Page 38 - K9 News - Issue 14 - December 2020
P. 38

o
           on
                    n





           the
           the






           BENCH
           BENCH













                                corn l
           David Al
           David Alcorn looks at...
                                              ooks at...
                      ...the varied and differing attitude
                      ...the varied and differing attitude

                       to breeding dogs                                    .
                       to breeding dogs.





           The various confines and regulations of             I sparked an interesting debate on Facebook
           lockdown have given many of us a great deal of      when I suggested there were some “show”
           time to think about many things, appreciate our     breeders of various breeds who felt almost
           dogs, and generally try to enjoy life at home – as   embarrassed to increase their prices, with peer
           well as undertake that huge long list of DIY jobs   pressure holding them back from increasing
           which have been put off and put off in favour of    their prices from the considered norm. On the
           shows for the last 10-20 years! One of the hot      converse, we have all been aware of vastly
           topics of conversation, on and off social media,    over inflated prices of puppies (from £4,000
           has certainly been a varied and differing attitude   to £10,000), which I find quite ridiculous.
           to breeding dogs.                                   Conversely, I find it depressing to hear from a
                                                               number of (who I would consider) top breeders
           I am not a breeder of a great number of litters,    of large gundog breeds saying they didn’t feel
           we keep five bitches across three breeds and        they could possibly increase their price from
           at the moment only two are of breeding age.         £850 as “everyone in the breed” would talk
           One decided recently to be at the height of         about them.
           her season in lockdown and, with her intended
           suitor based in Dorset, was not mated. Whilst       There is a fine balancing act between charging
           many of the discussions around breeding have        sufficient, and extorsion. How much is enough?
           centred on the insane price of puppies, there       How much is too much? Should a Weimaraner
           has also been a great upsurge and sudden            from hip-scored parents be the same price
           interest from many quarters in the frequency        as Labrador from parents who have each
           of breeding and the number of litters a breeder     undertaken the eight recommended tests for the
           produces per annum.                                 breed, or different to that of a standard poodle

   38
                                           K9 NEWS DIGITAL / DECEMBER 2020
   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43