[yorkiekist]

Originally Posted by Sweet Apple

For the life of me, I don't understand why people say BYB (backyard breeder) like it's a cuss word...I think most people that are BYB's are usually morally respectable people...For instance, I bought an English Mastiff, 11 years ago for $1800 from a big ol' show/breeder outfit in Kansas...I lived on a small cattle ranch, in Texas (we sold the calves), and my husband (at the time) traveled alot, so we got the mastiff for my protection and also planned to breed and sell her pups too...Both her parents came w/clear hip tests, and all the hoop-la that goes w/it, and she was guaranteed, after the 18 month x-rays...Unfortunately, after her x-rays, it was determined she had severe hip dysplasia...I contacted the breeder and she informed me I could send copies of the x-rays and return the dog for another pup...YEAH RIGHT! Ya' think I'm going to ship my beloved pet back to Kansas, on a plane, and have another pup flown back to me...I don't think so! We would never think of breeding her, under the circumstances, and we durn sure wouldn't send her back, like damaged goods...I loved her w/all my heart, and took care of her, until she couldn't get up anymore at 9 1/2 years old...It was the very reputable show/breeder that was willing to take our sweet Pebbles (yeah, I know, ironic name for a mastiff) back to God knows where, and give us a another pup, not a BYB...I got my Apple from a broker (fancypups.com) that strives very hard to get healthy pups from BYB's who love and care for the parents of the pups, and the pups are right there w/the owners in a loving home...They've been in business for many many years, and have known these people for years...Over the years, they have had very few complaints....Occasionally something will be wrong w/a pup, but, as you can see from my story, it can also go wrong w/high powered breeders of show dogs, etc... They absolutely do not buy from puppy mills, and detest this practice...As you can see, it doesn't take a reputable breeder that shows dogs to guarantee a perfect puppy...In life, sometimes things go wrong w/humans and w/dogs...I don't know why I felt the need to tell you all how I feel, I just did....It just seems like the BYB's are getting a real bad wrap...
BTW, I don't ever plan to breed Apple, she's just my little pookie doodle to love and spoil for as long as we're together....

Maggie

Well I guess you found out the hard way that not all show breeders are reputable and neither are all bybers. Bybers get a bad rap because they are only "in it" for the money. They are on the same level as a puppy mill but dont have the numbers of dogs a mill has. No health testing is ever done on the dogs and they are bred to death. Hobby breeders, on the other hand, do the research, the health testing, only have one or two litters per year and are "in it" for the love of the breed only. Some hobby breeders show and some do not but they do know the standard of the breed and breed to it.
As with any puppy, from a show breeder or byber, health problems crop up unexpectedly. What makes a breeder reputable is how they handle the situation. But I will bet on the show breeder to do the right thing before I would bet on a byber.