I cannot seriously be the only one who finds it frustrating that people think that breeders are terrible people? Recently a friend came to me looking for a puppy. I don't have any right now but I was going to pass her on to a fellow breeder. Her friends got wind of this and bombarded me (there were 3 of them) all telling me how I produce unwanted puppies in this world that just wind up at a shelter. Also going on to tell me that each breeding that takes place takes 3 years off the bitches lifespan. They just continued to rip into me about how terrible breeders are. They also went as far to say that labradors are some of the worst purebreds available, apparently labs are not good with children, have terrible social skills, and they are riddled with health issues that kill them at a young age (they said 10 was the max lifespan) This isn't the only time I have seen breeder bashing. I just don't understand where this all comes from?

Please tell me someone else out there finds this frustrating too? Or is my skin not thick enough?? Needless to say though my friend decided to adopt from a shelter because it upset her friends too much that she wanted a purebred..

Ok sorry everyone! I just had to vent!

It really is no different than all of the puppy buyer bashing that goes on, or the judge bashing, etc. There will always be the good and bad in everything.

It's an opportunity to educate, educate, and educate some more. First you just listen, then politely ask them to listen to you since you gave them the courtesy of an open ear. Almost always they'll at least listen since they want to see themselves as "nice".

I had this with a horse vet! I explained AKC limited registration, taking pups back to our home if needed, etc. She was admantly still "all dogs should be neutered". Next time I saw her, she had more accusations, I asked if all horses should be neutered, she became quiet. The next time she hesitantly admitted she now recognized a huge difference types of breeders.

It can take awhile and you may never witness the change of heart, but educating them exposes them to a different view which they may eventually accept at least some component of. If you don't tell them and educate them, who will?

I hear this from people who breed horses, very pricey horses. So, when these horses break down and are no longer of use, where do they end up? At the auction, being shipped to Canada for slaughter. And not by the most humane methods.

to me it's like saying that no one should ever have their own children since there are so many unwanted children in the world. And yes, despite what PETA says there are responsible breeders in the world, and I'm sure there are unethical ones as well. But health clearances, well socialized puppies, limited registrations, microchipping puppies, taking a puppy back for it's life time, mentoring puppy people, etc. People don't have to agree with you though.......c'est la vie!!

If you only knew the half of what is going on to rid the world of "breeders". The Animal Rights groups have done a great job of getting the word out to "adopt not shop" that the public is being turned against all breeders. These people make no distinction between good breeders or bad, to them we are all bad. This is why I feel it is so important that we stop trying to rationalize our own breeding programs to them. They have their minds made up. All breeders are bad. They are all to blame for shelter animal deaths.

For starters, those on facebook should check out the page, "I hate breeders". Over 4,000 likes on this page. So much misinformation but it's the mindset. Some of the fans of this page are ALF (Animal Liberation Front) who are on the Government's terrorist list.

It truly is scary the current anti-breeding movement. Breeders need to be aware of what's going on and we need to organize to fight this.

When I hear this I ask people, "DId you adopt your child???" knowing the answer is NO, I tell them that along that same thought that as long as there are kids in orphanages than you have no business making your own children.... and then go on to explain it isn't the breeders that dump these dogs, it's the OWNERS that are responsible for this mess, and a good number of breeders including myself rescue these dogs and find them homes.

I have tried to explain the difference to these people and I never seem to get anywhere! just wind up so angry I walk away. They truly are stuck with the mindset that we are all terrible people. And all the breeders I know take back their dogs if the owner can't keep them, no matter how old! A breeder friend took back a dog when it was 10 because the family circumstances had changed. The few and far between bad breeders just destroy everything for the good breeders! Most of the dogs in our local shelters are mixed breeds, might I add. I checked after that woman told me the shelter is full of purebreds! The only purebred I found at the shelter was a "blue nosed pit bull" ... I try and try to educate but it seems to get harder and harder..I'm glad everyone else has the same issue though...and next time someone criticizes my litter of pups because they are "unwanted" I will ask them if they adopted their children too since their are tons of orphaned kids! LOL

Yes, well, I just stepped into this in a discussion on Facebook. I persisted and the person "left to fix dinner for her husband." She did acknowledge a few of the points I made were valid, so that is good.
One step at a time....