They are a bunch of fanatic nutcases. Here is their philosophy about targeting pedigree dogs/breeders…. As everyone knows, our shelters are overflowing with unwanted dogs, a combination of people who surrender their dogs for their own personal reasons because when they got the dogs, they didn’t get a “forever” dog but got an “until” dog, as well as strays. There are many pedigree dogs in a shelter, although they almost never come from reputable breeders. More commonly, “until” dogs with pedigree papers are surrendered to a non-profit organization specializing in that breed, such as a Rottweiler rescue group. Anyway, that PETA is attempting to do is to outlaw all pedigree breeding which would then require anyone who wants a dog to adopt a dog from a shelter rather than a breeder. Litters from breeders are controlled. There are very very rarely “accidents.” So if breeders simply stop breeding, then that would eliminate hundreds of thousands of dogs from the puppy-purchasing market. From a numbers point of view, it’s a sound argument. Remove what can be controlled, thus dropping the number of dogs available only to the rescues.

But it’s an argument that lacks common sense.

PETA wastes valuable time, energy and money targeting a group of people, the professional breeders, in an attempt to shut them all down – and this will NEVER happen. A professional breeder actually helps with their breed lineage. For example, since I live in a house full of show Portuguese Water Dogs (now they’re not mine, so I’m not the professional here. I only know what I’ve learned from the owner and breeder here), Porty’s can carry a disease called Addison’s disease. (you can google for more info) Should any of a Porty breeders dogs come up positive for Addison’s, then breeding immediately halts on that dog and any dog in that litter. They’re spayed or neutered. Same thing, for example, for breeds which are known to have a stronger genetic trait for hip dysplasia. German Shepherds are widely known to carry this disorder. Therefore when any lineage has bad hips, the breeding stops immediately. No breeder will purposely carry on any bad trait or disease within their breed.

Puppy mills, on the other hand, don’t give a shit. They let the dogs “have at it” and breed whenever a bitch comes into season regardless of any genetic testing. All they care about is burning and turning litters which sell. This is very common with popular breeds, such as Cocker Spaniels, American Stafforshire Terriers (pit bulls), etc.

Next on the level of breeding are the irresponsible dog owner. They may have a papered dog, but have no responsibility towards the ownership and accidental breedings occur. Or they may want to breed their dog once just because…. Puppies are cute, they love their dog, and want to share the love. But they lack the knowledge of responsible breeding. This group of breeders are the ones you see advertising dogs for sale in the newspaper. And newspaper pups for sale are often puppy mills, too. Also mixed into this group are the owners of dogs which are not pedigree, or may be pure bred, but no papers. They just want to breed their bitch once or twice “for the fun of it.”

And then there are simply the strays. Absolutely no control whatsoever. Strays are a combination of dogs which are either abandoned by their owner, or run away from a home but never found by their owner, as well as dogs born into the stray world by a mother stray.

PETA is targeting the group of people which are more supportive, knowledgeable and definitely control the breeding. Where PETA would be better served is educating the public on proper dog ownership and encourage any non-professional breeder to spay or neuter their pet rather than breed a litter “for the fun of it.” But the biggest benefit they could do would be to target puppy mills. These are the breeders who burn and turn their dogs – and they do make a profit because they have little out of pocket expenses. Puppy mills do nothing more than “breed ’em, wean ’em, and sell ’em.” Whereas a professional breeder does so due to their love of the breed. Professional breeding and showing is a money pit. The cost of all the genetic testing for hips and eyes and whatever may be specific to the breed. Plus the cost of showing a dog. This is not cheap at all. To earn a title, a lot of travel costs are incurred, grooming, more costly food, vitamins, etc. DNA testing, artificial insemination, and so on and so on. It is a very expensive love for dogs, not a profit maker. So targeting puppy mills would be a much much better use of time and money spent by PETA.

Not much anyone can do about strays other than the ongoing battle to capture, spay/neuter, and hope that they’re adopted once they go from the streets to a shelter or rescue organization.

Additionally, professional breeders do more for shelter rescues than the owners of puppy mill dogs. The breeders devotion to dogs is more than their own personal breed – they never ever turn over any dogs to a shelter. And most certainly pups from their own breeding never, and I truly mean never, surrendered to a shelter or rescue organization. Plus many professional breeders adopt rescues. This house I live in has several show Porty’s, but nearly half the dogs here are also rescues.

I would also love to see PETA kindly (emphasis on kindly since they’re a very radical and extreme group of people which are often looked at negatively by the public) encourage any pet owner who has or is adopting a pedigree dog for a pet (not for show) to also go to their local shelter WITH their pedigreed dog, and allow their dog to pick out a lifetime playmate. Dogs are typically happier when there is another dog in the household. So why not have a papered dog as well as a rescued dog. Everyone wins in this case. The dog owner has a pedigreed dog they want, their pedigreed dog has a playmate, and a shelter dog find a home to live in and be loved until the day they make the journey to the Rainbow Bridge.

In a nutshell, PETA would much better serve the dog community by providing a positive attitude, accepting the fact that dog shows and professional breeding will never go away, and working together with the breeders for the betterment of all dogs throughout the world.

Whew… I got a lot more detailed than I intended to do. I hope this helps better explain the philosophy of why PETA is targeting dogs shows – which basically lacks common sense and is more anti-productive to the dog world than they are productive.

They have helped was many states in passing stricter animal cruelty laws, and for this I am grateful. And if they were to gain some common sense, quit opposing proessiona breeders, then they would be able to do so much more good for the canine kingdom. But in the meantime, we all have to deal with this kind of shit they pull.