I decided I wanted a vehicle the other day so first I checked out the classifieds for “free to good home” possibilities and found just what I was looking for.   A free ride.   It was a little beat up but it ran long enough to almost get me home but I couldn’t complain because it was free right?

Next I decided I wanted a vehicle that would actually get me around so I went and bought the cheapest used car I could find.    It worked out great – it got me around, got me where I was going.     It didn’t take me very long to find out why it was so cheap though; the brakes squeaked, the power steering belt screamed and after the car was warmed up, transmission fluid leaked.   Everywhere I went there was a steam of fluid and then the starter started acting up.    I’d owned used vehicles in the past; some were fantastic from the get go and still working and in great shape when I sold them but some of them had failed as miserably as my most recent used car.

I realized I was going to have to shell out money for a new car.   I had no idea what was out there and didn’t really care.   I wanted something pretty and shiny that would get me around without causing dogs to howl when I passed and it would be nice if I could park places without getting yelled at for the mess I left behind.     I went to my closest car dealer and found a beautiful red (my favorite color) convertible with a sticker price I could well afford.     It didn’t have all the options I would like, but it was gorgeous and I could go places without making a scene.

You may be able to see a pattern developing here and you may even be able to guess what happened next.     I found that though I could drive a stick shift, I wasn’t so keen about it on steep hills.    The radio worked great but there was no tape or CD player so I couldn’t choose my own music.    The red really showed the dirt and it needed constant upkeep.   I wasn’t really very happy with the blind spots when I backed up either since this was my first convertible.    I soon began to realize it wasn’t going to get me out of town where I could take side roads or dirt paths and it probably wasn’t going to be the best choice for cold weather.

Why am I talking about my car problems on a site about dogs?

Let’s draw some comparisons just for fun.     The free car can be compared to the puppies in the paper you can get no questions asked.    They don’t cost you a penny.    And they may work out just fine.

If you want a car that performs the way you want it, chances are it won’t be free and the same goes for the puppy.   If it’s free it’s most likely from an unplanned litter and as it grows you might not even be sure what it is.   Is it a poogermois? (Poodle, German Shepherd and Malinois)  Is it a dobechibass?  Sounds like a fish doesn’t it?   I’m talking Doberman, Chihuahua and basset hound.      

You may fall in love with it and things will work out just great.  Then again, maybe not.    Maybe it comes to you and dies because it was infected with parvo or maybe the mother rejected it because it had health problems; maybe it was so tiny because it was much younger than the “breeder” told you.

You want a dog – a real dog, just like I wanted a real car.   So next you go to the RSPCA and rescue a wonderful Poogermoi.    It’s been de-sexed, it doesn’t’ have long hair so you don’t have to worry about shedding.   It’s actually pretty cute and definitely a conversation piece.    And you did the right thing – you rescued a dog.

What happens when your new dog’s fan belt starts to squeal?   Excuse me.   What happens when your new dog bites the neighbor child who was over on an invited visit?    That’s not a very good way to find out your pup does not tolerate children.

You still love your dog so you call the RSPCA and tell them it isn’t working out.   They ask you why and you tell them the truth and they tell you to bring in the dog immediately and it will be put down.   You hang up; glad they didn’t get your personal information.     While you are thanking your lucky stars for that, you are also dreading the neighbour’s doctor bills or worse complaint to the police or lawsuit.   How much is this used car – I mean new dog going to cost you?

If you are truly honest with yourself, you know this problem was caused by you and you alone.    Did you ever research the breed(s) of your dog?    Did you know, for example that Malinois are so highly energetic some people refer to them as crazy (which is why they make great drug detection dogs)?    Did you know that poodles are surprisingly protective – especially the standard-sized?   And did you know German Shepherds were bred to guard their territory?

Did you take your car (dog) out for a test drive?     Did you take it around people, children, other dogs, traffic before making your decision?     Did you ask the people at the RSPCA why they had the dog – why the previous owner didn’t want it?    Even if you had, they might not know.   The dog may have been abandoned at their door or on a country road.   It might be from a litter that was left.     The only answer you will get that makes any sense is the people just didn’t want the dog anymore.    

You already know from your phone call to the RSPCA that if the dog is a biter, it will be put down so chances are if the dog bit, the previous owner is not going to tell that to the RSPCA people.

Did you really talk to the breeder or in this case the RSPCA about the breed(s) of your dog?    If you had, do you really think you would have found one person there who could tell you everything about Malinois, German Shepherds and Poodles?     If you had found such a person, would they have had a crystal ball or some other magical tool where they could tell you what good and bad traits your pup would get from each of these breeds?    

Would the people at the RSPCA tell you about the nervous attitude of the Malinois, the hip dysplasia common to all three breeds or any other nice-to-know tidbits like that?    No, they wouldn’t.   And why would they?

Maybe they would/should because this is one of their arguments for not buying a dog from the big bad breeder.     Like many people and groups, they are good at giving advice but don’t always take their own.    They want you to adopt that dog so the dog is happy and they are happy.    If you are happy, that is a plus but it is far from the first thing on their list.

Did the RSPCA tell you how your puppy or dog did in its litter?   No?     Why should they?    Again, maybe because this is one of the things they claim the big bad breeder doesn’t do.   They lump us all into one bundle.    Just like any profession, there are good breeders and bad breeders and trust me no one hates a bad breeder more than a good breeder.   I hate bad breeders and while I don’t dare publicize who and where they are under threat of lawsuit, I will privately steer people away from them and do everything I can – including yes – including reporting them to the RSPCA.    And I’ll do it anonymously because if the bad breeder ever found out I did that (and for the record I have fortunately not run into this quandary yet) then they might falsely report me as a matter of revenge.

You can see the cycle here can’t you?    You might get a good free or used car that lasts for years but you are not going to know about any of its faults or any accidents it’s been involved in or how uncomfortable it is after long periods at the wheel.      You might get a free or used car that at best makes it home and from there everything is downhill for the worse.    The same goes for your free, “used” even unwanted puppy.

What is the answer?    It lies in the individual dog owner, the dog buyer and the dog breeder.

I’ll start with the breeder.    There used to be wolves that people cross bred into what are commonly called curs or just dogs – wild dogs.     People loved everything (almost) about the wolf.     It was intelligent, had the ability to reason, seemed attracted to humans to the point where they developed a symbiotic relationship over time.

At some point way back then, people were looking at the dogs and thinking “what can this dog do for me?”      Farmers were plagued with gophers – wouldn’t it be nice to have a small, hard-muscled dog that will dig into the ground and kill them to stop them from eating the crops?   And the Daschund (“doxie”) was born.   

Shepherds in Europe started using dogs to guard their sheep but the wolves proved to be an enemy to sheepherders.    They decided they needed a dog, smart like the wolf, with the loyalty, bravery and instinct for protection to take care of the sheep.    The German Shepherd was born.

In North America, during the unforgiving winters, a dog was needed that would not only pull sleighs in unimaginable cold temperatures through storms, over ice and rough terrains, they also needed to be fierce, smart, loyal and able to reason.   The Husky was born.

If we lived in the ideal world, there would be no free puppies.    There would be no dobechibass’s, Poogermois, Labcockdach’s or “what in the heck is this?” dogs.    If we lived in a world where people did the right thing by animals, there would be no need for an RSPCA because there would be no puppy mills or bad backyard breeders.    Lassie would not get pregnant by the mutt down the street and have a litter of the weirdest little critters you’ve ever laid your eyes on.

So, while the RSPCA might like to put everything on the big bad breeder, the truth of the matter is that in the ideal world, there would exist only pure blood dogs.    “Bad” breeds that might be attractive but at high risk for blindness and cancer would be eliminated or the bad qualities bred out.    The German Shepherd, for example, used to have dew claws on all four feet.    After time, when these dogs suffered serious injury from rough terrain or searching rubble piles for avalanche or bomb victims, responsible breeders rid the breed of the back dew claws.

How many of you are familiar with an absolutely amazing breed of dog known as the Black Russian Terrier?    These dogs come from a “scary” place, first bred by the Russians to guard the gulags.    Talk about a mixture!    They have German Shepherd, Doberman, Bouvier des Flandres – and many more breeds.     These dogs are amazing; I know because I was fortunate enough to have one.

He had more joints than normal dogs;  he could flatten and squeeze through places that looked impossible;  his feet (larger than most human’s hands) were webbed for swimming and when he got protective, he’d squat like a bear with his front feet ready to do damage, growling and bearing his teeth.   These dogs had no problem dealing with enemies on horseback, wolves or bears.     They sound like they’d be a problem to own but they don’t shed; their fur feels like human hair and their eyes look human.   They are loyal to a fault and if you ever attend a Black Russian Terrier dog show, it is a common site to see them all off leash as they are not a dog aggressive breed.    Here is a dog perfect for someone with allergies who needs a protection dog.   Did I mention their mouth and their bite?    You know what a pit bulls’ mouth and bite look and act like – the Black Russian Terrier’s mouth is even larger.

You see, in an ideal world, not only would there not be any unwanted dogs and irresponsible breeders.     There would be no “pups free to good home” advertisements and no need for the RSPCA.

The sad truth, though, is people are people.    They abuse breeds like the Staffordshire Terrier (pit bull) to the point of making them just scary mean and teach them to tear apart anything they see.    That’s the people.   It’s not the breed.

There are breeders who breed German Shepherds to be huge because buyers like big dogs so they get a lot of hip dysplasia.   Again – that’s the breeder, not the breed – especially since they’ve found the reasons for hip dysplasia are NOT all genetic.   Just like people, joint and bone problems can be caused by poor diet and lack of calcium and vitamins.

Irresponsible breeders and buyers together make a bad combination.   They actually create a market for bad breeding.   A good example of this is the Dalmatian.    This can be a fantastic breed, but those breeders who responsibly breed are aware of the problems the breed has and will consciously breed to weed them out (like the back dew claws in the German Shepherd).

The reason I chose Dalmatians is because every time Disney releases and re-releases anything to do with “101 Dalmatians,”  thousands of children just have to have a Dalmatian and their parents want to make the kids happy and the bad breeders will grab up any Dalmatians in site to breed  so they can make some money.     The breed has become and stays a risky breed because of situations like this.

Badly bred Dalmatians will carry these problems:   8 percent of them will be born deaf while yet another 22 percent will be deaf in one ear.    They have a tendency to form bladder stones.    While the responsible breeders will only breed dogs from lines with good hearing in both ears, most of your “new” situation-born breeders are probably not even going to know if the two dogs they breed can hear or not.

I agree with the RSPCA that if you are going to buy a puppy, check out the breeder.    The breeder will, if they are responsible, be able to tell you everything about the breed, about their sire and dam and the litter itself.     What the RSPCA does NOT say is as long as there are people who don’t educate themselves as to the type of breed that is right for them and their situation; bad breeders will always find buyers.   People will buy the car because it’s pretty and the puppy because it’s so darned cute.

Some people have asked me how much my puppies are – first question they ask.    They don’t seem to realize that they are there on an interview too.     If their first question is about the price, I am immediately on guard.       Their first questions should be breed specific to my breed.    That’s a good sign to me that they might be the right parents for one of my pups.

The buyer should want to know if I did puppy tests and if so, they should be interested in how the puppies scored.    If they don’t ask and I begin to tell them and see glazed looks come over their eyes, I get a bad feeling.

If the buyer brings children and they run at the puppies and start poking or pinching them, it should not be me – or the mother dog who puts a stop to it.   I don’t want my puppies going to a home where a child hasn’t been taught to respect other living things.

When I present the buyer with the contract and they sign it, they need to understand what I mean when I say I have first rights to buy the dog back if they decide it doesn’t work out.   I don’t want my puppy going to a bad home that I haven’t checked myself and I certainly don’t want my dog put down by an over-zealous member of the RSPCA because of its breed and the fact the handler didn’t know what he was doing.    They killed one of my dogs for this very reason.  It broke my heart and now I screen my buyers even more.

Should we quit breeding?   Quite the opposite.

There should be a checklist of qualities a person wants in a dog; should it be large or small?  Long haired or short?    Should it be protective or just have a fun personality?    Do I need it to protect my children, wife, myself, my property?     Do I need a dog for my farm?    Do I need a bomb or drug detection dog?     Am I disabled?   Do I need a dog that can be trained for the blind or hearing impaired?

Do I have gophers, moles or other critters eating my crops or my yard?    Do I need a companion who will cuddle?    Do I need a dog that is good around children or is not so full of energy I can’t keep up with it?

See, in an ideal world with no free or throw away dogs, there would be these lists and from these lists, responsible dog owners would be able to identify which breeds of dogs fit their needs or desires or both.    They would then be able to decide on one or two breeds that fit all their criteria and from there go on to find a good, responsible breeder.

They would then get a puppy from good lines, cared for in such a manner as to reduce as many health or behavior problems as possible.    They would get a puppy that was imprinted and socialized and handled from birth so there would never be any dominance problems or unwanted biting.     Many good breeders have already potty trained the pups and they are always old enough to be taken from their mother.

If I am a smart car buyer, I will go to a reputable dealer and I already know what I want in the car right down to the model I desire.    I am prepared for the price tag because I know what to expect already.    I know if I take good care of the car it will take good care of me.    And if I really take good care of it and then some day, sell the vehicle; it will actually be a good used car.

Remember how I said I get worried if the first thing the potential buyer asks me is the price?   There’s another reason for that.   I am a good breeder.   I have picked the right dogs to breed; I love them like family.     I am not only there when their litters are born; I help with the delivery to make sure all goes right.   For some reason, most litters are born during the night so I don’t get any sleep.   They really like to come when I have a cold or the flu.    That’s just the way it is.

Every day from the day they are born, I am handling them, weighing them, charting them as individuals.   I am exposing them to noise, smells, and textures.    I am imprinting them to accept collars and leashes, and many other things that take hours and hours of my time.   Time, since I work and have a family, which is robbed from my sleeping or relaxing times.    Each one of those puppies is known.   They might look all the same to you but not to me.   I know each one by the noise it makes and the way it moves.    I know which one is the most playful; I know the runt who had to fight for everything.    If I were to add up all the time, the money put into food, nutrients, vitamins, minerals for them mom and the litter, the vet bills if necessary, the shots – you would not be able to afford one of my puppies.    If I added the love I feel for each and every one of them and rolled that into the price, Paul McCartney could not afford one of my puppies.

So don’t let that be your first question.   And don’t come to me as an RSPCA member and point to me as the problem because I am the solution.     I am not the question.  I am the answer.

The RSPCA needs to be as hard on the buyer as they are on the breeder.     Professional, responsible breeders are not the problem.    Irresponsible, bad breeders AND dog OWNERS are the problem.   This is not a one-sided problem.

Good breeders are not only great – they are needed.   Without them the good qualities of the breeds will disappear and eventually we will just have a bunch of mixed breeds with unknown health and behavior problems.   That will be all there is to choose from.   That’s not the answer.