But what about the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm?
"The dogs that are readily available at Christmas are the kind you probably don't want. Puppy mills grind out thousands of puppies to meet holiday demand. They're the dogs you find in pet stores and malls—cute as puppies but often inbred, poorly socialized, and more prone to genetic health problems like allergies or bad hips or to behavioral difficulties like compulsive barking or chewing." - Slate, December 16, 2005I'll probably get flack for saying this, but doesn't the "reputable breeder" industry have a nice thing going here? They have sold the whole "reputable breeder" vs. "puppy mill" dichotomy very effectively. But, come on . . . it's a dog. I'd like to see a study that took 100 breeder pups and 100 "puppy mill" pups, distributed them to demographically indistinguishable homes and then followed their progress through life--starting with whether a year later a vet could pick out the former mill pups at a rate exceeding blind chance. I kind of doubt it. As for inbreeding, that's how the distinct breeds were created and are maintained--by "reputable breeders." I very much doubt there are any studies showing an increased incidence of, say, hip dysplasia in mill dogs versus reputably-bred dogs from susceptible breeds. If you're concerned about genetic health problems, get a mutt.
I'm the first to admit a lack of experience in this area, but if you think getting a reputably-bred puppy is going to spare you from needing to deal with behavioral issues, that seems slightly naive. Also, doesn't the concept of a dog being "poorly socialized" amount to anthropomorphism? As I noted, it's a dog. Humans are poorly socialized. Dogs are untrained. Of course I'm being a little extreme here, but it's a blog.
I bet that most people who get "puppy mill" dogs are very happy with them, end up with faithful companions, etc. The dogs from "reputable breeders" do stand out in at least one way--they cost a lot more. It's kind of a branding exercise, isn't it?
"If I were poorly socialized, could I do this?"
posted at 12:09 PM
2 Comments:
Excerpt from comments of an incensed person whose friendship and trust I must now slowly rebuild:
For the record (since I feel someone has to put it straight), true "puppy mills" are AWFUL places, and they produce dogs of much lower quality than a reputable breeder would. Not only do puppy mills often force the female dogs to breed too early (occasionally resulting in long term damage to the female) and often keep animals in less sanitary conditions (resulting in a higher likelihood of the puppies having bordatella, parvo or other communicable illnesses), but they also do not take care in matching up animals of really good stock before breeding them -- the resulting puppies have a much higher incidence of inherited genetic disorders that range from physical problems (like hip displasia (sp?) to mental/behavioral disorders. ASK ANY VET -- they can tell you a million reasons why you should never buy a dog from a puppy mill or even a pet store (as the store most likely bought the dog on the cheap from a puppy mill)...
Basically, you've got to do your research before buying, and it typically boils down to "you get what you pay for". Part of the value-add that the reputable breeder brings to the table is their knowledge of and experience with a particular breed... a "reputable" breeder can recognize (and has) prime breeding specimen animals that will pass along the desirable traits of a particular breed while downplaying any negative traits that a breed has (or may have begun to acquire from the release of too many puppy mill produced dogs into the gene pool). Sure, using a reputable breeder is no "guarantee" that the dog won't have behavioral or other issues -- I'd be surprised if anyone looks at the issue like that. But it does greatly reduce your chance of getting a dog with major health issues. Most likely, any "behavioral" issues the dog develops are more likely to be caused by one's own bad training/upbringing and not a result of the dog not being "right in the head" to begin with. ([Insane Large Rescued Dog] is a classic case -- the prior owners had abused him so extensively that he became a classic "fear biter"). And a good breeder will also help to determine the right breed of dog (or within a particular breed, the right gender) for you, based on your lifestyle, family dynamic, etc. Our breeder, for instance, insisted we buy a male [phlegmatic breed] (since the females can, on occasion, be less tolerant of kids [waking up from time to time??? - MWR]).
The typical "puppy mill" is not just a kennel where the owners allow a bunch of random dogs to mate with each other and produce mixed breed "mutts". Rather, puppy mills focus on one (or maybe a couple of) breeds with the goal of producing purebred dogs on the cheap. While I will agree with you that actual "mutts" are often wonderful, healthy, loyal dogs with sweet, even dispositions, they are usually the product of accidental neighborhood romps -- and when the owner doesn't want or can't afford the resulting puppies, they end up in a shelter or pound -- they aren't what "puppy mills" are peddling...
Excerpt from comments of a dear dog-loving friend who has long experience appreciating my wise iconoclasm:
Both of my dogs are poorly-bred (evidently) pure-breeds from puppy mills. Immediate family members have gotten well-bred pure-breds from reputable breeders, as well as mutts from the pound. In my experience (and I have a lot, as I grew up with a lot of dogs and my immediate family currently has nine dogs among us), there is absolutely no distinction among the three groups with respect to sociability or health. One of the pure-bred black labs suffered from hip displasia, but so did one of the poorly-bred puppy mill golden retrievers. Every dog has a distinct personality, and who is to say whether a dog's personality is more influenced by genetics or early nurturing - as with humans. My family has adored all of our dogs and while certainly some have tugged at the heartstrings a little more than others, their breeding has not amounted to hooey in determining the extent to which they were loving and fun contributors to our family life.
If I were setting out to get a new dog today, I'd head to the pound for a mutt that met the characteristics that I consider valuable in a canine companion: friendliness, playfulness, mellowness and a full-grown weight of under 16 lb. or so (allowing for travel in airline cabins).
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