Brainless,
This is basically what I was originally getting at, there are so many people who think that as the dog is to be only a pet the health and breeding criteria don't really apply.  What they don't really seem to understand is that every pet owner deserves a healthy dog with a good temperament and sound construction, these aren't just things that someone who works/shows/breeds should be interested in - all pet owners deserve that too, but there are many willing to persuade them otherwise, usually with a very plausible excuse as to why the dog doesn't need all that :(

For those who seem to think that being "only a pet" is being attacked, my own position is - I occasionally show my dog and if I were ever to breed a litter, I would want the pups to go to people as pets first and last, if they were good enough for showing, I would be delighted to see them being shown, but I would want them in pet homes with at least one person home most of the time, or be able to go to (outdoor)work with them.  I would not want to see them kennelled or alone most of the day.

Yep my view exactly, why should the owner wanting a pedigree dog by the fireside not get what they paid for a typical, bred with utmost care to limit chance of hereditary defects, good natured dog of the desired breed :D  Correctly nurtured to fulfil the role of comapnaionwhich it will be for most of it' life regardless of if it works, or competes at shows.

My five are family companions, and only the youngest 3 are now shown, (the older of these two alternating shows) so none do more than 15 - 20 shows a year, leaving 345 to 350 days of the year to enjoy being members of my family.  The oldest two live in happy returement with maybe an outing in Veteran once or twice a year.

My puppy agreement states: "I hope your puppy will be a valued member of your family for a long happy healthy lifetime." 

It is also sad that cynical puppy farmers and producers of poor quality pedigree pups count on the fact that the owners will verty quickly bond with and love their dogs no matter how untypical or how many health or temperament problems they have.  As these people are unlikley to be repeat customesrs, (which wouldn't worry them anyway as average petr owner may only buy a dog every 12 years or so) then it soesn't worry them.  If they have to give a refund for the odd pup, weol int the grand scheme of things they still win, as they have plenty being sold to absorb that, and if pup is given back thennit will either be bred from (if if sexually mature) or sold again, as a pet or potential puppy factory to ohter like puppy producers.

It is similar to the pricing of shop goods where allowance is reckoned in for spoilage.

A litter of pups should be reared with lots of Love and time.  I wonder how some breeders manage it physically as breeding one litter a year (last year two as didn't breed year before) and I am shattered, and these were small litters.

I think because you have dogs with different roles it's totally appropriate.  All your dogs are pets, but some have the added role of working - so the one who has only one role is only a pet.  Not as an apology, but because that's his main thing.  The others are pets AND something else.

I can see the logic of this use of the word only - it's just that the world has put such a derogatory meaning to it.

Wendy

well my pet doesnt know about being on duty 24hrs a day nobody told him that as he sleeps wherever he chooses for about 22 hours a dy. If he chooses to lie under computer table we cant go on the computer if he lies in the way of the living room door then we are all trapped in the living room!! Max lives the life of riley and I would happily swap roles with him!!!! He is only a pet and a blimming happy one!!

Hi Dill
I have read most of this thread and i still find it insulting, i am one of those people who just wanted a pet, now all the things that you said are true, health, temprament ect except for the look.
Tell me what would breeders do with pups that didn't live up to breed standard if us 'just pet owners' didn't buy them? Would they be pts?
My bullmastiff doesn't look like a bullem, i wouldn't be able to breed from her or show her, but it doesn't matter because they weren't the reasons we bought her.
My lab isn't kc reg but she is the most fantastic, well behaved, lovely, loyal dog that i could ever wish for.
Both of my dogs are loved and cared for and they have a great life with my family and myself.

When we bought our lab i wanted a dog striaght away, as wrong or right as you may think this is we bought her a week after deciding for sure that we were going to get a dog, at the time the only thing that i was really sure of was that i wanted a dog that had been born in a house (not a kennel in someones back garden) with children and that i could see the dam and the litter mates and that we got a bitch. And i am so pleased that we done it this way with her.
I have to be honest and say when we bought our bullem i was a bit more careful, i had read and taken on board what a lot of people had said on this board but her 'look' didn't bother me.
We just have to except in life that everyone has different needs, some want to breed, some to show, some to have pets and some who do all 3 but that doesn't make any of us wrong or bad dog owners, the people that really need to be critised are the puppy farmers and the real back yard breeders. Also the people who beat and abuse their animals, there are far worse people out there than us mere 'just pet owners'.

Debbie

I think you're missing the point, Debbie. There is nothing wrong with a dog being a pet!! As I understand the thread, it is a grumble about the way (as Brainless confirms) puppy farmers etc are happy deliberately to breed sub-standard pups, not KC reg them but use DLRC to fool the gullible, on the basis that they aren't to be bred or shown because they are "only" pets - implying that they aren't quality. Of course the show-quality pups should have homes where they are pets, and the huge majority do. They are pets - companions if you prefer.

What annoys many people is the way many people (on this forum) ask for details of puppies, and say "it doesn't matter what it looks like, it's "only" going to be a pet". That's playing right into the hands of the puppy farmers! It's saying "I'm not looking for anything good".

Is this why many owners sound as if they despise their pet, by running him down ("he's 'only' a pet") instead of being proud of him?

Jeangenie,

"What annoys many people is the way many people (on this forum) ask for details of puppies, and say "it doesn't matter what it looks like, it's "only" going to be a pet". That's playing right into the hands of the puppy farmers! It's saying "I'm not looking for anything good".

Agree with you -- looks are important in "only a pet" too.   After all, if someone does not want their dog to look like a specific breed, why not adopt a mixed breed or mongrel?   I have a Cairn and once and a while check out a public forum on a national club website in the U.S.   Pet stores are where most people still seem to buy pure bred (supposedly) dogs, unfortunately.   I am amazed at the number of posts which are along the lines of ... "I bought a Cairn, but it does not really look like one."   They all say they love their dogs, which is great, but each and every one of them is disappointed.

Stacey

Stacey I agree.  any breeder that breeds from Good stock will have all the pups looking like typical examples of the chosen bred.  Only those of us who have studied the breed standard would be able to tell that maybe the earset could be higher/lower, the tail too, the back a little shorter, then angles better or more balnaced etc, or int those breeds with a set height/weight a pup that turned out a bit over or under.

In breeds where mismarked puppies are born then I eould expect these to be offered at a SLIGHTLY reduced fee, as they would still make excellent pets but wouldn't be quite how the breed should look.  I was looking for a Boston Terrier for my freinds, and they were given the option of having a white headed one for £50 less than the acceptably marked one, but they wanted a Boston that looked like the classic Boston.  The dog looks very typical to me, but to a breed specialist may or may not be show material.  He is a Pet (no ONLY/Just about it :D ).  He comes from one of the top Kennels in the4 breed, even though they wanted him solely as a Companion.  but his parents had been tested for Hereditary Cataracts,a dn they had the backup iof the breedder with any little problems.  He is now 7 years old and still gets a Christmas Card.

I understand the thread too, but was one of the owners who took it to heart too, i bought my little rosie after waiting 2 years till i found her , i didnt want a westie to show and certainly not breed, she was to be my companion as my children have grown up, she lives the life of riley too, sleeps when she wants plays when she wants , in fact she is spoilt rotten... and that was the reason i got her , she has champions in her pedigree , perfect specimen of a westie , beautiful looking would be perfect to breed or show , but i too did say  to many ppl who asked no she is only a pet /companion....  what i should have said maybe is she is my baby....lol....

But why the "only"? Why not proudly say she's your pet (or companion)? That one word makes all the difference (especially in writing) in the impression given.

I think your rite, the more i think about it i dont usually say oh she is only a pet !!!
because everyone knows i call her my puppet... whatever we call our four legged friends , we all know what they really mean to us , and how we feel when we lose one of them after many years of happiness together , i dont think anyone of us would turn round and say oh he/she was only a pet , and i know how i would react if anyone else did too

..

nobody is running there pet down! 

only means he/she does nothing more besides being a pet, eg work show or breed

j 

Thanks tohme, but the point I was trying to make was, that it turned out my pup (adult now) cannot be used as a working dog as the breeders wanted, because she has so many health problems, and the breeder used the term "oh, you only want her for a pet" made me angry. If I or a "working dog owner" had returned her back to the breeder she would have been PTS.  And I haven't said working your dog is not equate to not caring for it, loving or enjoying. I just feel so sorry for the dogs who are left shut up for hours on end, not having any company and are never walked, are these the ones that are type cast as "only a pet" by some breeders.

When we got our shih-tzu Lulu we really did not go the right way about it.  We had been thinking about a dog for a while (possibly a shih-tzu) after having cats for about 12 yrs. It was my birthday and my husband saw them advertised in the paper. He went along and she was the last one of the litter because one eye was showing a lot of white and the pupil tends to be red. He bought her home in a cardboard carrier. We had nothing for her. No bed. food etc. She was a bundle of fluff. We went out immediatly with a list of things she needed . The breeder had sent some food with her to see her over and she couldn't have been more helpfull. She didn't charge the same fee as the rest of the litter because of this imperfection she had. I sent her a photgraph of Lulu when she was a year old which she replied and thanked me for. We had her for a year and decided to get her a companion another shih-tzu Cassie. I would advise anyone to get one this way as it is a bit irrisponsible but I have never looked back. I am sure I will always say that they are only pets, but to me thats the biggest compliment I could give them. They are the best.

Could we not just say "s/he's a much loved member of the family?"

Well I do, and the little girls refer to our dog as their " hairy brother" - or used to till their human brother started shaving seriously and now they call the dog their " good brother" :)

Well I refer to my dog as all sorts of things but if I was to say 'no he's only a pet' to someone I really am not going to lose sleep over it and I'm sure the dog wont be hurt for too long he'll get over it :rolleyes: