Home ~ Contents ~ Archives ~ Advertising ~ Credits ~ Links ~ Contact Us
An Undercover Weekend ~ Continued
admit I'm a show breeder. But when I did once or twice, these folks
never blinked. And just who was there? The AKC. Bil-Jac. Eukanuba. Royal Canin. Hunte Corp - who btw, had fully 1/5th of the room for their booth.
And let me detour on Hunte Corp a minute. They were handing out
information on their standards for buying puppies. IE, the breeders
must meet some minimum requirements before Hunte will purchase their dogs. On top of those minimum requirements they pay a bonus for such things as health tested parents, Ch parents, and something else that escapes me at the moment. So they too are not only raising the bar, but leading the way in doing so.
APRI was there. With videos of their events. I always thought they
were just a paper registry. Well, they're not. And let me tell ya, the
shutzhund and agility events looked pretty tuff. And not only that, but
APRI alone gave $10,000 to the legislative fund - IE, the fund that pays for the lobbyists. Our little fledgling groups, PetPAC, etc would KILL for that kind of money right now.
And in all of this, I have to wonder where are we? What are WE doing? If we choose to attend such a thing, it's voluntary. These folks are requiring it of their members.
never blinked. And just who was there? The AKC. Bil-
And let me detour on Hunte Corp a minute. They were handing out
information on their standards for buying puppies. IE, the breeders
must meet some minimum requirements before Hunte will purchase their dogs. On top of those minimum requirements they pay a bonus for such things as health tested parents, Ch parents, and something else that escapes me at the moment. So they too are not only raising the bar, but leading the way in doing so.
APRI was there. With videos of their events. I always thought they
were just a paper registry. Well, they're not. And let me tell ya, the
shutzhund and agility events looked pretty tuff. And not only that, but
APRI alone gave $10,000 to the legislative fund -
And in all of this, I have to wonder where are we? What are WE doing? If we choose to attend such a thing, it's voluntary. These folks are requiring it of their members.
You want to be considered a top
breeder...then you MUST have continuing education. Not when I feel like it, but MUST, every year, have so many credits of education. Not even our JUDGES have to do that beyond what they do to earn more breeds. We watched folks spend THOUSANDS on equip-ment, food, meds, and by god
TREATS. Just who gives treats to their dogs? Those who LOVE them.
That's who.
I had a conversation with a guy this weekend about his kennel. He
proudly told me he is a "Blue Ribbon Kennel" - meaning he's met the standards for the MPBA to earn that. He gets his education credits,
etc, and I assume, has met some standards of health and cleanliness in
his kennels. He said he's *never* had an outbreak of anything in his
kennel. Not even kennel cough. His "bio standards" are set so high that even his family must follow them in the house not just in the kennel. So I asked him what happens when the dogs leave his kennel. Their immune systems have never been challenged and suddenly they're out in the big bad world being hit with everything all at once. He went, Oh. I never thought of that. Hm. He said "What do you do?" And I had to admit I'm a show breeder, so I breed once every few years and I do take extra precautions while the bitch is preg-nant and when the pups are less than 9 weeks old, but that after that I
breeder...then you MUST have continuing education. Not when I feel like it, but MUST, every year, have so many credits of education. Not even our JUDGES have to do that beyond what they do to earn more breeds. We watched folks spend THOUSANDS on equip-
TREATS. Just who gives treats to their dogs? Those who LOVE them.
That's who.
I had a conversation with a guy this weekend about his kennel. He
proudly told me he is a "Blue Ribbon Kennel" -
etc, and I assume, has met some standards of health and cleanliness in
his kennels. He said he's *never* had an outbreak of anything in his
kennel. Not even kennel cough. His "bio standards" are set so high that even his family must follow them in the house not just in the kennel. So I asked him what happens when the dogs leave his kennel. Their immune systems have never been challenged and suddenly they're out in the big bad world being hit with everything all at once. He went, Oh. I never thought of that. Hm. He said "What do you do?" And I had to admit I'm a show breeder, so I breed once every few years and I do take extra precautions while the bitch is preg-
are so basic as to be laughable... except nobody laughed. These folks are putting forth good effort, and I for one am willing to give them some credit for that. (And btw - Pat commented that each puppy was in it's own crate and that when she does show litters they usually come in ONE crate. And those crates were scrupulously clean, with food and water. *G*)
Having said this, I'll also state I'm not willing to sell to them, or breed with them. But there are show folks I can say the same about, so that's nothing different. These folks are however, policing themselves. They don't tolerate sub-standard kennels and they turn them in immediately. That's better than "we" can say when we tolerate folks we KNOW have starving animals, or worse. And just who is it on most of the
news when a rescue makes the news? More often than not it's a "rescuer" or show breeder turned in by a neighbor...NOT by US.
Anyway, these folks are working to improve their industry. For 18 years
they have continually raised the bar for their members. They provide
seminars on everything from puppy nutrition to health in their kennels
to structure - FREE. Not just for their members, but to ANYBODY. It was a very strange feeling to be in a building full of people I have
always thought of as the "enemy." So much so I was very reluctant to
news when a rescue makes the news? More often than not it's a "rescuer" or show breeder turned in by a neighbor...NOT by US.
Anyway, these folks are working to improve their industry. For 18 years
they have continually raised the bar for their members. They provide
seminars on everything from puppy nutrition to health in their kennels
to structure -
always thought of as the "enemy." So much so I was very reluctant to