This Question Has Been Nagging at Me.

[nanahas3]

You know I did not start this thread to put down breeders. I for one am very grateful to those who have nice places for their dams and sires albeit inside their homes or in nice places with lots of room to roam and socialize with them daily. In a perfect world all dogs would have a perfect life but sad to say in this one not only do all dogs not have but we even see our fellow brothers and sisters sleeping on the streets in this era we live in. I would like to thank all the breeders who care enough to test their breeders so that we get a healthy pet and that keep them warm and cool and give them a good place to sleep. I know some feel if you don't have a 6 figure income in order to provide for them you should not own a pet but where would that leave the rest of us. I don't have that kind of income but I can tell you this my pets come before even myself. I will take one of them to the vet and spend more to keep them healthy before I will go to the doctor myself. Anyway Thank You again to all the breeders who strive to be really good at what they do and give the rest of us an opportunity to love these little ones.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by nanahas3

You know I did not start this thread to put down breeders. I for one am very grateful to those who have nice places for their dams and sires albeit inside their homes or in nice places with lots of room to roam and socialize with them daily. In a perfect world all dogs would have a perfect life but sad to say in this one not only do all dogs not have but we even see our fellow brothers and sisters sleeping on the streets in this era we live in. I would like to thank all the breeders who care enough to test their breeders so that we get a healthy pet and that keep them warm and cool and give them a good place to sleep. I know some feel if you don't have a 6 figure income in order to provide for them you should not own a pet but where would that leave the rest of us. I don't have that kind of income but I can tell you this my pets come before even myself. I will take one of them to the vet and spend more to keep them healthy before I will go to the doctor myself. Anyway Thank You again to all the breeders who strive to be really good at what they do and give the rest of us an opportunity to love these little ones.

I couldn't agree more that no one should disparage wonderful, responsible breeders as we owe our wonderful breed to them and their hard work, time, money, tears, strife, fatigue, all-nighters followed by all-dayers and endless work placing dogs & supporting new puppy owners forever. Without those people dedicated to producing happy, healthy puppies, no telling where our Yorkshire Terrier breed would be. All platinum teacups with flat faces, pop eyes & huge heads? I doubt that, but they would likely not be the enduring famous iconic image of the Yorkshire Terrier we love. But I, like you in your original post, worry when I see dogs that live or are kept for long periods in lovely, clean kennels & not afforded the life of a house pet so that I can have a wonderful dog myself, be it a Yorkie or an Irish Setter. I have grown over time to worry about how much it could be costing those pregnant females in some breeding programs and if the price I am paying for the great dog I might wind up with is far too high for her to pay.

I am ashamed to say that until last year, the life of those pregnant females and their quality of life in those beautiful runs or special rooms of housing I've seen over the years when visiting breeders never even crossed my mind! I've heard some breeders even talk in the past about how the breeding bitches were exercised and given play-time or socialized outside confinement. It was only after that moment last year that I began to worry that in our pursuit of producing the ideal dog we all want, can the life of those pregnant females be made better by those that keep our breed and others so wonderful - and have I just been letting things I was absorbing about how the breeding bitches live fly over my head unprocessed as conscientious thoughts? Can dogs that have to use kennels or special housing as their living quarters be treated instead like family house pets or is something that can't ever be achieved in order to obtain the very best of our breed? I hope raising the issue and asking questions here where dog lovers discuss lots of issues isn't considered to be a "put down" of breeders but a matter of conscience for anyone that wants to think about.

[gracielove]

Ideally I would like to think that those who treat dogs like dogs would be inspired to change their ways but people are human and we all have our particular ways of thinking. There are the good and the bad in every avenue of life. Just as much as we recognize our pets as having feelings and personalities there are others that are just as convinced that they are animals and as long as they are not abused then they feel they are doing right by them. Of course the term "abuse" can be debated as well.
Any good business person has to make hard choices. Sometimes long time employees have to be laid off and although it may be difficult to do the business person does it if it has to be done.
It would be nice though if people could start thinking out side of their current comfort realm to find different and more humane solutions to age old problems.