A Chat With A Former Breeder

Remember I said I’d speak to a former breeder and find out things about “responsible breeding”? Well, I did, and here are some of the things he shared with me.

He was a dog-breeder many years back, and responsible breeding, to him, would mean taking very good care of his dogs, especially the mother-dog. The mother must have enough rest time, and he had only bred a few litters in all those years. He also only sold his puppies to responsible owners after careful vetting.

I asked if there was never legislation, licensing or certification to differentiate between a recognised breeder or a backyard one, he said, as far as he knows, there is none in our country. So, a “responsible” breeder is evaluated based on what our own criteria are.

He said some breeders do not breed for money, but as a hobby. They breed the dog that they like and they give away the puppies to friends and responsible owners, or sometimes only for a fee to maintain their hobby. So, it is more a hobby, not a trade.

I think maybe that was the case with Bobby, my mixed poodle. Bobby came from Sungai Petani, from the home of an ex-Miss Malaysia, or a relative of hers. At that time, my children wanted to have pets, but my son was really small and was afraid of big dogs.

We first went to PAWS but there were no small breeds up for adoption at that time (that was 16 years ago). Then we rang another shelter and the clerk was extremely rude, so we didn’t go there. A few days later, we happened to walk by this petfood store run by a vet and found Bobby and his sister there, looking for a home. Mac had been abandoned by his first owner and he too was looking for a home. So we went home with Mac and Bobby and the rest is history. The vet was extremely selective but he let us have Mac and Bobby. We still keep in touch now.

�The day Mac and Bobby came home with us.

So, even if one breeds for a hobby, what happens to the runt of the litter, I asked this former breeder. Those small ones that do not have a chance of surviving? A “responsible” breeder would look after these weaker puppies and not send them to be euthanised, he said. As I recall now, one of my childhood dogs was the runt of the litter – Puffin. He was the weakest of the lot and his owner gave him to us. He was a mixed Pekingese. Puffin almost died after a few weeks, but we nursed him back to health. Actually, we did not do much except to pray and make sure he ate and was kept warm. There was only a government vet in that small town I grew up in. I was only eight years old at that time and remember crying my heart out. Puffin recovered and lived on like a king, with the majesty of his ancestral Pekingese blood, and passed away when he was 14 years old. And we cooked all their meals – it was rice and meat. Kibble-food was unheard of those days.

Puffin (on the right) and Remirth, my childhood dogs. Both were mixed Pekingese. Remirth was more mixed so we weren’t sure exactly what blood she had in her! But she was very, very loyal. I grew up with small dogs so I don’t have much experience with bigger breeds.

Now, back to my chat with the former breeder, he also said, from his experience, the chances of getting problematic puppies (smaller in size or having health problems) are increased if the mother-dog is fed kibble. Dogs that are fed home-cooked or raw food had a better chance of producing healthy, well-formed puppies.

I asked if he ever had “deformed” puppies, and he said there was only one that was born with a cleft lip, and puppies with cleft lips, he said, will not survive, so he had no choice but to have the puppy euthanised. Only one, in all his years.

Will he ever breed again now, I asked. No, he said. Never again. His days of breeding are over. Now, he looks after strays.

However, he did tell me some of the horrendous things that some breeders do to the puppies that are not “up to standard”. I shall not repeat them here as we can read all about those in the internet. Just google “puppy mills” and be prepared to read the most heart-breaking stories.

But I was interested in dog breeds as it is something I know very little about, so the conversation veered off to this subject.

Are there any natural purebreds or are purebred animals created by humans, I asked.

Apparently, there are natural purebred dogs. For eg, the Chow Chow and the Spitz family are all natural purebred dogs which exist in nature. They were not specially or intentionally created by man. The Akita and Shiba Inu are natural purebreds in Japan. The Husky is a native of Alaska, and not a man-created dog. But as “natural” as it is, we understand that the many breeds and animals that we have today is the result of evolution and cross-breeding of the species over millenniums. Dogs evolved from wolves, we are told.

However, according to this former breeder, the German Shepherd (popularly known as the Alsatian) is from Germany but it is not a natural purebred. It was created by…guess who, yes, Hitler! There was a natural German Shepherd very much like the Belgian Shepherd but it certainly did not look like the German Shepherds that we see nowadays. What we see now, is a creation under the instructions of Hitler. A Nazi creation, if you like.

See this:�http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Shepherd

Now, we all know the fighting dogs (like pitbulls) were created as well. But did you know that many other breeds were also created by humans?

The Boxer is a created breed:�http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_(dog)

So are the Great Danes:�http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Dane

And many others, I suppose. Were poodles created too? I remember Dr Susanna telling me that poodles did not originate from France as most people thought, they actually came from Germany and were water hunting dogs. “Poodle” (“Pudelhund”) means “to splash in a puddle of water”! I think the Toy Poodle was developed in France, during the reign of Louis XVI who loved all things “exquisite”.

And what about our local dogs?

We have a dog breed that is native to Malaysia. It’s called the Telomian and our local “Ah Wongs” are the closest we have to them amongst our local breeds.

See this:�http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telomian

It was kept by the Orang Asli as protector-dogs.

Very nice-looking, won’t you say, and also of medium size too.

This is our Malaysian purebred dog. And our local breeds are also our Malaysian dogs.

A pet, by any species, if well-loved and cared for, will be a wonderful pet.

Adopt one please, don’t buy.

Disclaimer: The information about dog breeds above is only a sharing and it is based on what I’ve been told. Kindly do your own research to check for accuracy, if you wish to know more in-depth. Thank you.

Source: http://myanimalcare.org/2012/05/20/a-chat-with-a-former-breeder/

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AnimalCare is a registered society that promotes caregiving to street animals and helps in their neutering and medical needs. AnimalCare has a Medical Fund, Food Fund and Education Fund.

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