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08-17-2010, 06:46 PM | #1 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 537
| In Defense of Dog Breeders, continued.. Simply put, my puppies today are a lot nicer than my puppies of 35 years ago. Today, there is a much higher percentage of good ones, a much lower percentage of deficient ones, a much higher average of good qualities, and a much higher percentage of true greatness emerging from my kennel today. That's what it means to be a breeder. Does that feed my ego? Yep. I like having my ego stroked. Don't you? If you don't, you are in very deep trouble as a human being. But I'll tell you what else it does. It makes for happier dogs. It takes for dogs that lead better lives, find permanent families and homes, and get to experience love in many forms. It also makes for healthier dogs. Generation after generation of perfect functional conformation means that the dogs are less likely to get injured, wean out or develop arthritis. Many generations of selection for vigor, toughness and good health means that they are able to laugh at the extremes of climate, weather and terrain. I also have virtually eliminated genetic health problems from my strain of dogs. For example, hip dysplasia is the most common genetic problem in English setters, afflicting a reported four-percent of the breed. In the past 20 years, I have had only two questionable hip x-rays, which both would be rated "fair" by the Orthopedic Foundation of America (OFA). The last one was 10 years ago. Yes, I am very proud of being a breeder. I did that. I am proud, too, that I am producing dogs that are so intelligent that it's scary, so loyal that they can be your complete partner in the field while also possessing the extreme independence needed to do their job well, so loving that you want them with you every second of the day, so bold and brazen that nothing bothers them, and just plain drop-dead gorgeous to boot. They make me smile a lot. I think I make them smile, too. But, the animal rights whackos say I am doing it for the money. They accuse me of exploiting animals for profit. Yep. Every chance I get. I am very happy when I am able to sell a puppy for cold, hard cash. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel good because it shows me that someone appreciates the work I am doing. It makes me feel good because I have earned it, and earned it honestly. My only regret is that I have not made more money as a breeder. With all of the sacrifices I have made and the hard work I have done, I should be rolling in money. Alas, I am not. It has been years since I actually have made money on a litter of puppies. Usually, I lose my shirt. For every puppy I sell, there is another one that I keep to evaluate, and a couple of other ones that I am keeping for two or three years to evaluate for their worthiness to breed. Then there are dogs that are in competition, and that costs bushels of money, not to mention old dogs that are retired and have a home here until they die of old age. Almost a third of the dogs in my kennel are elderly and retired, and it takes a lot of money to care for them. It takes money for dog food, supplies, veterinary bills, kennel licenses, repairs, vehicle use for training and field trials, advertising, internet, phone bills, and four pairs of good boots a year. It takes money. Lots of money. Bundles of money. Oh, Lord, please help me to sell some more puppies! Besides, what's wrong with making money? It is a rather fundamental American value. Making money is something to be proud of, as long as it's done honestly. Even animal rights bozos have to eat. Someone has to make money to stuff veggies down their gullets, and organic veggies are rather pricey. Most working folks can't afford them. I also can't help but notice that most animal rights activists over the age of 30 drive pretty fancy cars (we are talking about the Beamer set, folks), live in rather fancy houses and dress very well indeed. I can't help but notice that many of the leaders of animal rights groups have pretty cushy gigs, with high-end six-digit salaries, fancy offices, and all the perks. I guess they are saying that it's ok for them to make money by the truckload, even if making money turns dog breeders into immoral greed bags. There is no one in America who exploits dogs for as much money as the paid leaders of animal rights groups. Their fat salaries depend on having animal issues to exploit. If there were no animals for them to exploit, they would have to get a real job. It's a rather perplexing dual standard, don't you think? Well, maybe it's not perplexing after all. The only thing perplexing about hypocrisy is that so many people can't see through it. My next sin is making my dogs work for a living. The animal rights people try to paint a picture of whipping dogs beyond endurance, exploiting them, creating misery and causing unhappiness. The poor, downtrodden, huddled masses. You know the tune. Only problem is, my dogs don't agree. They love to work. They love their jobs. The only time they are sad is when it is not their turn to work. For my dogs, working is sheer joy and passion! They love every second of it. What animal rights groups live for is creating imaginary victims. Helping victims makes some people feel better about themselves and, of course, it helps them to part with their money so that animal rights leaders can live high on the hog. Oops. I mean high on the carrot. How callous of me. I guess I'm just not a sensitive kind of guy. Back to the exploited masses of bird dogs. Try an experiment sometime. Read an animal rights essay, and substitute the word "proletariat" for the word "animal." You will find that animal rights philosophy actually is pure and straightforward Marxian doctrine. I guess my dogs are not natural Marxists. They love their jobs. They are excited about their jobs. Their jobs make them very happy. Animal rights people can't seem to grasp that people can feel that way about their work, too. It's how I feel about the very hard work of being a dog breeder. It makes me happy. Another way of putting it is that both my dogs and my own example provide proof that life is not pointless drudgery and exploitation. We provide living proof that joy, beauty and personal fulfillment are possible in life. I just don't think of those qualities when I think of the animal rights fanatics I have known. They seem a rather sad and sorry lot to me. I'll take my dogs' company any day. Oh, but the icing on the cake is that I use these poor exploited creatures to hunt innocent birds. How terrible! Hunting, of course, is a subject of its own, and I won't attempt to cover it here. Suffice it to say that opposition to hunting flies in the face of a few million years of human evolution, the entire balance of nature everywhere on Earth, and common sense. I know one thing for certain. The fact that we have healthy populations of most species of wild birds and animals today is only because hunters have cared enough to support strong conservation measures. We have preserved millions of acres of habitat that is vital to the survival of many species, saved more millions of acres of wilderness from development, supported the protection of endangered species everywhere, and put our money where are mouths are. Animal rights groupies do nothing but blow hot air, when they aren't too busy destroying the land and the animals that live on it to create vast wastelands of industrialized monoculture. I am proud to be a hunter, too. It's time for every dog owner and breeder to stand up proudly and be counted. Each one of you has done far more to enhance the quality of life of both people and dogs than all of the animal rights activists put together. So stand up and shout it to the rooftops! Stop crawling around on your bellies and apologizing. Your dogs deserve better from you. You will just have to get a little tougher if you want to live up to your dogs. What you are doing is right. It's just that simple. The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, breeders and professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for hunting. We welcome people who work with other breeds, too, as legislative issues affect all of us. We are a grassroots movement working to protect the rights of dog owners, and to assure that the traditional relationships between dogs and humans maintains its rightful place in American society and life. The American Sporting Dog Alliance also needs your help so that we can continue to work to protect the rights of dog owners. Your membership, participation and support are truly essential to the success of our mission. We are funded solely by the donations of our members, and maintain strict independence.
__________________ "It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked." ~Haile Selassie |
Welcome Guest! | |
08-17-2010, 06:53 PM | #2 | |
Mardelin Yorkshire Terriers Donating Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: California
Posts: 14,776
| Quote:
I understand the difference between Animal Rights and Animal Welfare.
__________________ Mardelin Yorkshire Terriers | |
08-17-2010, 07:09 PM | #3 |
I ♥ Joey & Ralphie! Donating Member | Seems like that post has lot of fact mixed with fiction, I think a good breeder needs no defense, but good breeders don't breed for profit. I like this poem titled, "What Is A Breeder?" What Is A Breeder? Breeder (with a capital B) is one who thirsts for knowledge and never really knows it all, one who wrestles with decisions of conscience, convenience, and commitment. A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests, finances, time, friendships, fancy furniture, and deep pile carpeting! She gives up the dreams of a long, luxurious cruise in favor of turning that all important Show into this years "vacation". A Breeder goes without sleep (but never without coffee!) in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously over the birth process, and afterwards, over every little sneeze, wiggle or cry. A Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter is due or the babies have to be fed at eight. She disregards birth fluids and puts mouth to mouth to save a gasping newborn, literally blowing life into a tiny, helpless creature that may be the culmination of a lifetime of dreams. A Breeders lap is a marvelous place where generations of proud and noble champions once snoozed. A Breeders hands are strong and firm and often soiled, but ever so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of a puppy’s wet nose. A Breeders back and knees are usually arthritic from stooping, bending, and sitting in the birthing box, but are strong enough to enable the breeder to Show the next choice pup to a Championship. A Breeders shoulders are stooped and often heaped with abuse from competitors, but they’re wide enough to support the weight of a thousand defeats and frustrations. A Breeders arms are always able to wield a mop, support an armful of puppies, or lend a helping hand to a newcomer. A Breeders ears are wondrous things, sometimes red (from being talked about) or strangely shaped (from being pressed against a phone receiver), often deaf to criticism, yet always fine-tuned to the whimper of a sick puppy. A Breeders eyes are blurred from pedigree research and sometimes blind to her own dog’s faults, but they are ever so keen to the competitions faults and are always searching for the perfect specimen. A Breeders brain is foggy on faces, but it can recall pedigrees faster than an IBM computer. It’s so full of knowledge that sometimes it blows a fuse: it catalogues thousands of good bonings, fine ears, and perfect heads...and buries in the soul the failures and the ones that didn’t turn out. A Breeders heart is often broken, but it beats strongly with hope everlasting... and it’s always in the right place! Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then, there are BREEDERS!! Author Unknown
__________________ NancyJoey Proud members of the CrAzYcLuB and YAP! ** Just Say No to Puppymills – Join YAP! Yorkshire Terrier Club of America – Breeder Referrals |
08-17-2010, 07:09 PM | #4 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 537
| It is a good article, and obviously isn't targeted to solely toy breeds. I found her argument to be quite compelling for the most part. This is a highly debatable article, and this is where you would see the breakdown of the differences. Obviously, people who are worried about the details in this article in respects to the dogs earning their keep, and being a working-class dog would have a lot to pick apart from this. Animal rights activists would not condone an animal being used as a working-class dog, regardless of what the dog was primarily bred for.
__________________ "It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked." ~Haile Selassie |
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