In the Visitors Section there is a post with the following:
<<WE ARE NOT BREEDERS IN THE SENSE JUST GIVE OUR BITCH AN OCCASSIONAL LITTER.>>

What do others think consititues a Breeder?

I have had this argument with our local advertising paper - who charge over double if they consider you are a breeder.

If you give birth to a child then you are a mother - if your bitch has puppies then you are a breeder - to me that's it.

Christine
Christine

Agree Christine.

A breeder is ANYone who's bitch has a litter. It amazing the amount of people who do not consider themselves to be breeders because a) they do not have an affix and b) the bitch has only had one litter! I would be interested to know what their definition of a commercial breeder or puppy farm would be.

Leigh

I have had the same conversation with my local paper, when they asked me if I was a breeder, i said if I have a bitch with puppies then I am a breeder! Do you mean 'Commercial Breeder'? This paper allows one litter a year to be advertised free, after that you pay.

At the top of their dogs heading they say that the RSPCA recommends buying from a registered breeder! Now to my mind most of the best breeders under current rules would not be registered breeders, but a lot of the ones I would not reccomend probably are, as they breed 5 or more litters! why does the RSPCA not refer to us as Specialist Hobby breeders, and the others as Commercial breeders?

Answer to the question is you are a breeder if your bitch has pups, even accidentally!

To me, if you breed then you are a breeder!

Concise Oxford Dictionary definition of commercial:-

commercial adj. & n.
adj.
1 of, engaged in, or concerned with, commerce.
2 having profit as a primary aim rather than artistic etc. value; philistine.
3 (of chemicals) supplied in bulk more or less unpurified.
n.
1 a television or radio advertisement.

If your bitch has a litter, planned or unplanned you ARE a breeder. If one of the puppies you sell has an hereditary problem, you can be sued under the sale of goods act and will be legally defined as a breeder, even if it is only once in your lifetime you breed a litter.
I agree with the comments regarding the RSPCA advice. There is a commercial breeder in flatcoats she has other breeds too. Every quarter there are puppies registered from this kennel, in more than one breed. The Flatcoat Society gets lots of complaints about the welfare of the dogs there, yet it is a registered kennel which is where the RSPCA are advising people to buy puppies from rather than specialist hobby breeders, most of whom are well known within their breed clubs and are respected caring breeders.
Well thats the RSPCA for you!

May I raise a few points here to try and help me understand the definition of a Breeder.

If by having one litter of puppies either planned or unplanned makes the person a breeder, how can you then say "only buy a puppy from a breeder" ? when by defination of Breeder it is any Tom, Dick or Harry who has a litter, regardless of experience.

If you change this to only a Breeder with experience ie: having knowledge of breeding, then Puppy Farmers have a vast knowledge of breeding.

I am not trying to be awkward here, but it is not as easy to define as it seems

Regards

Leisure

I think when people are advised to 'only buy from a breeder' they are actually being advised not to buy from a third party ie. pet shops etc. Potential owners of the puppies will also then have the opportunity to assess the breeder's experience and motives for themselves.

Regards
Jacquie (Myatuk Alaskan Malamutes).

People are being advised to buy puppies from 'registered breeders' - I have had a look into this as I am a breeder and have had prospective buyers quote 'I have been advised to buy from a registered breeder only'. My thoughts on this were that I would need to become a registered breeder but to qualify for a registered breeder, you need to have 5 litters or more a year and I only breed a maximum of 2.

I think the main point here is that people should be advised to purchase from reputable breeders rather than registered breeders - there is a vast difference and any prospective buyer will be able to point out the difference.

I am deffinately not going to breed more than 2 litters a year to become a registered breeder as I feel that I would no longer be a reputable breeder with that amount of pups, I spend an awful amount of time grooming, playing, socialising and training my pups as well as preparing puppy packs and advising on the breed and I wouldn't be able to do this with more than 2 litters a year.

Donna

I have found that puppy buyers are often confused between the words "licenced" and "registered". Those breeders that register more than 4 litters a year need to have a "licence". Novices seem to believe that a "registered" breeder is registered with the Kennel Cub AS AN APPROVED BREEDER. Of course here is no such thng. The "Licence" is issued to a breeder by the local council/authority not the Kennel Club, after a succesful inspection of premises, dogs and paperwork. The only registering that goes on is the registration of the puppies NOT the breeder - as far as I understand it. I agree the RSPCA advice is flawed and is using the wrong terminology.

I did try to help define breeder in my reply, by stating that anyone who breeds a litter is by definition a "Breeder". So yes any Tom Dick or Harry can be a breeder. I later suggested that the definition of a good breeder would be someone who does not put profit first, some who takes time to select dogs and bitches for good temperament, and typical of the breed standard, is willing to help puppy buyers throughout the dogs life, and this type of "breeder" I describe as a specialist hobby breeder. Most do not have more than one or two litters a year, they are well versed in every aspect of health care, BVA testing, and the breed they have chosen to breed.
I hope this clarifies things a bit more.