I am all for freedom of speech etc..But you are on a very touchy subject. There are so many of us on this site as rescuers. I myself got my dogs from a breeder..Backyard of what have you. And that is fine, In fact, I was going to breed my female dog Sophie a few months ago. I decided against it.. I would have loved a litter of puppies..But after seeing the honest truth about it, I had my Sophie speyd. My friends here opend my eyes to  reality.

 From what I read and understand…You are an educated man, and I am sure you will find the audience you may be looking for somewhere out there. Who will agree with you and your views of everything. From my prespective and my own lame opinion, I feel that you are upsetting with your views. That you like to “rattle the cage” and get people going. Which is cool, but I do find you offensive, and ignorant..If you truly loved dogs, you would be more concerned with finding homeless animals homes, and maybe spending more time volunteering at a local shelter like many of us here do. I am sure many of your opinions would change about breeding etc.

 And I am sure there are other dog sites based on breeding the “perfect” dog etc. And they would unserstand 100% But I don’t..And I am sorry for that..I just feel that I need to add my 2 cents and say that I feel that ANY breeding is pretty much bad as long as our shelters are full of not “perfect” dogs who may not live to smell thier next bum..

 Sincerely,

Nadia

Nadia, I agree with you that this is not the best forum for TheDogWhisper’s views, as most of us come here to kick back and have fun. That being said, I must agree with the breeder’s perspective. I am 100% in favor of rescue (although like you, I purchased my dogs from breeders). I am 100% in favor of promoting spay/neuter and not breeding unless you are a professional.

BUT if there were no breeders until all shelter animals have been adopted, there would be no pure breeds left to continue their blood lines. True professional breeders care passionately about preserving the best of their breeds. They do not make money – most lose money. (I am not talking about puppy mills or backyard breeders). I would personally be very sad if the breeds as we know them ceased to exist. I feel there has to be a balance, that breeding should be left to the professionals and the professionals should be allowed/encouraged to breed quality dogs.

Name calling and accusations have no place in the world of logic and constructive debate. I was a management consultant for many years, am the author of one dog book and working on the second, write for the Palm Beach Post, and various dog magazines. I have invested much time and effort in the issues you raise, and was very active in trying to defeat a pet overpopulation control ordinance in Palm Beach County. I am not ignorant nor prejudiced. I am not swayed by extremists on either side.

The fact that you cannot receive opinions other than yours – that you think only you has “the right answers” speaks volumes.

As for your thinking that Robert is prejudiced against the free press, that just goes to show that you do not understand the forum you have chosen to enter. There are terms of use, and if you violate them there are consequences.

I happen to disagree with you about who is best qualified to continue the breeds as we know them. But I am not arrogant enough (thankfully) to say that the only truth is my opinion. I am not aligned with any animal rights activists, as I believe the extremists on both ends of the spectrum have gone too far.

Interesting that you mention that because you are “in the media, a messenger, and only bringing you information”. I am also in the media. In my world of the media, there are two types of reporters: those that objectively present both sides of an issue and strive for balanced reporting, and those that attempt to persuade others to agree with their opinions. Also in my world of the media, those who successfully persuade do so with tact and skill, not by being bombastic. You are not bringing information. You are bringing opinions that you try to disguise as fact.

You accuse me of that which I never addressed. How can you think to know what is in my heart or what I have learned by using well-honed consulting skills to ground myself in the issues? I know there are bad rescues and bad humane societies. There are also bad breeders. If you want to be know as the Rush Limbaugh of the Doggie world, that may be a very apt comparison. He is certainly not a communicator of facts or information.

I believe your heart is in the right place. It is your mouth that gets in the way.

No normal everyday people do not breed quality dogs.  take for example the puppy I was considering buying this weekend.  I was a “blue nosed pit” I showed up at the “breeder’s” home and I had my other dog with me in order to see how she would react to a new ball ‘o fuzz.  I began to question these “breeders” about the parents health, tempermant and so called registration.  They were not able to answer one of my questions.  I then asked to see the parents, I couldnt because momma didnt like other females and I had Emily with me and the father was not even theirs.  These pups were close to 10 weeks old according to the “breeder” but they had not had any shots or even seen a vet.  then to top my visit off two gentleman of questionable intent arrived unannounced and asked to look at the puppies.  they asked for the largest male and female plunked down cash and left, this “breeder” didnt ask for a name, where they lived, or what they intended to do with the puppies.  she just sold them!!  This is a normal everyday “breeder”  What you describe are the cause of over crowding in shelter and why countless dogs have to be put to sleep everyday.  It makes no sense to breed two dogs of common decent when there are plenty of dogs without homes.  True breeders have the paperwork and the bloodlines to breed sound dogs.  The common person doesnt invest the love time or money that their puppies deserve so they dont end up in a shelter.  These common people dont even ensure their puppies go to good homes.  Everyone except registered and licenced breeders should spay or nuter their dogs.  I am ashamed of myself that I would have even consider buying a puppy from a “breeder” like that.  There are so many ignorant owners in the world that breed their dogs just because they are cute or trying to make a quick buck,  this world would be so much better if you would stop promoting breeding and start promoting rescues and spay nuter laws.

ps I didnt see any insults in the above posts from carla or nadia

Are you having fun twisting words? I never said I wanted you gone.

Do you presume to know how long it takes to write a book or what the financial rewards are compared to the time spent (FYI unless you are a celebrity or an already established best-selling author, you write for the love of writing and for the pride of what you create, not for the money).

Also FYI, to my knowledge Robert is not an animal rights activist – if he is, he keeps his opinions to himself because this is not what MDS is all about.

Your definition of defense seems to be that the best defense is a good offense; I do not think your offense is a good one – unless you consider being offensive to others to be a positive thing.

This site is a place of refuge, where we escape from the stresses of everyday life and enjoy ourselves. When we do disagree, we do it with civility.

As for your request for an opinion poll, it appears that you do not understand that Rob and Hershey run this site, and they determine what is acceptable and what isn’t – by a set of published rules.

Why do you seek conflict? It is very possible to exchange opinions and disagree without it. Nadia, who wrote earlier, changed her opinions about breeding because of a civil exchange of information on this site. No one insulted her or pressured her into doing so. She listened, decided what she heard made sense, and acted accordingly.

Please be respectful of our members, even those who disagree with you.

Eaglerock, What does the above post have to do with our debate???Are you and dogwhisper the same person with 2 different pages?

 What ever..I still do not believe in breeders unless they are pros, GET IT

“People are trying to discredit his ideas without talking about his ideas. They are trying to do it by attacks on the person who is stating them. In logic, that is known as the illogic of an ad hominum attack.”

I’ve never seen where any of your, I mean, his ideas were open to discussion. Any contrary ideas, or alternative, less extreme alternatives are met with name calling, fanatical references, more lengthy rhetoric, defensiveness, wordplay, much self promotion and arrogance, and then you call them attacks. Really open for discussion eh?

Some people have the idea that “rights” can supercede respect and should be used every opportunity, these people are the enemy of the same rights they are trying to defend. If you fart in church enough, sooner or later they will make it illegal to do so. Sorry, it’s the only analogy I could come up with.