Cardigan Welsh Corgwn
Cardigan Welsh Corgwn
A backyard breeder (BYB) is usually defined as someone who has one female or sometimes a pair of dogs and breeds them to get back the purchase price of their dog, or to make a little 'pocket money' or because they want another dog 'just like theirs'. Often these breeders are ill informed about breeding and the health problems in their breed. They rarely attend dogshows, if at all and may not know anything about their dog's family health history and pedigree. Adults and puppies may or may not be properly health screened, vaccinated and wormed. Buying a puppy from a BYB is a bit like russian roullette - you might get a good dog, but then again...
No matter what you might be told to the contrary, most puppies seen in petstores come from puppy mills. These mills are places where dogs are bred solely for the purpose of making a profit. Health testing is rarely done on parent stock and though there may be exceptions, these dogs are often kept in barely adequate facilities. Bitches may be bred every heat cycle until they are either too old to reproduce, become ill or die in whelp. Pedigrees and papers may even be falsified if a pair of the same breed are unavailable or an accidental mismating occurs. Puppies taken from their mother as early as three or four weeks old may be registered and sold as being seven or eight weeks old if they need to be 'marketed' sooner to fill an order from a puppy broker/petstore. Parent stock for these places is usually acquired at auction from other puppy mills, by buying from BYBs or by duping show breeders into selling dogs to them by saying they 'just want a pet' or that they 'plan to show' since they can sell puppies with champions in their pedigree for more money. There is also the recent trend to produce 'designer dogs' by cross-breeding two or more breeds and giving them cute names like 'puggle' or 'labradoodle'. These are just a way command a higher price on otherwise ordinary mixed-breed dogs and creates even further problems when they end up in shelters because pure-bred clubs cannot or will not rescue them.
Additionally, be aware that some show breeders can also be little more than puppy mills when winning in the show ring becomes an obsession to them. In this case it's all about personal promotion and gaining a reputation for winning above all else. Breeders with this mindset feel that building a 'big name' reputation for winning requires having a new 'crop' of prospects out in front of the judges on a regular basis, so they needlessly breed litter after litter in their pursuit of getting the biggest wins. There may be little or no regard for eliminating potential health or temperament problems or even for preserving the breed's ability to fulfill it's original purpose when selection is based solely on getting titles and ROMs. Dogs are kept in kennel facilities where they are bred, raised and live, often with limited human contact. Several litters at a time may be produced and puppies with potential for the show ring are usually kept into young adulthood. If they do not develop to expectations, they may be placed as show prospects with someone interested in getting started at showing (a 'newbie') or placed in a pet home which may or may not be suitable, or even sold without limited registration to puppy millers posing as 'show' buyers. Pet quality littermates who are not lucky enough to find a good home right away, may be sold to inappropriate pet homes just to get rid of them or the unfortunate youngsters are simply put in the kennels and stay there until they are lucky enough to find a home. Dogs who may have temperament issues or other problems which make them difficult to sell or get rid of, often end up living their entire lives in these kennels where they may be subjected to worse forms of neglect or be put down if they become a nuisance.
The AKC's recent changes in policy to place limited registrations on puppies sold as 'pet only' and requiring DNA tests on dogs used for breeding has made some progress to stop puppy millers and promote more responsibility in show breeders, but there is still a long way to go.
Many puppies sold by BYBs or in petstores are placed in homes that may not be suitable because petstore employees may not be informed on the breeds they are placing and don't screen the potential buyers. To keep their doors open, petstores must make a profit, so turning away a customer isn't good money making policy. BYBs need to place puppies before they get too old and they are 'stuck' with them, so they too may not screen buyers. The number one reason dogs end up in shelters is because they aren't compatible with their family's lifestyle. Do your homework before buying a puppy and don't be taken in by a cute face or the need to 'rescue' a poor trapped puppy. The best way to stop BYBs and puppy millers is to avoid buying puppies from uninformed, unethical or irresponsible breeders or petstores. IF YOU BUY FROM A BYB OR PETSTORE THEY WILL JUST MAKE MONEY TO BREED MORE PUPPIES AND MORE PETS WILL SUFFER.
Kathleen Carter, Wyntr Cardigans
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