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Originally Posted by Woogie Man  I read most of the article. I respect the author's right to his opinion and feel there is a special place in Heaven for those who work on behalf of unwanted dogs. I just can't make the connection between shelter dogs and people who breed 'off standard'. We have a local station that runs a 'pet of the week' feature with the Humane Society and our newspaper does a 'pet of the day' with the same shelter. I have never seen a pure bred dog of any breed featured, off-standard or not. Most are pit mixes and retriever mixes. These dogs, for the most part, come from irresponsible owners not getting their pet spayed or neutered, not from a breeder, no matter what label you stick on them. Also, the mentality of thinking of a pet as 'disposable' adds a lot to the problem. As far as dogs being bred 'off-standard', that is a sad fact due to a breed's popularity. Take a look at any of the top 10 breeds and you will find many being bred 'off-standard'. For example, my brother recently bought a Rhodesian Ridgeback, not one of the most popular breeds. I helped him in his search and we found very few that weren't exellent representations of the breed. Since they aren't a 'popular' breed , only true fanciers are breeding them, for the most part. Breeding off-standard is a consequence of a breed's popularity. I know it upsets purists but it's just the way it is.    |
If you watched Oprah's show on puppymills, one of the staggering statistics mentioned was the fact that close to 50% of the dogs who end up in shelters or rescue are purebred. The reason that you don't see them when you visit shelters is that most contact the appropriate breed rescue when one is turned in.
You are absolutely right that breeding off-standard is a consequence ia a breed's popularity. It goes hand in hand with all the health problems that result from irresponsible breeding. Yorkies are the #1 most popular breed according to the AKC. They are the #1 best selling pet shop puppy. They are also 36 times more likely to have a liver shunt that all other breeds combined according to the recent UT study and are ranked #4 by the OFA in cases of luxating patellas.