[imdll]

Not everyone wants a dog that is AKC registered and not everyone who breeds cross bred dogs wants to create a new breed. For example Lurchers and Longdogs have been bred for a very long time and no one wants to create a new breed or be a part of the AKC etc.

Not everyone wants to adopt a shelter dog and take a chance on health or disposition concerns created by someone else's backyard breeding or poor treatment. . . (before anyone jumps all over that, I personally have adopted, rescued, raised some and re-homed several dogs). However that is not something everyone is prepared to do and we need to realize that.

With regard to breeding, it's ridiculous to say that people shouldn't be breeding because the shelters are full. That's like saying people should stop having children because there are lots of kids who don't have families. It's not going to happen. Yes people who breed dogs need to be more responsible but we also need to be realistic about what we expect them to do or not to do as the case may be.

It also comes down to mindset. Some people are hung up on the whole pure bred thing and some are not. Are there benefits to pure bred dogs? There can be, but there can also be benefits to cross bred dogs. Dogs like the Bullmastiff were created to fit a need or desire for a specific type of dog. The Games Keepers simply wanted a dog that could perform they way they needed it to and so they created the Bullmastiff. The same sort of thing still goes on today only now some people get quite bent out of shape about it.

With regard to responsible breeding and “designer dogs”, I think a good look at the structure of the English Bulldog along with a study of all the health issues that plague that breed should quiet some of the condemnation pointed at the mixed breed designer dogs of today. The English Bulldog has a loyal following but nobody should ever consider owning one unless they have a boat load of money to spend at the vet. How responsible was it to purposely create some of the extreme physical attributes of the current pure bred AKC registerable English Bulldog? Does it get much more “designer dog” than that?

Yes people need to be more responsible about breeding dogs and more people need to get their dogs spayed or neutered so we don’t have so many unwanted dogs. Pure bred enthusiasts just need to understand that not everyone wants a pure bred dog. In fact some people specifically want cross bred dogs. People who raise Lurchers or Longdogs could have all pure bred dogs if that was what they wanted to own. There are reasons they choose Lurchers and Longdogs over pure bred dogs.

People are entitled to their own thoughts and opinions and there are lots of reasons why people may not follow whatever standard or rule someone else may personally feel would be appropriate. That doesn't make them wrong or stupid or irresponsible.