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Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly  When I read Breeders Code Of Ethics or Traits of A Reputable Breeder at various sites online addressing the standards all dog breeders should use, very few mention the quality of life of the breeder dams and studs, seeming to lean heavily on the quality of life & health of the puppies those dogs produce and wording about improving the breed, clean facilities, excellent food, etc, for the dogs but not many have a lot of ethical recommendations for the actual treatment of the mommies and daddies, speaking specifically about their quality of life - their wants and needs in order to help ensure they are treated like any beloved family pet.
Sadly that is true even on sites that speak to ethical breeder recommendations with regard to the Yorkshire Terrier that I've seen to date. I have happily seen one or two general sites for dog breeders talking about ethical/reputable breeding practices list treating the breeding dogs as "house pets" but hardly more than that. I've never seen anything yet that speaks to breeders enriching their breeding dog lives or not keeping them confined to kennel areas most of the day, that sort of thing but maybe it is there and I'm just missing it. Maybe some will change soon.
Would that all breeders' dams and studs were valued, loved house pets & the phrase "treat(s) all breeding dogs as house pets" or statements similar to it were included on all the Breeders Code of Ethics or Traits Of A Reputable Breeder posted on every ethical/reputable breeding-recommendations site. And if dog purchasers would only buy from those breeders, it would be a wonderful thing for dogs. |
I don't know a lot of dog breeders but I do have family members that were into showing and have visited several shows and breeders. Sadly from what I have observed the people that are really into winning and having a famous name kennel really get carried away with that aspect and regard their dogs in a whole different light than a pet owner would. It has been several years since I had this experience but at the time I was amazed at the number of show dog breeders that sold their pet puppies with no restrictions on their registrations. I think they felt they could not get the price for their puppies if they restricted the papers. I hope that aspect has changed since those days.
A person who wants that big name has to continue breeding several dams and sires at a time and then they move on to the newer stock. It involves having a lot of dogs and they are accustomed to kenneling their dogs. They are not thought of as pets but stock. They may take pride in how nice their kennel is but the fact is the dogs are stock and not pets. It is a business. While I could never do that to an animal they feel they are very humane. I guess the dogs are much better off than a puppy mill but it is certainly not the kind of life I would want for my dogs.
I think it is much simpler for the small dog breeder but it still involves numbers of dogs. Being partners with others means that you can have your stock spread around and not all in one person's home. Because they don't know what that beautiful show potential is going to produce when bred a person sometimes keeps several beauties and breeds them to see what they produce. Numbers go up fast. I think some people are not prepared for how fast the population can go up when doing that kind of breeding so they really have to kennel. But these are the people who hopefully are producing healthy beautiful dogs.
It kind of reminds me of when I was a kid. I wanted to live on a farm because I loved animals so much. Then when I got a little older I found out what really happened to the animals on a farm and the idea was not so inviting. When I saw what went into breeding show dogs it was some what of a let down. We have to have farms and we have to have purebred dogs but I'm just not into the process at all. I remain a very happy pet owner.