(Part 2)
Who is more committed to breeding better dogs? I don't know, but I was impressed at the number of professional breeders there taking advantage of the chance to hear these TOP speakers totally free of charge. And I have to wonder that there weren't more hobby breeders there. Why not? Is it that you'd have to mingle with professional breeders? Do you think it might give them some legitimacy or something? Or that you might get "infected" (EUW, COOTIES. *G*) or something like that? Or find out that many of the professional breeders are at least as committed as you are to their dogs? I
dunno about the rest of you, but *I* am not made of money and *all* that was required of me this weekend was that I be polite to perfect strangers. It wasn't all that hard. And I've decided to look at it this way:
I'm a car dealer. But I sell Maseratis, not Fords. For most of my family, a Ford is a perfectly acceptable car - provided it's not a lemon. But for the people who really want a Maserati, a Ford just isn't gonna do it. And this weekend I saw *alot* of people committed to building Fords that aren't lemons (as in, the dogs they produce are healthy) and actually LOOK like Fords. I don't have an issue with this in the least...and I really don't get why anybody else does either. It's the FORDS that are gonna keep the AKC alive because it's for darned sure my one litter every 3 or 4 or 5 years
isn't gonna do it, nor is my one or maybe 2 entries a month at shows gonna do it either.
Also, FYI. The friend I went with recently acquired a bunch of AKC Gazettes from the 50's and 50's. And there are a whole lot of articles in them on "How to make money breeding dogs." So if breeding dogs for money is your issue with professional breeding, well, you've got a dirty little secret to hide in your closet now don't ya? Cuz 50-60 years ago, the AKC was ALL FOR IT! You also realize most kennel clubs were started by professional breeders way back when don't you...KENNEL Club??? DUH.
My final comments are these: I know that there are a number of people that aren't going to hear a thing I've said. "Puppy ####" are bad. Period. But for those of you who can step back from the emotions of the issue (emotions fostered by AR media propaganda), consider the fight we are facing, and can accept that many Americans truly are happy with a "Ford" for a car, well, I hope I've said things that might make you *think* instead of having a knee jerk reaction. Consider this: MOST legal, professional breeding kennels are not only regulated and inspected by the USDA, but also
by their states, the AKC, and others. That's *alot* of inspections, more than most of us would be willing to accept. And MANY of them here in Missouri do it voluntarily for their "Blue Ribbon Kennel" program. And if you think keeping a kennel of 100 (or more) dogs is easy, think again. Patti Strand said the biggest issue is that urban America no longer has any connection to animals. 50 years ago 80% of Americans lived on farms. Today it's the other way around - 80% of America is urbanized. I know alot of people have pictures in their heads of the "horrors" of puppy #### - they exist and I'm not now, nor have I ever denied that. The professional breeders don't deny it either. Those of us on the "show" side of the house need to stop denying it exists among "us" too.
I've had this idea in the back of my head for awhile now and discussed it with Patti Strand last nite and she agrees. The AR movement isn't about animals at all. PETA, HSUS, ALF, Bob Barker, Oprah, the RSPCA in England, etc etc, don't give a rats patootie about animals. In fact, they really kinda hate them. This fight is about our PERSONAL FREEDOMS and WHO gets to write the laws governing all of us. Wasn't anybody else bothered by the law in Louisville, KY even PASSING? Not what it contained, although that was surely bad enough, but just how many personal freedoms were violated? And
NOT ONE of those supposedly intelligent (I question this, but that's another discussion) people on the Council thought there was a problem WRITING A LAW like that and then VOTING FOR IT! (And thank gawd the law is being challenged in court - I do have some hope yet. *G*) Today we lose our dogs, our cats, our steak dinners. What do we lose tomorrow??? Better keep your eye on the ball here folks, because all those folks we're fighting right now over pets are con artists playing a shell game. The issue is NOT animals.
It's just the battleground. And if we lose this battle, the war is surely lost. Either we wake up and fight with every soldier we can lay our hands on, or we lose. Us Vs. Them (where them is Professional Breeders) is no longer an acceptable frame of mind. Nobody is going to make you breed dogs professionally, you aren't gonna get cooties from them. And the few dogs a year we produce in our hobby kennels are no threat to their lively hoods either. NOR are THEY a threat to us. Remember, Fords and Maseratis.
I said it before and I'll say it again. I don't care why the professional breeders attended the seminar and sat through 2 days of educational information. They DID it. And if say 25% of them put some of these practices into operation in their kennels...and next year a few more, and the year after that a few more...there is soon going to be little difference between a hobby breeder and a professional breeder...except the professionals are gonna whup us on experience. You can't compare whelping one litter a year with whelping 20. Or 100. Or whatever the number is.
And as they manage to improve their breeding stock both health and
conformationally because of the things they learned...you won't be able to tell the difference between their dogs and yours.
Betsy
Betsy & Kevin Cummings
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tribute@centurytel.net)
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