[matilda99]

There's a very nice article on this very subject in the August 2007 issue of Dog World Magazine by Carolyn Coile, PhD. As many of you know, Dr. Coile is a well published authority on dogs, herself being a breeder and handler. Her opinion is that responsible breeders should be selling their puppies for enough to make a profit, and that it should not be considered a negative thing for them to do so. BTW, she acknowledges in the article that breeders do not necessarily have to be exhibitors to fall into the "responsible" category. They just have to be responsible in their breeding practices. She closes the article with "There is a place for responsible breeders of good, healthy, well-socialized pets, and there's no reason that breeders who produce these dogs should not be fairly, and even profitably, compensated for providing them. In the long run, such breeders could be our best tool in the fight against puppy mills."