There is a negative connotation to the word "kennel", and I wanted to explain my perspective and about our facilities as well as my approach to a quality breeding program. I have received a couple of offensive statements over the years from those breeders who only want their dogs to live in the home. One breeder stated something to the effect of "to be isolated in the back yard, what a horrible life." I promptly sent a photo of Bentley being "isolated in the back yard" and said "Poor Bentley...what a life." LOL Adult males mark their territory and their urine has a strong odor. I have had 1 male that I could keep from marking inside most of the time, but the other boys are hopeless. But they are breeding males, that's part of their job. As a mother and person that values a clean household, I simply can not have males in the house marking my furniture. I even have females who mark their territory and some even lift their leg just like a male! This is unfortunately part of intact dogs that I tell people, spay or neuter and you won't have to deal with this negative behavior.
A breeder has to decide their approach to breeding. If it is to have 1 male, 1 female, obtain championship titles and have 1 litter of puppies per year that are placed in forever homes, that is their right. I am not going to disrespect someone who breeds ethically, if that is the approach they want to take. However, I have a different approach and I would like my perspective respected too. I believe that for the health of the lines, a breeder needs to have multiple females and preferably more than 1 male in order to have enough production to track the health of the lines. If I have a health disorder show up, I can compare lines in my kennel as well as that line in the kennels of my friends, to see if it may be carried by a particular dog. We can track it to obtain valuable information and decide if it was a random occurance or if a particular dog is carrying a defect and they or the line should be discontinued. This is why an open communication line with the families of the puppies I produce, is so important. I need to stay in contact and know if I have produced a puppy with a defect. This is why it is unethical to sell through brokers or puppy stores where you will never hear from that puppy again. You receive no feedback on the success of your breeding program. (not to mention that those puppies may end up in poor homes or shelters because the market is about selling puppies, not placing in forever homes or adopting them back)
I believe multiple females/males are necessary and there is no set number of dogs that are too many except that when you get too many in number, that is less time to devote to each dog. I not only want to have a strong breeding program, but I want my dogs to have a quality family life. I breed because I love my dogs, and I'm not going to throw them in a kennel and never have time to spend with them. For my young busy family, more than 15 dogs is a handful. This includes our breeding females, males, and the puppies that we are raising at any given time, to replace the retiring breeding females. I know a breeder who has about 20-25 dogs at a given time, with 3 related breeds, and I know she does a wonderful job with them. I've also seen breeders with that many that don't do so great. So it depends on the individual breeder, their commitment and energy level, and their facilities. I consider 50-100's of dogs always too many for ethical breeding. More than 3 breeds, particularly when they are different types of breeds is hard to maintain expertise and a strong breeding program.
This brings us to our facilities. I bring 1-2 dogs into the house on a given day, to play with, bathe, or care for them. But for someone to expect me to have 15 dogs in the house full time is just not sanitary or realistic. Even for those that stay inside for a longer period, they want to go back to the kennel to visit their buddies. I usually keep Maisie inside full time because she is very emotionally attached to me. Even SHE escapes from the back yard and goes out to the kennel. I've been cleaning and opened the kennel door and she runs in to say hi and doesn't want to come out! In my experience my dogs are not longing to stay in the house and be a person. They are dogs and they love the outdoors, the squirrels, birds, and the other dogs. They want to come out of the kennel and run in the back yard and after an hour or 2, they're ready to go back. A kennel is not a "cage", it's a safe and secure facility. They can't dig out or hurt themselves, and I don't worry about other animals getting in with them. Except for the poor squirrel that fell into the run with them! poor thing.....
A "kennel" usually refers to a professional breeder selling puppies to make money. This is where people get the negative connotation, because it is no longer an acceptable practice to breed only to make money. This does not mean that a small ethical breeder who happens to have appropriate, quality, and clean kennel facilities is not a good ethical breeder.
We need to stop making generalizations in an Us VS Them attitude. There are lots of show breeders that hate any breeder that doesn't show and calls anyone that doesn't show a puppy mill. I've been called a puppy mill recently as well as some of my friends who happen to be excellent breeders. It angers me that someone can be so hateful and offensive just because someone doesn't do things the way they do. The mere fact that other show breeders have taken the world of showing and turned it into such a hateful discipline is the exact REASON that I don't show! I will not lower my standards or integrity to hateful political attitudes. There is never an excuse to treat others badly and they are only giving themselves and the world of showing a bad name by treating others that way. I have literally wanted to show and every time I step foot into the realm I am reminded why I can not function in that environment. No one wants to participate with people talking about them, and hating them if they're not in the clique, or hating them if they're beating them, or don't have the right line, or don't do things in the same way. I don't believe in living my life that way and I don't believe in being that kind of breeder. So if I am outcast because I don't win titles, so be it. But to put me down because I have a certain kind of facility, or I breed to little, too much, or my name doesn't start with the right letter, they can have their titles and their dogs.
I am proud as can be of our new Norwich who is an AKC champion. What an accomplishment! She's a beautiful example of the breed. But I also believe that there are many breeders who are just like me. They want to breed to the breed standard and produce healthy loving puppies that are placed in loving forever homes. They just happen to refuse to "play the game" of showing! There are too many PUPPY MILLS, ie 100's of dogs housed in unacceptable conditions and health, producing puppies ONLY to make money. There are too many unethical breeders who breed dogs regardless of quality, are only interested in making a sale and do not care who buys them. When there are so many issues of pet overpopulation and dogs in need of homes, why are we waisting time talking about the ethical breeders who are trying to do things right? In my mind, those breeders are just as unethical when they are treating others badly only to make their own selfish gains.
There is never an excuse to treat others badly. I live it, I teach it, I stand by it. Threats and verbal abuse will not change who I am. If you agree with me, stand by me. If you don't, and you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
