This is a public message board. Strangers are going to respond to the posts you make, whether or not you directly address them. You’re free to refrain from responding, of course.
Do I appear upset? I didn’t use the :mad: smiley. I’m asking you to explain why you brought up that hypo, because it sounds like you’re in favor of adopting dogs from puppy mills. Painting me as some sort of angry Inquisitor is really over the top, although it did make me go
Calling me ridiculous, making sarcastic comments about my reading comprehension and memory, mischaracterizing my posts.
If that wasn’t you upset, I don’t know what it is. But it sure as hell wasn’t even verging on civil, and is littered with ad hominem personal attacks on me.
Good advice. I won’t be responding to you any further.
My dog is alone Monday - Friday from 7 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. He has no accidents and I take him for walks in the morning and after work and to the dog park when I can. Sure, he would probably benefit from more exercise, but I do what I can. And his life life is a lot better now than it would have been if I didn’t adopt him.
So just because the dog in the OP’s house would be alone three days a week doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad idea to get one if you give him good quality time as often as you can.
Yes, the definition of quality is very important. If quality means conforming to some arbitrary appearance standards, then show dogs are high quality. If you define quality as free from health problems, good temperament, intelligence, working ability, etc., they may not rate as high. I wonder how many show breeders have jumped on the newly available test and are testing their Lab breeding stock for EIC and dropping any carriers?
They aren’t much in the way of expert if they don’t realize that a puppy from a pedigree deep in heath clearances, good temperaments and sound bodies will always trump something from a puppy mill, a BYB or a shelter. If you add in the need for the dog to do a particular job, a well bred pup is the best bet.
If the test is valid, and there is some question, then eliminating carriers from breeding is genetically a bad idea.
A carrier doesn’t produce defective offspring unless it is bred to another carrier or an affected. Which is why I specified “if the test is valid” - if it is, breeders don’t have to make their gene pool even smaller by eliminating dogs that won’t produce affected pups if properly bred.
I don’t want to hear any more from you on improving the breed. Those really interested in health would never breed a known carrier. One more way show breeders cut corners on health.
Anyone who knows much about dog breeding and/or genetics knows that you do not arbitrarily throw out carriers if you have a reliable DNA test. If you would like to read up on it, Google Basenjis and Fanconi - they ended up with this disease widespread thru their gene pool when they all started eliminating PRA carriers from their gene pool when they got the DNA test for that. At that time they didn’t even know they had Fanconi’s and it’s only been recently that they have developed a DNA test for that, some 20 or so years later. It got so bad that they petitioned the AKC to open their registry to unpedigreed dogs imported from Africa, so they could get some clean breeding stock.
And, FTR, I am not a show breeder, not that trialers are lily-white when it comes to breeding choices.