BYB Big Book of Excuses

[AussieGirl]

The Backyard Breeders' and Puppy Millers' Big Book of Old Excuses
Written by Denna Pace, ©2002

1. When called on bad breeding practices, ALWAYS claim that you are merely an innocent posting as a favor to a friend or family member.

2. Point out that everybody you know breeds this way, therefore it must be okay.

3. Claim that "snobby show breeders" are only criticizing you because they want to corner the market on puppy profit.

4. Claim that a Champion in the pedigree is just as good as 56 Champions in the pedigree. Not that it matters, because you doubt that there is such a thing as a dog with 56 champions in the pedigree.

5. Claim that you are just trying to produce good pets, therefore good pets are all you need for breeding.

6. When asked about health testing, enthusiastically point out that your bitch had a health checkup before breeding.

7. Be sure to mention that you do not need to run such health tests as OFA, CERF, thyroid, cardiac, patellae, etc., because your dogs look healthy and had no visible problems at their last vet checkup.

8. Point out that these tests cost too much and would cut into your profit margin. Be sure to champion the right of poor people to breed dogs.

9. Confidently assure worried rescuers that no puppy you produce, or any of their puppies or grand puppies or great-grandpuppies will end up in shelters because you have a bunch of friends who have told you that they'd like a pup from your bitch.

10. Point out that you don't need Championships or working titles on your dogs because you are breeding for temperament and your dog is really sweet.

11. Silence those annoying people who ask about your health guarantee by assuring them that buyers can return any sick puppies and you will replace it with another pup as long as it got sick within a certain amount of time of sale and as long as you don't think the buyer did something to make the puppy sick.

12. If your breed or line is rare (or you have a "rare" color, or believe your breed or color is rare), be sure to remind everyone that you do not need to show, temperament test, or health test your breeding stock because you are doing the world a service by continuing this "rare" breed/color/line.

13. No matter what anyone else says, claim that you obviously know what you are doing because you've been breeding for a long time. Point to the hundreds of puppies you've pumped out over the years as proof.

14. If this is your first attempt at breeding, make sure to remind everyone that you HAVE to breed your dog because how else are you going to learn how to breed?

15. Assure everyone that your dog does not need to be shown because you were assured by someone at Petsmart/the park/the vet's office/a friend that your dog is a perfect example of the breed.

16. Always remember that "rare" colors, oversized or undersized dogs, and mixes of popular breeds are great selling points. Anyone who doesn't think so is obviously not in tune with their customers' wishes.

17. Claim that your dogs are better because they are not inbred, as inbreeding obviously produces sick/stupid/deformed dogs. If breeding poo [as in "Cock-a-Poo," "Peek-a-Poo," etc.] dogs or other mutts, always point to "hybrid vigor" as proof of your dogs' superiority.

18. Remind everyone that you do not need a waiting list because your puppies are cute.

19. Assure everyone that your puppies will not end up in shelters because they are cute.

20. Claim that YOUR breed never ends up in shelters in your area, therefore your puppies will never end up in shelters.

21. If asked why you think your dogs are breeding quality, point out that they "have papers." Extra points awarded for using the phrase "AKC Certified." Double points if those papers come from the Continental Kennel Club.

22. If you sell a sick puppy, always blame the owners for making it sick. If the owners are clearly not responsible, blame their vet. (see #11)

23. If presented with irrefutable evidence proving you wrong on any excuses you have used, pretend your server did not receive the post/e-mail.

24. Claim that none of the rules of ethical breeding apply to you because you only intend to have one litter and therefore aren't a "real" breeder.

25. If all else fails, tell everyone who criticizes you to "get a life."


Written by Denna Pace . It was compiled by reading the horrible BYB ads on rec.pets.dogs.breed. Please credit when quoting.

[Ron]

excellent post!!

[Marylou Mader]

This is a great post. It is amazing how many people that buy a dog then start doing the math, if I paid x amount of dollars, and bred my bitch, multiply that by the litter and we're rich...

They never take into account that to start with the bitch must grow up, shown or not, and have health clearances, basic vet care alone. The pre-breeding testing, the STUD fee, if the sperm is shipped the AI or inplant the extra care during pregnancy, ultra sound, x-ray, etc. now comes the birth, is it natural? does she need a section? and then the pups, the care, the feed, the vet bills for their shots, fecals, etc.
also, people don't realize, if you don't belong to a club or organization, you will saturate your little neighborhood and have no place to sell your pups? an ad in the newspaper won't cut it. Most good breeders get referrals for their pups from their club members, or from their dogs being shown.

You would think in this day of age people would understand this, but they don't. Then they lower their costs, don't bother registering their dogs, that costs money too. So, I wish there was a better way to separate the BYB from the Ethical Breeders, cause in the end, we are both labeled as the BREEDER...

So now that this is done, it would take at least 1/2 the litter to even break even. The small amount that a breeder might make, goes right back into feeding, showing, vetting, etc.

There is NO PROFIT in Ethical Breeding...

[Doreen]

I sure hope this opens the eyes of those thinking of doing BYB.

[Dragon]

My wife and I want to breed a dog. This sounds so general but we want to experience for ourselves the process. We are still a couple years away from this (which means it definitley wouldn't be peaches). My wife has purchased 4 or 5 books and become good friends with Peaches agility instructor who breed portugese water dogs. We have talked to her about breeding one of her dogs for her so to speak. I guess time will tell where this goes.

[Ruby Red]

Unbelievable the excuses - but what saddens me most is that people buy into these excuses and still buy puppies from them whether out of pity or because they are cheap I don't know. I think there needs to be a lot of work done on educating people on how to buy puppies as well as a complete overhaul of the whole registration system making basic health checking of the parents a compulsory requirement.

[Erin251]

haha thats kinda funny, but on the other hand sad because that really is how it goes. i dream of one day breeding but it wont be until there are no more kids at home and i have the time and money to do it right. luckily i have a couple decades to learn how to.