So, one day I asked myself "With the whole world going to the dogs why is it then that no one notices the rivalry that has developed between the purebred dog breeder and the hybrid dog breeder? ".    This at first glance may seem like a boring topic for discussion but I being a dog breeder of both purbreed and hybrids find it humerous at times and scary at others. I want to give you some insight into my life as a dog breeder and tell you a few secrets about the dogbreeding world.

   First of all let me say that I am a dog breeder first and foremost. I wake up to them and their needs just as a mother would to a child. 

    My typical day involves waking up at 5 AM to feed all of the puppies and dogs prior to my first cup of coffee.  I then fire up my 3 year old computer and that takes about 20 minutes before it's warm enough to tackle the information highway.  While I am waiting for that I am coordinating everything needed to get my five children off to school, clothes, books, shoes, socks, etc...I then go on to clean up after the puppies and the mess they made throughout the night but I know it will be shortlived because they are like infants and make messes all day long.  I say goodbye to the kids and let some of the dogs and puppies outside to play then after a while I insert my doggie music CD into the CD player. 

   The music CD: This is another great invention developed with puppies, dogs, and owners in mind because I can testify that the relaxing CD's really do work if you play them at regular intervals throughout the day.  When I play them my house suddenly goes quiet. Puppies look on curiously. Females and males alike go to their favorite place to lay and some even go to sleep.  This gives me a chance to check my email.

    You've Got Spam!:  I have grown resilient to the amount of Spam I get every morning on one of my email servers to where I am starting to make a game out of  looking  for the catchiest title of the Spam.  What happened to the internet?

    I then move on to answering emails, reading questionnaires, verifying references, and doing a little advertising or research. Afterwards, I move on to bathing and grooming puppies and dogs. 

    Although I know I can't get them all done in one day I do the worst ones first then start on the others.  If I do several a day I'll have them done by the weekend.

Then it's off to housecleaning ...dishes, clothes, floors, the kids are home at 3:30 PM and I have an hour to watch Days of Our Lives and then excercise for an hour.

The smell of chicken and rice with garlic permeates the air of my home daily.  It's hard to smell that and excercise too!

My husband is off to pickup the older kids from high-school and the daily run to the grocery store. He'll pick out something that needs to be cooked and some of the time he will cook it! 

Then at 5:00 we wash bowls and line them up for filling with food and it takes about an hour to feed them.  After about 30 minutes or so we let them out to do their business and then it takes about an hour to clean up after them.  Now it's our turn.

It's 6:00 and we start dinner while we listen to the news.  The puppies are playing in the kitchen or the living room.  Some mothers are feeding their young in the den.  The kid's tell us about their day and work on homework.

9:00 PM and it's time to take the dogs out again before they all sleep for the night. 

The weekends are reserved for either delivering puppies(from the mother) or delivering puppies to a customer. 

 Saturday is the day we drive 45 minutes to Blacksburg to buy dogfood and while there we always take advantage of buying a cup of real coffee at one of the Starbucks kiosks at Barnes and Noble.  My husband is off to the science and language sections, my daughter Ally is usually with me looking through the dog and nature section, and the others are looking for various books of interest.  Sunday is a catch-up day for cleaning, maintenance around the house, homework projects, cooking a relaxed huge family meal and then watching a movie. 

   Now for the real scoop on the dog breeding world.  While all of this is going on in my life daily, in the back of my mind I am thinking about the business.  Will we have enough to pay the bills?  How can we keep attracting quality customers?  What do I need to do differently ?  Who is going to get mad if I reject their questionnaire?  What do I need to do to get better search ranking on the internet?  The list goes on...

   I have seen a trend in the dog world where breeders and breed registries have started bashing each other.  This isn't new but it's worse now because of the ease of being anonymous in chat rooms.  A breeder (not all) who used to make money in Purebreed dogs now has to contend with the hybrids and societies demand for them.  They will do everything possible to disuade the general public from seeking out a hybrid.  They will often masquarade as a advocate of dog rescue and post throughout the internet either misinformation or outright lies and misconceptions. They get away with it because of some elite breed registries who shun the Hybrid at every turn.  All the while they never concede to the fact that ALL DOGS , even "Purebreeds" originated as and are the product of a mixed breed.  They have set out to establish the "rules" for finding a breeder under the pretense of protecting the consumer but as I will show later this is not always the case.

    These  "dog/rescue advocates"  are the ones who say:

"Don't buy from a breeder who makes a living by breeding dogs." 

 "Don't buy from any breeder who advertises in the newspaper." 

 "Don't buy from a breeder that has more than one breed." 

 "Don't buy anything without a health guarantee."

This is a good point.  I provide a health guarantee with every puppy I sell.  Some breeders offer a 48hr. to 7 day guarantee and some offer 1-4 year guarantees.  I personally prefer the latter. I have puppies as old as 5 - 6 years old in people's homes and have never had a problem. 

  "Don't buy from a breeder that ships puppies."

Again this is often a necessity for breeders and customers.  The trip is no more stressful for the puppy on an airline than it is in a car.  A rescue organization might ask themselves, "Is it stressful when we as an organization pick up a puppy then house it in multiple locations and transfer it from one car to another in exhausting trips throughout the country or state?"  "Is it stressful when, in alot of cases, the puppy or dog had to be picked up and reassessed after the new adoptee's have cited temperament issues and have been forced to give it up as a matter of safety?"   

 " Don't buy a hybrid because there are puppies in shelters all across the country."

 Most of these dogs and puppies are in shelters due to bad breeding practices, irresponsible owners, health problems, or behavior problems.  If you want to go this route then please do and feel good knowing your saving a life but be cautious as most are there for a reason.  I personally did rescue work as a foster and I can tell you that every dog I was brought had extensive health problems and behavior issues. I later found out that most were plucked right out of peoples yards or near their home with no effort to find the owner.  Ad in the Lost and Found?  Then after using volunteers throughout the country to transport the dog across state lines without health certificates these rescues would then charge an "adoption fee " literally selling a stolen puppy or dog.

 

    Some of these are good points but there are many-many varying circumstances and many-many breeders who all operate differently.  Most breeders genuinely care about their animals.  Others are in it for money by buying cheap food and only a minimum of care and socialization for the puppy if any at all.  They are the ones who have helped to tarnish breeders' reputations and add fuel to the fire for both sides.  Purebreed dog breeders argue "lineage" and hybrid breeders argue "vigor" .  I have personally visited homes of both sides and can say I have never found one that exhibited the quality of care that they claim to provide.  Some hybrid breeders have started tainting even "hybrid lines"  in that I mean that hybrid breeders are breeding in an effort to establish a recognized breed.  They want to establish a proven lineage through pedigrees so that they might be recognized as an official breed in the future. If they stand behind puppies they sell they are primarily concerned with nutrition. They want conformity in appearance, and to eventually establish a consistent size throughout a given litter. They do not try to deceive consumers by breeding one set of parents and then passing it off as from a different set of parents and claiming they have requested the desired breed.

  Example: A customer wants a 1st generation Puggle; a Puggle is a cross between a Beagle and a Pug.  Many breeders have noted the popularity of the Puggle and won't admit it but are now crossing Pugs with Chihuahua's, Bloodhounds, Bulldogs, Poodles, and Terriers and then calling them Puggles. This add's to the controversy and hurts good breeders in the long run as well as the customer.  It's basically Fraud! The customers expectations and good faith is being exploited.

 

   Now back to environment.  Some breeders have a barn, some have 55 gallon barrels used as makeshift doghouses, some have used singlewide trailers to house their dogs, one breeder in particular gave the impression that she lived in a huge mansion with farm nestled in the valley but on arrival it was a small ranch with an addition added onto it (It was a nice house though.).  Most of the dogs were stacked up in cages in a small room with a 6 ft. ceiling.  This is not to say that they did not provide care for the dogs but given the conditions I saw  and the conditions I expected I found it hard to believe anything the breeders had to say.

    Some breeders don't allow visitors for various reasons.  Some have puppies who aren't fully inocculated yet, some are worried about theft.  Theft is a growing problem.  One breeder in Virginia recently had a break in and someone stole several litters and even adult dogs.  We have a camera system and alarms but some breeders don't.

    Many breeders are absolutely cut throat.  Many don't expect to hear or deal with you after the sale. 

 Many times consumers are taken for a ride that leads to frustration and heartbreak because of improper planning, training, nutrition, and or expectations.  I am a victim myself. 

Several years ago when I first started breeding dogs my husband and I had a call from a breeder in Central Virginia .  She wanted some work done on her house and funds were limited so knowing my husband was a carpenter and we bred dogs she offered to do a partial trade.  My husband drove 4 hours a day to tear out and install a floor throughout her house.  In return she would give him  one dog and 400.00 as well as sell him another for 250.00 (50% discount) .  This was great! We were getting two AKC registered Pekingese for a weeks worth of work and some money.  Well, we should have known better. Neither of the two conform to the AKC standards as far as size.  The female is now 7 years old and has not produced a litter and has seizures weekly.  She has always been handshy meaning she doesn't like anyone petting her head.  The male who is now 6 years old has never sired a litter and is very dominant.  He has real aggression issues with other male dogs so we have to seperate him from the rest.  He once killed two of our rabbits after toppeling their cage and we think he attacked one of our hens.  This is far from the desirable traits we expected from a purebred dog.  Another time we had a breeder lie and limit the registration paperwork so that we couldn't breed the dog after we paid a huge sum for breeding rights. We had one who did a bait and switch, another who tried to make us pay for shipping and then expected us to drive hundreds of miles to meet her half-way and when called on it actually got mad at us. I couldn't help but wonder if we were treated like this as breeders, "How were ordinary customers treated?".  I recently purchased a dog who was supposedly housetrained at 2 years old and great with children-  she is not housetrained and is very nervous around children.  So, take it for what you will but my experience has been somewhat negative with almost every breeder I've dealt with and as far as registery they are just that "a paid registery " .  They make no guarantees that your dog is what you expected it to be.  They are not your friend as they say they are. 

  I have never bought a hybrid from anyone. They are all created right here with our purebred dogs.  They are all registered after being spayed or neutered with other registeries who aren't as pretentious, and actually do seem motivated by more than profit.     

   The vindictivness is not only limited to dog breeders but also people posing as customers .  People from all over love to get on my site anonymously and go through the trouble of filling out a questionnaire just to waste my time or to try to deceive me in some way.  I had one potential customer who had 1. A dog that died 2. A sick -terminally ill husband 3. A daughter who was handicapped and bedridden and yet with all of this going on in this persons life she wanted to get a puppy .  Well all was fine after she reassured me that it would be cared for and she went on to fill out my questionnaire.  Then upon checking her references I found she had listed a veterinarian who had never even heard of her or treated her dog.  I checked further online and found that she was a breeder of Hybrid dogs.  I then asked her if she had intentions of breeding the dog and she said only on a small scale in her area knowing that I sell only on a spay/neuter agreement.  This entire conversation was spread out over many hours and a few days but this is just one example.  I sat down and reflected upon how many people filled out my questionnaire one week and although I had 20 or so people fill it out only 3 came through with a deposit, 2 were rejected.  Then I followed up and got no response from 15 people...that's odd.  All of this started when I had a customer demand a refund (and threaten me with various things) after she had waited for 6 months for a dog that wouldn't be born for a year.  I explained that she had sent an email earlier changing her mind so I had taken her off of the waiting list.  I said the deposit was non-refundable and referred her to the deposit contract.  I did however offer her a puppy that was now born and ready.  I never heard back.  It's really enough to make you want to stop dealing with people sometimes.

    I have had requests for puppies and when it came to picking up the puppy a couple of people just never showed up.  They had no regard for the fact that we waited all day for them, were worried if they might have had an accident in route, or that a simple phone call weeks earlier would have facilitated getting the puppy placed in a home that wanted it.  

    I have thought about going on to other things but I am so entrenched here with a house, dogs, kids in school, etc...I have a huge investment. 

I have met many nice people throughout the years and they are what keep me going.  I've met people from all walks of life, in varous occupations, and of varied ages.  Some, I've felt closer to than some members of my own family.  They send updates , pictures , fresh fruit from Florida via UPS ,  and cards.  This is nice because we live at least a 10 hour drive away from family in a really small community.  My husband knows alot of people here but there aren't many that we would call a friend. That's why it is so disappointing for me to have vindictive mean people contacting me sometimes.  I am human so if they really were genuinely interested in a puppy and just changed their mind I would think they would have the decency to tell me so rather than not reply at all or keep responding to my emails to string me along. 

  If you are really interested in researching hybrids for a future pet you might try checking Petsmart for a new designer dog series of books on hybrids.  There are also many books at your local bookstore. Beware of ebooks though unless you know alot about who wrote it.  Alot of them are full of mis-information.  For more technical info on how hybrids are created I can suggest some good books on Genetics but most find these boring.  One that is revolutionary in addressing customer and breeder relationships and expectations is a book about Puggles by Andre Calbert just published but not released in stores yet.  I have an advance copy of this book that's due out in September and should be carried by most major bookstores.  Published by Barrons.