backyard breeders - Page 4

I basically agree with Echo - someone who doesnt do healthchecks, genetic screens, temperment tests, make sure there is structural integroty, make sure the dogs compliment each other and improve upon each other.  In my mind they sell their dogs for far more than they are worth and are in it only for the money - they dont have real contracts, they dont care where their pups go, they dont have any guarantees or very few guarantees, the dont have them vaccinated or make sure the right temperment goes with the right owner and they wont take their pups back if they end up needing to be rehomed.  In my mind the worst of them probably dont care for the living conditions or the health of their breeding stock.  Basically they are like dog manufactureres...just on a smaller scale than Puppy Mills.

I personally dont have a problem with the Labradoodle - as long as they do it in a similiar fashion to the Australians - they have a breed club, a standard and a studbook - they are trying to make a breed rather than trying to manufacture dogs.

~Cate

The ironies here are killing me. 

Me too!!!!! I'm laughing my ass off!!!!

What ironies would those be?

~Cate

After reading all the posts on this topic ...........I come up with this point on the subject.

What about the difference between a knowledgable, respectable breeder and a BYB being......

A Knowledgable Breeder is the one that bred the litter with a goal and expectation in mind and WOULD or DOES want to keep back the pup of their choice or their "pick" of the litter to represent their kennel and kennel name.

The BYB would never keep or even Think of keeping a pup from their breeding...not even for free, let alone pay the $1,000 or $2,000.00 they are asking others to pay for the same puppy!

course....they may want to keep a puppy from the litter to replace a "breeder" but would never think of wasting their time to raise it for 10-12 mths. until it could be bred.

IMO a BYB is a person who has  little or no knowledge about dogs in general or the breed/s they are breeding in particular. They are not necessarily bad people or those looking to only make a quick buck, some just don't get the idea of only breeding to improve the breed. They think that it's fine and dandy to breed puppies just so people have cute pets. Some BYB's keep their dogs as clean and as well fed as the big names in the dog world.  BYB's run the gamut from multiple dogs kept in small outdoor cages to a few  houspets that sleep on the bed every night. There is a fine line btween the BYB and the puppymiller usually based on the size of the operation. BYB's  don't do any research on health issues - a BYB of GSD's would not likely do the very basics of xraying hips and elbows  prior to breeding their dogs. If they look cute and have the temperament they feel is correct for a good pet of that breed, there will be puppies in the near future. Many see nothing wrong with selling their puppies to pet shops either. They think they have the rescources to place them in good homes.

A BYB would probably never pay a stud fee, they would have their own breeding pair/s or breed their bitch to the dog down the street or to one they bred and sold to another BYB. When I worked as a vet tech we had a few BYB's as clients. They adored their dogs, took wonderful care of them, but didn't have a clue about why they shouldn't have bred a bitch that ate her first litter or one that has a heart murmur or one that has to be muzzled to get its vaccinations. Some vets do not take the time to talk to these people and explain why their dogs should not be bred. They want the money, so will be just delighted to vet litter after llitter of pups from the BYB. Remove the dewclaws, dock the tails, crop the ears, puppy shots, whatever it takes to make some serious money the fast and easy way. How many vets tell their cllients that a labradoodle is a mongrel?  Some of these BYB's are just stupid. Although some are, not all are in it for the money.

IMO anyone who breeds any breed of dog just because they think their bitch/dog is cute and freindly and ignores the standard of that particular breed, can be called a BYB. It's really not about quantity, it's all about quality. It is great to try to educate them, but that's like spitting into the wind, They feel a legit breeder is trying to cut down on the competition. Like I said - they just don't get it (and probably never will). Don't blame it all on AKC, breeders need to take some responsiblity too and stop making so many pups available to anyone with the money.

Blitzen: Very well put!

I think often the vets don't want to lose the clients either and have possibly learned from experience that once the owner is set on breeding there is little one can do that won't offend them if you advise them not to.  It took me years to get through to a relative that she shouldn't breed her 1/2 border collie, 1/4 samoyed, 1/4 American line GSD... that was a fear biter, ruled her house, and still at age 7 tore up everything in sight!  The dog's ancestry was in the family for three generations... numerous times their females would be knocked up on the street.  Finally, I was able to convince them that she was too old to breed and could very well have a complicated labor and die (maybe a little extreme)... but it worked.  When the dog was finally spayed, the vet said that it was the worst case of pyometra she had ever seen without the dog going into shock... talk about irony.

amysue: YIKES!! Talk about hard-headed! Was this relative a farmer, by any chance? In my experience, they are the ones most likely to let this happen, as there's a fairly good market for medium-to-large sized dogs in the farm country, to act as watchdogs, and I can't say the farmers in my family are exactly well educated! I have one aunt who to this day will claim "You can't learn farmin' out of a book!" 

Amysue, I worked for 5 vets in 15 years and only one of them would tell it like it was to clients. One owned an imported GSD that he put out to stud. He was not xrayed and neither were any of the bitches he was bred to. He had a great temperament, I loved him so much that he was the reason I now own a GSD . I named my dog, Blitz,  in his memory. One of Blitz's litter brothers would have taken your face off, had a very bad case of pannus and was severely dysplastic as were at least one other from the same litter.  So it seesm that Blitz was not the greatest breeding prospect from a genetic standpoint. When asked about using his dog at stud, the only question he would ask the bitch owner was - has she ever had any lameness problems. NO? OK then let's see what he can do for her (they were usually in standing heat by the time the owner thought about who to breed to LOL) This same vet almost fired me because I suggested to one of his female clients that she might not want to breed her 25 lb petshop samoyed or at least have her hips done first. The owner was married to a wealthy business man, so could have bought any dog she wanted, she chose the one from the petshop. Anyway, she batted her eyes at my boss and complained that I trashed her precious dog and I got a warning to never again say one thing negative about anyone's dog or else. I needed the job, so I kept my mouth shut from then on, but soon moved on to another practice.

My new boss had little patience with pet owners, his heart was in dairy cattle and he liked most of the responsible dog breeders who used him; he quickly became very popular with them. One time he sent an owner out the door crying. She proudly presented to him hew newly purchased cock-a-poo from Doktor's Pet Center. When she told him the AKC would soon approve the cock-a-poo as a registered breed he sort of flipped out at her. He told her she had just paid almost $500 for a mutt and she could have gone to the SPCA and got one for free. This was back in the days when dogs didn't cost enough to feed a thrid world country and dogs were free at the local shelter. Times do change, don't they?