[QUOTE=hawksgirl]
I bet the breeders just don’t like “backyard breeders” any more than I do. Or does pet overpopulation only matter when it comes to mutts?
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You would win that bet.
[QUOTE=Dinsdale]
Yeah, I know. These are the reasons they give. But I tend to be a cynical kinda guy, and the actual effect of their practices seems to reserve to them a large portion of the top of the market. Many times you will hear of a breeder keeping one of a litter, or selling for breed/show and pet from the same litter. And I’ve read/spoken with many people who say there is really very little a breeder can tell about how the pups will end up at 7-8 weeks age. For example, many conformation champs were intended to be sold as pets.
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You can be as cynical as you want, but the intent is not to keep their “corner” on the market–if for no other reason than it’s not simply the dogs and their genetalia that make them the elite kennels. It’s the name, it’s their campaigning and showing and titling, their tremendous knowledge of their dogs’ bloodlines and pedigrees, faults and strengths, and how all of those things combine in individual breedings to produce the quality of dogs they produce… so on and so forth.
The reasons they give are legitimate and ethical. Were you to not spay your dog, you would not receive a complete registration, and any puppies resulting would not be registrable. You could still backyard breed your dog, but you wouldn’t be able to command the same prices or find the same homes for the pups that the big name breeder would, and your name would be mud amongst the “in crowd”.
As far as your thoughts about some pups from a litter being sold as show quality and some as pets, as others have mentioned, that’s precisely the point of the limited registration. Only a few puppies out of even the most spectacular breeding will be considered show and breeding quality,* and no ethical breeder breeds a litter with the intention of producing more pets–especially in such a breed as the golden retriever, of which there are thousands of people producing fine goldens and no shortage of pet quality pups. There are plenty of pets. Whoever you talked to that said there is “very little” a breeder can tell about the quality of a dog at 8 weeks doesn’t know jack about breeding quality dogs.
You may not be able to tell, and pups certainly do sometimes grow into their conformation better than expected, and sometimes a spectacular pup will turn out to be a dud when they finish growing–breeding after all is more an art than an exact science–but there certainly is a lot to be seen in an 8 week old pup.
So you bought a dog from an unintended breeding, produced with zero forethought by someone who couldn’t handle the responsibility of keeping his intact dogs separate, and by someone who lied to the people from whom he purchased the dog in the first place. A puppy from pedigrees that may or may not be compatible but was certainly produced out of at least one dog with serious enough faults to be considered unworthy of contributing to the gene pool, purchased from a “breeder” that won’t give you your money back if your dog turns out severely dysplastic or with some other congenital defomity. A “breeder” that doesn’t have room in his kennel to take responsibility for any puppies from the litter that may need to be rehomed in the future. Your dog is probably a wonderful pet and the purchase may very well turn out to be a fine one for your needs, but please don’t make the mistake of thinking you got the same deal you would have purchasing the dog from the reputable breeder, and please don’t make the mistake of thinking that breeding your dog is ever a good idea ethically, or financially, or good for the breed as a whole. Like I said, there are plenty of pet golden retrievers being produced by ethical breeders, there’s nothing your dog could contribute to the gene pool that would benefit anyone.
You talk like you believe any dogs out of that particular elite kennel are going to be worthy of breeding, and any pups produced from dogs out of those kennels will be the same quality as pups contentiously and purposely bred by the experts. You’re wrong about that.
I’m sorry if any of that sounds harsh or snarky, but it’s all true, and none of it is meant personally.
*case in point: my dog is out of one of the best breedings of his birth year in the entire breed, in the whole world. His brothers and sisters are tearing up the show ring in Europe, Japan, the US, and South America. Others are great hunters and a few are pets. My dog was bought as a pet, because I wasn’t interested in showing or breeding. He’s intact because his European breeder doesn’t have the same fixation on spay/neuter that US breeders have, and I don’t want you to think I’m against keeping your dog intact, as a matter of fact I’m generally against spaying and neutering for those who can handle the keeping of intact animals–as the person from whom you bought your dog clearly cannot.
Point being, though his litter is uber-elite in the world of his breed, he’s not only “pet quality” but is actively disqualified from show due to an extra spot on his coat. His brother was the world champion one year and another brother the US champion the year after, yet he’s disqualified.
