Pet Peeve: Over-breeding

[Schnauzer]

Eight Belles was put down after racing with colts in the most recent Kentucky Derby. The news reported that race horses are being put down more and more due to the increasing number of injuries. According to CNN, these injuries could be due to over-breeding which is causing less soundness in the horse.

Puppy mills are notorious! Look at the country's most popular dog breeds... They all have major inheritable genetic health problems because after you breed a bitch so many times, she starts to get problems and the genetic material for the puppies gets damaged or the puppy suffers structural problems and/or immune deficiencies. These problems are passed down to future generations and eventually the general population of the breed isn't like what the breed used to be like.

What is the result? Health problems and early deaths... not to mention deviating from the breed standard. The breed standard does happen to be important, because a dog's health does partly rely on its conformation.

Let's focus on the Schnauzers since I know about them more than other breeds. Let's focus on the Miniature in particular since they're the most popular, and therefore most subject to over-breeding. I'll compare Pepper against this standard and other characteristics a Miniature Schnauzer is supposed to have as an example.

- **12-14 inches high at the shoulders (Pepper is 14.5 inches)
- **square proportion of the body (Pepper has a longer body)
- **straight and slightly downward sloping back (Pepper's back is curved)
- cat feet (YES)
- double coat (YES)
- outer coat should be wiry (YES)
- **color should be black, black and silver, salt and pepper, or white (AKC is STUPID for leaving this one out) (YES)
- black schnauzers should be solid cold black with no markings except a little white fleck on the chest is permitted (N/A)
- salt and peppers, and black and silvers should not have white markings anywhere except on the muzzle, eyebrows, lower legs, butt, and two spots on the chest that are not to be joined as one. (YES)
- **14-20 pounds (Pepper stays around a healthy 23-25 because he's bigger)
- forelimbs very straight (YES)
- rectangular elongated head half the length of the body (Pepper's head is rectangular and elongated, but not half the length of his body)
- alert expression (YES)
- small oval eyes (YES)
- guard/watch instinct (YES)
- high prey drive (YES)
- **large nose (YES)
- **a bark that sounds bigger than the dog (YES)
- signs of age appear when the dog is really old (YES, Pepper is 7 and acts like he's 2... not slowed down a bit and still very playful)

** Items need more discussion.
- height: Due to over-breeding, some Schnauzers are born with shorter legs. Opportunists seek out these poorly bred Schnauzers in effort to create a toy Schnauzer... which I'm sure will become popular little purse dogs for people like Paris Hilton... and a Schnauzer is NOT like a Chihuahua!! Chi's are cute but they're bred to be babied unlike a Schnauzer. Furthermore... all Schnauzers... mini, standard, giant and Russian bear (Black Russian Terrier which is NOT a terrier at all according to ANY country... just so things don't get confused) are supposed to have a squarely proportioned body. They're making long dogs out of them so that they meet the height qualification for toy, but it's not yet a separate breed. Pepper is 14.5 inches tall... His parents were also on the large side and so is his brother Rusty.

- square proportion: I'm seeing more and more longer Schnauzers these days. Pepper is one of them.

- downward straight back: I'm not seeing that anywhere except in show dogs.

- color: Although the colors I mentioned and their guidelines are the standard, there were liver colored Schnauzers and partis back in the day. Some people still breed these and I see nothing wrong with that.

- weight: Smaller dogs being bred means they weigh less.

- nose: I've seen my share of Schnauzers with small noses... and that's not very Schnauzery. The Schnauzer has a better nose than the Bloodhound and can sniff you out even if you go into water... They're supposed to have big noses.

- bark: The smaller the voice, the smaller the chest usually is. Pepper has a thick deep barreled chest and sounds like a medium sized dog, which is how it's supposed to be. Watch my video of him talking and then watch some minis on youtube... You'll notice a very big difference. These dogs are beginning to sound like terriers which they are not.

- face: I've seen some Schnauzers who had more of a terrier face... Even their faces are changing!!

When we had pure champion blooded Sir Willy, no one else who saw him knew what he was except the vet and groomer, but they wanted to find out. Now the Miniature Schnauzer is the 11th most popular breed in America. Consequently, the breed is suffering and being ruined. When we had Willy, mum decided she wanted to rescue a Schnauzer, so she called a shelter to call her if they ever got one. I don't know how long it was other than a long time, but they eventually got one and called her. Dad wouldn't let her have it. Now I go to petfinder.com and see minis EVERYWHERE in shelters and foster homes, and mixes. This is so sad. I don't even feel like listing all of the genetic potential health problems minis have... I'll just mention the big notorious killer - toe cancer. Willy battled this until he had to be put down. This cancer metastasizes everywhere and fast. Breeding practices should be left to private breeders who have dogs of correct conformation/characteristics/temperament who they treat respectfully and lovingly as pets.

The Standard Schnauzer usually just dies of old age. They are much hardier because they are the least popular out of the 3 sizes. The Standard Schnauzer Club of America has a code of ethics for breeding, and breeders of this dog tend to work with each other. They do annual screenings for hip displasia, cataracts, and other inheritable conditions. They've done so well that they've nearly weeded these things out! If the breed ever becomes popular though (for instance, if people who like minis discover the standard and its hardiness), that will all go down the drain because mills will get a hold of them to meet demands and make money. I can't stand this! I'm tired of seeing terrier like Schnauzers because they're not like real Schnauzers, and I'm tired of seeing this in other breeds and species too. Humans either breed an animal to the point of destroying what it once was, or hunt it to extinction. Where's the middle? And where's responsibility?

My suggestions? Don't ever buy a pet shop puppy, spay and neuter, adopt a shelter dog, and leave the breeding to private knowledgeable small breeders.

[Suzanne Moore]

Yes, excellent post. Since horses are my area of expertise, I'll comment first on your mention of Thoroughbred race horses - yes, the breed has been greatly damaged by breeding for speed alone, at the expense of everything else. But if you think things are bad for horses competing at the Kentucky Derby level, you can't even imagine how it is for those in the claiming races, and all the other dirty, unregulated tracks all over the country. It's abominable.

However, over breeding is affecting ALL horses. Before the slaughter plants were shut down, people dumped off their old, sick or otherwise "useless" horses off to the truly unspeakable fate of the equine slaughter plant. Do NOT be fooled by those who say that slaughter was a humane death. It was NOT. You don't want to see the videos that prove it.

Now that irresponsible owners have lost the slaughter option, they starve, abandon, neglect - and are too cheap to pay a vet to put their horses down because they whine that it's too expensive. @#*&@#!! Words fail me.

And still they breed even more horses when they can't give away the ones already on the ground, and this goes for purebreds as well as grades (horse term for mixed breed)

And don't EVEN let me get started about Morgans in particular. The REAL Morgan is almost extinct because of the show ring fads for Morgans that look like Saddlebreds. Believe me, those weedy, nutty things with the built up shoes you see in the shows are NOT Morgans. We call them "Morglebreds" because so much Saddlebred blood has been crossed in - legally and otherwise - that you might as well call them Saddlebreds and get it over with.

They are weak in the back, legs, feet and mind. It horrifies me that people think those are Morgans. And still they breed, breed, breed...

Um, I'm starting to lose it, aren't I? I just love ALL animals SO much, and I feel so powerless. And the thing about horses is that they live SO long, especially when compared to cats and dogs. They have 25 - 30 years to live in misery...

[Schnauzer]

Thanks Bragger, any time! I'm passionate about this.

[PetBrags Pet Lovers Paradise]

Excellent and well stated! Thank you for sharing with PetBrags.