03/06/2022
Copied and pasted with permission from the group I found this in!
This morning, I took the time to write down the thoughts that have been swirling around in my mind for the last few years as both a buyer and a breeder. It’s hard to iterate, but I tried my best.
So often, I think we view ethical breeding as a checklist of do’s and don’t’s. I worry that that mindset is robbing us of some truly wonderful breeders and I want to stress the importance of looking at the breeder holistically and not just based on a checklist. True ethical breeding is not based on a checklist that changes every time we get new info. (See breeding back to back)
Ethical breeding means using real dogs with real flaws and real strengths and making educated guesses using the knowledge we’ve worked years to obtain.
When we as a buyer begin the search for that “right puppy”, we need to do our homework first. We need to know WHAT the right puppy looks like for us. We need to have clear goals for our time with that puppy and we need to know what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable for us. We need to know what our values are and what kind of relationship we want with the breeder. This is how you find the right breeder and the right puppy for you.
Too often, the breeder has the sole responsibility to determine what a buyers goals are, what they value, if this is a good match, if our puppies will meet their goals. The truth is, our puppies deserve a home where both parties have worked equally hard to make sure they were in the right home for them.
Once you know what that right puppy looks like for you, start gathering references. Locate breeders near (or far from) you who seem to meet your non-negotiables (this may mean CHIC testing, conformation titles, performance homes, specific temperament traits, or something else). Then determine whether their values align with yours. Try to learn what their motivation in breeding is. Provided they meet your non-negotiables (such as full health testing) I care much more about *why* a breeder has made the decisions they’ve made than I do *what* decisions they’ve made.
Do they breed back to back or skip heats? WHY?
Do they use a certain puppy raising program? WHY that one?
Do they believe in limited vaccination protocols? WHY?
Do they dock tails/remove dews? WHY?
Do they require spay/neuter? WHY?
When do they send puppies home? WHY?
Some of these questions may contain non-negotiables for you. Others may not. But the point should be to know your needs and to find the root of the breeder’s decision-making process. Is it money, or because they love breeding, or are they truly invested in improving on the qualities of the breed?
When someone is basing their breeding decisions on what Facebook has told them to do, or just doing (or appearing to do) what the ever-popular “good breeder checklist” says to do, it is glaringly obvious when compared to a breeder that has done the research, knows their lines and pedigrees, knows their dogs, and is making decisions based on that.
Ethical breeding can sometimes feel like a tightrope walk. If your target is always changing you’re going to fall off. Find a stable breeder by looking for a breeder that has clear goals to improve the breed in some aspect as well as a clear path to that goal. They can’t guide you down that path if they’ve not been there themself.
As a buyer, Facebook is a wonderful resource for connecting with others and for gaining insight and information on potential breeders. Facebook does not negate the need for honest introspection and earnest self-education. If you must use Facebook as an educational resource, use it for more than asking others to run a program against the group think checklist.
