Article about BYB! Must read!
 

This was posted in the rescue section today and it blew me away. I have cut and pasted it here but will also include the link as well. I think it should be a required read for all pet owners! :(

ShelterDog Rescue - Are you a BackYard Breeder?

Up to 10 million healthy animals are killed in U.S. pounds and shelters every year. The killing could easily be prevented by spaying and neutering.
Euthanasia is the single largest cause of death for dogs in the U.S. Each year 27 million of the animals are born. Five to ten million we classify as "surplus" and kill. That's about one million per month. These numbers do not include the millions of dead dogs whose bodies we scrape off the streets, or the hundreds of thousands of abandoned, severely neglected or abused ones who never make it to our shelters to be counted and killed. The five to ten million figure represents those we "must" kill because they are unwanted.
Most of these animals are young and healthy; in fact, it is estimated that a majority are less than one year of age. The problem is simple: we have too many dogs. Too many for the too few homes available. The solution we have opted for is to kill the extras. This solution has been considered acceptable by default, as though there were no other way to control the crisis. And we spend over $1 billion every year destroying "man's best friend."
Why is this happening in the United States today? The number one biggest contributor to the problem is the backyard breeder not the puppy mills. This is a name that has become unpopular and no one wants to admit they are a backyard breeder. Many people do not even realize they are part of the problem. This is what I need to address in this post. The only way to stop the needless killing of dogs is to stop the needless breeding of them.
Every breed of dog recognized by the AKC has a written standard, a blueprint of what the dog should look like and act like. These standards were written so that all would know what a quality example of the breed is and strive to produce dogs that meet or exceed the standard in health, temperament and appearance. To be sure you are breeding dogs that meet these standards, your dogs must be judged by people who have a lifetime of experience among the breed. Do you know the standard of the Pure Breed Dog? Does your dog meet this standard according to an AKC Judge? If not, your dog is pet quality. A pet is to be loved, cherished, trained, cared for, spoiled and bragged about, but it is NEVER to be bred. No matter how cute or sweet the dog may be, if it is not up to the standard, you have no business breeding it.
If you have a purebred dog this does not give you the right to breed it. Most purebred dogs are not breeding quality. If you breed your pet quality dog, you are a backyard breeder, whether you breed the dog in your backyard, garage, living room or an expensive hotel room, the term is still backyard breeder. If you’re pet quality dog has AKC papers, that's nice but it doesn't change anything. You still don't have the right to breed it. If your pet quality dog cost you $500 be glad you had the money to afford it. You still have no right to breed it.
Do you think you can make your $500 back if you breed your pet dog or if your pet dog is a color or size that isn't in the standard but you just know everyone will want buy a pup if you breed her? Shame on you! Now you are a backyard breeder with the purpose of breeding pups for bucks.
If the price for a tail dock or an ear crop seem high to you, what are you going to do when your beloved pet needs an emergency C section. Will you even be there with her to know if she is in trouble? Would you recognizetrouble before it's too late?
And if you still want to breed your pet dog but need to ask who's supposed to cut off the tails and ears, ask yourself "What the Hell am I thinking!"
Do you think genetic testing is something they used in the OJ trial but has nothing to do with your dog breeding career? You are a backyard breeder. Backyard breeders sell pups that aren't up to the standard of the breed.They do this for many reasons. None are good enough reasons to contributeto the killing of dogs. Period.
Backyard breeders will swear all of their pups went to a good home. They believe this but it's not true. Some may have been lucky enough to go to a good home but more than half of them will end up dead, in a shelter, alone,on a cold table with a needle sticking out of their leg. Some of those good homes will get tired of the dog and they will just give it away to anyone who is willing to take it. Some of your beloved dog's children will end up living alone in a backyard, barking all night, cold and neglected until the owner gets complaints and then that pups will be dead. Some will be starved and beaten. Some will be bred until they die from it. Some will end up in rescue and I will have to find space for it in my home and I will have to show it that not all humans are bad. I will train it, and feed it the proper food so it can heal. I will take the fleas off of it and I will get rid of the worms. I will give it the shots it should have had but no one remembered to give it. I will do these things because the backyard breeder didn't do it and wouldn't take the dog back when it was 2 years old and full of problems. I will spay or neuter that pup before I find it a new home so that I will never have to rescue one of it's pups and so I can be sure it will never end up in the hands of another backyard breeder looking to make profit from puppies.
Backyard breeders are not responsible pet owners. They think they love their dogs but it's not really true because they don't really want to be bothered with doing all that it takes to breed ethically. They love feeling important when they say "I breed "Pure Breed dogs"". But breeding pet dogs isn't something to be proud of. If a shame on our society. It's the reason for the killing that goes on in shelters. Why do you want to be part of that?
Do you want to be respected? Spay or neuter you pet dog. There's really no other way. The kind of homes you want for your pet pups don't want to buy from you. They are looking for responsible, respected breeders who are doing something for the breed as a whole. Most of those who will come running to buy your pups are the kind of people I wouldn't give a dog I didn't like to.
They are the ones who will turn your puppy into a shelter when the novelty wears off. That's a fact.
Want to stop the problem of killing 1 Million dogs a month all over America? Spay or neuter your pet dog now and tell everyone you know to do the same and leave the breeding to the people who are doing something to better the breed.
Want to be a respected breeder? Start by reading this:http://www.minschnauzer.com/breeding/index.html
Then find someone who lives up to all of it and ask them to be your mentor. Do your research. Know what you are doing. Have a savings account ready for all the problems you will encounter. Buy the best dogs you can find for your breeding program. Do everything your mentor tells you, he/she has the experience and is not just trying to push you around. Be sure that everything you do as a breeder meets the standards we have set for responsible breeders. Or don't breed!
Let's make a difference starting now.
Sunny Arruda
VP, South Bay Purebred Rescue

Good post megansmomma. Thank you :thumbup:

Thank you! It really hit home when I read it earlier today. So sad but so true :(

Amen to that!!! :thumbup::goodpost: Great post, Megans momma!! Hope people read it!! :thumbup:

I cant get my head round thoses figures...so sad. :(

Good post! Thanks for sharing!

Kind of funny how 123 people looked at this post but one 4 people posted. :( Even a thank you would keep this article and the staggering statistics on the front page of YT. Pretty much the reason that millions of dogs are put down every year :mad: Then we have people coming on here asking to breed a 3 lb dog :thumbdown and someone offering stud services to the 3 lb dog. :mad: If you open this thread and don't read the entire article same on you~ this is the reason there is this huge issue. The ones causing the problem will continue to do what they do and other will enable. Very, very sad. :(

I think she has an interesting opinion and some good points but I don't necessarily agree with all of them.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for posting ;)

I'm always preaching about breeding to standard, and I get lots of flack for it. People tell me that "Just because my dog isn't some fancy show dog doesn't mean that he shouldn't be bred". I always get the feeling people think I'm some kind of a snob because I suggest people only support the best of breeders. People constantly tell me "Who's the YTCA anyway, they are not GOD that can't dictate what should be bred and what shouldn't be bred". The article you posted gives some really good reasons why breeding to standard is so important. WE GOT A PROBLEM, millions of dogs are being killed each other, and the majority were produced by backyard breeders. If you don't breed to standard you are a BACK YARD BREEDER, no exceptions!

Please everyone stop supporting back-yard breeder's desire to make a few extra dollars, just so you can save a few extra dollars. If you don't have enough money to buy from a quality breeder, save up for it, or check out a rescue. The dogs that are easiest to place in rescues are those that meet standard, and that should be enough reason why everyone should only support those breeders who breeds to standard. However, I hope when choosing a rescue you open up your heart because in the case of rescues, it isn't important if the dog meets standard, you can set your own standards here.

Great post Megansmomma. I live about 50miles from an indian reservation. You drive down the street and there are strays everywhere. I have even heard of reservation families eating them for food. The breeds are so mixed and are inbred, they all look alike.

But this is the sad part:

We have an indian family who lives next to us (they also have a house on the res.) They were roping their puppies!!! I had to call our animal cops. They have brought home several dogs. They keep them outside, they get out, they get hit by cars. They wander into my yard cold, starving and guess who has to find them good homes? Then they come knocking at my door wondering if I have seen their dog weeks after. They lock them up in this little shed in their backyard. I can't believe people exist like this! They have thrown a goat carcass in my dogs yard! They have shot my horses up with paint balls. I complain...I yell...but no one does anything to stop them from having animals. When they do...these people move them to the reservation!

I have offered to foster dogs through our humane society, but was told I would have to go through the complete adoption process. I'm disabled and I don't have extra money to help them all or I would! They destroyed 9 puppies last week, dropped off by an indian from the reservation!

I am only one person. I would take them all in, but where does it stop?? Our state charges extra to license dogs if they are not fixed. Indians are exempt from this...Go figure!!!!
I just want to cry when I hear about irresponsible breeders. It makes it really bad for the ones who are doing it for the right reasons....

Thank you for your post! I knew this article would hit a cord with you. :)

I am wondering what points that you disagree with this article. I am truly curious :confused:

I too was curious :confused:

this is so sad....

people are stubborn and they want what they want and they don't care about anything else...

a lot of people base their purchasing decision of a puppy on the price, and generally breeders charge more for their puppies than backyard breeders. so there are still a lot of demand for the backyard breeders to breed dogs, it is really sad...and it is VERY frustrating.

thank you for this post. but it is so depressing at the same time. there are SO MANY backyard breeders, it is ridiculous! absolutely ridiculous!

Great Article!!!!! Can I cross post it.

Thanks for asking me to share but honestly, I won't do it this time. I'm still licking wounds over the last posts I made about a subject and people that I have NEVER seen on YT came out of LURKVILLE to flame me for my opinion. Many people even said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't post."

So, I will say again that I enjoyed the article but didn't agree with everything she stated. It is a good article that needs to be posted because there may be many that do not know what a BYBer is so it is a good educational resource.

You get so much more for the money though, many show breeders pets are extremely reasonable, and charge less than what pet stores charge. Backyard breeders often charge almost as much and sometimes more than show breeders. They certainly make more "profit" per dog, because with the extra expenses of show breeding it's hard to break even, this is indeed a labor of love. The hardest part in buying from a show breeder is "showing" that you can provide a good home, they never want to take any chances that their dogs will have to be rehomed and are as strict, if not stricter, than rescues.

i totally agree with you, and i think that you get what you paid for. but it is so frustrating because most people don't think like that. i have been meeting a lot of idiots out there that always ask me the same rude question about milu, "how much did she cost? is she a teacup?" ... i try to tell them about things that they should actually be paying attention to, but you can tell they don't give a sh*t, i just want to slap them silly...:mad:

people are so stupid it hurts! :mad::mad::mad:

every time i try, i just get discouraged. people are too stupid!

Now we cant put ALL the blame on the byber.(most of it but not all) ALOT of the blame for shelter dogs is the BUYER. After the novelty wears off or they didnt do the research on a specific breed, they didnt do their part in training the dog, and off course, the bad economy(losing homes, etc) these poor dogs end up in the shelters.

I agree with this, but I believe a good breeder does more to check out the situation than the typical byb, who will sell to anyone who comes up with the money.

You sure can! If you feel the need frame it and wear it in public :D Believe me I am tempted!;)

No you cant put all the blame on the BYB BUT they are the source so its a good place to start. We have to start somewhere.

That is one of my sore points about people who bash rescue~they were turned down because of too strict rules. So they buy a puppy from someone who will sell to ANYONE to make a profit. A good breeder cares about the future and well being of their puppies just the same way a rescue does. Both will tell you if it doesn't work out they will take the dog back no matter what. My sister purchase a Doberman puppy 8 years ago and the contract she signed with the breeder was that if at ANY TIME in the dogs life she was not able to keep her that she could be returned to the breeders care. She know that I volunteered for rescue and they even looked at rescues out of respect for me since they would like to add a new dog to their family. After looking they have decided that they would go back to the breeder that Star came from. They were afraid to tell me because they thought I would be upset. RESPONSIBLE breeders do not upset me IRRESPONSIBLE BYB who will sell to anyone infuriate me.

When it is time for them to pick their new puppy up I plan to go along for their trip to Wisconsin because I know they are making a good an responsible choice.

Now if they were cracking open the internet and having a puppy shipped from Missouri or some other puppymill state I would be having a fit. But they have learned and that is what I would like to see from more people. Responsiblity for their choice and actions with their pets.

I think there is a little truth in the statement, "you get what you pay for", but there are so many exceptions, nothing in life is that simple. For example, some websites sell dogs that don't met standard for outrageous prices, and say the dogs are "related to champions". That means nothing, but a cute website name and some good pictures of dogs in cute poses, make people think the dogs are worth more. Some sites promise a tiny, and again try to charge more; often the tiny is tiny because it's unhealthy or in most cases it's not even tiny. Dogs under a certain size can't be used for breeding so they should be worth less, not more, and most good breeders won't sell them for more. I don't buy the notion that good breeders charge more for tinies, because they want to ensure that the tiny goes to people who have the funds to pay for it's medical needs. Just because you can come up with an extra $1000.00 doesn't mean you have the funds to pay for future medical needs. The same with males and females, many good breeders sell both for the same price. Other sites sell off colors calling them "rare" and unusual, and charge more than a show breeder's dog. There is something called supply and demand, as you are aware, but really good breeders are more interested in finding the best homes, not making a buck, and don't try to create a false demand for their dogs.

I've seen some beautiful show breeders dogs, who were being held back because they were thinking of showing it, and at 8 or so months decided that they didn't need them in the program, and the dog could be perfect in every way, and worth thousands of dollars, but since it was older, they will sell them for under $1000.00. Sometimes you are paying extra money for hype, and so it takes a really educated buying to sort out the hype from the truth. Don't forget rescues, you get way more than you pay for here.

I posted in the rescue forum, but I will post here again. I think this is a very educational read. I cringe when I hear people talking about breeding their dog because it's "cute." I have had several offers from people wanting Rory to have puppies - let me break that down for you, my floppy-eared, 12 lb (don't get me wrong, adorable and VERY lovable and healthy) Rory. It's irritating to me, though I'm sure they mean it is a compliment. Not to mention Rory was spayed before her first heat, which was always the plan. I usually use that as my default response, but I'm feeling it is my duty now to attempt to educate further even though it may fall on deaf ears.

I do think some of it is people out to make a quick buck or out to save a quick buck. Hopefully, this will open just the eyes of a few people who simply weren't educated and that is a few more people who won't put money into the pockets of a BYB.

Its all so very sad =(

I couldn't IMAGINE breeding my little Macy! I certainly don't know anything about breeding, nor would i want to increase her cancer risks by not spaying her! I guess i don't understand why people cant just love and cuddle their dogs if they don't know what they are doing in the first place :confused:

That is true! You never can be too careful where you place your babies! Another reason that bybers are soooo popular with johnQPublic, is that hobby,responsible breeders will NEVER have enough puppies to fill the demand. People wanting a certain breed do not want to be put on a waiting list that may take years and pay for a pup with umpteen stipulations. More often than not, people will sacrifice quality for the convience and "no strings attached" that the byber can offer. Then when the dog is not what they expected or has health problems that they cant afford, its off to the pound.

To me this should be the first rule, if you won't take the puppy/dog back at any time, you shouldn't breed.

You make a good point, but it kills me that some of the better breeders are cutting back their breeding programs because of the recession, but this isn't true of the byb's.