Oprah Show ~ Puppy Mills

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by MindieRose

Wouldnt a responsible byb be considered a hobby breeder? I am confused about what some call bybs on here vs hobby breeders. What if someone is breeding dogs that have been health tested, but are above standard weight or not standard color? Is that a BYB? At some point it has to come down to a matter of opinion.

Personally, I'd rather see someone breeding a dog they know is healthy that doesn't meet the standard than a dog with great conformation that has a genetic defect. However, both are wrong to me...a dog should meet the standard AND be healthy. AND not only is health screening a must, but knowing the pedigrees behind the dogs is a must too (genetic defects can skip generations). We must remember though that there is no perfect dog..even the best examples of the breed have some type of fault..maybe their color is a little light, the ear set is off just a bit, weight just a little over standard, etc...but a breeder should strive to breed dogs that are as close to the standard as possible.

I wrote this in another thread and thought it kindof explained my thoughts on the "good" and "bad" backyard breeders...I think you have a wide variety of backyard breeders, their reasons for breeding, and they way they do things.

I don't think the term backyard breeder is always as negative as it sounds. Not a breeder i would personally buy from, but I wouldn't say they are necessarily bad people or don't love their dogs. In fact, many of them love their dogs and breed their pets for various reasons...they do so as a hobby and not profit. The ones that do it for profit are in a whole other category, and yes, I feel that those breeders are bad people. No one should use breeding as a business. I don't agree with backyard breeding practices, and like I said, I wouldn't personally buy from one, but I don't think all backyard breeders are bad people. Quality of dogs is subject to opinion as every breed and even judge has their preferences, but with health screening and breeding healthy dogs - it's either being done or its not (that is a black and white issue to me). Anyway, I'm certainly not talking about any breeders in particular - just speaking in general. Everyone has their opinions on what a backyard breeder is and isn't - I and a few others I know just have a very narrow view of what a reputable breeder is.

[cj125]

Originally Posted by yorkiesmiles

http://www.oprah.com/community/threa...=1890&tstart=0

Thanks for the link I think it would be fantastic if we could even get 1% of the membes here to leave a message there!

[yorkiesmiles]

Originally Posted by cj125

Thanks for the link I think it would be fantastic if we could even get 1% of the membes here to leave a message there!

as of right now there are 2,112 comments on this thread on Oprah's board -- although a bunch of them towards the end are people fighting on there about Peta, BYB's, resposible breeders vs no breeding

I was trying to see if there was a way to rank their replies, but it doesn't look like the board lets you do that. But just looking at the first page of Oprah's Board you can tell this is a lot of comments. Plus that's just the biggest thread, other people have started other threads on her board with smaller numbers of replies about the show & puppymills

I love your goal of even 1& of Yters posting!