sufficient. Dogs do not exercise themselves unless chasing something along the fence line, and that, in and of itself, is a problem. To make good pets, they need training. And most importantly, to be safe pets, they need early socialization. Lack of socialization the first 4-6 months of a dog's life creates shy dogs, which too-often become fear-biters, which, along with those who were simply born with poor temperaments, are responsible for the majority of the 4.7 million dog bites annually. (Sixty percent of victims are children; Half of all kids 12 and under have been bitten by a dog; Every day more than 900 people are hospitalized with dog bites; Every year 25 people are killed by dogs.)
If you can not be a responsible dog owner, please do not get a dog.
And please don't breed out of greed or ego or for any reason other than to improve the breed (i.e., to make the puppies better than their parents). Most purebred dogs, and of course, all mixed-breed dogs, should not be bred. The majority of dogs have some defect (in structure, temperament, health) that should not be perpetuated. Dogs used for breeding should be free of all defects - that's the definition of quality. ("Papers" mean nothing; They are simply, and nothing more than, birth certificates. Plenty of dogs have "papers," but are so poorly bred they actually look like mutts.) And no human should ever breed any dog without veterinary/laboratory testing and pedigree research to be sure that dog is free of (and not a carrier of) genetic defects.
Failure to test/search for inheritable health problems is the number one mark of a backyard breeder. It is also the most damaging to canines, and the most heartbreaking to puppy-buyers, who end up with yet another generation of poor-quality dogs who too often develop expensive, early health problems and often die prematurely.
We have a severe pet-overpopulation crisis in the US. We slaughter thousands of beautiful, vital, healthy dogs every single day. (Twenty-five percent of shelter dogs are purebred.) Every puppy produced by a backyard breeder and placed in a home takes the place of one killed in a shelter because no one adopted it. And every puppy produced by a backyard breeder can make more puppies, and those puppies can make more puppies and so on. (And of course, backyard breeders, through their encouragement and the dispersal of misinformation, have a knack for turning uneducated buyers into yet more backyard breeders.) There just are not enough homes (not to mention "good" homes) available for all these puppies. No matter how hard one tries, only 30 percent of all dogs (and their pups and their pups and so on) live their entire lives in the home to which they went after weaning. Seventy percent will be given away or abandoned or dumped along the way for one reason or another. (Common excuses are, "We didn't have time for him," "He was too much trouble," "He kept jumping on us," "He bit my child," "We couldn't afford him," "We had to move." None of these were good homes to begin with. The buyers failed to socialize or train, or they lacked time, money or commitment. Again, there just are not enough "good" homes for all the puppies born.) Why not leave breeding dogs to those with the ability and desire and quality animals to do so at a "professional" level?
If everyone bred only dogs with excellent conformation, and stable, correct temperaments, working titles and clean health, we would have top-quality dogs in this country. Get your dog evaluated by judges and trainers. If he meets breed standard, and is healthy, and has the correct temperament and drives, show him, work him, and get him titled. If you feel you have what it takes to be a "professional" breeder, educate yourself, and with enough experience in dogs, maybe you, too, could make a positive contribution to your breed. But if your dog's only credentials are that it is a great pet, then love it, socialize it, train it, exercise it, give it the best in feed, comfort and veterinary care, but for it's own good (including better health - ask your vet!), and for the sake of puppy-buyers, society, and all canines, get it spayed or neutered.
Resist the Greed; Don't Support Backyard Breeders, and Certainly Don't Become One.
Copyright © 1999 Victoria Rose, PO Box 4816, Auburn, CA 95604; ifind@foothill.net
Document may be reproduced in its entirety (not in sections), as long as the author is credited. |
