the following is by Dr. Sophia Kaluzniacki, and is reprinted with her permission
10 Rules of Ethical Breeding
The only reason to be breeding purebred dogs is to preserve the best qualities of the breed. Breeding to supply any market is not a justification.
You need to do all of your breeding with the best interests of the breed in mind. Never your pocket book.
For this you need to be a serious student of the breed and devote years of your life to it. No "in one day, out the other".
As a beginner you need to engross yourself in the breed as much as possible and ideally find a suitable mentor.
In order to be a serious breeder, you must show and compete.
You need to keep track of all puppies you produce, whether pet or show, to know how your breeding program is working.
All pet dogs need to go on a spay/neuter contract.
All show puppies need to go on a contract that will not allow breeding unless the dog lives up to the quality intended and passes all health checks and certification necessary for that breed. If a prospective breeder does not want to do this, then I am sorry but they will have to mess with someone else's dogs not mine!!
Co-ownerships allow you a certain amount of control in this regard because they require your signature in order that puppies be registered. The latest news from the AKC is that there is a pending change to the rules that will not allow registration unless all papers are properly signed. If you have a difference with your co-owner it will need to be settled in court before the AKC will register litters or puppies. This is new and still pending, but a step in the right direction.
Every breeder owes to the breed and to themselves to be involved with rescue.
Every breeder should be prepared to take any dog back for whatever reason. If they do not have the space, then they need to be prepared to make other arrangements. But take back they must!
In my ideal world one could not sell dogs. They would only be able to be given as cherished gifts to deserving individuals. This would eliminate the whole pet mill and back-yard breeding industry as they could not make any money. Of course since this world is not the way I envision it as regards dogs, we have to work within the system. So I do charge for puppies and I charge what I think is fair for the time and effort I have put into it. It is certainly not enough to cover all of the expenses. If someone cannot or will not pay my price then let them go somewhere else or take on a rescue. There is nothing wrong with paying a lower price and certainly very noble to rescue. Well I will now get off of my soap box :) Dr.Sophia
The following article appeared in the January 1994 issue of Texas Dogs.
Texas Dogs, 2737 Oak Mountain Trail, San Angelo, TX 76904; (915) 944-7016.
What is an ethical breeder?
by M. Shirley Chong
Copyright 1994, M. Shirley Chong
A good breeder can articulate clear reasons why the bitch was good
enough to breed and why that particular stud was chosen. A good breeder
can articulate clear goals for their breeding program-- not necessarily
breeding for the show ring, but having more in mind than just producing
puppies. A good breeder has an IDEAL and can say why that particular
breeding moves them closer to that ideal.
A good breeder can show the prospective puppy buyer a 5 generation
pedigree and have something to say about every name that appears on it.
Depending on what that breeder's goals are (show, field, obedience,
tracking, Schutzhund, lure coursing, stable healthy pets, etc), the
breeder can show how that the dogs in that pedigree had a preponderance
of the good qualities needed to succeed at the desired endeavor.
A good breeder does everything possible to eliminate heritable defects
from their breedings, but no matter how careful, sometimes there are
problems (and not necessarily heritable ones). A good breeder has a
contract that spells out the options for the most common problems. The
options should include ones that allow the buyer to keep the dog
involved.
A good breeder has their eye on the future. They keep track of where
heir puppies are, and what those puppies are like---strengths and
faults. A good breeder encourages their buyers to do health checks like
OFA and CERF, even if the buyer never intends to breed. Only checking
breeding prospects means that a lot of genetic information is lost.
A good breeder doesn't just hope their buyers will keep in touch. A good
breeder takes action to encourage their buyers to keep them posted. One
woman I know has a quarterly newsletter that she sends to the buyer of
every puppy she has ever bred AND to the buyers of all the puppies her
stud has sired. It's a chatty, here's-how-everyone-is-doing sort of
casual thing, but it really does encourage all those owners out there to
keep her posted on how "her" puppies are doing. If the breeder sells
puppies on spay/neuter contracts, they follow up (in a friendly manner).
A good breeder is there with advice and support for their buyers.
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