Met someone today, who has moved into a street near me. 

They have.... a Bedlington dog (from a greeder who claims to work them, but doesn't and doesn't test -  no need!)  the dog is nervous, as are all dogs from this greeder

it was 2 minutes before the suggestion was made "We should breed them"     2 MINUTES!!!!!!

And this from someone who doesn't even know how to groom a dog properly.

Tongue half bitten off

If anyone else talks about dog breeding to me I might just throw up

I hear you! In the past five days I've had 3 people ask to breed with our Caucasin Ovcharka rescue boy and one was at the set of traffic lights because they had spotted him in the back of my car! One was an Alaskan malamute bitch (cringe!), the second an Akita bitch (double cringe) and the traffic lights guy was a Rottweiler bitch!

My favourite ever time was when I took my ancient westie lad for a walk and a lady with a shih tzu bitch IN HEAT asked if she could breed to him. I stared her right in the eye and said if she was interest in having Wetshihts I could give her the number of a local takeaway which would almost guarantee them.

That was naughty but I couldn't help myself. Just keep smiling :)

>if she was interest in having Wetshihts I could give her the number of a local takeaway

Coffee all over the screen LOL

I'm trying to stay calm.  If I can just help him to groom his dog properly I'll be happy.

Another gripe - everyone wants a coated dog, but no-one is happy with the price of their groomer - grrrrr

My answer to that is " if they think their groomer is expensive, they can't afford me" ;-)

I stared her right in the eye and said if she was interest in having Wetshihts I could give her the number of a local takeaway which would almost guarantee them.

LOL that made my day -brilliant!

My gripe is why did they buy a coated breed and then pay the groomer to clip it all off! I shouldn't complain as it keeps me in business, but it is a bit depressing to have an endless succession of cockers / shih tzus etc coming in nice and fluffy and going out bald. I know it's easier maintenance, particularly out here in the countryside, but still! I think my worst whinge are the daxies - I have several w/h and a l/h who come in regularly to be clipped off short - why did they not buy a smooth coat?????

I've been pursued by owners with bitches in season, they see me with my breed and think
" ah I've heard of Cava***** ( select any breed ) ...kerching!!"

Ironically I met a lovely old couple with a 16 month cavalier who they loved to bits.
I was saddened to hear all the old chestnuts being dragged up though...
" we have him clipped right off...told we HAD to ...don't we?" He looked like a Beagle.

" told they should STUD HIM OUT"
told he was a prize specimen worth "£300 a studding coz of all his pedigree"
" don't need health tests coz he's not a show dog"

Do they issue these people with a book of this stuff?
Actually these old folk were rather relieved when I said they don't have to do all that and it may be better if they don't.

" don't need health tests coz he's not a show dog"

Really beats me how these people think. Do they never even consider the fact that a pet needs to be healthy? Have they never come across a litter where a pup has been kept by the breeder, or sold on for all that, for showing, and the rest have gone as pets? Does the showring automatically make them ill, the moment they enter it?

When I went on holliday with my girl we were sitting outside the club house and a lady came out who I think had had a few too many drinks. She was going on about how my girl was a mini husky
'is that a miniature husky'
'No its a vallhund'
'Yeah that's a miniature huskey'
'Yeah fine its a mini husky'
Well after me telling her my girl would say hello a few times she wandered off to another table that had a westy and I could hear her saying how its a pretty girl and she should go breed it to that handsome miniature husky over there.

Really beats me how these people think. Do they never even consider the fact that a pet needs to be healthy?

They normaly give the same excuse for not testing of 'there just pets' as if pet dogs are worth less than show dogs. One advert I saw for a litter from a breeder once listed a long list of all the breed health tests that they didn't do as there dogs are not show dogs and there puppies are just pets.

" don't need health tests coz he's not a show dog"


Yes, and these pet owners will be the first to scream about their dog if it all hits the fan eh.   Clearly by far the majority of puppies a show-breeder produces will go as pets first (and even my show dogs I regarded as pets first!!).  I have no idea how to stop all this nonsense, other than keep banging the drum and hope that some of it lands on receptive ears - education.

I just have to add sometimes entering the show ring used to make ME ill!!!

One advert I saw for a litter from a breeder once listed a long list of all the breed health tests that they didn't do as there dogs are not show dogs and there puppies are just pets.

Talk about deluded. :( There must be SO many stupid people out there though, to believe it. Doesn't anyone have common sense any more? It's like saying your car doesn't need an MOT unless it is a racing car.

My dogs have always been as pets as I've never wanted to go into showing. However they have always been from health testing breeders.

My criteria is
Health tested parents and ancestors
Temperament
KC reg
Good caring breeders
Dog looking like the breed it is supposed to be

Pretty much in that order although temperament is hugely important to me.

The current dog is very pretty and I've often been stopped when out on walks as people want to make a fuss of her and ask me where I got her from. Often when I tell them about her breeders and go on about health tests/temperament and so on, I get the same old thing, oh, I only want one as a pet, don't bother with all that malarkey. It is really odd. I have followed that up with, don't you want a healthy pet then, and have been met by confused stares or someone going on about hybrid vigour.
That tv program more or less condemning all pedigree dogs, has a lot to answer for.

PS. Tried to break up the longer post into bite sized chunks. :-)

Actually I get that al the time no matter how many times you tell them they are NORWEGIAN ELKHOUNDS, they stage whisper husky's.  Y

You'd think with 6 of them I'd know what they are!! ;)

Unfortunately the current fashion around here is for various sled dog/spitz/GSD crosses.

I had someone stop me last weekend asking if they could mate their 'American bully stud' to my bulldog.

Their face when I suggested they take a quick look under my dog was a picture, even though mine doesn't have his 'obvious' boy bits, he still has male anatomy underneath:)

'Oh, I thought all dogs that ain't got any balls are girls' was the answer. I think these people have never heard of neutering...

Talk about deluded. :-( There must be SO many stupid people out there though, to believe it. Doesn't anyone have common sense any more? It's like saying your car doesn't need an MOT unless it is a racing car.

It's a wonder they sell any as most pet people I meet who are talking about breeding dont even know about health testing and think it's just a vet check up. So there this breeder is actualy telling everyone what tests should be done and they still sell them.

I think vets need to be doing something to educate the public about heath testing, ok yes it wont help first time owners who have never been to the vets befor getting there new puppy but it will help the people who habe allready been in there with other pets. One of my vets has a tiny A4 letter up that assured breeders get a 20% discount on bva/kc health tests and that's it. Unless you went up to the board to read stuff you wouldn't see it. They need a big poster in the window saying that if your planning to get a puppy make sure the parents have been tested for hereditary health problems not just a heth check. It could habe a photo of cute puppies to get people attention and list the different test types like DNA Testing, eye testing, hip/elbow scoring. Then a line like wether a pet or not TEST.

Actually I get that al the time no matter how many times you tell them they are NORWEGIAN ELKHOUNDS, they stage whisper husky's.  Y
You'd think with 6 of them I'd know what they are!! ;-)
Unfortunately the current fashion around here is for various sled dog/spitz/GSD crosses.

Lol. Best I've had is 'is that a badger?' I should say she is a teacup huskey I could make a fortune
All though saying that it seems like half of owners don't actualy know what they have, look at all the doodle owners who think they have a pure breed, or the wolfdog owners who dogs dont habe any wolf in them, some do habe propper wolfdog hybrids normaly well below f4but but the majority of either the husky/spitz/gsd crosses (taskmans, utlongs, British Inuit etc) chezeslavican wolfdog/sarlouses wolfhund crosses, both thks breeds had wolf added when making them God known how long ago there now accepted as breeds of dog.

I think vets need to be doing something to educate the public about heath testing, ok yes it wont help first time owners who have never been to the vets befor getting there new puppy but it will help the people who habe allready been in there with other pets.

I agree. I also would like all vets to NOT allow adverts in their reception area if it does not state the parents have been health tested, and with what result. The trouble is, I think many vets themselves don't have a clue about it all! Maybe the KC ought to organise a seminar for VETS and their staff, all about health testing before breeding!

I recently had one of my dogs hip scored. Long story but the young vet who did the x-ray said one hip looked bad, and asked if we definitely wanted to send off the plates for scoring. I said OF COURSE I do!!! I also pointed out that as an Assured Breeder, I would not be allowed to register puppies from this dog had he not been scored. She simply replied that well many people would rather not know than get a bad score. I think it is utterly wrong for a vet to ever suggest such a thing -if some people request for plates to not be sent off the vet should decline, and they certainly should not mention it to start with. The joke of it all is, after waiting more than 8 weeks, this dog's score came back as 4/8 so hardly a disaster anyway.........

A colleague has a Goldie and they were talking about 'studding' him, they went and got him neutered as they said they didn't want to add to the rescue population and then as they walked out of the vets a lady with a Goldie bitch walked past and asked to use him, they said they were gutted that they'd had him done after that.

Thank The Lord they have.... Despair beyond belief what some people do and ask.

If any random asks me mine are neutered.. Due to the amount of fur you can't easily see my male is entire.

>If any random asks me mine are neutered

Same here,  and with bitches,  it's only when they're in season anyone would in know different.

I spent a very entertaining time at PAH when my youngest was a pup (only there for socialising)

Person comes in,  and knowledgeably identifies my dog as a Bedlington (give her a lollipop! ) then proceeds to tell me that you get Bedlington puppies by breeding them to whippets.   

You mean Lurchers,  say I.   

No no,  Bedlingtons.  

Eh ? ??    

You can only get Bedlingtons by breeding them with Whippets (said slowly cos clearly I'm thick)

Ok,  so where do you get the Bedlingtons from to breed to the Whippets?   

Well from the Bedlingtons of course.  

But that's a crossbreed,  a lurcher.  

Nooooo.   It's a Bedlington,  that's how you get them ( shaking her head, walks away from the idiot,  who owns a Bedlington and has no idea how they are made)

And that's still better than the poodle conversation wherein I was reliably informed that Bedlingtons are purebred poodles with a different haircut!

Yes,  there are an awful lot of really dumb people about.   They are just really hard to spot,  till they open their mouths.

> When I went on holliday with my girl we were sitting outside the club house and a lady came out who I think had had a few too many drinks. She was going on about how my girl was a mini husky
>'is that a miniature husky'
>'No its a vallhund'
>'Yeah that's a miniature huskey'
>'Yeah fine its a mini husky'
>Well after me telling her my girl would say hello a few times she wandered off to another table that had a westy and I could hear her saying how its a pretty girl and she should go breed it to that handsome miniature husky over there.

Reminds me of a time when Remy (my fawn dobe) was about a year old.  I had this woman arguing with me, absolutely adamant that he was a weimeraner.

I ended up pointing and rather tersely and loudly saying as he was walking away from us, 'Look at his arse!  See that tan there?  He's a dobermann!'  She did at least have the grace to admit she was wrong at that point :-P

Well this thread has been good for a laugh for sure. :) :)

We have been reliably informed that our Flatcoat boy is a Golden Retriever - a black version.

On several occasions he has also been confidently identified as a 'Black Red Setter' - of which you don't see many, apparently.

Wherever would we be without such wisdom from strangers ?!?

LOL a Black Golden or a Black Red -that makes sense, NOT! It reminds me of many moons ago when I was involved in fancy rats. There is a variety called Irish. Over in the US, they misunderstood the breed standard for the Irish when doing their own version of the breed standards. Once the mistake was realised, they didn't want to change their standard as some breeders had developed good "Irish" according to the US standard, and hence they added a new breed standard, identical to the UK one. So what did they call the original version of an Irish? Well, an ENGLISH Irish of course!

I've been told several times that my black-and-white Cocker spaniel is a Clumber spaniel.

That's when I haven't been asked what breed he is (he's a show-type, and there are lots of working types round about, but still ...).

My Bernese are Newfies, Pyrenean (Yeh right...rolled in some black paint did it ??), St Bernards (OH look its Beethoven !!) Big collie crosses (Blimey thats a big collie , whats it cross with ... "You maybe "..) Long haired Rotties, to name a few suggestions. Though the worst has to be " OOOhh BerMese..I love them always wanted one of them BerMese !!
I have 2 and am often told  "you should mate them two, the pups would be worth loads " Yes OK its mother and daughter !!!!
If I announce I have pups due you can see the eyes flicker then the very rude question " How much do you sell them for then ? Must make a fortune " Even those I walk with regularly think I am raking in a small fortune (one litter in 18 months ).
I am educating them slowly ;-)
Aileen

Well I had the nicest one when a wee boy shouted at the top of his voice whilst pointing at my white, longhaired GSD , " look !, it's Santa's dog ! " lol.

I have one Papillon bitch (breed usually known as Papillion anywhere but at proper shows) who is too small to safely be bred from, and she is also very, very shy and has been all her life. Hence she's been spayed. Yet a friend of mine pointed out that of course there was no problem that she was small, I should simply mate her to a Chihuahua. Worst part of it is that the person in question was breeding dogs themselves. :(

my white, longhaired GSD , " look !, it's Santa's dog !

He will probably have been watching "Santa Paws" on DVD, where the main character is played by a Pyrenean Mountain Dog puppy. :)

LOL :-)

A couple of years ago we were out walking in a new spot about 30 miles from home and came across a couple with a bitch of the same breed as mine...exchanged about a minutes' worth of pleasantries before the husband barked out "and get her address so we can mate our xxx to that dog!"

Erm....no.

I had a GSD puppy, still being carried in public as the vaccinations had not been completed. I was asked if she was a 'miniature' GSD, bred like the designer tea cup dogs for a small size.
I said Yes because I really couldn't be bothered to tell them she was a just a small young puppy, I treated ignorance with ignorance. They said I bet he cost a pretty penny as a designer dog !!!!!

completely agree Goldmali. You would think with all the people breeding there pets the vets would want to cash in on charging for the health tests. My works vet hold clinics once a month for eye testing and I think another day for heart stuff with the specialists, so they would get extra money and could then use the fact they have the clinics to attract more customers.

I was told the same thing whem I had my girl hip scored, although my vet knew I didn't plan to breed her at that point and wanted to have her back legs, back and hips x rayed to make sure she was good to do flyball so thought I might as well get her scored too so that may be why he said it with me. He said to waite to see what her hips looked like and if they were bad no point in me paying to send them off.

Reminds me of a time when Remy (my fawn dobe) was about a year old.  I had this woman arguing with me, absolutely adamant that he was a weimeraner.
I ended up pointing and rather tersely and loudly saying as he was walking away from us, 'Look at his arse!  See that tan there?  He's a dobermann!'  She did at least have the grace to admit she was wrong at that point :-p

Lol I bet when the saw a weimeraner after that they checked its butt for tan

It reminds me of many moons ago when I was involved in fancy rats. There is a variety called Irish. Over in the US, they misunderstood the breed standard for the Irish when doing their own version of the breed standards. Once the mistake was realised, they didn't want to change their standard as some breeders had developed good "Irish" according to the US standard, and hence they added a new breed standard, identical to the UK one. So what did they call the original version of an Irish? Well, an ENGLISH Irish of course!

In fancy mice one club in the US has the names mixes up for two verities, the other US club has it the same as the other clubs around the world, The one club for some reason have never changed it so now when people from the US who have used that clubs site to lurn the mouse verities talk to others online it causes no end of confusion and frustration.