| Pearl George, one of our most respected Papillon breeders, wrote the following in response to a series of posts about Responsible Breeding. Please read it carefully if you are considering breeding - these words of wisdom are not to be discarded lightly. All points are equal in value. Responsible Breeder's Guidelines: Charlotte mentioned the lack of education from the 'older' breeders so at the risk of 'dating myself', and probably being boring, I will mention a few things that I was taught when I started in the breed in 1967. Remember, at that time hardly anyone knew what a Papillon was and the PCA membership was, as I remember, around 150. - IF you breed a litter make sure that you have the room, and time, to keep every puppy until it dies just in case you can not find the correct home for those you do not want to keep for the breeding program.
- Always make sure you have room for a returned puppy, or adult, if needed.
- Have the courage to humanly put to sleep any defective puppy that would not make a 'Healthy Pet'. I was taught that you do not pass 'your' problems on to other people.
- That the only reason to breed was the preservation of the breed in its most ideal form and to establish a line of quality dogs that you, as a breeder, whether they went as pets or show prospects, could be proud of.
- To run puppies on until a minimum of 3 months of age, 6 months for a show prospect. The reason given was that a breeder needed to keep their best for the establishment of their line and because it was considered unsafe to allow a novice to have a baby puppy under 3 months of age. I found both reasons to be eminently sensible.
- That one never bred a litter unless you were wanting something for yourself from that litter. You may, or may not, get what you want but you should at least hope for something to keep.
- That one did not sell to other breeders anything that, given space, time, and a use for, you would not consider keeping for yourself. One should not have the attitude (and I have seen it) that it was not good enough for you but it was 'breedable' so could be sold to a new, would be, breeder.
- To place older dogs and bitches into quality pet homes when they are around 5 or 6 years old unless you planned on keeping them until nature decreed they leave. Unless you did this you would end up with a large group of geriatric dogs and have neither the room nor the time for the future generations that were needed to maintain a quality breeding program.
- (Today some breeders seem to feel that they need to keep a bitch, and keep breeding her, until she is 9 or 10 years of age so that they can try to get a DOD on her and I find that rather sad when the bitch, after having given the owner quality puppies, could be living her life out as a beloved and appreciated pet.)
- That one had to learn about the dogs in the pedigrees you were working with. That to be a quality breeder one needed to be able to look at a pedigree and see the dogs in your mind and not just the names.
- To remember that when you breed it is the genes that are passed and not the dogs show record. That even breeding the best dog and the best bitch in the breed together, if they do not complement each other, can produce poor quality pets.
- That one should never forget our breeds heritage and when we had them in public, anywhere, they should be sparkling clean as befitted their illustrious lineage.
- That we, as owners, should compliment our dogs in our attire and manner. This was considered especially important when at dog shows. I was told that the owner (and in those days nearly everyone was an owner handler) should look like the owner of a 'special dog' and never like the kennel help.
One thing I do miss was the consideration given to language in those earlier days. Woe to the man who used inappropriate language in the presence of 'the ladies and children present'! As Professor Higgins (My Fair Lady) would say - " using language that would make a sailor blush" <g>. Sadly it is not just the men who I hear using 'blush' language. Am I just 'Old Fashioned' or do other members find the use of inappropriate language at the shows offensive? Now that this subject of education has come up I would like to ask our breeders: What did you learn after you started breeding and showing that you wish you had been told before you started? Pearl George Kvar Papillons California (c) March 15, 2003 | |
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