Well Bred vs Backyard Bred - Page 1

Good evening everyone!
I this topic may cause a bit of an issue and maybe this is my own unique experience but I'm to my wits end about this. Why does it seem people who buy from backyard breeders seem to have better luck with their dogs as far as with health, longevity, and breeding. I have had the benefit of owning both very well bred dogs from VA breedings and dogs from Bear and Precious from next dog. Now yes my well bred dog came with a hip health guarantee but by the time any issues were found I was attached to the dog and I just couldn't give him or her back now when I got my dog from Bear and Precious they didn't come with any guarantees but they were as healthy as an ox never had genetic problems or anything. I guess my question is why does it seem like dogs who come from well bred backgrounds tend to have more problems than dogs that come from "Bear X Precious" I have noticed this not just in shepherds but in other breeds as well. The dog comes with an awesome pedigree but they tend to have hip problems or breeding problems. But my dogs who just have a pedigree of pets dogs with no titles tend to breed normally and naturally and don't have any problems. Can someone please help me understand this.

Thanks

Well since the backyard dogs were not genetically tested you really have no idea if they had problems or not. The dogs just didnt "show" problems. Did you have any genetic testing done on the dogs? If not then you got lucky. As a rescue owner  just about every dog that comes into my rescue has a problem. Every once in a blue moon a pedigreed dog comes into rescue but 95% of them are from backyard breeders who didnt test and didnt care about their dogs when they sat on deathrow at the pound.  Hips and elbows are the least of my problems. Count your blessings. If you really want to see backyard breeders at their best, volunteer at the shelter.

I have seen nice temperament dogs and healthy dogs from BYB, my Saint Bernard lived a healthy and active life until he was 9 (getting up in age for a Saint).  I have also see dogs from good breeders have bad temperament and health problems...  You take chances with any puppy you get.  But you have a "better" chance if you "stack" the deck in your odds by getting pups from working titled, koer'd, health tested, etc parents. 

I have seen nice dogs come from well bred litters though.

Jessica
GSDBrisko@aol.com

The pet population is more diverse than the show, or working lines, just by the very nature of how and why each are bred.
Its as simple as that.

 I have seen both dogs with great pedigree and titles up the wazoo and they them selves were excellent with hips/elbows but just about every pup out of them were either poor or dysplastic. Some had crap for temperaments (could be due to the way they were raised breeder had too many litters and not enough time to socialize) That is why I have wondered .....are the titles all they are cracked up to be? I have seen some schH competitions that they had a GREAT judge in from Germany and he said that he wasn't going to pass this one female GSD for the SchH 1 and he didn't see how it passed the BH.Are dogs just getting titles cause it is a little club trial and there are politics or do the dogs actually deserve it and are breed worthy? It is one thing to have both parents with great pedigrees but do those pedigrees really work together? Some of the show lines I have seen out there are beautiful but were dog aggressive or fear aggressive and had shit for temperament.So why breed that.I'm sorry but it could have every title from every country and if the temperament isn't there to me....it isn't worth breeding. A good helper can make a dog look good. I would rather buy a GSD from someone that has 2 nice shepherds that are healthy and have great temperaments then some with a billion titles but are freaks.JMOP
(sorry for any spelling errors I have a massive migrain...at least I spelled German Shepherd right.lol)
~L~

I don't know about hips and stuff, not my area of interest, but to hijack the thread just a little bit but still relevant to the discussion - from time to time, a guy or a gal shows up in a schutzhund club with essentialy a bacjyard breeder dog, bloodlines I have never heard of, or even no pedigree, but obviousy a pure bred GSD.

So, they shit chat with us, they heard about schutzhund, sounds very interesting bah blah blah. Usualy, people like that show up once or twice, or maybe 3times,see how much time and commitment is needed and then just kind of vanish in thin air with their dog,never to be seen or heard again. I am sure every regular club member has seen that same scenario mny times.

A lot of them alow their dog to be "tested" by  TD or a decoy (or both), to see if the dog is up to snuff...

Interestingly enough, athough a lot of them are shitters, every now and then there comes a dog that just naturaly has what it takes, haven't ever seen a bll on a rope or a bite wedge or a sleeve in their life, and responds beutifuly to everything offered.

Essentialy, a pet from  BYB breeder, but with potential with right training to reach mybe regionals and successfuly compete. Doesn'thappen that often,but it happens.

I always found that very curious, I always smile and I am glad when I witness it, but it does happen.

I agree that hobby breeders are different than backyard breeders - hobby breeders are in it for the betterment of the breed, but have very few litters.  Backyard breeders breed because they have 2 purebred dogs.  We had several mixed breeds before getting a GSD - 1 from rescue and 1 rehomed from a breeder.  The mixed breeds actually had skin allergies, ear infections, and one had knee surgery.  The GSDs have been extraordinarily healthy.  I consider Georgia to be well bred - titled parents, hips/elbows done on breeding stock , WUSV/BSP champions in the pedigree- and she is the healthiest dog we've ever owned.  There are so many factors that impact a dog's health, it's hard to say.


Opal