my sister in law wants to breed her American Bulldog...

terestrife

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She and a friend want to get a litter of puppies from their dogs. Im not sure if its to sell or to give away. i was reading this awful article and it made me think of her. She has an American Bulldog, and she bought him from someone that had a litter. I dont like butting into other peoples decisions, as its not my business. But I feel awful at the thought of what will happen to these puppies. My 2 brothers, and a friend of theirs, bought American Bulldogs. Only 1 dog was kept. One of my brothers kept his dog, one was given away, and one ran away and was very malnourished, so she probably died. Is it nosey of me to say something to my sister in law? Or should i mind my business?
 

stealthkitty

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This might be worth a try; you know your sister-in-law best and how she would respond: Why don't you print off that article that you linked and give it to her? Highlight the sentence about the "bully" breeds so it catches her eye and hopefully she'll read at least that, and you can tell her that you stumbled across the article and you thought she'd be interested. Avoid sounding judgmental or dogmatic. You can't control what she decides to do, but you can try to help her make an informed decision in this way, and it shouldn't come across as pushy or interfering.

Best wishes!
 

drusilla

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I raise dogs (German Shepherds & Rottweilers to start, then Dobermans Rottweilers, then last German Shepherds & Labs) over the course of 15 yrs.  I had contracts and microchipped every dog/puppy before they left the property.  All my contracts had a clause in it, 'If mistreatment, abuse or neglect is suspected or discovered, the seller has the legal right to repo the animal."

This clause is what saved a few of my dogs (one puppy (GSD) was left out on the back porch-no food, water, doghouse, blanket, crate and it had been raining the whole week!) All I had to do was travel to their city location, show up with the original contract at the sheriff's office and told them they broke contract on this puppy and I wanted it back.

We went to the family's home, I got the puppy back (after the owners were told they would be arrest for violation of the contract and animal cruelty).  The puppy was ten weeks old and I kept him til he was abt 20 months old then sold him to a police officer friend of mine that I'd known since I was 5 yrs old.  Now the dog is a retired SAR police dog.

Kristen
 
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terestrife

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I raise dogs (German Shepherds & Rottweilers to start, then Dobermans Rottweilers, then last German Shepherds & Labs) over the course of 15 yrs.  I had contracts and microchipped every dog/puppy before they left the property.  All my contracts had a clause in it, 'If mistreatment, abuse or neglect is suspected or discovered, the seller has the legal right to repo the animal."

This clause is what saved a few of my dogs (one puppy (GSD) was left out on the back porch-no food, water, doghouse, blanket, crate and it had been raining the whole week!) All I had to do was travel to their city location, show up with the original contract at the sheriff's office and told them they broke contract on this puppy and I wanted it back.

We went to the family's home, I got the puppy back (after the owners were told they would be arrest for violation of the contract and animal cruelty).  The puppy was ten weeks old and I kept him til he was abt 20 months old then sold him to a police officer friend of mine that I'd known since I was 5 yrs old.  Now the dog is a retired SAR police dog.

Kristen
thats great! im really glad you care about the animals, and feel responsible for them even after they are adopted. i doubt my sister in law will do the same. i showed her the site, and all she said was "wow, thats sad." and thats it. i dont think she was getting that i was talking about her breeding her dog. i guess theres not much else i can do, its not my business.

im glad there are people that care about animals. how funny, the first dog i had as a child was a Rottweiler that was abused ex police dog. it was the smarted animal i have ever seen. there is something very special about police dogs.
 

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Thanks.  When I raised the dogs, since I don't have children they were my children...."furkids".   Therefore the protective instincts were there, that's what you'll find when you spend the time chatting with other breeders (I've found two things out every time-the breeder either had kids and the protective instincts were transferred to the dogs/cats/horses, etc OR the breeder couldn't have children and the animals filled that space).  Granted they were "children" but they were treated as what they were dogs!

I also had contracts that stated 'any performance title earned on (dog/puppy) will receive a discount should they be a returning customer' and for my pet contract, 'dog/puppy must be taken to buyer's choice of vet within 72 hrs (3 days) from reciept otherwise health guarantee is invalid.'  My health guarantee read, 'this dog/puppy had been evaluated from tip of nose to tip of tail and comes with a lifetime breeder support/5 yr health guarantee, any genetic health problem comes up after that maybe subject to a second opinion by the seller's vet.'

Sometimes it does happen that the dog and officer are not correctly matched up.  I'm very lucky to know the head K9 trainer for the local police dept, I've known him since I was 5 yrs old as one of my distant cousins was a police officer.  I had him evaluate every dog of mine and if the dog didn't have what it took to be what I had in mind for the dog, he'd return with it and say "Think of something for this one." but if not, I wouldn't see the dog again til the dog was abt 2 yrs (if it was 6 mth old puppy). The reason why I had someone do this, is I have a disability that prevents me from being involved in the hands on bitework (attack the sleeve of a bite suit).

I loved the fact I had mine trained in German, Czech & two sets of hand signals besides English.
 

minka

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I would just tell her that there are so many homeless dogs already. By making more puppies, she is killing that many dogs in the pound.
:dk:
 

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I would just tell her that there are so many homeless dogs already. By making more puppies, she is killing that many dogs in the pound.
That's a good idea too. It would depend a lot on the kind of person your sister-in-law is and what kind of relationship you have with her. Some people resent any hint of "judgement" regarding their personal affairs; others don't mind an open discussion.

I tend to think that a person that would not let a truthful account of the life of shelter dogs influence their decision, is the kind of person that is not open to discussion about their decision to breed their dog--and especially so when the account they read states that even purebreds that were conceived, raised and sold with good intentions all around frequently end up in those places, and that it's even worse for the particular type of dog that they are thinking of breeding. But if your sister-in-law generally respects your opinion, a frank statement like Minka suggests might do the trick.

And if nothing else works, maybe you could bring up the idea of having the buyers sign a contract, as Drusilla mentioned. Or perhaps she'd be willing to have the puppies chipped so that if they do end up in a shelter, they will be returned to her immediately.
 
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drusilla

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Even better research the breed yourself and learn their health problems and the tests that needed to be performed on the breed.  Then quiz them, if they don't know the answers then there's the answer to whether or not they should breed the dogs.  A "breeder" that doesn't know what health problems & tests to perform on a breed isn't a true responsible, reliable breeder....they would actually be BYB (Backyard Breeder).  Plus if the dogs aren't show quality/champions she's not doing the breed any favors.  I got into breeding German Shepherds, Dobies, Rotties, & Labs because I wasn't thrilled with the quality I saw the Police Dept use (the conformation was all wrong-I could run circles around the ones they were using) and the typical K9 unit works 12-18 hr shifts.

In regard to contracts, speak with an attorney for exact details....it might be different in your area then mine.
 

missymotus

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She has an American Bulldog, and she bought him from someone that had a litter. 
Is it a registered pedigree American Bulldog? Or one purchased from a BYB? Unless it's a registered, breed quality dog they absolutely shouldn't breed from them. 
 

stealthkitty

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Personally, I feel that it's irresponsible to let a pet reproduce unless it's a registered animal of quality and part of an above-board breeding program. There's just too many animals already out there that need good homes. However, there's no way to stop pet owners from having their kittens or puppies if their minds are already made up.
 

drusilla

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Sadly, this is true.  When I bred dogs, I lost track of how many people contacted me wanting to breed their pet because 'we want the kids to experience the miracle of life' or 'Lil Lucy is so sweet, but she's getting older and we want a pup out of her for the kids.'  During one of those calls, the people got mad because I told them (after learning their kids were 3, 5 & 8 yrs old) that if they let their kids see the "miracle of life" in that way at such young ages, they very well could be young grandparents with their kids being "teen parents".  Needless to say, I didn't hear from them again.
 

stealthkitty

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During one of those calls, the people got mad because I told them (after learning their kids were 3, 5 & 8 yrs old) that if they let their kids see the "miracle of life" in that way at such young ages, they very well could be young grandparents with their kids being "teen parents".  Needless to say, I didn't hear from them again.
I have to respectfully disagree. For centuries, societies were basically agricultural. A great deal of societies today still are. Generations of children grew up watching the the entire reproductive cycles of animals of all kinds. The problem of teen parenthood is a relatively new one--if first-hand experience of animals reproducing leads to teen pregnancy, it would have been a much greater problem in the past, when a larger percentage of people led agrarian lives than now.

I have witnessed the reproductive habits of everything from sows to goats to ducks to dogs to horses to chickens to the family cat (this was at a time and place where it was considered "good for the cat" to have at least one litter, and I'm relieved that that belief has now been debunked). I've seen butterflies hatch from cocoons. I've seen tadpoles turning into frogs. I've seen camels "in the act" in a zoo. There is not a single aspect of animal reproduction that stirred me to want to try that for myself. If I were the person having that conversation with you, I would have wondered why on earth you say that children should be shielded from witnessing something as natural as the birth of puppies.

In fact, I would say that eliminating the mystery of reproduction and witnessing the miracle of birth is good for children. It is wonderful to watch a new life come into the world!  It can be very educational and open up dialogs with kids, and what parent doesn't want that? If I knew anyone that wanted to share such an experience with their little ones, I would recommend fostering a pregnant shelter kitty, or at the very least watching Milo and Otis, which treats the subject in a simple, delicate way.
 
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terestrife

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I doubt she will go to the trouble that you guys go through, researching and following up on the animals. After she had a baby, she said her daughter was most important and barely pays him any attention. my mom feeds him and im the one buying his flea and tick application. our house had ticks everywhere and she didnt want to buy medicine cause it was too "expensive"... shes in disneyworld right now and went to punta cana 3 months ago...

anyway, she hasnt taken steps yet to breed her dog. if she does i'll try talking to her. she gets kind of defensive when people talk to her about her choices though. so thats why ive been wary of saying anything directly. i had hoped the article would help. but i dont even know if she bothered to read it.

i am closer to my other sister in law. i tried talking to her as well about the article. she spend $500 on a chihuahua when she had seen one at the humane society. she wanted it to have papers and to be a baby. she also wants to adopted a specific cat breed. i dont know if she will listen. probably not. i am noticing that people dont really seem to be emotionally affected when you talk to them about all the pain and abuse animals go through. really frustrates me...
 

minka

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I may be a terrible person... but I would just get the dog neutered while she is away...
 

stealthkitty

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If her motivation is money, and you feel strongly about this matter, maybe you could offer to buy the dog from her and get it spayed immediately. Since you are already so involved in its care, it would be easy for you to tell her that you care a lot about the dog and that you would love to take over ownership since her hands are full already.
 
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