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!)
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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.
Until such time as AKC decides to initiate a "two-tier" registration system whereby puppies produced by responsible breeders out of certified health-tested parents displaying an acceptable degree of soundness and breed type are granted a separate registration status (such as AKC Certified, perhaps?), AKC registration will continue to mean only that a puppy is the product of two AKC-registered dogs, presumably of the same breed.
In the current climate, where the very future of purebred dogs is in peril, it is more important than ever to both define and encourage responsible breeding as well as responsible ownership,
and to provide a means whereby dogs produced by responsible breeders may be readily identified.
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.
(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, on the other hand, insists "there are no responsible breeders". This is one of many PETA positions with which we strongly disagree. For more information on this very important issue, please take a moment to visit our"Why Not a Shelter Dog?" page.)
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,
including CHIC certification in those breeds where it is available,
are eligible to be listed.
This makes the Responsible Breeders Network without question the most elite group of breeders to be found anywhere.
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Only breeders who are members of the Responsible Dog Breeders Network may display the rbdn logo pictured on the left on their websites.
Note: If you see this logo displayed on a website, it's probably a good idea to click on it and simply check to make sure the breeder is actually part of the network...unfortunately, there's a lot of unauthorized "borrowing" on the internet!
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Now, you probably noticed the slogan "where "breeding for improvement" means more than just a pretty face" on our logo and may be wondering exactly what we mean by that.
According to the American Kennel Club, the motto of the responsible breeder of purebred dogs is "breed to improve." Unfortunately, many people people believe that producing a string of top-winning show or performance dogs is sufficient evidence that one is indeed "breeding to improve". But there's much more that goes into producing a quality dog than its ability to win ribbons, and which is ultimately more important to the pet owner. Good health and a sound temperament are absolutely critical to a dog's well-being, as well as increasing the liklihood that he will not end up rehomed or surrendered to breed rescue or a shelter.
Unfortunately, many people do not realize that absolutely no health-screening
is required for an AKC championship, and 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 owner and can affect a dog's ability to live a normal pain-free 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. Information on accepted health-screening protocols for common canine genetic problems is available on our "Health-Screening Demystified" page.
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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?
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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 2010, 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.
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| 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.
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But these breeders know 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. (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.
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.
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Is this the most elite group of breeders on the planet?
Absolutely.
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