The thread certainly DID take a few twists and turns, lol.
One big problem is people want a Mastiff, but can't afford it. Not that they don't know/love the breed but just financially can't do the $2,000.00-3,500.00. So they take a chance. The old "It won't happen to me" outlook. Not to mention the NON-BREEDING contract. People don't like to be told what they can do with their dogs. I agree fully with the contracts.
That is where the BYB's have the ability to keep going. Yes they may have "good" dogs but people don't realize it goes beyond the parents.
When we adopted him it is one of the first things we asked. "where did he come from"
When dealing with smaller less stubborn k-9's great, but what happens to your 150 + lbs dog when you can't control him, temperament issues, lack of money for training, voidable health issues....he becomes a anti-social, mean, 150+ lbs dog that scares the crap out of you and everyone else. Then we end up re-homing. People accept bad behaviour from smaller dogs, even say its cute. Then like soo many people on here are left adopting a Mastiff to give them a second chance.
If there were no BYB's selling cheap dogs, not just anyone could have one
.
Unfortunately, whilst spending years on another giant breed forum, I have seen the same sad scenario a thousand times: Someone buys from a BYB, because the price is right, the people were 'nice' and seemed to love their dogs -- OR conversely, the situation was horrible and 'I couldn't bear leaving a puppy there' -- Mom and Dad had good temperaments and looked healthy, the pups were raised inside with the family. When questioned, they express the 'I know it's a risk, but it won't happen to me' attitude. Then within a few months to a year or so later, we had pleas for help: Puppy/dog has developed a genetically linked issue such as horrible skin and food allergies, IBS, cardiac issues, hypothyroidism, Wobblers, early signs of hip dysplasia, eye issues,etc -- and the heartache, huge financial expenditures for treatment, and devastating decisions that go with them . Many of these issues can be tested for, and responsible breeders do so. Then -- as babyjoe said --there are the temperament issues with your now 150lb + dog. Suddenly a slightly timid, shy 'sweety' becomes fear aggressive, dog aggressive, people aggressive -- or at an extreme bites the neighbor or their child. The positive, if there can be said to be one, is that people who have experienced these issues seldom if ever buy from another BYB. The sad part is that for each person who learned the hard way, there seemed to be five new people introducing their BYB pups.
but it infuriates me to read an ad on CL that states " must rehome my 7 year old fila, with health issues due to aggressive behavior towards my toddler". I guess you really can't fix stupid
.
I wholeheartedly agree with you both! You also piqued my interest, as I haven't looked at sites such as Kijiji, CL or even Puppy Finder for ages -- if ever! So I browsed through them today, and I was
horrified by what I saw! Bulldog puppies -- all being sold with full breeding rights, really scary crosses, an adult female something- bully- looking being sold: "Never been bred, comes into heat next month"
"Oops" litters, pages upon pages of Fila puppies for sale on the various puppy sites! GAAAAAAA! I mean, I too have learned a lot about Filas on this site. I've become quite intrigued with the breed and I think they are amazing and beautiful dogs. But they are clearly not for everyone.
@Smokeycat...OMG, that is dreadful! I haven't seen that before, but can well believe it. Other 'scams' I have seen are BYBs doing something similar but pretending they have created a designer dog.
Re: The pedigrees....what paperwork do you have? What I've found easiest is to get on the AKC website, click on 'Store' and you will see options for four or five generation pedigrees. Just type in your dog's full registered name or number, and it will produce his pedigree. It does cost a bit of money -- as I recall $ 10 or 15 for a research pedigree.
