Having someone raising pets with love and attention while also being aware of their genetics and actively trying to breed better companion animals is the ideal way to breed dogs. The problem is not that we have too many dogs in shelters - it’s that we have too many breeders trying to make a quick buck (or just not caring enough about their animals) and surrendering the dogs that don’t sell because they’re ill-tempered or not suited for most families.

Very eye-opening experience for me. I knew the shelters are full of dogs that are staffy/pit mutts but I didn’t think about how they came to be born in the first place

I forget that some people don't know that "backyard breeder" is basically used a slur in the dog world lol 😅 I can totally see how my response definitely wouldn't make sense without that information.

There's definitely a LOT of factors that contribute to the shelter crisis, and I think that boiling it down to individual human decisions is a dangerous thing to do. There's definitely people who are irresponsible about their animals, no arguing with that, but we are often really hesitant to address the broader social causes of that perceived irresponsibility when we have conversations about this... like, what circumstances might people be in which make dumping a dog necessary or appealing? What circumstances might people be in which might result in "letting my intact dog have puppies and selling them for a couple hundred bucks on craigslist and then ghosting the buyers" seem like a reasonable way to make a few extra bucks? What resources are people being given to care for themselves, their families, and their pets? What resources are municipal animal control and animal shelters being given? Like, I've talked about how around here dumping dogs is becoming more common bc the price of both human and dog food (and things like vet care) are rising astronomically and wages aren't keeping up. If dumping dogs was simply due to people not caring enough, we would not be seeing a rise in dumping that's directly attributable to material conditions this way. That gives us a lot of information about what is driving these problems. In the US we have a homeless animal crisis for all of the same reasons we have a homeless people crisis. We have an animal welfare crisis for all of the same reasons we have a human welfare crisis. Addressing human welfare is one of the biggest things we can do upstream of these problems that will have the biggest impact on people AND the animals they care for.

That's not to say that I don't think it's good to be conscientious and thoughtful about breeding, or that there isn't value in things like pedigree tracking or health testing, because obviously if I didn't think that I wouldn't be doing those things! But *because* I am doing them, I can say from personal experience that it requires a lot of time, money, and energy to do it this way. Most people do not have an excess of those things at the moment. I find it much less useful to look at the people who aren't currently able to meet my personal standards of responsibility in terms of creating more pets than I do to look at the material circumstances that are preventing them from doing so. And yes, sometimes "ignorance" is one of those circumstances! And in those cases I think education and outreach are very useful. I've helped people in "designer dog" type fb groups understand the ins and outs of things like health testing and puppy raising just by presenting the information in an easily digestible way without judgment or condescension. The FDC has a lot of fairy straightforwardly presented information about this stuff available to both breeders and puppy buyers, and I think that's very useful. Breeding dogs well is incredibly gatekept, and that's by design. I don't think that gatekeeping benefits dogs or people. No matter which way you slice it, blaming breeders who we perceive as being less responsible than we would like them to be is just not a productive way to address any of these very real and very troubling social problems.

I totally agree that it would be ideal if most pet dogs could be produced in the way that breeders like Apsara are doing! And I also think that will never be the case if we can't figure out how to build a society that is humane for the people breeding and caring for the animals.

Handler Focus: Very high. He's ready when you are. Can't wait to know what he can do for you.

Handling Sensitivity: While very aware of handling, there's a low need to act, which is really nice. He LOVES being brushed, and getting foot massages and face rubs, being held like a baby. He loves nail trims for cookies. High body sensitivity means he keeps himself very clean, and prefers not to pull on his leash.

Sound Sensitivity: Very aware, but not nervous or reactive. Doesn't miss a thing, but doesn't need to do anything about noises that aren't important. Will sleep through thunderstorms, play during tornado sirens, follows handler's lead on whether noises need to be investigated.

Startle Response: moderate, and usually wants to investigate

Environmental Sensitivity: low. Can engage in complex handler direction in a variety of settings. Regularly demos during fitness and rehab presentations in vet clinics, street fairs, training conferences

Prey Drive: does have herding drive from his sheltie heritage, but does not hurt prey. Ask him about the time he met his best friend, Baby Deer, and helped him home to his mother

Toy Drive: loves to retrieve if you tell him you're proud of him. Will tug for fun, would rather work for food when available

Confinement Distress: No. Loves going in his crate for a chew, a treat, or his dinner. Regularly naps or sleeps confined to a crate or playpen. FOMO if he can see you doing something really fun, but is regularly crated during homeschooling events, at the training center, and at grandma and grandpa's house, without complaint.

Sociability with Dogs: Hello, my name is Skippy, would you like to get married?

Sociability with People: Hello, my name is Skippy and I'm an orphan. Will you please adopt me and hold me like a toddler?

Sociability with Children: Hello, my name is Skippy and I'm one of you. Will your mom make me a sandwich?

Overall Health: Excellent. No care needed besides annual vaccine exam.

Additional Info: Skippyjon is actually a human child who got turned into a dog and needs your help to break the spell.