#breed discourse

[penatola]

Going to look into joining a local group to decriminalize owning pitbulls & mixes in my area.

fucked up they are considered a "wild and exotic animal" akin to literal bears and hippos.

"theyre soooo dangerous" stfu

[talesfromtreatment]

Hi! Re: your answer and replies on the backyard/ethical dog breeding post, I was wondering what you think of initiatives like the Functional Dog Collective, whose breeders tend to have high standards for health/temperament testing etc and have specific goals for each litter (and do things like take puppies back if needed), but do make breed mixes or mutts. Is that sort of breeding an exception to your no-mutts rule?

If they are trying to better an existing breed by breeding out heritable conditions or giving them functional faces and hips/elbows, OR they are are trying to create better working dogs, I’m okay with it.

We have plenty of cute fluffy lap-dog mutts being created without it being even more on purpose. You can go on craigslist and buy a puppy (and get some free parvo!) that is just about any combination of various small breeds. If you are creating the small fluff-mutt by trying to give shih-tzus a face again, I’m not actively against that. If you’re making it to ‘be cute’ then I have A Problem.

I would say, based on a cursory glance, that these are not people I would have issues with. But they are, again, in the minority of people who intentionally create cross-breeds. I’m glad they exist, but they should not be used as a cover or excuse for the craigslist ‘breeders’.

Also as a reminder:

I am a *vet tech*. I have worked in private practice, dealing first hand with typical on-purpose mutt breeding (including rescuing an 8 yr old chi in dystocia who was purposefully bred to a yorkie to make money, and also taking on the hydrocephalic shih-tzu/chi that was again bred because the dogs were ‘cute’ and would ‘make cute puppies’) and I also work at a shelter that specifically rescues puppies from rural shelters that would otherwise be euthanised. There are SO MANY PUPPIES IN THE WORLD ALREADY.

Lulu is judgemental of the people who breed mutts just for cuteness.