There was a recent discussion running on Facebook, bashing a "breeder" who was advertising a litter on Craig's List. There's two main issues involved in this discussion - 1.) they are bashing the breeder who apparently does no health testing and breeds their own dogs together while making it sound as if they are responsible breeders, and 2.) - that this breeder is advertising on Craig's List, as if that was inherently bad.
Apparently the breeder is guilty of some false advertising, obviously a bad thing. Many of the people in the discussion are pretty sure they know who this breeder is, and do not approve of the breeder's ethics. That's fine, although we tend to be awfully judgmental about our fellow breeders, some of it justified and some of it perhaps not. There's certainly nothing wrong with breeding your own dogs to one another, if the dogs are health-tested and the breeding is a suitable one. If you're doing it just because it's the cheapest way to produce a litter, obviously it's not satisfactory. Many responsible breeders buy a good male or a top quality bitch that compliments their existing stock, with the idea of enhancing their own breeding program. We've done that ourselves and both Rob and Argus produced very well bred to Paisley bitches. If you're doing it because other breeders are not willing to accept your bitches for their stud dogs, something's obviously wrong.
Responsible breeders lament the fact that potential buyers looking for Dal puppies often end up with commercially bred (puppymill) pups, or those from backyard breeders, rather than responsibly bred pups from sincere hobbyists. Or that they end up with another breed or a designer dog (expensive mutt) because they couldn't find a Dal. So what are we going to do about this other than discuss the fact that it's indeed a problem? How are we to make our presence known, get a chance to educate people on what to look for, and explain the responsibility of owning a dog, any dog?
