Thanks for the comments....in saying that about dogs in the home, I wasn't meaning to imply that those who keep several dogs in their homes aren't clean. I know it is possible, I just haven't seen it. I hope that no one feels I was attacking those who do this; that wasn't my intention at all.
I guess the point I was trying to make is how interesting the difference of viewpoint is depending on what you are familiar with. In my area, it is the breeders who do not have any facilities set up that are the ones who don't care well for the dogs (no shots/records, no vet checks, they alter birthdates to make the dogs appear smaller for their age, have little control over breeding, sometimes horrendous living conditions, and the list goes on). So around here, being licensed means that at least someone checks on you, however inadequate that may be.
But it sounds like that is not the situation in most areas....which is exactly what I wanted to find out. We just have to find a way to balance the different viewpoints....if we aren't licensed, we lose credibility with locals. And if we are, we lose credibility with long distance. It just seems arbitrary, since it doesn't actually indicate quality of care either way.
It's not a big issue for us, since we don't have a large number of puppies and most of our puppies are reserved by repeat parents. But I did want to consider all the pros and cons. Again, I really appreciate everyone's thoughts. |