Burning Sounds
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Biggest issue, and saddest, with pedigreed dogs is once they become popular the unscrupulous breeders with puppy farms interbreed them into psycho, ill-health messes.. I hate to think of how many wonderful dog breed reputations have been destroyed by this practice.
You are absolutely right, Sal. And unfortunately it's not just unscrupulous breeders either. Legitimate, well established breeders continue to use dogs for breeding that are known to have problems. Even champion show dogs have problems such as hip dysplasia, yet these dogs continue to be used as breeding stock. Good breeders will publicise the hip scores of their breeding stock as well as any other information that might be relevant regarding healthy lives for the puppies.
I own a Gordon Setter which like most large dogs is susceptible to hip dysplasia and can also suffer from Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) which causes blindness as the dog gets older. A DNA test can be done for this. And yet I still see breeders advertising puppies where one or more parents are carriers of PRA. Quite often the breed stock will have poor hip scores, too. It just doesn't make sense to me. No wonder pedigree dogs often have problems.
The breeders of my dog ensured both their dogs were DNA tested clear regarding PRA, therefore my dog can't suffer from this, nor can he pass it on. Their dogs also had very good hip scores, which will lessen the chance of my dog developing this problem in later life.
The Gordon's Irish setter cousin suffered badly from becoming a very popular dog, with new owners simply not caring that these are gun dogs that need plenty of exercise, they don't naturally heel, they are playful and need plenty of patience when it comes to training. Apartment dwellers they are most certainly not.
Ironically, the Gordon Setter is on the vulnerable breed list while the Irish is not.
Here's my best buddy listening to some cool reggae....