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Newt's Page
Copyright © 1999 Victoria Rose, PO Box 4816, Auburn,
CA 95604; [email protected]
Proud
mom of the beautiful Dobermann Calidancer V Teraden, CD, OA, AD, OAC, OGC,
NJC, RS-N, GS-N, JS-N, CGC (As a pup she cost $900. She is trained in obedience,
agility, personal protection, wheelchair assistance and tricks...And she
is spayed.)
Document may be reproduced
in its entirety (not in sections), as long as the author is credited.
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The
Traits of Responsible Breeders
|
The
Traits of Backyard Breeders
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| "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 |
| |
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Responsible
Breeders
Improve the Breed |
Backyard
Breeders
Damage the Breed |
