BACK YARD BREEDER "BYB" - Page 6

Here in the US we call it analysis paralysis, Maxin LOL.

Maxin: Your disdain is evident. Is it difficult to walk without tripping with your nose always so high in the air? hehehe

Nearly every breeder in Germany qualifies as a BYB. Big, fancy complexes are nearly unheard of... Shelley

I agree with Jonah. I'm not a breeder so maybe I'm bias to yall, but I prefer to have house dogs regardless. Not a one of my dogs ever slept outside. So for me to see a run of kennels is a BYB. Sorry.

... let me rephrase that post above... not a one of my dogs ever slept outside without me. :o)~ We're avid outdoor living around here.

Nothing wrong with kennels. Some dogs can't get along with others. Many people rotate their dogs so they are sometimes in the house, sometimes in the kennel.

--- The one thing that I haven't seen mentioned here is a person who is breeding dogs and claims to be "improving" the breed, and never actually trains/titles their own dogs- whether raised from a puppy, or from their own breeding program... this is a person who obviously isn't improving the breed if they can't even produce a dog good enough to work/train/handle/title themselves... And if they keep selling all their puppies and never actually DO something worthwhile with their own dogs, that is just a waste!! They may be breeding titled dogs, and are "wizards" at the whole "pedigree" and "bloodline" BULLSHIT, but when it comes to proving WHAT they can actually produce, they fall short... Why??? Because it's all about the $$$$$. These a$$holes are not "breeders", they are "Puppy makers".... that's it!!! --- I would agree with this statement, and sometimes wonder about people who breed untitled dogs, and when asked "Why" they say "Because our Shepherds are EXCELLENT family PETS and we bred them for other's to enjoy" Who cares about titles, show ratings, OFA/Hips, it's all about the "GREAT PET" they've created. My Goodness, there are ENOUGH GSD's in this world that are "Just Pets"... look at the shelters and rescues, they are FULL of GSD puppies and adults (Yes, "Showlines" too) Honestly, in my opinion I don't think people should be allowed to breed, unless their goal is to IMPROVE The breed. There are way too many people out there breeding for money. They don't care about the puppies, or whether or not they are sound all around... they just care about the $$$... it's disgusting.

And I am sorry if I just came off as a total jerk. This topic just rubs me the wrong way. It's people like Hunte that just disgust me. Using dogs to make a living.

sincitygsd, What in the heck is wrong with you? You have no business saying things like that! There are a large number of people on this site that fit that description and they will be offended. When asked what they're trying to improve, you get brilliant answers like, temperment. Very few look at whether or not one line compliments or works against another. As a matter of fact, over half could not tell you which lines provide specific traits or qualities. But this is America and although we must censor anyone who we disagree with, we have the right to breed anything we want and lie to the unsuspecting about it's value.

Sincity- In my opinion, and that of many others whose opinions I respect, there isn't much I could do to improve the breed with the lines I employ i my breeding program. I haven't had a puppy with a disqualifying fault, or even a potential G rating, in years. Therefore, my main concern is to MAINTAIN the quality of the dogs I am producing for generations to come. To this end, I spend many hours every week researching what dogs are producing what for progeny with what other dogs, particularly as regards to my own bloodlines, the immediate and distant relations to my own dogs, and the progeny of those dogs. Its time-consuming, tedious, and sometimes frustrating when all the information I need is not readily available online. (Ex: few of the progeny of the dogs in my program and their relations are listed on this d/b, and I don;t really have time to enter them all, even if I DO discover the information I would enter.) This leaves me to have to try to contact the breeder of my dogs and ask him to forward updates on the progress of litters from them and their relations, not only in the US and Germany, but all over the world, as he exports many of his dogs to nearly every continent. Fortunately for me, he and the buyers of his dogs are very kind and conscientious about collecting this info and passing it back to me in a timely manner when requested. Further, I DO train and title some of the dogs I produce, and DO manage to get many of them into the hands of other trainers, giving me the distinct advantage of KNOWING where the strengths and weaknesses in my line lie, in order to plan for the future. Also, having trained and handled so many dogs from so many bloodlines myself, and witnessing the training of so many others over the past 20 yrs., and having friends and associates with like (or more) first-hand experience that they are willing to share with me, I like to think I have quite a bit of insight in that department at my disposal, where most "breeders" in this country do not. Further, not trusting my own decisions completely even with all that information and experience, I don't make many moves without extensive consultation with historically successful breeders both here and in Germany. Too many "breeders" I see posting on this list and others and discover online, (I ALWAYS go to the "About Us" page FIRST!) have only heresay gleaned from READING ABOUT the dogs in the pedigrees of their own dogs, often many times removed from personal experience, to rely on, leaving them more to guessing at the accuracy/potential success of their breeding decisions. (read: LUCK!) Yes, I am tooting my own horn here. But anyone who has one of my pups will likely support the value of dealing with someone with my experience, themselves enjoying the benefits of it on a daily basis. I was pretty much out of the dog breeding business for several years, now re-inventing my business (and it IS a business, as well as a labor of love) with little more than a few good dogs and what's in my head: a difficult process given all the competition in the market today. The good news? Most of that competition is made up of either people who are in it as a write-off against other earned income (read: tax write-off) or are trying to make some extra cash on the side by breeding inferior dogs and have all the sales skills and customer relation skills of a cockroach. The more one of my clients knows about GSD's, the better my chances of, and better my feelings about placing one of my precious dogs with them. BTW: I am STILL a BYB... but then, so are most of the finest breeders in the world! Sorry for going on so long on this thread, but this is a subject I am passionate about, just as I am passionate about the breed in general. Shelley