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Originally Posted by Sugar's Mom  permission received from all parties.: DISCLAIMER: This was posted somewhere else in response to the Breeder Comparison Matrix . Not my post so please don't attack me over it. I thought it was very interesting and requested permission to post it here.
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, I'm sure whoever created the chart did it with good
intentions, but it just serves to draw the lines again, and they are lines we
don't need to draw.
I was at a committee hearing yesterday and someone from the "other side" said
this to me: "We don't want to have to define a puppy mill, but we need you
breeders to define what is a good breeder." I just shook my head. The point is
that breeders come in all shapes and sizes and you just can't say there is One
Right Way to raise dogs. Mine live in my house and sleep on my sofa and wear
pajamas all winter. I have a good friend whose whippets live in runs and
paddocks. Frankly, they seem just as happy as mine do.
And when you start making rules about how people "should" keep their animals,
you run into all kinds of trouble. Temperature control? A chihuahua and a
Siberian Husky would require pretty different climates. Exercise? How do you
make rules for Border collies and Pomeranians? I used to like the idea of dogs
having to be turned out in a run for an hour a day minimum....seemed like a good
thing for dogs kept in crates or cages. Then I realized there are days MY dogs
would call animal control if I made them stay out for an hour. Socialization?
How do you force people to socialize their dogs? And how much is enough and how
much stresses the puppy? There comes a point we just need to butt out and allow
other breeders to make their own decisions and mistakes, regardless of their
"motives" for breeding.
And for heaven's sake we have to stop labeling each other. My husband defines a
puppy mill as "anyone who breeds one litter a year more than we do." And I swear
I think there are people who seriously believe that.
Another thing I think about is this idea that the only reason to breed is for
the next show dog. Dogs are PETS. When did it become so horrible to breed dogs
to provide wonderful pets to loving homes? Who decided that the only
"legitimate" reason to breed was for show? Shows are, after all, designed to
evaluate breeding stock. But breeding stock for what? Just to produce more show
dogs? That could become a circle with no end.
Oh well, I know I am very late replying to this -- I have been in Richmond all
week trying to stop bad legislation, and we had a good year, I'm happy to say.
Now I think I'll go play with some puppies!
Sharyn
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It does often seem that breeders fight each other so much, ironically all to the potential demise of the breed. Breeders should work together and consider others' opinions and different ways of doing things. Things are rarely black and white. There's that different opinion to be considered.
