What are your thoughts?

http://www.cisionwire.com/loop-pr/campaign-set-to-send-puppy-farming-packing-

will become the UK's only website to showcase breeders who health test, rear their animals correctly and offer a lifetime back-up plan at the time of purchase.

Clearly Champdogs has not done enough to publicise what the members here do then :( or have I missed something?

What are your thoughts?

Hi Pat--I will start by saying I'm not a breeder and almost certainly never will be, for all the right reasons, but none of my dogs have been castrated and in my life I've only ever owned one neutered dog.

I am completely in sympathy with the wider principles expressed in the press release, but why start up yet another "new" service instead of reforming those that show take this on, like the KC and its accredited breeder scheme? Or recognising Champdogs' impact for that matter?

As I read the press release I felt real dismay. Had it been an article in the news I would have understood that newspapers want to sell their stories to the widest range of readers, but this is written by someone who has control of content. I think it sensationalises and confuses the average puppy buyer when the word "breeder" is used for everyone from the most scrupulous to the most irresponsible person.

All sorts of sites come up in response to a Google search for "ethical breeding"or "ethical dog breeder," but not this site. It comes up under intelligentfeeding.com, no idea why. IMO it is poorly designed and written (anyone care to campaign here for website accessibility issues for the visually impaired???)--and since when did "ethical breeding=safe pets?" Doesn't training have a weeny amount to do with it?

Some of the content appears to be lifted from US websites--does that mean this person also endorses spay/neuter contracts for all "pet" puppies sold? This is going too far and tries to legislate for all, irrespective of whether you are a responsible owner with the means to keep your dogs safe as much as for those whose dogs are (repeatedly) "accidentally" mated. 

It all sounds like a potential nightmare scenario. If I were a breeder I wouldn't subscribe to this site. In many cases the breed clubs are already doing the best job and they deserve credit for their work.

Have a look at ethicaldogbreeder.com, a US site--a map of all the states and you can click on to see which ethical breeders have registered. The content reads ok, even if the layout is dire--but guess how many breeders have registered: 0.

Sorry Debbie, this doesn't add anything of value--what we need is something called "safer owners."

I've had a look at the ethicalbreeding.com website too and there are a few things that struck me immediately.  Firstly, like JAY15, is the "ethical breeding = safer pets".  If only it was so simple.  As JAY15 points out, the owner has to share some of the responsibility for training.  Secondly, how/who is going to police the membership?  Will potential members be visited, provide 'references' from fellow ethical breeders, supply copies of health certs to the owner of the website etc.  Thirdly, they are happy to accept the breeders of crossbreeds onto their list as long as they have health tested parents and "a properly registered database of pedigrees".  To me, it sends out the wrong message.  Just my opinion :-)

> Clearly Champdogs has not done enough to publicise what the members here do.

I agree entirely.

So how would you publicise all the good things that the breeders listed on Champdogs do ?

Suggestions welcome.

Hi MarkR, I must be a relatively recent arrival to this forum, but as far as I can tell the fantastic pool of knowledge, skills and information that we have access to is second to none. I'm trying to remember how I got onto this site and have a feeling it was by sheer serendipity and a lot of hours spent looking online at some pretty poor sites.

Can we get some space in one of the dog papers/magazines for an article to promote what's happening here? I know some may turn up their noses at this idea, but a lot of prospective owners read these magazines and if they learn about the Champdogs site--what sort of resource it can offer for free as much as paid for services--it might go some way towards establishing CD as a first stop for information on all aspects of living with dogs.