Re: [pyrnet] Re: Family Jewels

["Linda Weisser" <lmweisser@attbi.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dennis & Marie McFarland" <lochsloy@eagnet.com>

<< An intact male can and often times does go to extraordinary lengths to
reach an in season female. All it takes is one accident. >>

I feel sort of like the Devil's Advocate here.  And that I have to say once
again that I do believe in altering and that almost all of the dogs I breed
are sold already altered.  However, I do think that there is a big
difference between the experience of breeders and the general beliefs of
people who do not breed.  I have had both male and female intact Pyrs for
over 30 years.  I have had numerous of both sexes at one time.  I do not
keep altered dogs.  I have *never* had an accidental breeding because a male
dug under, went over or chewed through anything.  And my males are kenneled
side by side with my bitches while they are in season.  These are six foot
high chain link runs.  My males may pace a bit and whine and dance for the
girls but they don't even stop eating.  I do think that basic pet owners who
harbor intact dogs of opposite sexes without kennels of any sort, do run a
higher risk of those accidents.  My belief is that people who have intact
opposite sex dogs just to have "one" litter for whatever reason, would be
better off skipping the whole thing.  I am not saying that one has to have a
large number of dogs in a large number of runs to be qualified to breed.  I
am saying that bringing a litter into the world is a HUGE commitment to
those pups (I once got back a dog that I bred that was 10 years old) and a
huge commitment to the breed and its survival and betterment.

Linda