12/12/2024
Dear pet owners:
Please, for the love of everything Holy, make your prospective dog's breeder justify their price. Please.
I just got off the phone with a lovely woman who found my Facebook post, and is looking for a puppy. Our conversation started with chatting about my philosophy and methodology surrounding breeding, and eventually wound around to my price.
Upon hearing the figure, she was shocked and blurted out, "wow, you're a lot cheaper than [semi-local unethical breeder]! I was actually scared to hear how much you charged!"
It took absolutely all of my will power to keep my cool and not utterly lose it, because I saw red.
Now, this woman didn't deserve any part of my ire - and I wasn't angry with her at all. She deserved the respect and dignity of a gentle, kind education - and that's exactly what I made sure she got. An unhinged, sanctimonious rant would have put her off entirely, and done nothing to help my point.
But now she knows to make her breeder justify their price, and I hope she'll carry that with her, even if she doesn't get a puppy from me.
For my non-dog folks, think about it like this. Imagine you strolled into a WalMart to see, in a locked case, a knock-off, no name, mass produced, "pleather" handbag. Upon inspection, you find that this item is priced higher than a hand-sewn, Italian leather handbag from a well-known designer.
That bag would never sell, and it wouldn't sell for a reason. That bag is quantitatively not worth that price. It is poorly made from cheap materials.
So why would you spend more to purchase a puppy from a breeder who is cutting corners every way they can, when you can buy an ethically bred dog whose breeder has done the hard work and and spent the time, money, and effort to make sure you get the best dog possible?!
These unethical breeders are getting their audacious prices - otherwise they wouldn't be charging it. And while I fully stand behind breeders charging what they feel their dogs are worth, justifying YOUR price with MY price being the "going rate" when you don't do even half the work that I do, is theft - plain and simple.
Please remember:
* "My vet said they're healthy!" =/= Independently verified, specific health testing with publicly available results.
* "They're such great pets!" =/= Carefully and intentionally breeding to the written standard as set forth by the parent club, independently verified through titling
* Constantly using their own male dog or repeating the same matches over and over =/= Countless hours of pedigree research and careful consideration of both dams and sires to ensure every litter adds positively to the gene pool of the breed.
* Their dogs are spoiled and kept in the house! =/= Ethical, responsible breeding practices. (Most breeders keep their dogs in their home with them. This isn't a distinguishing factor.)
Many of these "breeders" are shooting puppies out the door the very second they can, with minimal vetting and intestinal worm loads, with almost no preparation and no support for the owner. They're selling them like they're end tables, not living, breathing little souls. And they will take your money and run, and you will never hear from them again - especially if you have a problem.
Please, please. Make your breeder justify their price up front, and don't be shy about it. Ethical breeders have no trouble showing you why they charge what they charge. We're walking the fine line between keeping our dogs financially accessible and not going into debt with every litter - and we have no problem sharing that breakdown.
And please remember that you are not doing the dogs any favours by "rescuing" them from these breeders - especially if you pay full price. You bought the dog, they have your money, and they could not be bothered less by how you feel about it. They WILL breed more litters, and more puppies will suffer.
Little Miss Lady in her Christmas best, for the algorithm. (Not available.)
