Backyard Breeders

[Barbara Monahan]

Why would a "backyard breeder" sell a labradoodle for half the cost of other breeders? Is there licensing invovled, or more fees etc? I am trying to figure this out as there are several update NY "backyard breeders" and not sure why they are selling their puppies for so much less. Thanks!!

[Lynda Kamrath]

Yes, yes, everyone!  A reputable breeder is definitely the way to go.  Health testing is imperative as everyone knows who has had a health problem with these adorable dogs.

Actually, in our area, breeding without a license is illegal.  If anyone advertises a puppy for sale (newspapers, signs, at a food or pet store), animal control will come to your house and ask to see your license (when they have the time).  If you have puppies for sale and no license you will get a "fix it ticket" which requires the parent animal to be spayed to fix the ticket.  This happened to a neighbor of mine.  All pets should be neutered or spayed and that is the message here in Monterey County.  I think that is why many breeders are "fixing" their puppies before they even leave the facility.  If not, they sometimes have a stipulation that the spaying for neutering needs to be done before you can register your dog.  Some 'ignorant" people ignore that and figure they can do what they want with the dog they purchased, but hopefully they will not to try to sell a puppy that comes from this type of backyard breeding.  It's all about education.  Tell everybody you meet who has questions about why these dogs are so expensive when you could just breed your own.

[Barbara Monahan]

Thanks for all the feedback! I am still confused though. If we don't plan to breed our dog and we aren't concerned about agility,  etc. and just like the look and temperment of a labradoodle...why is the genetic testing expenses necessary and what will it help "rule out"? If it is not a purebred breading with a purebred of the same type, isn't there limited genetic issues? Is it similar to a mutt of sorts? I should have paid attention in school more when this was discussed!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Although there is such a thing as hybrid vigor there are many genetic diseases or predispositions labs and poodles share. Testing does't totally eliminate the possibility of disease but it does eliminate certain retinal problems for instance. Hip dysphasia, Addison's disease and other things are serious, debilitating and costly. Hip dysphasia for instance can hobble a dog and is painful even if a dog never does agility. So testing, to my mind is viral to lessen the chances of your puppy becoming ill.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

As F mentioned, there are many of the same genetic diseases in Labs (or Goldens) as in Poodles, so the fact that the parents are of two different breeds offers no protection against these genetic diseases being passed to the offspring. The likelihood is just as great as it would be with two Labs or with two Poodles. Hip Dysplasia is the same disease in a Lab as it is in a Poodle. 

Also, there has to be a reason for choosing to breed a particular dog. There is no shortage of dogs in the world. Only the healthiest, soundest, best tempered dogs should be bred. It is irresponsible to indiscriminately breed untested dogs, and equally irresponsible to knowingly support such breeding. 

Please read What to Look for in a Breeder  for some info and guidelines. :-)

[Lynda Kamrath]

You may very well get a great dog and be very satisfied with him/her.  However, you may also get a pup with some genetic problems and, as anyone who has had these types of problems can tell you, it is just not worth it.  Backyard breeders are people who think they can breed dogs without doing all the types of testing that a "real" breeder does.  Just not worth the risk.  A good breeder will remove any dog that shows any kind of problem from his/her breeding stock so as not to perpetuate the problem.  Even though you don't plan to breed your pet or need certain skills, you absolutely want a healthy animal.  Use the time now to get the right dog and you won't be paying the difference in the future.

[Adina P]

I would imagine that you would want a healthy dog of good temperament as much as someone who wants to do agility or other dog sports.  Genetic testing can't rule out everything because there is not a genetic test for everything.  But if a breeder does do complete health testing (including genetic tests) to rule out hereditary diseases in their parent dogs, then it is far more likely they have also looked at the lines they are breeding and researched the health background of those lines (to rule out things testing can't detect).  Those who do no health testing have very likely also not looked into the lines they are breeding and probably got their breeding dogs from someone who also had not done so as well--just perpetuating poor breeding.  Karen, can you post, again (sorry I keep forgetting to save it) a link to that website that shows you the common diseases found in each breed and recommendations for breeding?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Your wish is my command:

http://ic.upei.ca/cidd/

If you look at the breeds, you can see how many genetic diseases are common to all of the parent breeds in doodles.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And the section on Responsible Breeding is worth looking at, too: 

http://ic.upei.ca/cidd/responsible-breeding

I also hope that people will think about the ethics of breeding untested dogs; even if you get a healthy dog from a BYB or a puppy mill, there are ethical and moral issues involved in supporting that kind of breeding.  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

This might help explain it.  We have an English Springer Spaniel that we purchased from a backyard breeder.  He is papered and pure bred and GORGEOUS.  However he has major separation anxiety - since puppyhood and we cannot leave him alone.  He has torn both CCLs (ACL in humans) and the surgeries were $4,000 apiece. He has had several 'fatty tumors' removed.  He developed a serious skin condition last June that caused him to  develop bursting cysts and lose much of the hair on his torso - until we took him to a specialist. With the specialist's treatment, he appears to have recovered, although her treatments may have just bandaided what is really wrong.  If he begins this again, we are looking at allergy testing and testing for Cushings Disease with life-long medication.  More expense.... We love him to death but he has cost us lots of money, we have had to adjust our lifestyle to his anxiety.  Also, most Springers are high-energy as puppies but they settle down as adults into active but not hyperactive - not ours!  He is as hyper as a puppy and he is nine. 

What if I hadn't neutered him and, because he is 'gorgeous' (IMO), I decided to breed him?  Think of all the health problems he would be passing down to his offspring? If I charged half price would you want to buy a puppy?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Joyce, breeder recommendation and reviews are not permitted here in the forum. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, there are specific groups for people who got a dog from a particular breeder, but it is not allowed elsewhere. 

DK Guidelines

Reviews of individual breeders do NOT belong in the main forum, blogs or groups or any public area of DK.  If you want to recommend your breeder, you may do so in our Owner Recommended Breeders group or invite your breeder to post an ad in our puppy sales groups (mentioned below) or make the recommendation privately (on a member's profile page or by private message). If you are seeking information on an individual breeder, please ask for private responses.

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/notes/Community_Guidelines#ixzz2TsvrMCNb