It is simply a money issue. The "finer" the parentage, the more money the pups will be worth. They don't have to be championship or show quality but most people will request to see the parents or their papers before they will pay the prices being asked for the pure breeds. Most mixed breed puppies end up as give aways. Its not fair and its not a good judge of a puppy's personality or sweetness. It is just how things work out. I personally like to look to rescues for my dogs. I have only had wonderful experiences this way.
Answered By: kbarmol - 10/7/2007 |
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In Australia show dogs don't have to be champions to be bred with. We prefer our future champions to come from champions. Alot of other show people don't see this as an issue and will go ahead anyway. But that's how we roll and we have for 28years now. But you are right, dogs don't need to be champions to produce pets and most people who just want a nice dog won't care who it's parents are.
Answered By: rockpig73 - 10/7/2007 |
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They don't have to be champions or have won awards to breed, where do you think mutts come from, or the health problems in certain breeds like hip dysplasia? However champions are the best ones to be bred as they are obviously the best examples of their breed.
Answered By: Sophie T - 10/7/2007 |
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The average buyer usually can not tell a well-bred dog from a sub-par quality dog. Just because a dog is "good looking" does not mean it is within the breed standard. Every pet owner thinks their dog is awesome and so cute, they often don't see the faults in the dog.
Showing dogs in confirmation is how breeders make sure they are only breeding the best dogs. When you have people that don't uphold the breed standard and just breed for "good looking dogs", then what's the purpose of a purebred anymore?
Reputable breeders show confirmation to test their breeding stock and ensure that they are "up to snuff" and have high-quality dogs that meet the breed standard. They also have healthy dogs because they do health tests, have eyes CERF, etc. (different breeds also have other different issues to watch for; many larger breeds are prone to hip dysplasia, while many toy breeds are prone to luxating patellas). And they watch the temperament of the dogs and will not breed dogs with "off" temperaments.
Answered By: abbyful - 10/7/2007 |
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Dogs should have four legs to stand on before they are bred.
1. They should meet the standard for their breed. If you read the breed standards, it will tell you the physical and sometimes spiritual goals that need to be meet. By competing against others of the same breed, only those dogs who most closely resemble prefection are given championships.
2. Dogs should be healthy. There are tons of tests out there to do on dogs. If you are planning to breed your dogs, you will need to looks at OFA Hips/Elbows/Heart/Thyroid testing. There is also CERF testing for eyes, vonWillebrands testing, TLI testing and many, many others that you need to consider before you determine your dog to be "healthy". Your breed will have specific health issues that you will need to have researched. Just because your dog doesn't exhibit a health woe doesn't mean s/he doesn't carry the gene and can pass it on to his/her progeny.
3. Dogs should be able to do the work they were bred to do. If your breed is a herding breed, they should be able to work with sheep or ducks. If your dog is a hunting breed, they should be able to be trained for hunting. If your dog is an earthdog, they should be able to be successful in Earth dog trials. Bloodhounds track. All dogs should be able to do obedience.
4. Your dog should be sociable and well behaved in the public and around people.
Certifications, championships, titles are the only way that it can be proven that your dog is nice, healthy, good looking. Additionally, it proves that you cared enough about your dog and spent enough time with your dog to make the titles happen.
Championships, health certificates, training titles come from non-biased third parties and not the owner, who always thinks their dogs are strong, healthy, goodlooking purebreds. That's why they are important.
These certificates are a testament to your unselfish love of your breed and not just your own dog.
Answered By: risingwolf1 - 10/7/2007 |
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Dog shows are held for a reason. A show evaluates the dog in terms of how close it comes to the breed standard. Breeds were developed and preserved for a reason, each breed is supposed to be a certain size, shape, color, temperment, intelligence, etc. Breeding is done when excellent specimens are found that are as close as possible to the breed standard, in hopes that the blending of the two bloodlines will produce dogs even close to the standard. Also, a pedigreed dog can trace it's health back through it's bloodlines.
There is no shortage of pretty, healthy dogs available at shelters, and they are dying every day because there aren't enough homes for them. Why would you want to breed more if there are already so many? So people have dogs to buy? Don't you think it would be better for the world if you just educated people on shelters and rescues, and how to find a loving family dog there? What would you do if one of your parents carried an aggressive tendency it never showed you? And one of the pups turned out aggressive and mauled a kid? As the breeder, that is YOUR problem- you produced an inferior dog by failing to breed from established bloodlines. Are you going to take the fall for that dog and the mutilated child?
Breeding is not just slapping two dogs together and selling the pups to the highest bidder. It's a lifelong committment to learning the breed, learning the bloodlines, and striving to improve the breed through your dogs. Loving families should care enough about dogs to save ones that are really in need, not to support the stupidity of backyard breeders.
Answered By: Alyssa - 10/7/2007 |
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One of the reasons for showing dogs is to identify the best ones of a breed for improving the breed. One of the things that reputable breeders try very hard to do is to eliminate health problems through careful screening of their breeding stock. Not every pup, even from champion parents, is necessarily going to be a show quality dog, and they are not sold as such. Sure, you can have really good, healthy dogs from non-champion stock, or from mixed breeds, but with a dog from known pedigrees, you have a lot more confidence in what you're getting. With the casual breeder, you never really know. For example, I have a friend who bought a golden retriever pup from a backyard breeder. She's a really nice dog in terms of termperament, but at less than two years old, she's completely blind due to PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy). This is a genetically linked condition. A good breeder would have examined their dogs for this, and not let any with the conditon be bred. Another friend bought a golden from a different BYB, and it turned out to have a very poor temperament. Again, a good breeder would be very concerned about producing pups with good, stable temperaments. The payoff for all this work is that you can produce or have dogs that will win - they're the best of the breed, and that's why you want to use them to further the breed, at least in the ideal sense. You just improve the chances of getting that healthy, good-looking dog you want.
Answered By: drb - 10/7/2007 |
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They don't. If I had my way, they would all be strong, healthy mixed breeds. If you want a pretty dog, get a purebred. If you want a healthy one, get a mutt.
The way the kennel clubs' breed standards work, everybody wants to breed the perfect whatever, and that often means mating dogs so closely related to each other that if it occurred in humans, it would be deemed incest. All living things have genetic defects, but they're usually masked. However, inbreeding causes these defects , such as joint problems, heart problems, etc. to come to the surface. Unfortunately, there are many breeders out there who are out there only to make a buck and are not interested in the welfare of their dogs, and the cycle keeps repeating. That's one reason that mutts are healthier than their purebred counterparts.
Answered By: flydog_38 - 10/7/2007 |
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The purpose of breeding purebred dogs is to improve the breed by moving it closer to the breed standard. Showing a dog to its championship is a way of allowing other knowledgeable people to say that particular dog measures up the the standard. Someone may think there dog is up to standard but people have a tendency to become "kennel blind" and not see the faults in there own dogs that may be detrimental to the breed. Trying to only breed dogs that come close to the standard is what keeps for example a Doberman a Doberman and not a skinny Rottie or a short Great Dane.
Its not really a matter of the awards but having the measure of being up the the standard. Even breeding champion dogs you will still have "pet" quality dogs that don't meet the standard and will be family pets.
Answered By: BMTHESPIAN - 10/7/2007 |
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You do not need to show your dog or have it CH to breed. Responsible breeders follow the same rules as those who elect to show. Genetic testing and improving the breed is the general goal.
The cost factor arises from those that do show as this is very costly and therefore the costs are passed down to the buyers. Many of these people also have the added costs of large kennels. Where there are others who follow the same goals who elect to not show and keep large kennels. They produce dogs that comply with breed standards and are just as healthy as the others but in many cases for a fraction of the cost of a CH offspring. I have had many show quality dogs over the years but have never been interested in the cost of showing unless it was locally. I have CH offspring dogs that are my dam and sire and they have produced offspring that comply with breed standard.
My cost for pups is on average 1/2 what I see some of my breeder friends who show their dogs are asking. So long as the goal is the betterment of the breed and healthy dogs there is no problem if the dogs are not CH in order to breed. So long as one is qualified and has taken the time to read up on all aspects of what is involved so that they are prepared for the expected and unexpected when delivery time comes.
Source(s):
47 years breeding Miniature Pinschers.
Answered By: Yogi - 10/7/2007 |
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The goal of breeding is to improve the breed. A dog that has been shown and won a Ch. title has been evaluated by many knowledgeable people to confirm that it looks and acts the way it should for its breed. Why is this important? Ask the dog who has luxating patellas, or hip dysplasia, or bowed or cowhocked legs how it feels to have its joints so out of line that walking causes it hideous pain. Ask the owner of the affected dog how it feels to watch their dog in this kind of pain, and how it feels to shell out thousands of dollars to the vet to try to help it, just to see that vet one last time when the dog is 2-3 years old and there's no more that you can do for it, so you have to have it killed. Why is conformation to the breed standard so important? Look at these two photos.
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff25/songbrook/riley023Quicke-mailview.jpg
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff25/songbrook/wichita.jpg
Can you see which one is the champion? The first is a rescue I was involved in. Does he even look like a sheltie to you? Would you believe that dog is registered with the AKC?
The second is CH KENSIL'S NOT A CLOUD IN THE SKY. Which would YOU rather own?
Source(s):
Rescuer, vet tech, professional groomer, and show exhibitor of Shetland Sheepdogs for 20 years
Answered By: Jennifer T - 10/7/2007 |
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Another great question ! Thanks (again) for asking before you consider breeding.
The main goal of responsible breeding is to better the breed.
The "yardstick" by which a dog is judged is the breed standard.
It is through showing your dog, acquiring points, and gaining titles like CH that you "prove" your dog is a good representative of the breed and comes as close to the standard as possible.
Here is a comparison of reputable breeders and FPB's / BYB's:
http://st15.startlogic.com/~justonel/breeder.html
Answered By: Laura ♥ - 10/7/2007 |
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So if people don't care about all that stuff, they can go on the Petfinder website and adopt one of the 200,000 odd dogs that are waiting for homes.
If you want to breed your family pets, you should find a home for every one of those dogs first, or you will be guilty of the killing of shelter dogs just so you can make puppies.
How juvenile and self-centered.
Answered By: anne b - 10/7/2007 |
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Because millions of dogs are killed every year because there aren't enough homes for them.
If you want those families to have dogs, tell them to adopt from rescue and save a life. Don't add to the problem.
Dogs are not ATM machines to make you a quick buck.
Answered By: Nandina - 10/7/2007 |
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