Saturday, March 6, 2010

Good News: More Large Mixed Breed Pups Now Available!

I come across postings regularly on various internet sites listing puppies in need of homes. On occasion, I pick one out to share. In this one, I have changed the breeds to breeds of similar size to protect the innocent (dogs):

Hi!! I have three puppies that are ready for new homes. There is one boy and two girls. Their mama is a Newfoundland mix and the daddy is a Chow/Lab mix. These are very beautiful babies, and they are the sweetest things in the world. I would keep them but I have to feed their mama and her mama, which is the Newfoundland and they eat alot.

Using my brilliant powers of deduction, I take it that we have a dog breeder here. With the limited information contained in the post, I can only trace the lineage 3 generations but it looks like the Newfoundland was bred to a a dog who was something other than a Newfoundland and at least one female puppy from the resulting litter was kept by the breeder. That Newf mix puppy was bred to a Chow/Lab mix and the breeder is unable to keep the pups because the dam and grandam eat too much.

I don't know if these breedings were intentional or if the breeder considers them accidents but if they were not intentional, one wonders why more effective protocols were not introduced to prevent accidental breedings somewhere along the way. If they were intentional, one wonders what the purpose of the breedings is. (Yes, you must have a purpose in dog breeding!) Most of the common reasons for planned breedings that come to my mind seem to obviously not fit here: Profit, supply dogs for a competition or utilitarian function, supply a waiting list of owners with puppies, create a new breed, allow the kids to experience the birth of a litter one time, etc. I honestly can't think of a purpose for these breedings. Maybe there is one and it just isn't striking me at the moment. I think it's reasonable to assume that if the breeder fails to find homes for the pups, she won't be keeping them (that eating thing is a strong indicator). My hope is that these pups will find homes and will not end up at a shelter where they have a good chance of being killed.

The post does not indicate if this breeder is screening homes in order to protect the pups. Nor if she will offer support to the new owner for the life of the dog and be willing to take the puppy back or help with rehoming if that circumstance arises at some point in the dog's life. I hope that she simply forgot to state these things because, accidental or intentional, she is the breeder and that's a breeder's obligation. Oh and as for the feeding thing and the fact that big dogs eat a lot of food - yeah, that's a breeder's obligation too.

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Search for low/no cost spay-neuter services in your area at the ASPCA website.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Due to a problem my dog has with anesthia she is not spayed. Both of our boys are neutered but I'm not willing to risk my girls life over a surgery that should be done, but does not have to be done. I've had her three years and she has never accidentaly gotten pregnant, or even come close for that matter. I do not believe in accidental breedings and really wish people would stop breeding dogs for their personal gains. (breeding to better the breed is cool with me!)