Welcome to the Responsible Dog Breeders Network, a unique resource for the conscientious puppy buyer.
It seems that everywhere a potential purebred dog owner turns today, he is advised to "buy from a responsible breeder".
This is excellent advice, especially if one wishes to acquire a sound and healthy puppy which will ultimately grow up to resemble his breed in size and shape, coat, and energy level. (In fact, that's the advantage of choosing a purebred in the first place!)
| |
Actually identifying these responsible breeders, on the other hand, can be challenging. After all, very few people with puppies for sale are likely to advertise themselves as "irresponsible breeders", are they?
A google search of the phrase "responsible breeders" turns up a lot of information on various websites about what constitutes responsible breeding. Depending upon the individual author, the bar may be set pretty high, or depressingly low.
For example, some internet sites seem to imply that "AKC registered" provides proof that one is a responsible breeder. Sadly, this is untrue. Although the American Kennel Club is a strong supporter of canine health research, according to information clearly posted on its own website:
"AKC registration does not indicate the health, quality or value of a dog. AKC registration simply identifies the dog as offspring of a known registered sire and dam."
So if you have been harboring the comfortable illusion that AKC registration somehow confers any measure of confidence in the potential health or quality of a purebred dog, you might as well get over it right now.
In the current climate, where the very future of dogs is in peril,
it is more important than ever to define and encourage
responsible dog BREEDING
as well as
responsible dog OWNERSHIP ,
and to provide a place on the internet where ONLY puppies produced by responsible breeders may be found.
The Responsible Dog Breeders Network was established to do just that. We clearly define the standards for responsible or "reputable" breeders generally agreed upon by not-for-profit organizations such as the National Animal Interest Alliance, the AKC, the ASPCA, and even HSUS, the Humane Society of the United States - an assortment of strange bedfellows to be sure, but at least none of whom is in the business of selling puppies.
These criteria for responsible breeding, which are well within the capability of any breeder, are listed on our "Defining Responsible" page.
And what makes us totally unique is this:
Only those breeders whose breeding programs
reflect these standards are eligible to be listed.
|
Aren't all "show breeders",
who show and breed dogs as a hobby
rather than for commercial reasons
(and who only produce a litter occasionally),
by definition responsible breeders?
Not necessarily.
Although some top-winning show dogs,
(including the one pictured here)
have CHIC certification
reflecting full health-screening as well as championships
and even Best in Show wins,
far too many others do not.
| |
Unfortunately, many people do not realize that absolutely no health-screening
is required for an AKC championship, and far too many champions
are never health-screened AT ALL prior to being bred.
Crippling hip dysplasia, patellar luxation, deafness and loss of vision from cataracts or PRA are just a few of the many hereditary problems that are both expensive for the pet owner and can affect a dog's ability to live a normal life.
Even if you "only want a pet", health-screening of the parents is absolutely critical. NO BREED is free of hereditary disease, and anyone who claims otherwise is either uneducated about his breed or simply not health-screening his dogs.
It is a rare breeder indeed who can diagnose a genetic heart defect in a show dog by simply watching it trot around the ring, and most dogs begin to develop hereditary cataracts several years before they actually start running into walls. Without health-screening these dogs may unwittingly be bred, passing the causative genes to their pups.
|
Although there is as yet no way to guarantee a pup will not develop some heritable diseases (like hip dysplasia), simple logic tells us that screening of the parents and close relatives for these problems will significantly reduce his odds.
And as more and more direct gene tests are being developed for serious genetic diseases like PRA and Von Willibrand's, breeders can now simply and painlessly swab the cheeks of the parents, pay a very reasonable fee for analysis, and guarantee with 100% certainty that the resulting puppies will not develop a disease that has been a nightmare in their breed for years. How cool is that?
| |
|
How on earth breeders
(no matter how many top-winners they've produced over the years)
can possibly believe they are "breeding to improve"
when they fail to screen their dogs for the genetic diseases in their breed
is simply beyond comprehension.
To be fair, the lack of health clearances in top-winning show dogs may indeed have been acceptable in the past, when breeders had few tools at their disposal with which to eradicate hereditary problems in their breed.
But it is simply irresponsible in 2011, when health-screening and genetic testing are both widely available and affordable.... and especially when PETA is rapidly garnering widespread public support for its position that "show breeders", breeding for a particular "look" in order to win with no regard for the dog's health and well-being, are no better than the "puppy mills" who breed strictly for profit.bet.
|
| Members of the Responsible Breeders Network also compete with their dogs in conformation and/or performance events, and encourage their puppy-buyers to do so as well.
They know it's the only real way to evaluate their efforts to breed dogs who closely conform to their breed standard, which is a very important part of "breeding to improve."
It's also fun, and allows them to maintain the level of chronic impecuniousness common to most good breeders.
You bet.
|
Responsible show breeders understand that simply "breeding to win" is no longer good enough.
They also health-screen their breeding dogs for the genetic problems in their particular breed and register the results with OFA prior to breeding. Those whose Parent Clubs support a CHIC program perform the tests required for a CHIC # in their breed, and often do additional health-screening if they believe it is warrented. (Visit the "What is CHIC?" page to learn more about this great program.)
All these breeders also understand the importance of both early socialization and breeding for sound temperaments.
They only place their puppies in homes where they feel their chances of success as lifetime cherished family members are high, and where they are confident they will receive the best care and training.
Although many people "just looking for a pet" are unaware of it, most responsible show breeders place many puppies in pet homes; in addition to being generally healthier, with better temperaments and of far better overall quality, these puppies often cost no more than pups purchased from commercial breeders!
However, because this all takes a lot of money, work and time, many responsible breeders don't breed often and frequently have waiting lists for their puppies. If you want a "next-day pet" without having to wait or answer a lot of personal questions about your family and lifestyle, members of the Responsible Dog Breeders Network are probably not going to be able to help you. Nor would they want to.
|
Is this the most elite group of breeders to be found anywhere?
Absolutely.
Responsible Dog Breeders | Puppies | Rottweiler Puppies | Siberian Husky Puppies | Terrier Puppies | Pembroke Welch Corgi Puppies | Resources
|
|
