Quote:
Originally Posted by howdy20012002
If your true breeders don't do it for the money why aren't they giving their puppies away???
lets be honest, unless it was a mistake, ultimately everyone breeds for money..or in some cases the prestige i guess they feel they get from the dog shows.
Which off course, if they do well at, the puppies they sell will be worth all the more.
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Well, I can't really speak with authority for most breeds, and Border Collies don't quite fit into normal criteria. A good breeder for my breed only breeds proven parents, those that place well in sheepdog trials, or work full time on a farm with stock. And usually when these breedings happen, it's to obtain their next working dog, with the rest sold to other handlers. And a PB Border Collie from proven parents can be found for $500 or less, so not a lot of money above costs.
We don't have a breed standard for physical traits, only the requirement to be able to work sheep well, which is a rather unique thing for BCs and we want to preserve.
Yes, some "show" barbie collies get produced, and sport dogs as well, often for a lot more money. But the true breeders don't do it for profit, they do it for love of the breed.
And to address your supply/demand question, if people refused to buy bulk rate puppies, the supply of quality pups would go up. Unfortunaely there will always be a profit factor, and my perfect world scenario will never come to be, but it's something to strive for, rather than just going with the flow.
There are people on my side, people on your side, and people on the fence. It's the fence sitters I'm hoping to influence, to at least slow the damage being done now. Ultimately, more and more breeds will vanish, or lose the ability to do what they were originally meant to do. For Border Collies, we strive to maintain the instinct to work with a handler in managing livestock.