I overhear people talk about breeding their dogs for the money. Ack! What you say is true about not getting rich if breeding and care are done properly.

But there are many backyard breeders out there that don't provide the proper care and possibly no medical care at all. They just let their dogs "date" and then sell the puppies. No background check on the parents. No checkups. No vax. However, they are registered with the AKC.

Great article. I would love to have seen an added paragraph about the need to socialize the pups during those first 8 weeks, too, and why that is important.

Wow Dr Radosta, you really came out guns a blazin.
Bravo on your courage in addressing an issue that certainly leads to over population.
Sadly this kind of poor breeding happens to often.
Google pitbull breeders and you will see buzzwords like stacking ( steroids), giant, strong, big jaws..but you wont hear temperment or medical history.

A lot of breeding on larger dogs go for size more then anything else nowadays.
Most of the hobby breeders I know have both male and female dogs, they show their dogs at dog shows and are very serious about breeding better dogs, in temperment, health and breed standard. They do not make a dime and spend more than they make in the hobby.
You also have to be prepared to pass a home visit and a background check and if you have to return the dog and he has any signs of neglect be prepared for a visit from the police. These hobbyists love their breed and dogs first and formost.
There are backyard breeders that do make money, usually you can see them in the south, signs on the road "puppies for sale" and they have four or five couples that they breed. There are no vet checks or temperment checks and they certainly dont do a home visit.
It is not their whole income but they make four or five thousand a year off of it.
There has been some legislation of late that is starting to address the issue of puppy mills, limiting the number of dogs, more controls of care and the laws are getting teeth to protect animals and basic care.

The problem is the AKC often lobbies to gut these laws to make it easier for commercial breeders.They often win in changing the law to the benefit of the puppy mills.
I am starting to hear that some puppy mill breeders are finding loop holes by creating a rescue and in that way they increase the number of pets they can sell.
Also the ads you see in the newspaper with animals for sale are brokers. These people are middle men and have no knowledge of the background of the pets they sell, although they say they are the breeder.
Also puppies sold in pet stores are from puppy mills.They try to fool the customers by saying their pets are from loving homes of breeders. If that is the case why are the puppies from USDA approved facilities?
My home is not USDA approved, whos home is?

There are many many purebred homeless pets out there that need homes. You are right, the amount of homeless purebreeds is staggering.Adoption is a win win, you get the breed you want and you save a life. What can be better than that?

To get those that just dont care is a long slow road. We of course need more laws but we also need community outreach. We need to keep speaking out against pet over population, abuse. We need to spread the word and help develop compassion. We need to highlight how much pets can do for us, service dogs,war dogs, SAR dogs. How the quality of our life can be improved with a pet, stress levels go down, we learn tolerence, we have something to love and care for. I dont know how it works, if these thoughts fly around the atmosphere and then enter someones mind as a thought or an idea but the more conciousness we put out there the more it seems to grow.
There was a wonderful article in the petplan magazine about Gov Rendell, he was a major force in creating the bill in PA. Here is a site ( animal law) that talks about the bill.
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/companion-animal-breeding/article/511

I love puppies - there's nothing cuter than a baby animal. Who doesn't love a cuddly sweet puppy dog? But what happens so often when the little puppy starts to grow into a "toddler" and is too big for carrying around and starts to get into things.....often the proud puppy owner starts to get tired of this growing puppy and off to the pound he/she goes. The shelters are full of unwanted used to be puppies. I believe in adoption all the way. I understand why there is breeding. I just feel that there are so many unwanted, unloved dogs out there that owners need to really really think before breeding their dog. The home it is going to must be a forever home. I am the owner of 3 pitbull "used to be" puppies. I got one when he was anywhere from 1.5 years old to 3. His owner didn't know - even though he was a puppy when he got him. This dog spent the entire time with his previous owner outside in summer heat and winter cold. He was unloved, he was abused, he has allergies and thyroid problems. The guy just didn't want him anymore. They had another dog that they kept in the house - a small breed - I think that Bully knew he was not loved. I had just had a 14 year old pitbull pass away and had put a $500 deposit on a purple ribbon pick of the litter, however when my husband brought Bully home to see how we liked him, I forfeited my deposit - this dog only wanted to be in the house, warm and loved. I've had Bully for 7 years now, he has never destroyed anything - he is so well behaved. He is the sweetest dog anyone can imagine. That was the first time I adopted and since then I have two more unwanted pitbulls as well - one, Conrad, was one of those puppies that started to grow and the owner didn't want him anymore, the other, our baby, Malcolm, was being used as a bait dog for fighting. My husband paid his "owner" $500 to take him home. All three dogs get along. Bully's thyroid is under control with very inexpensive meds and although he is allergic to everything from meat to grass, we keep it under control with special shampoo.

A week after we got Bully, his previous owner came to
our house to bring Bully's kennel (which he didn't need). Bully went crazy, his hackles went up, he was salivating and growling and the more he heard the guy's voice, the more agitated he became. I think he thought he was going back to that horrible place and was going to fight to stay with me. Little Malcolm was just cut up and bitten and bruised - just about 5 months old. He loves to cuddle and his best friend in the world (besides his mommy and daddy) is Conrad. When it's bedtime, Malcolm wants everyone in the bed and he sleeps touching everyone. I'm glad I was able to give these three loving dogs a good home where they are healthy and happy and I wish I could bring home more.

Even after owning a champion purple ribbon red nose pit for 14 years and loving him so much, I found that adopting and the reward from adopting is so great. I will stick with adoption now. I'm lucky to live in Nevada, where there are no kill shelters, but manyanimals spend years there./

Very nice. Wanted to let you know that mobile vets are great and convenient. I know of one in Maryland and Washington DC. http://NMotionHomeVeterinaryCare.net

Love the comparison to a drivers license. However, you have to pass a driving test for that license. All you need to breed is two dogs with papers - and little proof of that.

I recently purchased a puppy through a breeder in my area that had excellent references (personal, vet) and she is a wonderful puppy. This gentleman and his partner are retired and they spoil their pups rotten. They only have a litter once a year, if that, and they gladly show the parents and info on past litters, background, etc. I feel that we made a good choice in breeders but I would have preferred a rescue dog. I searched rescues from my state and those that surround me but was unable to find a dog that I would "qualify" to adopt. Almost every rescue dog we found had so many special conditions attached such as: no children (I have two teenage sons), no other dogs in the home (I have a miniature schnauzer that is 8 years old), no other pets in the home (we have kitties too) and so on. I would have loved a rescue dog/puppy but it seems that sometimes rescue rules make it impossible to adopt so we did a lot of research and interviewed/reference checked these breeders and wound up purchasing my Lola. I do realize that a lot of rescue dogs have special needs but wow, was I surprised to see all the conditions attached that canceled us out. We are a very loving home that treats our pets as children and makes sure that they have the best of care so I really hate that we couldn't find a rescue dog as we have adopted 5 of our pets (so far)!