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Does anyone ever see a "good" reason to cull? I knew a German Shep Breeder, who culled entire litters if they did not meet his standards, his argument was he would rather do that than have his name attached to something non functional or not fitting of his expectations of the breed standard? (now this guy bred champion working GSD, he actually sold an adult male to Joe Rogan (fear factor guy) as a guard dog for about 15 grand, this dog knew commands in like 10 languages!)
I believe there are breeders whose committment to "the breed" clouds their judgement. How many "disposable" individuals are worth that perfect breed standard?
I don't believe in culling. It's like the difference between prevention and abortion: a simpler method can preclude the more drastic, tragic resolution. I think a certain amount of restraint has to be excersized by breeders as well as ordinary folk in how the population of wanted, properly homed dogs is controlled..
I believe there are breeders whose committment to "the breed" clouds their judgement. How many "disposable" individuals are worth that perfect breed standard?
I don't believe in culling. It's like the difference between prevention and abortion: a simpler method can preclude the more drastic, tragic resolution. I think a certain amount of restraint has to be excersized by breeders as well as ordinary folk in how the population of wanted, properly homed dogs is controlled..
I don't agree with it. Those dogs that didn't meet his "standards" can make perfect pets for someone else. And if this breeder you speak of has culled entire litters, than maybe he shouldn't be breeding in the first place since it seems so many of his pups don't meet the breed standards. Breeding should not be trial and error.
If you are not confident in your ability to produce dogs that conform to the breed standard almost all of the time, then you should leave it to someone that can and not have poor puppies suffer the consequences.
Most of the reason's for his culling are temperment or drive based, so it is not like he is culling for cosmetics, but I imagine he is searching for the "ultimate" specimen
I must also add that he does a large amount of line breeding (mother to son, father to daughter, etc), so he has to really cull hard to weed out possible genetic defects
I agree to an extent that it is wrong, but over population of dogs, just to pass the "inferior" ones off as pets to people who want the real deal, seems wrong too
I should add, for you to get any relevant answers at all you need to give your definition of culling. To cull simply means to remove unwanted specimens. It does not necessarily mean to kill, although at one time many breeders did cull their litters by killing unwanted puppies. All responsible breeders cull individuals from every single litter. Breeders sell dogs with more than just a few minor faults as pet quality on a spay/neuter contract with limited registration. By requiring that these pet quality dogs be spayed/neutered they are culling them from the gene pool.
I agree with Mak802. Having to cull that many pups is an indication of how far this breeder is from attaining consistent standards. Consistency of the gene pool to conform to standard is what the goal is supposed to be, not occasional success.
By culling, I mean he is killing pups, humanely or not I don't know (and I doubt he would tell), however I have heard from other breeders that some cull by putting the pup in the freezer, or suffocation, or a shot of posion.
I have always looked at breeders who sell dogs as "pet quality" should maybe euthanize instead, if it is not good enough to breed or show, why have it?
Can you really have it both ways, on one note their are too many dogs in shelters whom were sold as "pet quality", then on the other hand if they would have been culled from birth, would that had even been an issue?
I have always looked at breeders who sell dogs as "pet quality" should maybe euthanize instead, if it is not good enough to breed or show, why have it?
You're kidding, right? So dogs are useless unless they conform to show or breeding standards? That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
You're kidding, right? So dogs are useless unless they conform to show or breeding standards? That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
So what is pet quality then? A substandard dog (could be looks, health reasons, anything) that the breeder believes should not reproduce, but has no problem selling? come on now!
And yes, shouldn't all dogs (at the minimum) meet the breed standard, and shouldn't that be what breeders are striving for? Why produce and sell a dog that doesn't fit the standard?
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