March 24, 2007
Saturday

In regards to Margaret Cloud's Statement - "If anyone wants a good dog, get a true mutt that is scheduled to be killed because some idiots did not get their dogs altered. Stop the breeders by refusing to buy their dogs. Dogs breeders do not really care about the dogs or the breed. They are only interested in making money and adding to the thousands of dogs killed every day."

That is a pretty strong and, frankly, ignorant statement to make. I breed Rat Terriers....the last thing I would ever breed for is to "add to the thousands killed every day"....we love our dogs and seek good homes for our puppies. I can proudly say we have been very successful at that. I do not do it for the money as much as for love of the breed. A good dog breeder will strive to keep their dogs as close to the purpose for which they were bred for in the first place. My breed of choice was bred for controlling rodents....I strive to breed for a high prey instinct...it is a lot of fun to watch these dogs work to find and kill mice and rats - and it helps keep the undesirables (rodents) in check. A good breeder of German Shorthair Pointers for instance will strive for a dog who has the instinct to point out the hunters prey to him and to retrieve.... A breeder of Border Collies will strive for a dog that will move a herd of sheep from point A to point B. I challenge you to place a mutt of unknown origins into a herd of sheep or cattle and see what happens...... will they make it to the new pasture or will your herd be scattered all over the county.... not a chance I would want to take with a herd of cattle who, in a stampede, can destroy properties and hurt innocent bystanders. I can tell you from experience, it is pretty amazing to watch a well bred pair of herding dogs successfully control a herd of livestock. Some dogs are bred to control the head (headers) and some are bred to control the back end (heelers) - this is acheived by a good breeding program. Try watching a retriever work to retrieve a duck. A good retriever has a soft mouth in order to bring the duck back undamaged to his master. Now throw a mutt into the ring, chances are your duck will be filled with holes and probably missing its head. My point is, a properly bred dog can be a very powerful tool in our day to day lives.......one should not lose sight and blindly attack those breeders who strive to honor their breeds and enhance their abilities.

I think a lot of the purebred dogs that end up in shelters are most likely dogs who were purchased from a pet shop on impulse by an uneducated customer. People see and fall in love with that cute, fluffy little puppy in the window and end up purchasing it having no idea what the dog was bred for and it winds up not fitting in with their lifestyle (i.e. a Border Collie in a highrise - probably not the best idea).

I will agree with Margaret that there are far too many animals being tossed aside in our throw away society. But.... I am willing to bet that for every dog sitting in a shelter there are 20 more in a loving and caring home being spoiled rotten as evidenced by the pictures and emails I receive regularly from our puppies new families.

Kara Jeanne Blazier
Weiser, ID

Received March 21, 2007 - Published March 24, 2007

Related Viewpoint:

Never buy a dog from any breeder By Margaret Cloud

 

 

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