AKC breeding...my opinion

I discovered yesterday that people are stricter on the birth of puppies than the birth of human babies. Why do I say this? Because it's true. No one has to be qualified to have a baby. No one has to be "Show standard and perfect". That is called discrimination.

Where does this rant stem from? I posted an ultrasound video on a Cavalier message board of Lexie's puppies. They locked it because they don't encourage discussions of breeding from people who aren't AKC "breeders" due to the fact that basically I don't know what I'm doing and I am possibly putting the entire Cavalier breed in jeopardy because of Lexie's puppies. (Possibly being a little melodramatic but thats the basic gist)

I would like to know how many AKC breeders can get 4D ultrasounds of their Cavalier's puppies to make sure everything is okay?

For those of you confused, I'll explain. In the online Cavalier community (facebook, message boards, myspace, ect;) as long as you have a Cavalier you are allowed into the group. They quietly pity you if your Cavalier isn't "Breed Standard" or show quality. I only know this because our male Max is show quality. He's perfect in the sense of the breed. When we got him and I joined this "community" I received so many messages about how beautiful he was. How he was so perfect and should be a stud. People actually told me that they didn't know why they even sold Cavalier puppies that weren't "Show Quality".

My Lexie on the other hand is considered pet quality, being under the weight limit with white markings. When I shared her pictures, the brag comments never came. Only questions like "Oh she has some white" and "You know Cavaliers are supposed to weigh between 12 and 18 pounds". I never cared. The whole reason I hand picked Lexie was because she was different. She looked just like Lady from "Lady and the Tramp". I honestly don't know why you'd ever try to purchase a puppy for any reason other than they are perfect in your mind, like Lexie was in mine.

They also criticize you for not feeding your dog the "raw" diet. You are judged for letting your dog sleep in the bed with you or run around in the backyard "like a dog". For taking your dog to the dog park and for boarding them when you have to go out of town. But all of this can be ignored and forgiven apparently. The real crime in the Cavalier community... breeding.

Before I go any further I should state the obvious. We are not backyard breeders, puppy mill peddlers, ect; We are family who love Cavaliers. We are a family who are so in love with our two Cav's, that have so many people in love with Lexie and Max that we would like to continue their good traits, their personality quarks that are important to us. Lexie and Max have had every vaccine on time. They have both been tested for every possible Cavalier health problem, and we had the okay from BOTH of the veterinarians at the practice that we go to to breed them.

So what's the problem? We aren't "AKC breeders". We don't have AKC registered show dogs. Our dogs don't have names like "Stars Happiness of Morning Dew" but go by "Pinky". We don't have 12 Cavaliers that we breed between each other constantly to create the perfect puppy.

Oops... my bad. I thought that loving and spending quality time along with appropriate health tests were enough.

When purchasing a purebred puppy you are told to look for a reputable AKC breeder. We did this with all of our dogs except for Max. AKC breeders have supposably bred the bad out of the breeds. Their puppies are supposed to be healthy, good quality, and up to AKC standard for show or pet quality.

Another thing I should mention. We consider all of our dogs except for Max rescue dogs. Funny enough, ALL of our dogs except for Max came from AKC breeders.

My mom's two chihuahuas came from a reputable AKC breeder in North Carolina. When you google this lady everything about her is what the books tell you to look for. After purchasing the boys, both came home with horrible diarrhea. They ended up having Giardia. A year or so later we found our that both of our Chihuahuas have fatal liver shunts. Liver shunts are genetic, painful, progressive, and cause horrible neurological damage after only a short amount of time. We have spent thousands as pet owners to keep these dogs as healthy for as long as possible. But ultimately they will die most likely 7-8 years before their projected lifespan.

Lexie also came from a reputable AKC breeder. When we got her she was a sickly 1 pound. Her stomach was so bloated and full of worms that she couldn't use her back legs. She was malnourished. She ate herself sick from having to compete for food her whole life. She had a abdominal hernia. She was SICK.

My sisters Papillon came from an AKC breeder in North Carolina. She was covered in flea bites. She was terrified of humans. Her ears had been shaved. When we took her to the vet the first time the vet was convinced she was at least 3 or 4 years old and not an 8 month old puppy. Why? Because her teeth were rotting out of her mouth and they could ONLY be that bad on an older dog he said. She also had a baby tooth that had abscessed, severe allergic reactions to bug bites and fatty tissue tumors.

Are these really the kind of dogs you want to pay thousands of dollars for? AKC breeders goal in life is to breed the perfect puppy. They want the perfect pick of the litter. Then they keep that puppy to show and breed for another "perfect" puppy.

Definition of AKC perfect: headshape, coloring, size, attitude.

Nothing about health. A Cavalier can still be considered "perfect show quality" even when they have mitral valve disease or SM. Here is a list of diseases Cavaliers can develop, but still be considered "perfect" in the eyes of the AKC. I'm not saying all AKC breeders condone this behavior. In fact I know there are many out there that love their dogs and only want what is best for the breed. But rules and guidelines need to be changed. And if no one is going to take the initiative... then I certainly shouldn't be judged for breeding "imperfect" but HEALTHY Cavaliers.

Back to our Cavalier Max. He came from a pet store at a mall. The number one rule when buying a puppy is to never buy from a pet store. Max was completely healthy. I DO NOT support buying dogs from pet stores because they most likely come from puppy mills. But it's kind of sad when your puppy mill dog is healthier than ALL of your AKC pedigree dogs.

The ironic part of all of this is how many breeders and message boards claim that they breed the problems out of their AKC dogs. That their puppies are perfect and healthy because they are AKC registered. If this is the case, then why worry about me breeding my two AKC Cavaliers? If the AKC dogs are perfect...there shouldn't be a problem.

More information on how you can Stop the AKC from breeding deformities and start breeding Healthy Dogs. This is a great blog that goes along with the website. Everyone should watch the documentary on this site called "Pedigree Dogs Exposed". Even with all of this proven information, the website says:

"The UK Kennel Club initially protested the documentary, claiming it was unfairly edited and inaccurate. Yet a few months later, they started making changes. So far, the American Kennel Club(AKC) is ignoring the documentary, pretending as if their breed standards don't cause the same crippling deformities in once-healthy breeds."

I do not support the AKC and I am proud to say that Lexie and Max's HEALTHY puppies will NOT be AKC registered.