Do Kennel Club Registered Breeders Always get it Right?

[banana]

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When I was looking for a new puppy after by beloved Blu died, I looked at some cocker spaniels and went to the KC site and looked for 'accredited' breeders' thinking I would be even more safe..

I went to see a litter in Southampton that were advertised on the KC site

Well the horror I saw in this woman's house - she lived in a two up two down and had in excess of 15 dogs, she had two litters of puppies in whelping boxes and they were all pooing the runniest smelliest liquid. I had taken my 4 year old son with me who was terrified of the out of control jumping running dogs and I had to go and put him in the car.

The puppy I wanted was adorable but I absolutely had to leave the puppy as the one I took would have left her a space to breed more.

I took pictures whilst I was there and sent them to the KC on my return home.

The GCCF (cat equivalent of KC) has started a similar scheme and its a paid thing and you need a note from your vet and kitten buyers are encouraged to return feedback slips... but I wonder if this will ensure the best breeders are being recognised rather than a new way to increase cash flow?

Thoughts?

 

[hanneroon]

i'm sure they don't always get it right, my dog was owned by two different breeders that are kc registered. He has sired many pups. He also has a pretty bad temperament, and retinal atrophy, and a whopper of a juvenile cataract that was untreated. He was sold on to a pet home aged four, obviously when his eye rendered him useless as a stud dog. Makes me think no one really cared about him.

There are lovely breeders out there, there a a load on this forum, who obviously recognise that dogs are a member of the family, and finding homes for the pups, is a serious affair. But there are thousands of people who buy a dog for 300 quid and want a return, simple as that. I know a few people that have done this, I even had a few people suggest to me i should use mine for stud, to make a bit of cash, people are horrible.

i also heard that on the Isle of wight, cat neutering is so successful, people have to go to the mainland for kittens! How lovely is that? no unwanted moggies there!

 

[lurcherman]

like everything in life some good some bad,.but for sure they have made some dogs look stupid, they have their ideas that i dont agree with..

 

[Oreo]

The kennel club approval means nothing!

There are awful breeders who are registered with them and also brilliant breeders who are not registered with them.

I would do my own research into a breeder and take my time as to where I went and I would even visit a few to see the environment in wi h they live.

Any good breeder would welcome questions and also should be asking questions to the potential buyer.

We have too many people in this country who think its just ok to put two dogs together and think they can make a bit of money!

 

[Jasp]

Joining the KC's Assured Breeder Scheme can be done online for the princely sum of £15 followed by an annual fee of £10. For that breeders get to use the KC logo and documentation on their adverts, use their online find a puppy service to sell litters and they even get 4 weeks free insurance on any puppys they sell.

Unfortunately policing the scheme is not as rigourous as you would imagine and while there is a code of practice that breeders have to agree to, there is nothing to stop people taking advantage for the wrong reasons. If a breeder is reported for breaking the terms of the scheme the KC can send in advisor only after giving 'reasonable notice'.

It comes down to ignorance, people see a KC registered breeder advertising a litter and assume it is safe, just as people see an advert for dog food on tv that says it is healthy for your pet. People should educate themselves through knowledge, not through marketing.

 

[eingana]

KC registration means not a jot when it comes to the health of puppies, the health of parent dogs or the conditions in which the dogs are kept, I'm afraid to say.

Even those puppies bred in lovely conditions get no protection from the KC registration really. There are lots of breed-specific health problems which are exacerbated by trying to stick to physical breed standards too. For example, in GSDs the sloping back is now so sloping that some of the dogs have major problems with their back ends (in addition to the hip problems seen in most large breeds), in CKC spaniels there's a problem with skull shaping that can cause all sorts of issues from stunting of growth to fits and brain damage and in many of the brachycephalic breeds there's major breathing problems and puppies' heads are so big that bitches can't whelp without a caesarian section because the bitch's pelvis just isn't big enough to let the puppies out.

All of these things aren't brought about by 'poor breeding', lack of health checks or dreadful conditions at a breeder's house. They're deliberately bred into the dogs because the KC breed specifications make the characteristics 'desirable'.

They aren't desirable if they give the dog long term health problems and the KC should be doing more to ensure that these breed characteristics aren't pushed to the point of being detrimental to the dogs' lives. More and more extreme physical appearance is not helpful for virtually any breed.

 

[chelynnah]

There are bad KC Assured Breeders and there are good non KC assured breeders. I joined the scheme - better to join than just criticise from the outside. However I do tell people that just being a member doesn't guarantee a great breeder, and not being in one doesn't guarantee a bad one. People still need to do their research.

As for the bad ones in the Assured Breeders Scheme, the KC booted out several hundred last year. The best we can hope for is people like yourself who are willing to report the bad ones and get them looked into. The ABS is a step in the right direction but it has a way to go yet.

 

[TanyaM]

I agree, good and bad breeders, both in and out of the scheme. The breeder I went to for my pup was not an accredited breeder with the KC, he has been breeding whippets for decades very successfully. However, neither of the 2 breeders I'd found near-ish to me (KC and Scottish KC), was breeding at that time for various reasons and both asked what I wanted in a whippet, then BOTH recommended the same breeder to me, with both saying the same thing 'his dogs have lovely temperaments'. So, we did our homework, chatted to the guy a couple of times on the phone, where I was asking questions, but so was he. It was clear throughout that this breeder would only sell to people he was happy with, we met both parents and the litter at 5 weeks in his living room. Then at 8 weeks, we went away with the pup with a big plastic bag full of food and a list of to food and worming info, knowing we can phone him if we have any probs.

A friend of mine got 2 pups, brother and sister, from a breeder 'cause they were in such horrible conditions and she couldn't leave any behind - it all went very wrong and I'm sure the breeder just smiled, took the cash and bred some more.

 

[bertha]

If only the KC ACB scheme was thoroughly monitored it should work, but it isn't. Anyone can join it. It was a great idea, not carried through. Too many people just breeding for money. Not just the pedigree world, all the designer breed people with their cavpoos etc. There is no way to stop it. You can micro chip, tattoo etc, but those who don't care will keep breeding. :rant: