Support Responsible Breeders

Support Professional
Responsible Pet Breeders

The Backyard Breeder Fallacy

by Ms. Jade, TheDogPress Legislative Reporter

I own purebred dogs. Once a year or so I breed a litter from DNA profiled champion stock. For that, I will never
apologize as I truly have the best interest of my chosen breed foremost in my mind. Am I an elitist? You betcha!
Would I cringe if you went so far as to call me a dog Nazi? No. Serious breeders mate dogs of known background
in order to reduce the chances of congenital defects and predict with greater accuracy the positive outcome of a
planned litter of puppies. Therefore I probably seem like an unlikely advocate for the guy advertising puppies in the
local newspaper. However, I am also a civil libertarian. And I won't apologize for that either.

Proposed, pending and contested legislation around the United States and abroad that is aimed at restricting our
property rights by targeting animal reproduction has become rampant at every level of government. Forced spay
and neuter, cost prohibitive licenses for unaltered dogs and breeding permits, micro chipping of our animals with
their information (and ours) in government data bases, warrant-less inspection of our property, arbitrary limits on
the number of animals we can responsibly care for and mandatory husbandry practices are some of the ways in
which dog owners are being relieved of their civil rights.

While our agrarian forefathers did not specifically guarantee us the right to own and breed animals, they did
guarantee us the right to be treated equally under the law, the right to own property, the right to be free from
warrant-less search and seizure of that property, the right to due process and the right to commerce. With no
respect for our Constitution, animal rights supporters are working hard to relieve us of these rights by packaging
restrictive legislation in a way that is not only palatable to dog owners, even some breeders, but misleadingly
leaves them with the impression that they have supported something beneficial. Far too many animal owners and
welfare advocates are buying into it in one area or another.

Divide and conquer. By creating stereotypes and labels, like “puppy mill” and “backyard breeder” and attaching a
stigma to those labels, the animal rights movement is trying to disgrace the act of breeding animals. And they're
doing a great job. The media has been flooded with images of dogs being raised in cages, in filth, in neglect. Sad
faces of shelter animals behind prison bars on “death row”. Images intended to produce an emotional response
instead of an intellectual one. And don't forget the staggering statistics.

It's not a secret that animal rights mean no more domestic animals. It's in their mission statements. HSUS president
Wayne Pacelle brags that “We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced
through selective breeding. One generation and out. We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals.
They are the creations of human selective breeding”. Allow me to translate, no animal breeding means no more
animals. Period. And while the general public cannot be sold on such a radical concept, it's been surprisingly easy
to sell them on the concept of ever tightening restrictions. Although united in our love of domestic dogs, slick
marketing by the enemy has created infighting. Breeders both private and commercial, rescuers, shelter staff,
animal control, dog show exhibitors and pet owners are cleverly being turned against one another to forward the
animal rights agenda. Each believing that their point of view is the only valid one and everyone else's civil rights no
longer matter.

Yes, I too personally find those images disturbing. They are the product of gross human negligence and
irresponsibility. I love animals, I have been a shelter volunteer, and I believe in animal welfare but I am also a
realist. Things are rarely what they appear on the surface. In order to end the animal surplus and related suffering, I
want to get to the actual cause, to prevent the illness instead of treating the symptoms, so to speak.

The demand for a product (puppies, for example) is driven by the consumer. It's a simple case of supply and
demand in a free market economy. Don't blame the seller for being an opportunist. It's only human nature
flourishing in what is still a mostly democratic society. An uneducated consumer has every right to purchase an
inferior product and suffer the consequences. Just as the seller has every right to promote the benefits their
product, in order to influence the decisions of the consumer. If breed purists and elitists like me are outraged at
breeders who turn a profit by selling what we consider to be an inferior product, then we must only blame ourselves
for failing to educate the buyers.

Ignore the propaganda; dog breeding is not the cause of shelter overpopulation. Animals end up in shelters for a
myriad of reasons. Behavior problems that result from a lack of training and proper socialization along with normal
breed characteristics that the owner finds unacceptable top the list. Owner death, job transfer/move, landlord/rental
restrictions, insurance discrimination, financial trouble and the inability to comply with escalating pet ownership
restrictions also contribute to the problem. The system is designed to perpetuate it.

We live in a disposable society. As long as domestic animals are viewed as a short term convenience, instead of a
serious long term commitment then change is unlikely. The problem is one of perspective, information and
education. Pointing fingers at each other is cowardly and counterproductive.

According to a 2005 article in the HSUS magazine All Animals, 75% of the shelter population is comprised of
mongrels. Now I'm no math wizard, but I can extrapolate that only 25% must therefore be purebred animals. If this is
true, then random bred dogs are the real cause of shelter overpopulation, not “puppy mills”, breed enthusiasts or
“backyard breeders” of purebred dogs. Yet this same HSUS article praises the mongrel as superior because of its'
larger gene pool. One that may very well be polluted with unknown genetic defects. They even go so far as to
market them as a “designer” product. Sort of a haute couture, one of a kind canine fashion accessory.

Now, it occurs to me that if you truly want to reduce the animal shelter population in a meaningful and dramatic
way, than you should advocate for the elimination of the mongrel, through mandatory spay and neuter of random
bred dogs with unknown ancestry. (See, I am a dog Nazi!) Most dog breeders know that you must have a firm
grasp of the genetic past, in order to improve the genetic future of your line. Many of the minority purebred animals
that end up in the local shelter may not have a known origin either, and are therefore not an ethical choice for
perpetuation of their breed. The same “hybrid vigor” so highly touted in the mongrel is just as easily achieved by
crossing healthy purebreds of known ancestry to create new breeds. Man has done so since the beginning of
domesticated dog breeding and whatever we fancy, that breed was created by this process.

The beauty of purebred dogs is that there is something to appeal to almost anyone. I don't have to agree with your
choice but I must respect your right to make it. I'm not going to advise that consumers rush out and purchase a
Puggle, Labradoodle, or Cockapoo, anymore than I would suggest that everyone should select my preferred breed.
(Not everyone deserves one!) Whether these designer hybrids stand the test of time or fade out with other trends is
not for me to say. Freedom of choice means the freedom to make the wrong choice, and the freedom to make
better choices in the future.

Am I a “backyard breeder”? Well, by technical definition I guess I am. I have also been a front yard breeder, a living
room breeder and a cab of my motor home on the way to the dog show breeder. If that makes me a villain, then the
animal rights lunatics and the terrorists who support their ideology win. But if you become an independent thinker,
then freedom wins. We all win.

Ms. Jade

Please understand that I am NOT at all supporting Sub-Standard Breeders or Inhumane or Irresponsible Animal Owners.
All Dogs & Livings things deserve the very BEST care available. However, I do not believe that organizations should be
able to Raid/steal seize/take other persons property & animals i do believe these are Illegal actions. Every pet Owner must
provide for their Pets & not harm them in ANY way. Unfortunately Good, Professional, Responsible, Dedicated,
Trustworthy & Upstanding Owners/Breeders are being targeted by different Organizations so that they may obtain more
animals for themselves to exploit for their gain. I am very displeased to see this kind of ROBBERY going on within
America today. I do believe that stray animals should be altered & found forever homes. No animal should EVER be
KILLED because "THEIR TIME has RUN OUT". I do not believe that organizations should Charge "Adoption Fees"
(another term for SALE PRICE) when they are getting MILLIONS of dollars in donations to provide these services while
their personal earnings/wages are More than standard wages. PLEASE watch a few of the video links below to see the
lies & deceitful ways of PETA, HSUS, Best Friends, SPSCA's and many more organizations that are targeting Pet owners,
Professional Animal Owners & Business Persons. They want to see Pure Breed animals die out & for the human race to
not be able to pick and choose a Quality, Healthy, Pure Breed Pet that has Years of Health History & A Pedigree to Back it
up. Not everyone wants a stray/mutt that NO ONE knows anything about or that someone else discarded due behavior
issues or to a UNKNOWN REASON. PLEASE DO NOT EVER take a pet to a shelter!! More than 80% of ALL shelter animals
are video taped, photographed & exploited for the media to request additional "donations" to only be KILLED in the end.

Cruelty to Owners