> You bring up good points. It is very difficult to explain to someone that when >buying a dog, now is not the time to bargain hunt. They understand it after they get >a dog with major problems. What can the breed clubs do? Any ideas? > Anne
I don't know that the breed clubs as a whole can do much but I think that when attempting to educate John Q. Public breeders and exhibitors as individuals need to try and focus on just 3 things and use analogies to explain, looks, temperament and health. When I speak to people about Goldens I bring up the fact that if they are looking for a purebred dog it is because they want their ideal dog to look like the breed they've chosen. They don't want a dog that later on can be mistaken for a Lab mix or an Irish Setter cross. If we are talking Cavaliers then they don't want something that looks like a Charlie, Cocker or small Brittany. Then I explain that more importantly there are two and only two qualities that factor into an ideal pet dog be that mongrel or purebred...health and temperament. If they've chosen a Golden or Cavalier for that matter they have the right to expect that their puppy will grow up to be loving, confident, and non aggressive. I tell them that reputable breeders will cull (spay, neuter and place) dogs in their breeding program that have poor temperaments in order to insure that it will not be passed down to successive generations. I tell them that disreputable breeders will breed the equivalent in temperament of Jeffrey Dahmer to Hannibal Lecter without a second thought because they are in it for the money and is that the really the temperament they were looking for? Finally we talk about health. I explain that reputable breeders only breed dogs with appropriate clearances, in Goldens we need OFA on hips, elbows we need a CERF clearance and a heart clearance. I tell them what hip replacement surgery costs, how sad it would be that a 6 month old pup can't run or that a dog who's one year old has cataracts or worse imagine their beloved dog dropping dead suddenly from heart failure at 2 years old. I then explain that when they buy from a reputable breeder it is like picking a marble out of a bag with 100 marbles, 95 of them are blue and blue marbles represent good health and temperament and 5 of them are red representing poor health or temperament because let's face it sh*t happens. Searching for a bargain and buying from a disreputable breeder is like picking a marble from a bag that has 95 red marbles and 5 blue ones which bag do they think they will have better odds with? Terrie:) ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author.
