A little pot stirring here... What about culling a brood of Fila pups from untested temp/health parents of unknown background vs selling to inexperienced pet owners wanting the latest bada$$ dog, or even someone that might be okay with a proper temp fila but not enough knowledge to know the importance of proper temperments? (as I think this was one of the original reasons for this thread) Should an entire breed risk BSL and someone's child's face or life be risked for the life's of a couple of puppies? Of course ideally this situation should never happen but we all know this is the real world...And yes I might not be a good person for letting the dogs breed to begin with but would it make me a worse person to put the dogs down for the bigger picture? Or should I just sell them to my friends, family and on CL to anyone with cash because anyone who knows Filas and is experienced enough and knowledgeable enough to deserve such a breed would most likely not risk having said dogs around their family and certainly would not pay Fila money for them.
fire away...
I looked for, but couldn't find (or didn't recognise)the original thread which prompted this discussion. I am assuming this is a hypothetical scenario, and that you don't actually have 12 Fila pups from unknown parentage on your hands. So here are my further thoughts:
Firstly, I think the larger picture is back to the dilemma of BYBs -- and personally, I
am very concerned about the increasing numbers of Fila puppies and Fila crosses appearing on CL, the latter of which in my mind are more likely to be ticking time bombs, and genetic loose cannons. I am generally quite opposed to any cross-breeding, especially with the 'harder' breeds, unless there is a specific purpose and job the cross was created for that couldn't be fulfilled by existing breeds. My perception is that if you are a BYB of these dogs you probably could care less about the future of the breed, dangers to society, and are probably more than happy to sell puppies to whomever has the money -- regardless of the buyer's intent and breed knowledge. Do you imagine for a second that anyone is ever going to convince 'you'/such such people to cull a litter of puppies? I don't think you would see an ethical dilemma at all.
Such BYBs did get their dogs from somewhere. Hence this is where 'responsible' breeders come into the picture. So now lets look at a responsible breeder with Filas. How would a responsible breeder arrive in a situation where s/he owned and allowed to mate Filas from unknown background and no temperament testing? I do think that dogs such as Filas should not be bred without pre-approved homes for the puppies. And I believe it falls on the breeders' shoulders to educate their customers, and direct them to other resources (CAFIB, breed clubs) for information. Additionally, if I bred Filas, I would have a very strict, iron clad contract that specified the conditions I required for a proper, safe and secure environment for the puppies. I would stay in touch with all of my puppy owners for the life of the dog. I would also say that, given many of the experiences of Newbies on our forum, an inexperienced Fila owner is not necessarily a recipe for disastet.
So bottom line, I can't quite visualise your scenario playing out with only the two options you describe, and I wouldn't cull the litter. I would hold the puppies longer, get the parents temperament tested, and reach out to other breeders and resources to find suitable placement. Failing that, I would look for a rescue experienced with Filas. You are making an unwarranted assumption that because the parents are of unknown backgrounds (in your hypothetical example), the puppies are faited to bite or kill children and suject the entire breed to BSL, and I don't think such puppies deserve a death sentence.