Why do so many people think that people who breed their dogs are selfish and uneducated?

Question

I have heard alot of people say this about people who "back yard breed". Why does breeding our pets make us stupid?Many of you have asked why we do this when dog shelters are so full.Many people, when they choose to get a dog, dont want a mutt, an older dog, or a dog that they dont know its background. I know that this is exactly how I felt.By getting a dog from an individual, they know they are getting a purebreed(something many dog owners want), they can see the parents, and they can choose their own specific color, size, age, sex and not just be choosing "off the shelf". Just like when a couple chooses to have an individual have a baby for them, instead of adopting from an orpahnage.But this however is widely accepted, even with all the kids that need homes.I have grown up around people who do this "backyard breeding" as you call it, and these dogs go to good homes, they arn't abandonded on the streets. So why are we called selfish for doing this???

My point about a couple "paying" someone to have a baby for them is that, they could have given one of the millions of kids already born a good home, but they choose to "control" the child they get. They pick the mother, choose the obstetrician, etc. That is what many people want when they decide to get a dog. They want to be able to decide what breed, color, age of dog they want and contact someone who has a dog with those specifications. I understand that according to the AKC not all purebreed dogs are of "breeding quality" but lots of purebreed owners disagree. We think our dogs are beautiful and think they are of "breeding quality". But doing this doesnt make us bad or selfish people. Why insult us and put us down because we think differently than you?

Alot of people that want a "purebreed" want that type of dog for some specific reason. They had one like that when they were a kid and their parents had it put down due ot cancer, they saw one on a movie and want one just like it, the reasons are many. Most arnt concerned with getting a "champion" "showing quality" dog, they just want a specific type. Take for example the breed I have, Siberian Huskies. People saw the movies "Snow Dogs" and "8 Below" and many decided then that they wanted a Husky.I had a buyer tell me they wanted a dog just like Mia on "8 Below". I had one pretty close. They were happy, I was happy, the puppy was well loved. I got my first Husky because of the dog on "The Lost Boys". People have specific types of dogs they want and looking in shelters isnt always the best way to locate that specific dog.

I dont consider myself a breeder by any means. My dogs have had one litter. But when I have asked questions about them, I get berated with hateful and nasty comments about how I shouldnt be breeding my dogs, only reputable breeders should be doing this, and how if I really loved my dogs I would have already gotten them fixed. I do love my dogs, my female was recently sick and I spent over $600.00 getting her well, so no one can tell me I dont truely love my dogs.

All of the puppies I sold were wormed, vaccinated and had been treated for fleas and ticks. I gave the buyers health guarantees and told all of them I would take the puppy back at any age if they were no longer willing or able to care for it. I also got addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses for all of the buyers.

I dont think that a person who has only 2 dogs of a certain breed that they had allowed to breed, and have only allowed to breed once or twice in the dogs life, can be called a "breeder". I dont agree with puppy mills, places that have 12-15 females that stay pregnant almost continually and are stuck into small confined kennels to make room for more dogs. That is not the type of people I am referring to. Yes those puppy mills are horrible. But I am talking about men or women who let their dogs have one or two littlers in their whole life. These people can not be catigorized as "breeders".

Answer 1

I think most people get so defensive because there are alot of people breeding poor quality uncared for dogs just to try and get a profit. I bought my puppy from a small home breeder. We also breed two litters of top notch shepherds ourselves. You get a dog raised in a family setting not a cage. I have also had several bad experiencs adopting from shelters, it didn't stop me from getting my newest pound puppy though.

Answer 2

It's so funny that I came across this. This is such an interesting subject. I understand where you are coming from. I personally don't know if I would adopt from a shelter. I have had dobermans since I was young and not only do I know what to expect with that specific breed, it has also become my preference of dog.

My opinion these days is that it is hard to find a reputible breeder. There are ones out there that breed to perfect the dog and the line and to keep genetic problems from passing on (in which case causes many people to get rid of their dog). A breeder who is in it first and foremost for the dog is not looking to make a quick buck.
Realisticly you cannot breed a more than twice a year-mother nature just doesn't allow it. So if you are indeed breeding your "pets" only once or twice a year, then you are technically a "backyard breeder." In which case is why people would have a problem with it. Two litters a year and a few hundred dollars a pup, equals easy money.

I bought my dog 11 years ago from a breeder who advertised in the newspaper. She had both parents, all dogs had AKC registration, etc. These days its different. In the past 2 years we have people crossing a beagle and a pug and now it's registered as a "puggle" and boom, your paying $800 for a "mutt" that you can get at your local shelter.

And then there is the issue of wanting the breed that was in the movie. People don't do their homework and they get a husky and are surprised when it doesn't act like the dog in the movie. Where does the dog end up when it becomes too much to handle?

A good breeder will screen every potential "buyer" not only to make sure that the dog is getting good owners, but to make sure that they are knowledgeable about the dog they are about to commit to caring for. They will also offer to take the puppy back if it doesn't work out.

Answer 3

There is absolutely nothing wrong with preferring and obtaining a certain breed of dog.Two of the best purebred German Shepherds I owned were adopted pound puppies. They were no different in quality or temperament from the pair purchased in the late 70's from a top notch breeder. Perhaps, the shelter dogs escaped their yards, or worse they were dumped by their owners because they didn't know or understand how to deal with a behavioral issue and weren't willing to invest more time or money into resolving the problem. I live in a rural area not far from the city, I have 5 dogs all rescues or adopted. These are mostly mixed breed, but previously I owned and bred Dalmatians. I have owned registered German Shepherds, an Irish Setter, a Yellow Lab, a Golden Retriever, a Siberian Husky, and a miniature Australian Shepard. I owned, bred, trained, and showed West Highland White Terriers, for a time as well. A pedigree is no guarantee. My point is simply that you can save yourself some money and a dog's life by finding your purebred at a shelter. A few minutes with the dog should give a good indication of whether its a good fit for you and the dog, and most shelters will let you return the dog if it doesn't work out. PS My favorite purebred dog is also Weimaraner. Have never owned to date, but dream that someday........ Would love to have contact Lucky, Lucy and Lexy's mom-please e-mail me. Oh, and I wasn't meaning you when I said that they get dumped at the shelter, no responsible person(and you sound very responsible) would do that. Thank you for the info on Weimaraners, I know hyper, Dalamtians are crazy hyper.

Answer 4

Oh yes, those breed dogs go to great homes, where the people are super excited to have them, for about a week, until they realize how much work it is to have a puppy and then the little darling ends up at the shelter....atleast that is what happens with lot's of dog buyers, ofcourse not everyone, but many more than it should be. The shelters around the country are full of "pure breed" dogs, do you know that in San Antonio, TX where I am, they kill 250-500 dogs a month that come through the shelters and never get adopted. They are so over crowded, that the dogs have 2 days to be adopted, and then if not they have to kill them, to make room for the hundreds they have picked up in those few days.....I just doesn't seem right to me, to have people continue breeding animals when there is such a massive problem, maybe you think it doesn't affect you, so you don't care, but if you have read this, and you love animals, how can you continue to support breeders, I have told you only the stats for one middle sized city in the USA, imagine how many great animals are killed everyday throughout the entire country.......We have adopted 3 dogs, 2 are pure breeds, a black lab and a german short hair pointer, our 3rd is a mix, some kind of hound/beagle mix and he is gorgeous!!!We got them all as puppies, around 10-12 weeks old, at the shelter.....
Before you go "shopping" for a dog, why not check out your local shelter, and save a life.......

Answer 5

Because most "backyard breeders" do it only for whatever cash they think they can get out of the puppies.
1. They do no research on what breeding the dog entails
2. They do not get the proper initial vet checks and vaccines for the puppies
3. They just breed their dog to another of the same breed with no regard to the parents' temperaments, health history, or actual breed history
4. Anyone with the cash can take a puppy, so there's no screening of buyers as to whether they're going to truly give the puppy a good home or dump it when it gets older/bigger/becomes a rowdy adolescent
5. If there is a problem with the puppy they won't take it back
6. They take the puppies away from Mom the minute she starts weaning them and sell them too young so they don't learn the lessons on self-control Mom teaches them when she's weaning them, nor the bite inhibition their littermates teach them (all between the ages of 4-8 weeks)
7. The Mom and puppies are usually relegated to the garage or backyard and the puppies get no socialization
8. They ignore pre- and post-natal diets important to the Mom...

Shall I go on?
There are extremely responsible breeders out there who are knowledgable, take excellent care of the parents and puppies, socialize the puppies, and screen the families who want their pups so they are placed in appropriate homes that suit their individual personalities, and will take any of their puppies back if they don't work out.

I hope this answers your question.

Answer 6

I don't think everyone who breeds is stupid! But I do think that breeding should be left to professionals who dedicate a lot of time and research into their breeding stock. Only the highest quality dogs should be used for breeding, with all health testing completed and past bloodline/genetics considered, no matter what breed you are talking about. Why? Because there *are* too many dogs in the world (both pure and not), and there *are* enough breeders without adding in the "backyard", "I just felt like having a litter of pups" breeders.

Breeding should be done to better the breed by using champion quality dogs. It should not be done just because someone's friends wants a puppy, or you just feel like it, or money, etc.

Answer 7

Many "backyard" breeders are inept. My husband and I considered getting a rat terrier from a breeder. They were a bit inept. They had 14 dogs living in kennels-runs. The dogs were not well socialized. The dogs weren't very friendly either.

They thought they could make extra money for their retirement.

They were a borderline setup.

Serious, ethical breeders often don't really make much money from their litters. They invest in medical exams for the mother and father dogs (knees are x-rayed, as are hips, and their hearts and other organs are checked out), vaccinations, and high quality foods for parent and pups. Pups are also given temperment tests to help determin how they will turn out.

We ended up adopting a mixed-breed pup found in a listing at Petfinders.org Kiko is a love!

Answer 8

Backyard breeders are criticized because many of them have unethical practices that lessen the quality of the dogs they produce and thus the breed as a whole.

Backyard breeders are generally not educated about dog breeding, and they think all they need to do is get two dogs to produce offspring. But there is much more to it than that.

For example, a backyard breeder might be so eager to produce a dog of a certain color, that it will pair up two dogs that shouldn't be paired (mom and son, or two dogs that have certain behavioral traits that shouldn't be passed on). Also, a lot of backyard breeders will overbreed the dogs; a female dog is only supposed to have one or two litters in her life, but a lot of these breeders push it to many more. This lowers her health and thus the health of the pups she produces.

Many backyard breeders care more about the money they get than they do about the quality of the dog they produce (and keep in mind that these problems won't show up until later in the pup's life). A lot of these dogs are abandoned because the behavioral/health problems that have been bred into the dogs by backyard breeders become too much to handle.

Not all backyard breeders are shady like this. But if they aren't, they should become registered breeders. I suspect that if a backyard breeder doesn't attempt to become a registered breeder, than he/she knows they'll be rejected because of unethical practices.

Answer 9

there is a difference between a "back yard breeder" and a "reputable breeder"
first the backyard breeder seldom takes the parents to dog shows to prove they are good examples of the breed WORTHY of passing on their genetics
they seldom have the parents vet checked for any inherritable problems - eyes, hip dysplasia, heart, teeth, etc...
they seldom give the new owner a guarantee of health
they seldom do checks on the home to make sure it is good
they seldom take back pets if they find the home isnt working out
they seldom check that the purchaser has landlord approval

it is a myth that the dogs ALLl go to good homes - because if this were the case the shelters wouldnt have so many of them - lots of new owners DONT take the dogs for obedience lessons - so when the dog becomes unruly it is dumped - many dont follow up with vaccinations and lots dont spay or neuter...

Reputable breeders SCREEN potential new owners long in advance of placing a pup with them and they remain in contact AFTER the dog has been placed and WILL accept a problem dog back at any time of its life

so ya - most back yard breeders are uneducated breeding only because they can and not for the best interest of the breed or educating good dog owners or for the best interest of their dogs too -because it is well known that unspayed or unneutered dogs are at risk for more health problems...

Answer 10

Ever thought about the fact that by giving or selling one of your dogs to good homes you're depriving a homeless dog of a household that wanted a dog? If one of your dogs wasn't available, do you think they might have just thrown up their hands and said "Well, if we can't have a female Maltese who will grow to be exactly this size and who's parents were exactly these dogs, I guess we just won't get a dog." Or would they have said, "You know, I think our family is ready for a dog, let's go to the shelter and see who's there waiting to meet us." If the former, I'd have to say I don't think I'd want these people owning a dog. Dogs are not commodities.

1 in 4 homeless dogs is purebred.

Dogs are living things. They are not products.

While you were reading this, 6 dogs were euthanized because they are homeless.

I dont' think backyard breeders are stupid (usually). I think they are myopic and greedy and heartless.

Answer 11

i agree with you 100%,people need to look at the big picture,not all "backyard breeders" are bad,but unfortunatly those who are give the good ones a bad name,sort of like pitbulls just because some are vicious it doesn't make the breed as a whole bad,though i do think people should start selling more dogs with a spay neuter contract or pay an extra fee to leave it unaltered,or at the very least,if that person can no longer keep the dog then it should be returned to the breeder no matter how old it is