animal rescuers - resources - support

[Diavolo]

Originally Posted by Kimbo

Diavolo--I agree with you with the exception of what I have bolded. The biggest "dog club" is the AKC. They are the biggest promoters of irresponsible breeding just by the fact that they have very little in place to confirm those animals that they paper. To me the AKC has degraded the true responsible breeder.

We're saying the same thing, I just didn't make myself clear.

The AKC is just a registration service. What I meant is that the breed clubs, like the National version of the Boxer club, the Doberman club, the Chihuahua club, Aussie whatever, need to not only promote but require responsible breeding and then push their agenda publicly. That is, don't buy dogs that haven't been health tested, don't get an Aussie where one of the parents hasn't been finished either in the ring or in the field, don't buy a dog from a guy who has both parents on site. Right now everybody thinks AKC papers is the be all end all. Breed clubs need to advance a more comprehensive message. For the sake of the dogs they need to lead and right now they aren't.

I see more Dobermans out there that barely look like Dobermans except for the markings. The latest soul I transported, who also overnighted here had a ridiculously short snout, was undersized and had a hinky temperment. I'm sure her parents weren't health tested and the propensity for this poor little soul to develop or carry DCM, Wobblers, bum hips or any of the other plethora of health issues that plague the breed are huge. I have a friend who has finished a bunch of dogs but hasn't bred because he's been doing the research to breed out the health issues that plague the breed. That's what breeding dogs is all about. Betterment of the breed. And that's the message that the dog clubs (and by dog club I mean breed club) have to do.

And don't misunderstand me. I have two trainwreck rescues here. Rita is undersized, snipe nosed and kind of not right in the head. The only time that dog was at peace was after she killed a rat. Bubba has IBD and has classic Doberman OCD. His toes curl some kind of funky, his gait is not the kind of gay it's supposed to be and he blew his coat 18 months ago and all of the salmon oil in the world ain't bringing it back. And they both adore me and I would live in my truck before I would give them up.