The Internet is a wondrous thing, but its impact on purebred dogs is mixed. It certainly allows excellent breeders to show what a good example of their breed looks like, but sadly, uninformed buyers sometimes stop their search for a new dog once they come across a breeder saying what they want to hear, a breeder that some of us might regard as substandard.

Before we go any further, this might be a good place to mention the importance of heritage breeders (and breed clubs) putting their names on puppy-finding websites that would ordinarily make them cringe. We who love our breeds have to make it easy for puppy buyers to find quality breeders who will explain to them the importance of health checks, adhering to the breed standard, soundness, and proper socialization. We have to get to them before they get to breeders who do none of the above.

Just as the Internet affords exposure to well bred dogs, it also allows substandard breeders to “hawk” qualities in their puppies that are disqualifications in the breed standard, but which they promote as “rare.”  Bulldog fanciers, as an example, have seen far too many irresponsible breeders selling “rare” colors to the extent that in 2016, the Bulldog Club of America added color and eye color disqualifications to the breed standard. Green or Blue eyes are a disqualification, as are parti-colored eyes, and yet a quick Google search for “blue eye Bulldog puppies” brought up a staggering 12,100,000 results. A search for “rare colored bulldog puppies” was just as bad. One “breeder” not only billed themselves as “experts on color,” but proudly touted their merle patterned puppies despite the fact that the merle pattern is a disqualification in the standard, for reasons, we assume, having to do with health concerns.

As tempting as it is to shrug one’s shoulders and mutter, “buyer beware,” it is the puppies who pay the price for poor breeding. Help start the dialogue about the importance of working with responsible, health testing breeders with National Purebred Dog Day’s “Non-Sporting Breeds: They Can and They Will” baseball cap, Ringside Tote Bag, or T-shirt for breeds like the Bulldog.

Image by Rachel DiAndrea
http://petartstudios.com
https://www.facebook.com/PetArtStudios-198658390171807/