Ethical Breeders
We see so much on the television about hoarders and unethical, careless, and downright stupid people who are breeding dogs to sell or just because they haven't bothered to get them neutered/spayed. The sight of some of these breeders who have dogs in cages in their own filth with no food or water and sickness and disease running wild is enough to make ethical and caring breeders sick. It would be embarassing except for the fact that these people are not even in the same world as ethical breeders.
In a perfect world all dog breeders would be ethical, loving, people who are passionate about improving their breed and making a contribution to the future bloodlines of their breed. These breeders also want to insure that the breed that they love so much continues with the characteristics it was meant to have. That is what drives them. It's not the money or any recognition they may get but the desire to breed the perfect dog according to the breed standard. These breeders want to protect their breed from being diluted and weakened by being crossed with other breeds. They want to protect their breed from being bred without regard to health,temperament,intelligence and conformation to the breed standard. This is the reason that reputable breeders require a spay/neuter contract and sell their puppies with limited registration. (With limited registration you can enter your dog in all performance sports--he just may not be shown in the conformation ring). Limited registration also means that no litter resulting out of this dog can be registered.
The conformation ring is the proving ground for a particular dogs ability to meet the breed standard. This is where breeders determine which dogs should be used in their breeding program. Typically dogs that achieve "Champion" status are very good examples of what the breed is supposed to be. Many dogs continue showing after achieving their champion titles (specialing) and achieve best in show wins and move up the ranks of the top dogs of that breed in the country. When dogs achieve this and their health testing shows them to be free of genetic diseases and defects, these are the dogs that are in demand for breeding.
This doesn't mean that there are not many dogs that are of excellent quality that aren't champions. The problem is that as a novice the average puppy buyer can't look at the sire and dam and determine their quality. Also, many times these dogs haven't had the health testing for the diseases that are common to the breed.
You want a healthy, well socialized, beautiful puppy and one that is capable of performing as your best companion or in other arenas from a breeder who breeds from champion stock and does health testing. You're about to bring a new member into your family. Don't you want the best odds that you can get that this little one is going to be healthy, happy and live a long life?
