I have TWO Designer dogs.

a South Carolina houn' dawg and I have papers to prove it.
a Florida greyhound dog and I have papers to prove it!

--Stitz--

Oh, my goodness gracious. Rant alert.

Used to be, dogs who were half this and half that came from the shelter.

First of all, the woman in Arkansas who produces litters for Chelle Rohde (featured in the article) could well be running a puppy mill. Ethical "hobby"* breeders rarely have more than 3 litters a year, yes - a year; ideally, a number of months apart. Exceptions are those who have one or more experienced people living in the house with whom to divide the labor - virtually unheard of.

* As opposed to "backyard" breeders: "I've got a Cocker & you've got a Cocker. Let's have puppies. It'll be good for the kids to see the miracle of birth, and Cheryl three doors down said she'd take one."

And as opposed to puppy mills.

Good hobby breeders rarely have even two litters from the same parents because the goal for each litter is to improve on the breed in a specific way. They NEVER make a profit selling puppies. Rather, they invest thousands in their efforts to better their particular breed.

Rule of thumb - you're dealing with a good breeder if you think it would be easier to adopt a child than be approved for one of her pups.

The mixed breed ("designer") breeders say, "I've got a Beagle & I've got a Pug & I've got a Miniature Poodle. I'll have bunches of litters with these three, call them designer dogs, and make lots of money."

Chelle Rohde and the Arkansas breeder are making money.

I don't know how many litters a year puts one in puppy mill territory, but Rohde has pups from 2 litters available now, and "New litters will be available beginning September and later." From what she says on her site, the Arkansas woman is her sole supplier.

So, possible scenarios for the Arkansas mixed breed breeder:

1. Unlikely - she gets her breeding stock from reputable breeders at premium prices. The pups or adults are sold to her as pets, meaning they're not good enough examples of the breed to have show ring or breeding potential (can't know for sure till they're older). The breeder doesn't want their conformation faults,* temperament, etc. to be passed on.

* meaning their bodies aren't put together well enough for them to do what they were bred to do originally - run all day over rocky terrain, say - cuz they can't "move right." These structural faults are genetic and are let loose in the breed for untold generations, the same as bad hearts, bad hips, cancer, etc., which are invisible at first.

In the show ring, judges are looking for the best conformation, factoring in politics. :)

When a pup's sold as a pet from a good breeder, the buyer signs a contract stating the pup will be spayed or neutered by a certain age.

Unfortunately, breeders have little control over this, unless they've charged about $500 extra for the pup, which is returned once they get the statement from the vet. Breeders rarely do this, and most buyers are honest.

However, the mixed breed breeder may pay the higher price for a pup from a good breeder and then violate the contract re: spay or neuter. Bad karma for their business from the get-go.

Good breeders are devastated & outraged by buyers who use their treasured dog, who represents thousands of dollars and years of effort and meticulous planning, to make a mixed breed. They're revising their contracts.

2. The mixed breed breeder gets her dogs at a low price from someone who's not breeding good quality purebred pups* - doesn't know better, doesn't bother to find out, doesn't care, doesn't have the money to do it right if she knew or cared.

These pups pass on the genetic health conditions from their parents, grandparents, and on back. This is highly irresponsible, esp. when the sire and dam have one or more of the same genetic problems. This breeder is clueless cuz she's done no testing and has no/little info on the health of her dogs' littermates or progenitors.

* AKC registration purportedly means both parents are of the same breed - that's it! - but people have AKC registration for their kids, their pet turtles, horses, etc. to show the faults in the system.

If pups aren't socialized from about day 7, they're prone to temperament problems, with fear biting being common. Socialization of one litter is labor- and time-intensive. You're phoning it in or among the walking dead if you have 3 litters close to the same time. It's on the edge if you have 2 experienced people living in the house for 3 litters - again, just about unheard of.

3. She gets dogs from shelters or gets "free to good home" dogs. They may look like a particular breed, but there's no way to know if they're purebred. Any other breed(s) in the mix will show up in some offspring for 4 or 5 generations - I forget which.

All this said, mixed breed and backyard breeders produce healthy dogs with good temperaments, in spite of themselves, and many of us have gotten the most wonderful dogs in the world from these folks.

Rant right back, if you like.

wc8,
thanks for sharing.

--Stitz--

quote ( As opposed to "backyard" breeders: "I've got a Cocker & you've got a Cocker. Let's have puppies. It'll be good for the kids to see the miracle of birth, and Cheryl three doors down said she'd take one." ) quote
This reminds me of when I filled in for the manager at an Animal Shelter a woman said after I told her the female had to be spayed .
I want the kids to see her have puppies, my reply was oh are you going to let the kids watch while the puppies you can't find homes for are injected put to sleep.She stormed out .. hope the door hit her on the way out . :)