Re: Puppy Mill/BREEDER Distinction

I personally do not feel that simply the "number of pups produced out of any kennel situation" is that single determining statistic for establishing any kennel as a "puppy mill". It is one element included in the mental process I employ in making that determination, and it is a significant element, but it is NOT the single determinant. Successful breeders of top-quality pups know that they have to establish a wide enough base within their breeding program so that should they "run into" a genetic flaw or health-related deficiency within their program they can change course within the framework of their overall direction without having to "ditch" everything they have accomplished, to-date, and start over completely.

Rather, consider the underlying basis for a kennel's existence. If the kennel is BASED on economic or profit-making motives then, irregardless of the number of pups produced, that kennel exists for the WRONG reason. An equally unsuitable basis for producing a litter is to "get a pup" for a friend or family member or to show children the "miracle of birth".

Alternatively, if the motives behind a kennel are geared toward the preservation and perpetuation of a Breed in accord with the written standard for that breed as maintained by that breed's National Breed Club and as adopted by the American Kennel Club, with the underlying principles of producing a single litter or a complete line of dogs that adhere most closely to that standard, then that kennel should not be mis-labeled as a "puppy mill" irregardless of the number of litters or pups they produce. Hold on, read on before you react to that statement !

HOWEVER, within the fundamental framework for my definition of "preserving and perpetuating" any breed standard a certain level of humane care MUST be afforded to every individual dog within that kennel. This includes keeping them healthy, clean, and temperamentally well-adjusted and happy - and affording sufficient time to socialize EVERY pup produced. This is where "numbers" of dogs and/or litters often catch up with a well-meaning kennel owner. If every animal in a kennel situation cannot receive a daily dose of human contact sufficient to maintain that special animal-human bond that the animal needs then the kennel is "moving in the wrong direction". If a bitch (or dog) is bred indiscriminately - then that kennel is "moving in the wrong direction". This includes over-breeding (breeding on consecutive heat cycles over and over), breeding to a male based on cost or availability as opposed to complimentary genetic expectations; or even breeding under ANY circumstances when one has not established a competent education within one's breed for identifying "quality" and "degree of compliance within one's breed standard". This can also include breeding litters without reasonable expectations for finding suitable homes for the pups that will not be retained by the breeder or when competent facilities do not exist to incorporate additional residents into one's own kennel. This can also include allowing your stud to be used on a bitch that should simply NOT be bred under ANY circumstances whether it is due to "lack of merit", jeopardizing a bitch's health (or life), or because she is not a suitable brood bitch whether it is health related or for reasons of lack of type or soundness (both physical and mental).

At the risk of stepping on toes I must ask aloud the following questions:

1) How can one develop an "eye' for quality without observing quality ? Without establishing a basis for comparison, such as that obtained by going to dog shows or working closely with a mentor within one's chosen breed, where does that education come ?

2) How can anyone develop any degree of reliance on what may be produced out of a breeding of a particular set of parents without significant research into the background of the animals within the pedigrees of the parents ? Do you know what the parents of your dogs produced ? How about the litters produced by your dogs' siblings and half-siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents, etc. ?

3) If you do not avail yourself of all possible health screening methodology with regard to your own breeding animals, how do you feel that you have been "true" to your breed and to the perpetuation of only the highest degree of "quality".

4) Does your education/experience prepare you for whelping a litter. We must all start somewhere but you need to have access to a mentor and/or a superior veterinarian if you do not yet have the degree of understanding to recognize problems and how best to solve them at "crunch time".

Sorry to write a novel - but when one gets started on this line of thought and reasoning it is difficult to find a suitable stopping point.

For the Breed;

Larry Stanberry Divine Maltese