The reason for the passion AGAINST breeding "nice dogs"

[BostonRott]

You may wonder "who are these people to tell me not to breed my girl?? They haven't even met her!"

Perhaps a few explanations as to why people are so passionate about this breed and about only experienced and knowledgable people attempting to produce litters.

Back in the early 80's, very few people knew what a Rottweiler was. By that late 1980's / early 90's, there were 120,000 + Rottweilers being registered EACH YEAR with the AKC. This was a crisis for the breed. And those were only the registered dogs, not the unregistered, the half-breeds, etc. When this many dogs are being produced, people are not paying attention to health issues, to temperament, or to correct placement in good homes.

Now the problems start. Poorly bred dogs, dogs bred with health problems which cause intense pain............and these same dogs being placed in inexperienced homes. A breed meant to be strong, intelligent and head-strong, now combined with poor temperaments, painful structural and health problems.........combined with inexperienced and "incorrect" homes. Do you see the slippery slope?

The attacks started. The horrible headlines in the newspapers. The gut-wrenching stories on the television..........the reputation as "child killers" emerged. To this day, it still haunts us (us being Rottweiler owners). We fight breed specific legislation. We fight discrimination in home-owners insurance, discrimination by training facilities, therapy groups, etc.

A calm, strong, confident, intelligent, beautiful breed was competely destabilized, all because too many people thought "My dog is nice, I'll breed it."

Those on this board are the survivors of this problem. Those who rescue, those who actively fight the breed legislation, those who try to educate the public, and the breed novices. You'll find them all here. You'll also find true afficianados of the breed, breeders, competitors, those who have been in the breed since before the problems began.

Therefore, it is with all of this in mind, that one must look at WHY they are breeding their dogs, and if their dogs REALLY need to be bred. Does this dog have something to offer the breed? Structure? Conformation? Working temperament? Health? Or is this just a person's sentiment, wanting a "puppy out of my fabulous dog Fluffy?" Remember, that puppies out of Fluffy can sometimes be NOTHING like Fluffy, and breeding her will not promise you "another one." This point is proven time and again in the "great names" of the breed, who were in themselves, to die for.......yet they haven't produced one strong off-spring........one who matches, or surpasses themselves.

Before being bred a Rottweiler should have:

Proven conformation type and structure. This is done via showing.

Proven temperament. This is done via training and trialing, or actively working (therapy, SAR, etc).

Proven health. Hips, elbows (OFA ), Cardiac clearance via a board certified cardiologist (Cardiologists by State ) and registered with OFA, Eyes checked and cleared by a board certified opthamologist (CERF ).

All of this will take you time (years) and money. When this is complete, a suitable mate needs to be picked, and again, all the above criteria considered and met. Suitable homes need to be screened for, a contract in place, and good communication between breeder and buyer.

To forgo health and temperament is to invite disaster. As a breeder, you CAN be held responsible (in a lawsuit) for the action of the puppies you produce. Believe that the parents whose child was just mauled will be looking for all the $$ they can find.

What will you tell the buyers when they call you, heartbroken and in tears, that the puppy you sold them just dropped dead at 15 mos old. SAS. A congenital and fatal heart condition, present in this breed.

What will you tell the buyers when they ask what to do........Buddy needs $1500 worth of surgery to fix his hip. The other side will probably have to be done in less than a year. $3000. Either that, or tell their 8 and 10 year old kids that they must now take Buddy to the vet so he can be killed (put to sleep) because he's in too much pain.

What about a puppy who goes blind at age 5 from PRA?

Breeding is NOT about a cute litter of puppies in a box. It's about devotion, heartbreak, spending LOTS of money, losing lots of sleep, having patience with the ignorant, being accountable to 6-10 new lives, and their owners, for the duration of their life.

THIS is why people are so passionate about the breed, and breeding. Hopefully you can understand why some people, after years and years and years of going through the same parade of novice owners who "just want to have a nice litter," can at times, humanly, run out of patience.

I would ask that you strongly reconsider your desire to have a litter until you have many more years of experience in the breed, and time has been your invaluable instructor. Become part of the solution, learn, share what you've learned, continue to educate people about the breed. In 5 years, think about it again, and then see where your thoughts lie.