What Kind of Breeder Are You?

If you breed even one litter of puppies you are, by definition, a breeder. The question is, “What kind of breeder are you?”  Being a breeder is a serious responsibility. The challenges are many: to raise a healthy, socialized, happy bitch; to find a stud dog who is equally good; to whelp and raise sound, socialized puppies, and to find loving homes that will care for the lives that you have helped bring into the world.  A breeder must research pedigrees, understand how genetics work, evaluate the bitch for her strengths and weaknesses as well as evaluate potential stud dogs, understand dietary needs of the bitch and puppies, be prepared for complicated pregnancies and whelpings that may require veterinary intercession and substantial expense. Another challenge is evaluating the puppies as show and pet prospects, sorting out their individual personalities, and socializing them.

While the popular portrait of a breeder is someone who cares deeply about the dogs brought into the world by his or her efforts and ensures that they are placed in loving homes with responsible owners, I have begun to see an alarming trend in recent years of individuals who breed with monetary reasons in mind.  These individuals go through the posturing of being “ethical” and have learned to “talk the talk”.  But if one looks closely, these individuals have begun a slide down the slippery slope of breeding for profit. 

They are producing litter after litter and often pricing puppies at ridiculously high  figures.  These individuals exploit the current color craze by charging more for  light yellow (“cream”), chocolate, or simply yellow females, the current ”designer” color for Labradors.  The resultant overbreeding begins to trigger a cascade of disasters: poor quality facilities, poor socialization, poor health assessment, poor care, and desperate schemes to get rid of any unwanted puppies.I personally don't believe that the "for profit" motive can ever be anything but detrimental to the breed. Once one gets on that slippery slope, there are bound to be corners cut and lines crossed. I'm sure that we each know of situations where emphasis isn't on training or showing but on producing puppies.  I’ve heard complaints from individuals who have seen unclean facilities and have unfortunately witnessed situations where dogs were kept in kennel runs without any cover and no opportunity to get adequate exercise.

While I’m not advocating that anyone should dictate the number of litters or number of breedings that an individuals does, I think each of us would recognize the difference between those dogs who are just treated as "livestock" and those who are loved and cared for properly. Years ago, the large well-known kennels produced lots of litters; but there were meticulous records kept, money for kennel help and outstanding facilities, and the dogs were shown with pride. Many of the great lines of dogs that we have today were a result of the efforts of those prolific breeders. Not many breeders exist today at that level.  It takes a lot of time, hard work and money to be able to do this hobby in a way that puts the welfare of the breed as the main goal.

The bottom line for me is that if someone is "living" off their dogs, not competing and pumping out litter after litter, then I don't recommend that person. I can't legislate what they do, but I won’t refer people to them. There are some very good breeders who have far more litters than I would ever want to have but their dogs are well-cared for, they are actively competing with their dogs, and they socialize and do health clearances. There are others who are breeding multitudes of litters, are not active in clubs or events,  have too many dogs in poor living conditions and literally live from litter to litter. That isn't acceptable in my opinion.  My solution is to not recommend those individuals to anyone.

Breeding is an expensive undertaking, costing thousands to keep, train, compete and care for the dogs in a way that maintains the Labrador’s dignity, origins, and type.  Due to the Labrador’s popularity, there is a ready market.  My hope is that this article will make you question your motives for breeding and the motives of individuals from whom you get a Labrador.  Hopefully, an inner voice will realize that it is hypocritical to condemn large scale puppy “mills” that breed to supply puppies for a commercial market, while breeding litter after litter to satisfy one’s own market.  At a small scale, breeders do not usually make a profit off their dogs. They may defer some expenses from the breeding but it is virtually impossible to breed on a limited basis and make money at the same time.
 

If you are looking for a dog and want one from an ethical breeder the first step is to decide what qualities make a breeder "ethical". Ultimately this is something only you can decide. A responsible breeder is judged by their care and concern for their dogs and dogs in general as demonstrated by their breeding decisions, health clearances, and quality of care for the dogs.  Just because someone has a reputation for winning lots of shows, and having beautiful winning dogs does not make them a responsible breeder.  Listen to your inner voice—if you don’t “feel” right about a particular situation, then most likely something isn’t right.  Walk away from those people and don’t perpetuate the problem of over breeding by adding to the demand that feeds the supply. 

Elizabeth Wenner©