Dog breeding is a pretty sensitive field where antagonism are extremely present.
On one hand, you have dog breeders disagreeing within themselves, whether it is because of genetics or simply politic and etic beliefs. On the other hand, animal rights activists tend to harass the media platforms with aggressive campaigns against dog breeders and puppy mills, while promoting adoption from shelters.
So who’s right? Let’s find out…
What Are Dog Breeders Disagreeing About?
One thing is sure: dog breeding always ends with a prospect owner paying a sum of money to adopt a puppy.
Dog breeders tend to have opposed views about this transaction. Many refuse to call it a business and affirm that all the money goes to caring for the dogs. This includes the puppy food, the kennel, the vet bills, the dewormer, etc. To them, it is inhumane to sell a puppy and cash in on a profit.
So many breeders are proud of starting a dog breeding business that allows them to turn their passion into a career. By doing so, they must make a profit to sustain their lifestyle, and their dog. Probably 90% of them look after their dogs as well as the category of breeders mentioned above. So how come they are yielding a profit? Well, they tend to be great breeders but also great sellers.
Lastly, puppy mills and the puppy farmers running them are pushing it to the extreme — giving up on caring for the dogs, they simply make a profit by spending as little as possible. They are happy with having sick dogs, and bitches bred back to back. Horrible practices happen but nobody sees these as the puppies are sold through intermediaries, usually pet shops but also online.
Should We Ban Or Limit The Breeding Of Dogs?
Animal rights activists have been fighting for years against dog breeders. To them, any breeder as responsible as it can be, keeps on adding to the enormous number of dogs left in shelters with too many of them eventually euthanized.
While the facts are incontestable, there are too many dogs that got rid of because of irresponsible owners, it seems wrong to put the blame on the breeders. A ban is out of question and clearly unreasonable, we are not going to ban spoon factories because of western-world obesity, are we?
Activism is always leading to progress as long as it stays pragmatic. The passion surrounding the animal cause makes it everything but pragmatic. Speak to any activist and to them, every dog breeding activity falls into the puppy mill basket.
So What Is The Future Of Dog Breeding?
The future is bright, despite of these turbulences. It actually has never been so bright, and this for a very simple reason.
As explained by Breeding Business online magazine, we used to breed working dogs with a purpose in mind: dogs with a job. Nowadays, we breed working dogs, we breed service dogs, we breed family pet dogs, we breed racing dogs, we breed mini tiny teacup dogs, we breed designer dogs, and I could carry on listing the types of dog breeding currently happening, and in times to come.
Clearly, there is a massively increasing demand: people are rather alone, social medias keeps showing videos of irresistible dogs, and the trend is certainly not slowing down.
Like any business, dog breeding can be done responsibly, with passion, or purely for profit with very little care given to your dogs. Because of the apparent complexity of running an actual and legit dog breeding business, people usually do it occasionally with their own family dog. It gives a little extra and doesn’t hurt anybody.
The only way to clear the whole dog breeding debate is to read, understand, learn, and only then, breed. There are so many things going on while breeding dogs, including canine genetics, dog breeds, selection of partners, breed standard conformation, awards and titles, marketing strategies, social media and internet leverage, and so on.
The best way to get started with professional or occasional dog breeding is to get yourself a copy of The Dog Breeder’s Handbook, a 220-page dog breeding guide. Its comprehensive table of contents covers all aspects of dog breeding, from the various and newest breeds to the latest in canine genetics and breeding strategies, but also a whole part devoted to selling your dogs the right way (social medias, website, search engines, ads, contracts, follow-ups, etc.)
Dog breeders now have zero excuse to breed dogs the wrong way. Knowledge is power. Seize it!
Bio
Lazhar Ichir is the founder of Breeding Business, the free online magazine devoted to provide value to responsible dog breeders. He publishes interviews of the most popular breeders, but also articles about the psychology of dog breeding.