Backyards are a great place for playing NOT for breeding

I've always been told that "Backyard Breeding" is B-A-D. But never have I come face to face with it. Until the other day....

First off, let me define backyard breeding:

Source: Animal Advocates Society: http://www.animaladvocates.com
Breeds only one dog at a time; May breed their dog just once, but for the purpose of making little money; May repeat-breed the same dog; May dispose of one dog and obtain another (more lucrative) to breed; Often keeps the dog and pups in a yard, garage, shed, basement, closet, or pen; May sell puppies as young as four weeks, with no vaccinations, and for as little as $50, although some backyard breeders sell pups of more desirable breeds for several hundred dollars each. Often breeds the pups that end up being killed in pounds when they are abandoned as unwanted adults: cross breeds of German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Huskies, Pit-bulls, and other large breed dogs.

A backyard breeder does not include the family or person that breeds the family dog once and keeps the pups in the house with them, making sure the pups are well-socialized and healthy, does not give away or sell the pups until they are 10-12 weeks old, and carefully screens prospective adopters, making several home visits and refusing a pup to unsuitable people.

So, the other day I got a phone call from a potential client who wanted me to come by and stay with their Pit-bull mix that had just given birth to a litter of puppies. After our conversation I wanted to explode!

There were so many alarms going off in my head!

I try not to be one of those "preachy" people, with anything, but especially with dogs. To most people they do the best they know how (same with kids) they don't do anything wrong deliberately. So if they can get more information (if they want it) from me that’s great. If not...I'm sure you'll still be just fine. But this is the first time I wanted to step onto my soapbox to shout my opinion. After being insulted by him telling me that my qualifications were "cutsie" but not worth the money, and then having him ask me...do you know a high school kid that could just come by? I simply corrected him very politely stating:

"I'm sorry sir, but my qualifications are not “cutsie”, they are professional qualifications that to many of my clients, justify my pricing. I would suggest that you look elsewhere for help with your new litter."

What bothered me more was he then came back saying "well, it's not the price, between the three of them I've easily got over $6,000 that I'm going to be getting when I sell them." just proving to me where his mind was.

As I think this gentleman found out, having puppies might sound like a fun, profitable idea, but it's a lot of work. And for 99% of people: should not be done. Personally, I think that in order to breed dogs you should pass some sort of test and be given permission. To help solve this epidemic of great dogs left in not such great places, like a pound.

What do you think?