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And how many "pet quality" dogs would you suggest have ended up at the pound?
The word "mutt" used to mean something, but nowadays with designer dogs sprouting out the yang (yorkie poo, labradoodles, etc) a mutt is now called "hybrid"! Some mutts could cost you a pretty penny.
My questions is, why sell "pet quality" dogs with obvious issues such as looks, health, temperment, etc and not cull them from birth?
If these traits are known at a young age, you can cull, why wait until 2 years old to get a Baer test to realize the all white boxer is deaf, why not cull at birth from obvious birth defects? Why wait for the pound to "cull" at 2 years of age when the "pet quality" owner decides he doesn't want a dog that can't hear?
And as I earlier said, my friend did not cull for cosmetic reasons, he would cull the runt, and other pups that seemed to lack the nerve needed to work. It was a time when all dogs had a job to do, the idea of a dog as a "pet" is a fairly new one IMO (unless you were rich, and even then poodles were catching rats), you fed a dog beacue he helped catch you dinner! So why keep a dog around that can do what it was put on earth to do?
pet quality dogs from reputable, legit breeders don't end up in shelters. these breeders have a strict return policy in case the owners can no longer keep them
again, if a breeder is doing a lot of culling, he isn't breeding right. a lot of issues, like Dashdog pointed out, can be eliminated by proper breeding. the fact that your friend is doing a lot of close line breeding may be a reason why he's doing a lot of culling. also, how can one tell if a dog will have "the nerve needed to work" when the pups are being killed (eh, why bother w/ the word "cull" at this point) so young in age?
again, the standard is so artificially strict that dogs w/ minor "issues" may be culled due to standards. a dog a few inches taller/shorter or with a different coat/eye than the standard allows can still be a good pet and can still likely do the job it was breed to do. yes, there are extreme examples like white boxers being predisposed to deafness, but again, such issues can be removed by proper breeding
let's not forget the number of breeds and breed varieties that have been established from "substandard" dogs. the White German Shepherd is a legit breed now w/ it's own standard and doesn't have any more issues than the GSD. some coloration like chocolate in labs were once seen as "substandard" and are now standard. ditto size and coat variations
as to your "back in the day" comment, yes, if a dog couldn't do it's job, it was basically worthless. but let me ask you, how many purebred GSDs that are bred to standard can do the job they were bred for? a lot of show winning dogs would no longer be able to do the job they were bred for. in fact, in some breed clubs, there is a distinct difference between "show dogs", dogs that stick strictly to standard, and "work/field dogs" dogs that may or may not stick strictly to standards but are still doing the job they were bred to do. back in the day, standards were less important than a dog that could do the work; nowadays, there are plenty of dogs winning Best of Show that could never do the work the breed was bred to do. going by your example, some of these show dogs should be "culled", including many GSDs that can barely run properly anymore
I don't think breeding should be taken lightly in any case and a LOT of homework needs to be done and standards must be followed to a point (in terms of health and temperament), but I also think that if the dog doesn't 100% adhere to breed standard and its disqualifications are minor (ie, too much white in the coat) and it otherwise is a good specimen of the breed, I see no reason why I should be breed. such minor issues may be worked out further down the line.
I think culling is sad and unnecessary. If a puppy is not up to the breeders standards, sell it for less money, with a spay/neuter contract, as pet quality. No reason to kill the poor thing.
By culling, if you mean killing: there is no reason to do that. Non-standard dogs can always be sold as pets.
By culling, if you mean removing them from the breeding pool, spaying or neutering, and selling as pets: Then it is a good thing to do to improve the quality of your kennel.
The only time I could justify killing, I mean culling, puppies in a litter is when there has been a serious medical condition diagnosed. I can't fathom how someone could live with themselves for killing a dog that has too much or too little of a color in its coat, the wrong eye color, the runt, too shy... I would guess less than 1% of the dogs bred in this country actually do the job the breed is supposedly bred for. As others have said, a lot of these supposed champion dogs are unhealthy mutants that have been inbred and altered genetically to the point that they couldn't do the job they were intended to do.
Give me a healthy mixed breed shelter dog any day. I want a companion dog that loves to go on hikes, runs, plays well with my daughter and get lots of love and attention. My two shelter mutts seem to have been bred perfectly for those particular "jobs".
The only time I could justify killing, I mean culling, puppies in a litter is when there has been a serious medical condition diagnosed. I can't fathom how someone could live with themselves for killing a dog that has too much or too little of a color in its coat, the wrong eye color, the runt, too shy... I would guess less than 1% of the dogs bred in this country actually do the job the breed is supposedly bred for. As others have said, a lot of these supposed champion dogs are unhealthy mutants that have been inbred and altered genetically to the point that they couldn't do the job they were intended to do.
Give me a healthy mixed breed shelter dog any day. I want a companion dog that loves to go on hikes, runs, plays well with my daughter and get lots of love and attention. My two shelter mutts seem to have been bred perfectly for those particular "jobs".
I'm a breeder of very expensive rare breed dogs. Thank you for your post. You are my hero.
NO WAY.......What a HORRIBLE thing to do. I can't say more than that or they would ban me from speaking my mind. NO WAY......................................
"Back in the day"..........my father bred and raised English Setters and once in awhile a pup would crop up with a fear issue that isn't uncommon with the breed...afraid of its shadow, being away from its shelter, etc. Other breeders my father was around didn't bat an eye to 'culling' those pups from the litter. My father (with the help of his tender-hearted daughter ) refused to do that sort of thing, instead finding suitable homes for these pups. These type of pups didn't happen often, but there were some very happy people when it did happen.
sitting beside me right now i have a 12-year old shih tzu who doesn't meet show standard, nor does he meet breed standard because of a dental issue.
but he has changed my life and made me a better person.
when i was very sick and almost died, he was the reason i got through it.
he occupies space in my soul.
but according to your friend, he deserved to be murdered as a puppy...
possibly in a horrific way...suffocation, being frozen in a freezer, poisoned.
furthermore, your friend killed (and let's use the real term here, "kill" not "cull") puppies who were runts, puppies who didn't want to "work," and puppies who were deaf?
i know dogs who started life as runts and dogs who are deaf. they have made fabulous companions to some of my friends and family.
and for your friend to say in his defence that he was killing these dogs so that his name wouldn't be associated with them...how very, very egotistical.
I wouldn't think much of a breeder who has to "cull" babies from a litter. Sounds like the desperate efforts of someone who doesn't know what they are doing.
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) refused to do that sort of thing, instead finding suitable homes for these pups. These type of pups didn't happen often, but there were some very happy people when it did happen.
