Irresponsible Breeders (Rant Warning)

[Jemma]

Several months ago I was linked to an Island Pug group on Facebook.  Not surprising, I joined and was content with the relative quietness of the group.  Recently new members have joined and seem to only want to use it as a dating service for their respective Pugs.  It appears to me the group admin doesn't seem to think it makes any difference or really cares.  The following comment truly made my eye twitch:

" I couldn't find a pug for Zoe... so we settled for a small pure shih-zue. I think the deed is done, "Shugs" should be here around feb 22. lol

Will keep u in mind for the next time for sure. "

Next time!?  Settled!?  I quite literally had to bite my fingers for not going off on the two involved in this conversation.  The quoted poster has asked today if there are any signs of a pug being pregnant.  Sigh.  You'd think they'd do research first.

Now, my question is, do I do what I feel is my duty in life now and enlighten this group on what a true and responsible breeder is?  Or rage quit the group?  Pity smacking sense into people wasn't deemed a socially acceptable practice. 

[lmcpug]

Wow!

I would say, that is a very delicate subject to bring up, without
getting into a pickle with the forum.

If there wasn't any prior postings on responsible breeding then it sounds
like it may not be taken seriously or people are turning a blind eye to this.

If you are not willing to stay with this forum then go for it; what could you
lose in getting your frustrations out and perhaps if someone spoke up, maybe
others would support you; or it could go the other way!

On this forum, it is not widely supported, what the two posters are doing.
Anyone wanting to sign up on this forum should have done their homework and
perused the postings before joining. They would then know, that, if that is
what they intended to do once they joined; it would not be looked on favourably.

Hard to say Jemma, but do keep us posted!

[RockysMom]

I hear ya Jemma.....it's frustrating and we're often seen as the bad guys for saying anything. But I take any opportunity to (try to) educate people as this forum educated me.

I had to restrain myself recently at an event I was at with my daughter.
I overheard this woman talking about breeding her boxer with a St. Bernard.  She thought this was a GREAT idea and that the puppies would be easy to sell.
People just don't get it.  And yet I get looks when I talk about responsible breeding like I've got two heads....after all "they are just dogs"
Idiots

[blanche]

I'd lose my mind.  Jemma--I think it's worth putting in a word about the problems of mixing breeds especially when you have no idea of what genetic faults either parent can be carrying (and frankly shih tzu eyes make pug eyes look bloody indestructible).  And I'd also perhaps mention that "designer dogs" are filling up the shelters quickly and one doesn't need to breed for a mix.

It's likely a useless effort, but I'd do it if only so I could say that at least I tried.  SIGH.

[Jemma]

My initial, knee-jerk response was telling her to have her vet check the dog out.  It pains me that obvious answer isn't obvious.  Oh common sense, how I miss you being displayed by people!

I should also mention that when I first noticed the "looking for mate" posts, I had posted a picture of Amir and detailed his story.  Despite mentioning health issues, poor breeding, no genetic testing or health guarantees, my passive aggressive attempt seems to have failed.  My other observation of the group is that the majority are "new" pug owners.  The mention of the age of both Amir (12) and my old pug (16) seemed surprising.  Maybe I should whip these newbies into shape.

[lmcpug]

LOL!  maybe mention that Pugs is almost 19 and Bubs will be 17 this July!
and they are fairly healthy, well Bubs is right now. Both on raw feeding.
Pugsley is up and down, naturally!

That should shock the heck out of them

Do they talk about raw feeding?? If not that should start a whole new ball of wax on there
Maybe you were meant to sign up on this forum and shake things up Be the educator!

[tawn]

I kept my mouth shut for a long time, but now I am completely unashamed about being the 'bad guy' in these instances. It sucks being pegged as the jerk. Not as bad as it must suck being a selfish jerkface backyard breeder. Grrrr...


 

[SpeedyPug]

In a similar situation, my neighborhood is literally overflowing with pugs- we must have 20 in an 8 block radius.  Back in the summer, a woman in a building half a block down from me got a gorgeous male and female fawn pair.  Adorable little babies- they looked sooooooo wee next to Leggy Jem and Monster Geeg.  As soon as she saw me out walking the demonic duo, she rushed over with the babies for "pug talk" and pretty much immediately told me that she's on social assistance and she got he baby pugs for breeding purposes to make money.  I think my jaw hit the pavement.  After soliciting advice from the forum (and an excellent article from Blanche on the realities of pug-breeding), i laid in wait until i could ambush her with my oh-my-god-what-the-hell-are-you-thinking info.  I told her about the extreme cost, no profit, genetic issues, danger to the babies (hers and new pups), overpopulation, dangers to unaltered dogs and on and on and on.  She looked like a freight train ran her down when i was done.

And she hasn't spoken to me since.  But the female hasn't shown up pregnant yet either...so I'm hoping she changed her mind and got them both fixed...

[Pugpillow]

I've noticed our social circle has been getting smaller as I've been known to bend a few ears at parties etc.  But I literally can't stop myself.  Somebody's got to shout out for the truth and I don't mind being the bad guy.  I do try to get the message out gracefully so that it will be more easily received but that doesn't usually work.  There are none so deaf as those who will not hear.

[Jane aka 71337]

I've noticed our social circle has been getting smaller as I've been known to bend a few ears at parties etc.  But I literally can't stop myself.  Somebody's got to shout out for the truth and I don't mind being the bad guy.  I do try to get the message out gracefully so that it will be more easily received but that doesn't usually work.  There are none so deaf as those who will not hear.

Your circle of human friends may shrink Hilary but your circle of dog friend keeps on growing. Sounds like a fair trade to me.

[serenpugity]

Hilary, now I feel I'm in good company after reading your post. I try to be pleasant and not preachy in educating people when it comes to our animal friends but when they don't listen or dismiss my caring as being foolish because "they're just animals" that's when my evil twin comes out. And when that happens, look out!

When I have those kinds of encounters, which are more frequent than I would like, I start to feel that I've been dropped into some primitive culture with people who are missing a very important seventh sense, the sensitivity to animals sense.

I never hesitate to take the opportunity to advocate on behalf of animals. Vast social circles are highly overrated!

[Jemma]

Well, the following post finally got me to respond

"if anyone is looking to breed i have a 2 year old male black pug i am looking to stud he is getting a little.....ummmmmm happy more often lol let me know if there is anyone whos female is due to go into heat any point in the next few months..."

Needless to say, the group has been hit with the wall of text Blanche posted last year from the "Should I Breed My Pug?" thread.  Chart and all!  Hope you don't mind.  It was exactly what I wanted to throw at them, heh.

So far I've received one "like".  Hopefully they'll get the hint >.<

[lmcpug]

Wooooohooo!  LOL!
You go girl!

Good for you Jemma!

And hey 1 in favor is all it takes to get the word going..........

[Pugpillow]

I've used that chart more times than I care to remember.  Sometimes I think I should have it tattooed on my forehead.  it speaks volumes.

[Jemma]

Could it be?  Did my posting actually work?  I just saw this on the pug group

"Hi everybody... Updates on Zoe, my Black 4yr old (4 this month on the 14th) pug. She is expecting her first and LAST litter between next sunday and the following Wednesday. Wish us all luck, I can't wait to see what a black pug & an all white shih-zue make for babies. I will post pics when the big day comes."

Well I'll be