In Defense Of Dog Breeders

wildlifecr13 · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 5:56 am Post subject:

luckily, here in rural ohio, we dont have too many animal rights crazies. we probably have a much larger majority of people who would grab their shotgun if they saw you on their property....... try to mess with their dog....eek.

my concern here is that when someone (or a group) gets CRAZY, often times the best response is cool, calm, collected, and logical. you help to highlight just how crazy the other side really is.

i dont think you beat crazy with crazy. i think a lot of people would be put off by that stance. if you want to win the majority of people's support for legislation, you need to talk in a manner that they can really support. otherwise, you risk doing more harm than good. im certainly not saying ignore this issue or take it lying down. far from it. i just think a more tempered, level headed, fact-based stance can win over legislatures and the general public well before a stereotyping, divisive lecture. perhaps the author is a great dog breeder - but there are far too many bad breeders out there, which is probably more the problem than the nutballs in that 5%.

i think this posting, and i think its weim2mom's response, that illustrate my point.
http://www.weimaraneraddict.com/discussion/more-peta-quotes-crazy-stuff-vt9795.html
you show just how nuts PETA is and suddenly they are on the outside looking in. i dont think you need to go overboard to make PETA an outsider, they do a pretty good job of that on their own.

i did enjoy the comment about dogs in the wild. ha. as though we have enough contiguous habitat to support packs of large predators in most of the US.
there is one way these folks could help animals - but it involves a bullet and someone else cleaning up the mess. perhaps their new slogan can be "help an animal, kill yourself". sorry, that was wrong of me Embarassed

they are nuts... given enough rope, they will hang themselves.

AmazingGrayce · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 7:17 am Post subject:

I am not a fan of PETA and all the animal rights craziness (I actually had to stop watching a documentary on PETA bc i was so horrified at what they were doing to animals). ...but one point I would like to make that seems to have not been made in the article is for me personally....could part of the reason for the impression of people being turned off by any breeder be because of the large number of BYB and irresponsible breeders out there.

When Ive met people at the dog park that breed..and start to ask them questions its very obvious from the start they are they just breeding there dogs they like bc "they are such great pets". I can say Ive prob met in person 1 or 2 responsible breeders and I met them at the facility where I do agility with Grayce.

For me personally, I know that my initial "ugh breeder" response tends to come from working first hand with rescue and hearing sooo much about puppy mills and irresponsible breedings first hand. It just seems more common for me to come across an irresponsible breeder than one who does breed responsibly.

In saying this- I am well aware of Anne and her breedings and know full well she is a responsible breeder and I do know responsible breeders are out there. Just seems sometimes its easier to find and come across the irresponsible ones than the responsible ones....which is what gives me the "uh oh feeling" anytime someone at the dog park tells me "im a breeder of...."

CherrystoneWeims · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:26 am Post subject:

CherrystoneWeims · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:43 am Post subject:

Whenever I mention to people that I am a dog breeder I also make sure that I emphasize the titles on the parents and also my very strict contract. Many people won't buy a pup from me because the contract is strict (coownership, titles must be on pups before they are bred, etc). But I don't want my pups to get into the wrong hands!

wildlifecr13 · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:56 am Post subject:

cherrystone... i agree with all of this except the co-ownership part. if its my dog, its my dog. i bought and paid for it, i own it. im full well willing to say that if i ever give it up, it goes back to you first, and im willing to say i wont breed unless i do xy and z, and you can even check up on me at will... heck i would send you updates whenever you want, i love to talk about my dogs to people and how challenging, yet great weims can be. so ill go 90% of the way with you on that one, but im not willing to sign a co-ownership agreement - i dont like the legal implications of that... ie if my dog bites someone and you own it too, are you liable for damages?

CherrystoneWeims · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 10:16 am Post subject:

You may be willing to follow the contract as far as titles, no breeding until then, etc but some people won't. You would be amazed at how slick some of these mills are at getting puppies from good breeders! The coownership makes it so that if that pup is bred I have to sign the litter registration. So pups are pretty worthless to them if they can't be registered.

ChuckDC · Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 10:31 am Post subject:

I have to agree with Anne on the level of extreme weirdness from the animal rights fanatics here in CA. I'm lucky to live in one of the more rural and realistic portions of the state, but I do travel fairly often, especially to the Bay Area, and I run into some real "winners" up there. We have to put these folks into the right context in that they provide financial and legal support to people WHO BURN DOWN HOUSES. It's happened now in several places in the state where animal researchers and people who USED to be researchers (and didnt even do it anymore) had their houses burned, vandalized,etc, and their personal well-being threatened. It's not about well-reasoned argument and rhetoric anymore. Fighting them in the legislature, yes, you need to be rational (though that is getting to be less and less effective) but they're taking it to new levels here.I would expect to see our first direct murder (i.e. act of terrorism)caused by these folks within a year or 2. They already have accidentally killed more than one person.

My old friend down in Texas says they're having problems at the major cancer center where he works with the PeTA folks, too.

The thing is, PeTA and their ilk don't directly do the bad acts, but when someone who DOES them gets caught, they help them in every way imaginable. It's like Sinn Fein did for the IRA people. Mouthpiece, fundraiser and legal help and solidarity. I'm NOT going to support that and I will do my level best to convince others not to, either.

Wrench · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:57 am Post subject:

I agree with adopting...all for it...I always have...until Wrench...he is my first breeder dog. When I tell people he's from abreeder and not rescued I get bad looks too...and it's quite sad....I say this coming from someone who beleives in adopting but I also beleive that responsible breeders are needed to to even keep a well bred breed out there! Also...sorry I wanted this puppy from abbreeder for many reasons. Now when I tlak ab out getting a second weim...also from abreeder I am basically looked at like I just grew horns because I am not adoptiong ( I am not closed off form it however, but more open to a well bred weim with a standing health guarentee ,etc).

This is a decision I have made with this breed , however I still promote adopting weims!

I do beleive strict responsible breeding is a must...backyard is a must NOT but I don't beleive that someone should be put down for not adopting their dog...we might as well do that anytime someone has their own kid instead of adopts then too ( and I say this as a woman who will be adopting my children).

AmazingGrayce · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:48 am Post subject:

krisnkaipo · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:50 am Post subject:

Wow....well I am one of those 5%! I have a rescue weim, work in the environmental field, and live in California. Shocked

freespiritmom · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:11 am Post subject:

CherrystoneWeims · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:49 am Post subject:

wildlifecr13 · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:54 pm Post subject:

Yeah, it bothers me that there are weim clubs and breeders out there that dont do rescue. Why bother.