Being a Steward of the Dog
Dogs are great. Purebred, mutt, whatever. I like dogs and I think they make us (especially me) better people.
Pets are a lifelong commitment. You are not getting an 8 week old puppy, you are getting a dog-to-be that may live 12-16 years (hopefully). If you cannot commit to a dog DON'T get a puppy, the metamorphosis is beyond your control. All puppies require work to housebreak, train, and flourish. The time you put in with a puppy will show in an adult dog. If you don't have time for a puppy (about 5 hours a day) then look into an adult dog. There are plenty of older dogs from breeders, rescues, and shelters already trained and housebroken. Older dogs are past the "puppy breath" stage but are also past the chewing, whining, yapping, and spiteful puppy stages. DO NOT buy a puppy from a pet store, you are not saving that animal's life but making room for another poor creature to take it's place. That is how capitalism works, unfortunately. As long is there is money to be made the product is available. Pet store puppies are notoriously house breaking nightmares because they have been forced to soil their bedding area. Pet store personnel do not match breed characteristics or dog personality to a buyer, they just swipe your card and let you walk out with a dog of unknown health and parentage. These dogs usually have poor health histories, and no reputable breeder would sell a puppy to a pet store, thus only large scale commercial operations supply them with merchandise. Because of this, these dogs are NOT socialized properly. The only way to stop large substandard breeding operations is to take away their business. Hit them where it hurts, in the pocket book, by buying a dog from a shelter or responsible breeder. And let's be clear, if money was exchanged, then you bought that dog. You didn't "rescue" it unless you pulled it from a burning building. Likewise, "rescue" is not a breed of dog. Such a label tells you nothing about the dogs personality or characteristics. Get the right dog for you, not a gimick pulled out of thin air, like doodles.
What is a "responsible" breeder? Depends on who you ask. Unlike the Supreme Court stance on pornography, you won't always know it when you see it. Sometimes the dirty secrets are kept hidden on the back of the lot under a tree grove or in a innocent looking pole barn. Whether a breeder or a shelter, if you did not ask the proper questions prior to purchase, once you get a puppy home you may realize its had no training or socialization. Then the real work begins. So ask lots of questions first and you'll save yourself a trip to a litter of sad, unhealthy puppies.
In my opinion, a responsible breeder / reputable rescue
1) Has a personal bond with all their dogs.
2) They provide exercise and mental stimulation, health care, grooming, good food, clean water, and a comfortable place to sleep.
3) Their puppies are socialized in a home and become familiar with noises and people of all races and creeds. According to Dr. Dunbar, it requires introducing 100 people before 8 weeks of age! That is a hard bar to reach, but we should try. That does not mean that kennel raised pups are bad, they are probably easier to housebreak than ones left on carpet. But time and attention needs to be paid to socializing in the venue in which the dog will live.
4) These breeders/rescuers will provide you with paperwork when you pick up the puppy and guidance throughout it's life.
*Because of the danger of allowing unknown persons into your home that may carry disease I cannot demand to see where a puppy was whelped. It has been easier for breeders with separate kennel space to show people their dogs, but for small breeders who whelp in home this is a risky prospect. Animal Rights nutjobs abound, as well as the risk of Parvo and other diseases. Therefore, it should not be a waive off simply because a breeder is not comfortable allowing someone into their living room. Chances are I wouldn't let you in to mine. COVID 19 makes this far more important.
The AKC has made a list of questions to ask a potential breeder, and you should ask lots of questions. The ASPCA also has a list containing questions to ask a breeder to determine "responsibility." Just remember, it's up to you to do your homework. Ask around about the breeder and get an idea of their reputation from more than just their friends, which are often co-breeders. And not every good breeder is liked by others. Decide for yourself. A good website is not an accurate indication of a breeder's ethics nor is a fancy title. My opinion is NOT the only opinion. A good place to inquire is the breed specific rescue, they will have an idea of whose dogs end up homeless the most. Breed clubs also can make referrals, but they are not all inclusive of reputable breeders and breeders listed with them should still be scrutinized.
At some point you may ask yourself, or me, what about those clever commercials that say "I am killing a dog if I don't get it from a shelter?" First, PETA and H$U$, the makers of those commercials, want to end all pet ownership of domesticated animals. Period. To further that agenda PETA kills over 80% of the animals they take in to their shelters because "its better then them being homeless." They have stolen pets and put them to sleep. To back them up H$U$ lobbies for new laws, and lobby is all they do. H$U$ maintains NO animal shelters, they are lawyers. So...if you spay/neuter every single pet born from today on, and ban breeding altogether, in 15 years we will have NO dogs, NO cats, NO horses, etc. But don't take my word for it, look it up and decide for yourself. The best way to limit homeless pets in shelters (and the advertised numbers are grossly inflated for shock value, and include lost dogs recovered by owners) is to spay and neuter your pet. Accidental breedings are NOT ok. Plan ahead, don't let your dog roam freely, spay and neuter when old enough (at least 12 months) and then you'll be preventing unwanted puppies. With ownership comes responsibility. Responsible owners will do more for our dog ownership rights than any law.
TRAINING
While most people go looking for a dog that suits their needs, they often forget to determine if they will meet the needs of that particular dog. We ask our dogs to do so many things without asking them if they want to do those things. Breeders know best the temperament of a puppy and what things it may naturally excel at, but this does not mean that a puppy won't develop differently. A good training environment will make an average dog fantastic, but a poor training environment can make them fail. It is important to start out with realistic expectations and train the puppy that you have and not the dog that you had before. Owners must also be proper trainers, placing themselves in the proper mental state to handle an animal rather than requiring that the animal adapt.
We utilize several Karen Pryer Clicker Training methods, and suggest it along with Puppy Start Right as a foundation for puppy training. Ian Dunbar also has some fantastic online resources. You will find a volume of information is available for free online, such as YouTube, but not all of it is helpful or accurate. I personally train with and recommend Monique De Roeck and her Alpha K9 training academy. She offers onsite seminars with your dog and online training support through an app. She is personally accessible to you to answer questions, while all the other resources I mentioned are not. Working for years with law enforcement and government agencies, Monique is fully versed to handle your personal training needs. Her expertise ranges from foundation steps to problem behaviors, and even my personal favorite scent detection work. Alpha K9 Academy also has a FaceBook page for regular updates.
We utilize several Karen Pryer Clicker Training methods, and suggest it along with Puppy Start Right as a foundation for puppy training. Ian Dunbar also has some fantastic online resources. You will find a volume of information is available for free online, such as YouTube, but not all of it is helpful or accurate. I personally train with and recommend Monique De Roeck and her Alpha K9 training academy. She offers onsite seminars with your dog and online training support through an app. She is personally accessible to you to answer questions, while all the other resources I mentioned are not. Working for years with law enforcement and government agencies, Monique is fully versed to handle your personal training needs. Her expertise ranges from foundation steps to problem behaviors, and even my personal favorite scent detection work. Alpha K9 Academy also has a FaceBook page for regular updates.
HEALTH TESTING
The breed clubs have established the types of health clearances expected of members before a dog is bred. The OFA keeps track of these tests and they are available for the public to view. Aside from genetic testing for disease like PRA, most of these tests are snap shots in time and they only tell you that the dog in question, the parent of your pup, is not suffering from a disorder. They cannot guarantee that offspring will never be affected, but at the time of breeding the dogs were healthy. Health clearances are vital to maintaining dogs, however, they are not absolute. No breeder can claim that their dogs will never suffer from any disease, even a genetic one. We simply do not know enough about genetics. Good breeders do their best to minimize these issues through testing, which runs around $1,000 per dog. A good breeder wants to know about the life long health of the dogs they bred, so you should let them know if something occurs no matter how old your puppy is at the time.
There are many environmental conditions that can cause health problems. Too much exercise at a young age, injury, poor nutrition, over vaccination, and toxins can all cause the development of issues that a dog is not genetically predisposed to such as autoimmune disease, hip displaysia, and cancer. A good place to research minimal vaccine protocols is on Dr. Jean Dodds website. Many veterinarians are seeing the dangers of annual vaccinations, and so if you are at odds with your own vet about how to properly handle vaccines you should interview another one. Find a vet that works for you, since you are paying them. You can google search for homeopathic vets in your area.
I use different vets for different things. I use a local vet for routine check-ups on my older dogs because they do not mind being handled by strangers. My two working dogs go to a homeopathic vet who allows me to stay in the room for all procedures. I utilize a larger hospital for breeding requirements or emergencies. Previously I have been lucky to have homeopathic vets that are also in a larger emergency setting. With some digging you can find the right vet for you.
There are many environmental conditions that can cause health problems. Too much exercise at a young age, injury, poor nutrition, over vaccination, and toxins can all cause the development of issues that a dog is not genetically predisposed to such as autoimmune disease, hip displaysia, and cancer. A good place to research minimal vaccine protocols is on Dr. Jean Dodds website. Many veterinarians are seeing the dangers of annual vaccinations, and so if you are at odds with your own vet about how to properly handle vaccines you should interview another one. Find a vet that works for you, since you are paying them. You can google search for homeopathic vets in your area.
I use different vets for different things. I use a local vet for routine check-ups on my older dogs because they do not mind being handled by strangers. My two working dogs go to a homeopathic vet who allows me to stay in the room for all procedures. I utilize a larger hospital for breeding requirements or emergencies. Previously I have been lucky to have homeopathic vets that are also in a larger emergency setting. With some digging you can find the right vet for you.
FEEDING
As of January we went totally raw. After experimenting with a few options, and making my own food wasn't one of them, we settled on Answers Pet Food. We have seen a marked reduction in health issues, no need to brush teeth, and better weight control. Raw feeding can be expensive, but this brand gave us the added benefit of not producing plastic trash to go in a landfill. Others we have tried are BJs raw food and RawFedK9 but they both have plastic that is not recyclable. (most plastics are incinerated)
If I had to pick a dry kibble it would be OpenFarm. First and foremost, for environmental reasons. Through TerraCycle the company pay to have their food bags returned and recycled. There are a few other high end dog food companies that utilize this service. Dog food bags do not count as number 1 or 2 plastics and are burned or placed in landfills. That means that every time you feed your dog you pollute the Earth we live on. OpenFarm takes responsibility for recycling those bags, and on top of that they ethically source all their proteins. In today's world the commercial production on meat for human consumption produces an unbearable amount of waste and causes severe water pollution. While my family no longer eats meat, our dogs need to. It matters where your products are sourced and the impact they have on the environment is minimalized.
If I had to pick a dry kibble it would be OpenFarm. First and foremost, for environmental reasons. Through TerraCycle the company pay to have their food bags returned and recycled. There are a few other high end dog food companies that utilize this service. Dog food bags do not count as number 1 or 2 plastics and are burned or placed in landfills. That means that every time you feed your dog you pollute the Earth we live on. OpenFarm takes responsibility for recycling those bags, and on top of that they ethically source all their proteins. In today's world the commercial production on meat for human consumption produces an unbearable amount of waste and causes severe water pollution. While my family no longer eats meat, our dogs need to. It matters where your products are sourced and the impact they have on the environment is minimalized.
