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PLenty of red flags but awesome dogs

5K views 35 replies 20 participants last post by  Anubis_Star 
#1 ·
So yesterday I visited a non-GSD breeder (no breed mentioning due to confidentiality) somewhere in the US.
I'll start from the very beginning.
Several ads on the internet, a very messy, cluttered front and back yard. Inside: very welcoming people, about 5 females and the stud dog, the place in a moderate state of hoarding, no barking or fighting , despite unaltered females and litters, strong dog smell, two litters (one born day before), very social, sweet dogs, great looking dogs with awesome temperament.
Dogs and pups are fed a cheap grocery store food, bred back to back for about 4 times before being retired as breeding dogs, no contract, pups sold under 7 weeks but happy to keep the pup a few more weeks. They all live and are raised inside.
They raise champions,the dogs and pups are well socialized, well built and healthy and the breeders honest about their philosophy and trustworthy.
This is really confusing and it made me realize that keeping an open mind increases your options. Your take on this?
 
#33 ·
Who the heck is going to put it together who you are talking about, just by naming the breed? I don't care who the breeder is, it could be one of millions that do things the same way.

I'm curious simply because some breeds are "easier" than others, in terms of maintaining good health and temperament. With the "easy" ones, you can be a less-than-stellar breeder and still produce dogs of reasonably good health and temperament if you have a good gene pool to start with. With some other breeds, you really have to be careful, and anything less than a deeply knowledgable and diligent breeding program will result in a hot mess.
 
#34 ·
Where I vacation every summer there is a family that used to have a female GSD (she is long passed due to age). This is THE dog that drew me to this breed. She was intact and they bred her a few times. They would give the puppies away but kept one for themselves so the last I saw they were on their third or fourth generation. I'm sure they have no health clearances or titles but just based on my experience with these dogs I would have taken one for free at any time.
 
#35 · (Edited)
With toy breeds they are most often companions (except maybe the terriers) so there is no historical "job" for them to be titled or worked in.
I've looked into a few and have found with some breeds the vast majority of breeders do not do any titling other than conformation. So in some breeds it can be very difficult to find a breeder who titles their dogs in sports or obedience for example.
One toy breed I was interested in I found very few breeders who do any titles with their dogs other than conformation. I was hoping to find some with agility or other titles but IIRC I only found one breeder who did agility titling. A lot of breeders mentioned on their site that the breed does great in agility/obedience-- but they themselves don't title their dogs in those things.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Toy breeds are EXTREMELY prone to diseases that often times don't show clinical signs until geriatric years. Many have heart disease. Best example, MVD that affects half of all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Or Syringomyelia (brain too large for skull, basically), where in it's mildest forms shows no clinical signs but in it's moderate to severe forms causes excruciating pain and paralysis. Can easily be diagnosed with an MRI, as ALL breeders of these dogs should do. The big scandal in the UK where it was reported that one of the top conformation studs had a mild case of this GENETIC disease, but wasn't clinical and was being bred left and right. Oh but he looked so good in the ring :headbang:

Strong smell in the house means dirty living conditions. UNHEALTHY for animals and humans alike, especially newborn pups.

I don't care how happy or friendly or "pretty" these dogs are, I don't care what breed they are. If they're being kept in dirty living conditions it's irresponsible. You can wash a dog in a good quality oatmeal shampoo on show day and hide a lot of neglect. If they aren't being tested for common genetic diseases in their breed it is IRRESPONSIBLE. And they should NOT be bred. You could produce hundreds of puppies out of a stud dog before you realize he has severe heart disease at 6-7 years of age. Difference between this and a shelter dog, you aren't supporting bad practices with shelter dogs.
 
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