Why would you need to defend your "breed"?

Question

So in light of the recent slew of BYB supporters on here, I have to make an observation (followed by a legit question, don't worry). If you purchased a dog from a truly reputable breeder, or adopted from a legitimate rescue service, what would cause you to feel the need to defend your decision? How many of you have bought from a reputable breeder and then run to the computer to explain yourself to perfect strangers? And why is it that only the gullible buyers of designer mutts and "teacup" runts are the ones on here running their mouths? Could it be that even they know how far in denial they are and they want to try to convince others in order to convince themselves?

So my official legitimate question for answering is: Do you feel the need to defend your dog's breed or breeder/rescue, and if so, why? And second, why do YOU think anyone else would feel the need to do so?

My answer: No. I have no reason to defend my dogs or their breeders, because I already know they are worth every penny I paid for them. (Both purebred and AKC registered.)

Answer 1

I have 4 Chihuahua's and feel no need to defend their breed or their breeder. They are what I wanted. I don;t care what anyone else wants. It would not be good for us all to want the same. I don't need to defend their breeder. I know for a fact he's one of the best.

You only have to be defensive when you feel you have made a mistake or something is wrong. I chose my breed with care and choose their breeder with care. I have nothing to worry about.

People are defensive because they did not research and rushed into something. Hence they have often been conned when they got their "pure bred Puggle" or their "Teacup Chihuahua." Embarrassment can make you defensive for sure.

Answer 2

I find myself having to defend the "breed" of one of our dogs...but only because she is a pit bull/rottweiler mix. Even though she is a sweetheart, some people still say "Oh" when they ask what kind of dog she is.

And guess what? We didn't pay $800 for her. She was free! See folks...you can get a nice mixed-breed dog for under $1000. Although I must admit...she didn't have a catchy name like a "Pitweiler". ;-)  

Answer 3

Nope! I have no need to defend where I got my dogs from. Simply because I got them both from a rescue. I considered getting my second dog from a breeder. But from a reputable breeder who shows and health tests. And I decided to rescue because I just could find a breeder that met all of my standards.  

Answer 4

I totally agree.  I have one purebred Golden Retriever and one that is a Rescue boy.  My rescue boy I know is a mutt and I love him no matter what.  He is a Golden Retriever/Border Collie mix....a mutt, not a Golden Border or any other made up name for a mutt.

It drives me nuts when I hear Labradoodle and other made up breeds!  You got suckered into buying a mutt at an extravagant price.  

When will people wise up and realize that these glorified breeds are just mutts?

Edit*** Tea Cup St. Bernard!  LOL!!  That's great!

Answer 5

I think a lot of dog owners feel the need to defend their breed when faced with incorrect assumptions.

The obvious example is owners of pit bulls, rottweilers etc. trying to explain to people with no idea that actually these dogs are not naturally vicious / unstable / have locking jaws etc.

On the opposite side of this you have a lot of people who make assumptions about small dogs.

Personally - I'm a big dog person. I like a dog you don't have to bend down to pet, and one of my favourite all time breeds is the rottweiler.

However, at the moment I own a bichon frise. She was our first family dog, so we wanted something that wasn't too demanding etc. In our household we have one elderly person who is afraid of large dogs, and doesn't like noisy dogs. Another has allergies and could not live with a dog that shed a lot.

The bichon was perfect when we got her to fit in with our circumstances.

Despite preferring large dogs, I still defend my dog against the hordes of people who call her a poodle, and those who assume she is somehow not a proper dog. She still wants to chase cats, hump cushions, mark her territory, bark at the postman, roll in dodgy smells etc. Just because she is small and fluffy doesn't mean she is a toy!

On the other hand I do agree that many people feel the need to defend their breed (or their breeding practices) because they have a guilty conscience!

One poster here has already commented on the programme "pedigree dogs exposed". There were breeders who stated clear as day that they will NOT health test their dogs - despite knowing the consequences. Or others that try to justify killing the healthy pups in a litter at birth because they are "deformed" - meaning their coat is not suitable for the show ring! Or the judge who tried to justify the ringful of GSDs who were virtually crippled because "they fit the breed standard".

I just think there are two reasons for having to justify things:

1) You know that the person you are talking to is making incorrect assumptions.

2) You know what you are doing is unjustified, so you need to justify it to others in order to feel better about yourself.

Answer 6

would u defend your child if it was a cross.. simple no u love it for who it is, a dog is a dog no matter what back ground or parents they still offer unconditional love and bring joy to our lives, if they aint pure bred who gives a FK! seriously people need to get over the pedigree dogs are better but hahah they aint there more inbred than anything.

Owner of a Northern Inuit, 7 Week Malamute/husky mix, German Shepher(working Type Not Show), Rotty and Cane Corso

Answer 7

i personally think that people should not be allowed to breed anymore dogs untill every poor homeless dog has a nice happy home to live in. its the animals healts that matters the most, not how 'designer' or well-bred they are.

im not having a go at you or trying to insult you, its just my humble opinion.  

Answer 8

Defintion of Defensive:

Intended or appropriate for defending; protective.

Intended to withstand or deter aggression or attack: a defensive weapons system; defensive behavior.

Of or relating to the effort to prevent an opponent from gaining points in a game or athletic contest.

Performed so as to avoid risk, danger, or legal liability: defensive driving; defensive medicine,

Of or relating to defense.

Psychology Constantly protecting oneself from criticism, exposure of one's shortcomings, or other real or perceived threats to the ego.

It is amusing that dog owners insist they don't need to be defensive and then have to let everyone know that they paid lots of money for their "purebred and AKC registered" dog.  Is that not being defensive?  Using the words "purebred" and "AKC Registered" would seemlingly block any and all judgments/attacks against your dog or you as an owner and the breeder as a breeder.

Sometimes I feel the need to defend and/or explain where I got my Rough Collie and the fact is that is often the first question people ask...where did you get her?  Follow always by "How much did she cost?"

So, basically all this question asking sets folks up to be defensive.  And the facts are this...you could buy a dog for lots of money from a "reputable"  breeder and still have lots of health and behavioral issues, especially if you do not TRAIN your dog!  And, breeders have been known to lie!

I have decided that it is no ones business or concern where I got her or how much I paid or any of that.

If I adopted a child would people be so concerned about how much I paid or who her biological parents were...well, they might, but they probably would not ask!

Answer 9

I have a few, mixed and pure bred and I do not feel a need to defend any of them..they are all wonderful, loving, well trained family pets!  Even the dogs "WITH PAPERS" are PETS.  I just had to add that because so many think because a dog has papers from a champion bloodline they NEED to breed. My "papers" went to the garbage. My heart has gone to the dogs!

Answer 10

I don't need to defend my little girl.

I think that a lot of mutts are much more adorable if they weren't supposed to be born ie; just a mistake. I don't think that designer dogs should be bred. You could get the good parts of the two breeds. Or the bad parts. There is no way to tell.

I prefer to help people with their pets then listen to people defend their decisions.

Answer 11

I don't defend myself to anyone one here.  There's a difference between defense and education.  I try to educate, in an attempt to diffuse the rampant ignorance and stupidity.  I don't try to change people's opinions but I do let them know when they don't have their facts straight.  It's one thing to have an opinion.  It's quite another to have an opinion based on false information.

Answer 12

Let me tell you this story, about this naive lady at the G.R. shelter who called. Anyways she asked us if we had any "comfort" retrievers. I asked what the h**l that was. Apparently it's a golden retriever/cocker spaniel mix. She started telling me how expensive and "rare" they are and all this other c**p. I told her we have small golden retrievers but never had that type of dog before. Well, that lady wasn't interested, then and promptly hanged up.

What's the hype with all these dogs??? I still have yet to get it. There's thousands of different dog breeds already why do we need to mix them. Now that lady has some mix she prob. payed 2k for and she could've adopted a wonderful small golden retriever for a very small fraction of that price.

edit: It seems everyone is answering the legit question....

I don't need to defend my dog breed. My dog does that for me! People who defend their dog breed extremely defensively sometimes make themselves look bad in the process.

Answer 13

Nice to see some intelligent questions and comments relating to this issue :)

My rescue mutt is a 'pure' mongrel. You'll see one like him on every street - black long or short coat, terrier features, occasionally some white on the chest or paws, energetic and sociable. So I'll defend this 'breed' from the point of view that they seem to be everywhere and everyone seems to love them :)

I tend to agree with comments here that all dogs deserve a good, loving home, I'm not into 'designer' dogs for whatever purpose, altho I have a lot of respect for decent working dogs - Welsh Border, dogs used for mountain rescue, guide dogs, police dogs, etc..

I will always take my future dogs from a rescue home or adopt from someone looking to re-home their dog. It is incredibly selfish of us as humans to manipulate a species for our own 'entertainment' and we should respect our friends more :)

Thanks again for a cool discussion topic ;)

Answer 14

I have never felt the need to defend my breeds of choice nor from where they came.  I am comfortable in my decisions and respect the differences of others.

I feel it is a lack of self acceptance to feel a need to be so unnecessarily defensive.