Going Extinct: Breeders in Hiding
BY CARA RYCKMAN continued
from the general public. The question was, if you decided today to get a new dog, where would you go to find one? Here were the results of that survey. If this doesn’t scare you, you need to re-read! Humane Society 10 Breed rescue 10 Ask a reputable breeder they know 7
would be an optimum place to find a family for a pet, more than anything due to the ads not even being local or easily organized. I heard one show breeder say that they don’t advertise. “Responsible breeders don’t advertise.” In my breed, that would mean a few pet puppies to find homes for but what about breeds who have 10 or even 15 puppies in a litter? In my breed, few keep “waiting lists” due to very small lit- ters that often no puppy is available to place from – we keep them. I can’t tell you the times I have heard “Responsible breeders don’t advertise here…or there…or in that publication…or online.” Possibly that is where we have shot ourselves in the foot. We are in hiding. We are not visible. What the public is seeing is the money breed- ers. We should be out there everywhere, showing people the difference. But we’re not. Ok, so as a breeder…a responsible breeder…of dogs, where does that leave us? We aren’t supposed to advertise – anywhere – because “there are shelter dogs.” Did we – as responsible breeders – produce the shelter dogs? I can say overwhelmingly NO for me – I keep track of my pup- pies. My puppies are microchipped, and the microchips are registered to me. There are so few puppies I place any- way, and those are placed on an agreement where if the person ever has to rehome the dog, it comes back to me, period. So, no, I do not take responsibility for the shelter dog. There are those who would say that because of my well bred puppy there is a shelter dog somewhere that is being put to sleep. I again disagree on this point – the per- son who is looking for a puppy from me or someone like me is not the person who will go pick up a dog instead from a shelter. Animal rights activists would say that we have no need for purebred dogs – I say we have no need for animal rights activists. It is not their “right” to say pure- bred dogs should perish, and that the world should only have mutts…then their real agenda comes out that we should have no pets at all. I reject all of that. My theory is that if a family actually did their research and chose a breed based on the characteristics of that breed and its suitability to that family, then bought from a responsible breeder who considered health and tempera- ment in their program, then followed the advice from that breeder in raising and training the puppy – getting lifetime advice from that breeder during the journey – it would be much more likely that the puppy would work out as a pet for that family for its lifetime, and it would be LESS likely to ever end up in a shelter OR to produce any puppies that end up in a shelter. In supporting RESPONSIBLE BREED- ERS, the activists would be much more likely to accomplish their supposed goal of less dogs in shelters. Of course, since their real goal is extermination of purebred dogs and removal of dogs as household pets, their current agenda is working just fine. I decided to do a poll on my facebook page, and here were the results. I have 54 responses. I asked my dog show friends not to answer, so the answers were ONLY
Word of Mouth 6 The newspaper 4
Facebook 3 Craigslist 2 Kennel Club 2 Dog show 2 Petfinder 2 AKC 2 Puppyfind 2 Google 1 Pet Store 1
So, back to my original question…where do we adver- tise? How do we reach those who long for a well bred companion of pedigree? How do we find those who know they want a dog because they have researched the breed and found that the size, activity level, personality, and appearance of that particular breed meet their lifestyle requirements…and they know that the best place to find a dog that most closely meets the AKC breed standard is from a responsible breeder? AKC suggests that we should go to the parent club or look at AKC Marketplace. Many clubs no longer publish membership lists due to harassment from animal activists. I have actually had some wonderful results from AKC Marketplace. I have only been on there for about a month now, but the leads from there have been GREAT quality homes. For me that may be the answer, but I wish that AKC would more strongly advertise and advocate for pure- bred dogs and explain its AKC Marketplace as an option to the general public. From my own poll, only two respon- dents said they would ask AKC. Online I googled “Where do responsible breeders adver- tise?” Dog Owner’s Guide suggests area kennel clubs or obedience clubs. I wonder how many pet people realize there is even a thing called a kennel club, or how you would find such a thing. Also I hate to suggest that simply belonging to a local club may not be screening enough for “a responsible breeder,” though it might be a good starting place to screen from. AKC and UKC apparently both have Breeder Referral numbers, says gocorgi.com. I found a suggestion there too of asking your vet…and, although my own vet would have a clue as she is a breeder and a dog show aficionado, I don’t think every vet would. Many online suggestions are dated, mentioning publications that no longer exist. My personal facebook has actually gained me a lot of friends in my breed and other breeds who show. I post my wins there and if I think about it, I forward them on. I like to think I have a lot of great content. I try to be funny. I
166 • S how S ight M agazine , S eptember 2017
Powered by FlippingBook