Quote:
Originally Posted by duffysmom
CFrance I purchased my avatar Duffy 15 years ago from one of the best breeders of maltese in the country. Her dogs are beautiful and show dogs.
In my ignorance, I flew to Jupiter Fl (I lived in NY) payed $1,200 (remember that was 15 years ago). When I took him to the Vet I found out that Duffy had sarcoptic mites (mange) and a serious overbite.
When he was one year old he was diagnosed with inoperable liver shunts and not too long after that he had to have most of his teeth extracted. This breeder's dogs are bred to be small with baby doll faces, unfortunately it is at the expense of their health.
She is still listed as one of the top breeders of Maltese with Westminster winners. Breeding dogs is a big business. The newest money makers are cavashons, a cross between cavaliers and bishons. My next dog will be a rescue.
|
I understand, Duffysmom. There is endless debate over the issue. Here's my story...
We had/have two very healthy goldens certified for heart, hips, eyes, and something else I can't recall. They were not bred for show; they were bred for family pets. That was a big issue with me when searching for a breeder--no show dogs. Both parents were present,as well.
Our two rescue dogs were a different issue. One, a german shepherd mix, we had to find a home for, as when our 13-month-old would touch a certain spot on his back, he would turn around and take David's head in his mouth. Not bite, but it wasn't something we would take chances on. A lovely lady with no children and a long history of shepherd ownership took him.
The second one was apparently so abused he had feeding issues and biting issues, and issues with men. (We were not told, and that may be different nowadays than it was in the late '80s). He had a Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde syndrome. He could be sweet and loving, then turn on you. He bit me once, hard, my husband three times, and would nip at whoever was trying to feed him. When he started backing our children into a corner over
his possession of their toys, that was it. We were living in NJ at the time, and our vet said we could be sued if we gave away a biting dog. We had no choice but to put him down. It was very traumatic for the whole family, and I swore to never go through that again.
We then switched to goldens because of their temperament, and learned to get a dog from a puppy so we can train it ourselves. For our family, that's the only dog we would consider.
I know lots of people who have wonderful rescue dogs, so I am not advocating against rescuing a dog at all. I am just saying that there are responsible breeders out there, and the story you posted seemed to be against breeding, which I am not.
I hope you will find a great rescue. I remember how hard it was for you when you lost Duffy. Dogs and prospective owners are matched much better nowadays by rescues and shelters. We are just thrice bitten and twice shy.