leopui
K9 Maniac
May 14, 2002, 6:58 AM
Post #4 of 4
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Re: [Derrickok] I'll teach you the other 50
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Very well said and present!!! Great job, Derrick  !!!
I would like to share some of my point of view along with this subject. Not to disagreed with any but it is done for the sake of clarify in-case some one may mis-understood according to the phase being use!!!
According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
"Backyard breeder: A dog owner whose pet either gets bred by accident or who breeds on purpose for a variety of reasons. This breeder is usually ignorant of the breed standard, genetics, behavior, and good health practices. A backyard breeder can very easily become a commercial breeder or a puppy mill.
Speaking about "backyard breeder", it have being widely know as commercial puppy miller as mentioned above (in-fact, you can find more explaination when you do a search in www) but looking at today where we live on here in Malaysia, I guess most of the breeder including myself belong to "backyard breeder" category  !!!
This statement I claimed based on where we do the breeding not how we do the breeding. I for one, doesn't have big farm to keep my dog (will I be call as Puppy Farm Miller ... if I do???), I keep them with in my house area, which is fence of course with a main-gate ... you may want to category this as backyard too since their kennel is constructed and located behind the house and a few beside the house. Not everyone can afford an extra lot to house their kennels.
One thing I'd like to reiterate is that the term Backyard Breeder has taken on a connotation (implied, suggested or associated meaning) of an irresponsible, unethical breeder ignorantly breeding dogs on a small scale. Please do not confuse it with the explicit, direct meaning or its denotation of one who breeds dogs in the backyard, as done by some responsible breeders.
Next ... I would like to point out one of the important factor (what ever you like to call it) of one breeder that have Kennel Blindness or Breed Blindness or Dog Blindness ... No, I am not talking about or to discuss the disease that impairs eyesight – this is about the psychological diseases that affect dog breeders and owners and how they view their dogs.
Kennel Blindness – a disorder experienced by purebred dog breeders that renders them incapable of recognizing the faults of their foundation stock or the results of their breeding program.
This disorder makes them unjustly judgmental, only sees the faults of competitors' dogs, and thinks that all judges who don't award ribbons to their dogs are basically unknowledgeable of the breed, unfair, crooked, biased, political, and all other reasons except acknowledging the glaring fact that their dogs do not have the quality to win.
The disorder also manifests itself as breeders with the highest opinion of their dogs who try to convince others of the exceptional qualities of their dogs while misinterpreting the breed standard. Although they achieve nothing but persuade only themselves of their dog's perfect beauty, the other people they talk to are plainly convinced that they are delusional.
Breed Blindness – This disorder makes owners believe that the breed of their choice is the best breed in the whole wide world, bar none.
I've observed this from one Belgian Malinos breeder who acclaimed all the outstanding traits of his chosen breed, excellent protection dogs of strength and that he will never be caught dead owning a GSD.
I also notice that this Breed Blindness is prevalent who always try to pit their breed's traits with other breeds. A comically futile attempt at solicited approval and forced distinction. Every breed is different and has their special function.
Dog Blindness – This disorder makes owners believe that there is no other dog in the universe that is better than their dog. This is the mildest form of blindness because it easily gets cured with just one encounter with a better dog.
Now, talking about the breeding ... based on my living experience and the knowledge I have gained over the years ... below bullet point WAS actually send to me from one of the breeder that I deal with, which I have saved this few years back!!!
There are a couple of vital course of actions you need to undertake before looking for a stud dog. The first is to evaluate yourself: - Do you have the time, energy, resources and knowledge to undertake dog breeding?
- What's your goal; what do you want to achieve in your breeding program?
- Do you know enough about the breed and breeding to know the inherent hereditary problems and how to eliminate them?
- Do you have a mentor who can guide you on your breeding program and evaluate your bitch and stud dogs for consideration?
The second is to evaluate your bitch: - Does she possess stable temperament, excellent health, good working drives, correct structure and breed type based on the standard?
- Did she pass all the health tests required to ensure elimination of the breed's inherent hereditary problems?
- Does she have any titles (conformation, working, etc.) to prove that she is an excellent specimen of the breed and a good potential for breeding?
- Since no dog is perfect, do you know what her faults are and what her outstanding traits are?
- Do you know enough about her pedigree or bloodline to figure out where those traits came from?
Once you've accomplished the above, it's time to look for the right stud dog for your bitch. You will need to have open, honest discussions with stud dog owners. Discuss your bitch's faults and virtues; then ask them about their stud dog's traits. Of course you need to have enough knowledge of canine temperament, working drives and conformation to evaluate the dogs yourself and find out if the owners are being honest with you.
Ask to see the original certified pedigrees, health certificates, award certificates, etc. By now you should already know how to read pedigrees and figure out where the stud dog's traits came from. Do a Pedigree Analysis – depth and breadth.
If the stud dog has produced offspring before, visit the progeny and observe what he throws to his pups. I'm assuming that, by this time, you already know what you're looking for and what you're looking at. If the stud dog's dam and sire are still available, visit and check them too.
Make a list of all the faults and virtues of the stud dog and determine whether he will cross-fault with your bitch. Cross-fault means the dog will correct the bitch's faults and vice-versa. Of course they have to be of the same phenotype.
I like to strengthen the genotype in my breeding program so I usually do line breeding. If you're inclined to do the same, make sure that the breeding will click. Remember that, in genetics, white bred to black does not produce gray; it will either be white with a black recessive, or black with a white recessive. So, if you want to correct your bitch's lack of rear angulation, for example, do not breed her to a dog with excessive rear angulation but to one with correct rear angulation.
These are just a few pointers; there are many more. But I can't type them all down or I'd be writing a book.
As Derrick have mentioned ... there are three major considerations of great importance to address. You must have total knowledge of the breed. You must have a sound and healthy bitch, and finally, the bitch must be mated to a dog of quality ... And that's why I stay to believe with fact that I am always going for a top female since the "majority" health & genetic's calculation show, female responsible for ABOUT 65% while the male either compliment or contribute the gene on the other 35% on one breeding!!!
I am not playing god to create, I for one, doing my level best with search and studies to ensure that the next litter I am about to do is worth while if not better!!! Don't just breed any CH./Titles dog to any CH./Titles bitch. Know what you're breeding for and why, although both had outstanding pedigrees; but the combination MAY BE disastrous. Couldn't stress enough about the genetic science at this point!!!
A few "minimal faults" (as long as they're not structural, or a strong prepotency for assured conveyance of the fault) do not make a dog get eliminated from a breeding program. So, if the bitch's fault is the same as my stud dog's fault or will create a structural fault when combined, then I will not render the breeding.
Anyway, the reason for the prevalence of the faults is because of improper breeding practices or breeders who don't know what they're doing to even maintain their lines – much more improve them. Since I am into working line GSD, I will used this as an example: ...
This can happen to any line, American, German, Czech or Europe etc. and can only be improved through selective, discriminating breeding to improve the traits.
The reason working lines look more physically fit is because they have the working drives that motivate them to perform activities while lesser dogs would rather just laze around and do nothing. More activity translates to better physical condition. Although my next "statement" is just my theory and not really based on any formal "scientific" studies yet, I have also observed a noticeable difference in body tone of working lines. I think that, because of the constant and consistent work performed by the ancestral line, the progeny has evolved into the required physical build for the work.
When the character or temperament of German Shepherd Dogs (showline & workingline) becomes prevalently nervy in a country, there is definitely something amiss. I believe that breeding stock should be evaluated and approved for breeding. This is the main purpose of Breed Suitability Tests to all the dogs in their registry.
Meticulous, discriminating and knowledgeable breeding for perfection combining inbreeding and linebreeding should give the breeder a better chance of producing dogs with less undesirable traits. If a recessive undesirable trait surfaces through inbreeding, then you would know that it's in that line. You then remove that line from your breeding stock. You try it on other lines and finally find one that doesn't produce that undesirable trait. You keep those for your breeding stock. However, I would not recommend the practice of inbreeding to anyone who has no in-depth knowledge of the line. The "untrained" breeder may not notice some undesirable traits and he may just end up propagating a hidden disaster.
I am not saying I am good but in-order to ensure and "grow" along with the quality breeding that I am into, I would keeping one or at least to co-own one pup from every breeding I do (not include the same breeding between the same sire & dam) and would follow-up with those who own other littermate.
Derrick mentioned about ... I had destroyed puppies at birth ... and I did that too (hopefully not doing it on my future breeding litter if possible), I choose the culling "action" # inject and put to sleep. IT IS A HEART BROKEN EXPERIENCE  AND I AM FEELING REAL BAD THAT I CAN STILL STILL SEE IT IN MY MIND  !!!
We all love dogs here, and nobody who loves them could bear to kill them – that is a given. However, when breeding dogs, there are circumstances that dictate to our conscience that we have to terminate a life in order to prevent further suffering, injury or death to its own or to another life.
People who cannot accept or take on this responsibility should not be breeding dogs. Let me give you an extreme example to consider.
Your pet GSD gives birth to a litter of seven puppies from an unplanned breeding by one or all of the street dogs in your area. By eight weeks old, you notice that three of them have a problem of being picked up or touched by humans and will readily bite you when you try. You take them to three behaviorists who all say that it may be an inherited behavioral trait because it manifested on three puppies out of a litter of seven. They agreed to try to treat and correct the problem for one month. Another puppy just drags his rear legs in order to move around and the vet informed you that he would be lame all his life. The fifth puppy has one undescended testicle but everything else looks normal. The sixth and seventh puppies are diagnosed with severe chondrody-strophy, or multiple epiphyseal dysplasia. The vet explains that in conjunction with this condition are the failure to thrive, bad bites, a predisposition to dental disease, an early left-eye cataract, increased vulnerability to infection, short toes and undeveloped lung. Hip dysplasia as well as disc disease usually result from this condition. In short, the puppies will live a short, diseased life of suffering, most of it in the vet's clinic.
To add insult to injury, all puppies were diagnosed with demodectic mange, which they acquired from their dam that may have been infected by the street dog sire/s. After a month of treatment, the vet discovers that their auto immune systems are very low. The three vicious puppies have come back from behavior therapy. Two were pronounced beyond help and will be more vicious as they mature; and one may be saved if placed with a knowledgeable owner/trainer. From all the stress, their mange has become generalized. Vets had to muzzle or sedate them to treat their diseases, but to no avail.
Now, the question is: will you still try to place these unhealthy, unsound puppies with another home? How will you find good homes for bad puppies? Are you willing to take the responsibility if one of the vicious dogs you produced attacks, injures or kills a child in the 'good home' you picked? Would it be responsible practice to pass on unhealthy, diseased and unsound puppies? Since this is your GSD's litter, you are considered the breeder of these unhealthy unsound puppies and have a responsibility to them for their entire life. Would you let them live a life of pain, suffering, agony, acquiring disease after disease because of their low immunity and their chondrodystrophy? Would you let those fearful vicious dogs live a life of constant nervousness and stress because of their genetic unsoundness, or allow them to be caged their whole life because of it? Are you emotionally and financially able to care for these seven unwanted dogs all their lives?
Oh boy  ... that's the longest post I have ever make since June 2001 ... hopefully I did managed to "contribute" to the point ... it took me almost three hours to get this done ... Derrick, will I "qualify" to receive your another share of the "50%"  ???
Just to "enhance" the post , may be someone else would like to read and make refer to Identifying the Responsible Ethical Breeder that written by a friend, which I copied!!!
LEO PUI
Get REAL, Train REAL & Be REAL! Do RIGHT and FEAR No One!
(This post was edited by leopui on May 14, 2002, 7:08 AM)
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