Backyard breeders vs. reputable breeders

I enjoy looking for Great Dane puppies online.

It’s hard to find a top-notch reputable breeder with puppies available. (One of the criteria of “reputable” is that they don’t breed all the time, but let their females rest between litters.) We’re going to go to an American Kennel Club (AKC)-approved dog show to try to meet some reputable Dane breeders.

Meanwhile, I do enjoy looking at the Dane puppies for sale now in my area through PennySaver.com. Some of these seem to come from “backyard breeders,” but they sure are cute!

In addition to breeding less frequently, the reputable breeders do various medical tests to screen against medical problems such as hip dysplasia. After Winston’s experience with hip dysplasia, I’m all for that! They also show their dogs regularly in competition, raise the puppies in a home environment, and do a lot of research to balance the pedigrees of father and mother dogs before mating. Reputable breeders take a lifetime interest in their dogs and will help with any problems that ever arise.

The opposite is the “backyard breeder.” There’s a lot of material on the web attacking the backyard breeders. Click here for an example. I can’t tell how much of it is exaggerated accusations from the “reputable” breeders. To hear them tell it, the backyard breeders mate their Danes carelessly and often with whatever Dane happens to be nearby -- even if they aren’t AKC registered -- causing untold health damage to the resulting pups.

Is it really that dangerous to breed outside the AKC-approved box? I don’t know. When I was growing up, we got a poodle from a backyard breeder, and she was fine. But that was in the Seventies, many doggie generations ago.

I feel a bit intimidated by the reputable breeders with all their rules. When Dillon and I met some Dane breeders at a dog show years ago, they were horrified by the very existence of our dog Winston -- living proof that a Harlequin Great Dane had been allowed to mate with a Labrador Retriever! However, his disreputable pedigree didn’t prevent him from being a fantastic companion. Perhaps a mixed breed has a better chance at good health than a careless mating of two purebred.

One thing’s for certain: There sure is a big price difference for the puppies, with “backyard breeders” may offer Dane pups for about $500, while some “reputable” ones may charge $1,200 and sometimes $4,000 for a dog with “show quality” coloring.

Cesar's DVD tells how to get a new dog

Dog expert Cesar Millan’s new video “Your New Dog: First Day And Beyond” looks great! I want to get it for advice in my search for our next dog.

It’s the third volume in his “Mastering Leadership” series. It follows three families who adopt a dog from a rescue group, a shelter and a breeder. I’m still considering all these options, so his expert guidance is most welcome.

You can see a video preview at Cesar Millan’s website.

I first heard about it from a neighbor with a new dog. She recommended it highly.

Calling all Danes!

Chuck, a cool Great Dane - Dalmatian mix

Every day I search for Great Danes on Petfinder.com.

It’s a fantastic website for locating specific breeds available from nearby pet adoption groups. As I write this, they have 253,486 adoptable pets from 11,300 groups all over the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

There are usually about 25 Great Danes or Great Dane mixes in my area. Many look like they really are Danes, too -- not Pit Bulls who were labeled Danes by overzealous people trying to find them a home.

As I watch the ever-changing array of dogs, I wonder where they came from and where they are going. The time hasn’t come for me to meet my own special Dane yet, but I enjoy looking online at all these big dogs and wondering about their stories.

Above is Chuck, one of my current favorites from afar. He's billed as a Dane-Dalmatian mix. I’d like to help this big boy find a home. Click here for more info on Chuck and how to adopt him.

P.S. on Oct. 17, 2008:
Chuck is available again -- under the name Shaka. He was adopted back in April but now he’s in the Los Angeles North Central Animal Shelter, which is known for putting many unwanted dogs to sleep. If you’re interested, his ID# is A0939560, and you can call (888) 452-7381 for info.

Yawning dog

Here's one of my favorite photos. I caught my Labrador Retriever Eleanor in the act of yawning.

A strange twist of fate - dog custody battle

Our journey with Eleanor the black Labrador Retriever took a strange twist when her original owners returned from overseas and wanted her back very much, blaming their pet sitter for letting her escape while they were gone, and blaming the Humane Society for mishandling it when they first reported the dog missing. The Humane Society called us 8 days after the adoption and asked if we would return the dog.

We were the legal owners, but we thought that returning Eleanor was the right thing for the dog and for us. Now she is home with the family that had her since she was a puppy.

We’re going to take more time to get over losing Winston. Then we’ll look for a Great Dane -- one whose ownership is not in question. I hope to introduce our new Dane pup online later this year. Meanwhile, I’ll keep writing about the search for the New Dog.

The video above was made the day before we returned Eleanor, fondly known as Ella.

We feel grateful that a twist of fate brought Eleanor into our home to light up our lives for 10 unforgettable days.

Labrador dog plays fetch

Here's a video of our Labrador Retriever Eleanor playing fetch.

Tennis ball connoisseur

My black Lab Eleanor is a great connoisseur of tennis balls. She loves to play fetch, but not just with any old ball.

She easily crushed the red Milk-Bone “toss and fetch” doggie balls that LOOK like tennis balls, but obviously aren’t as tough as the real thing.

It’s a good thing that my mom sent us some real tennis balls!

Dog bonding

Here's a photo of my new black Lab Eleanor kissing me shortly after we brought her home from the humane society. There have been many dog kisses since then!

We adopted a new dog!

Eleanor on her first day with us

Big news: We adopted a new dog! She’s a black Labrador Retriever and we named her Eleanor, or Ella for short.

She’s a friendly, intelligent, calm dog whose expression glows with a steady stream of love. She was a stray picked up by the Humane Society. She’s a wise old lady at age 9, based on the Humane Society estimate of her age. Her muzzle is starting to go grey, but she still seems full of life compared to what I’m used to with Winston. The vet thought she might be 6 years old and a purebred Lab. She weighs 77 pounds, exactly 2/3 of Winston’s peak weight of 115. She’s 23 inches tall at the shoulder, which is 6 inches shorter than Winston was.

Eleanor already knows all the basic commands, and is very obedient -- except about leaving the cat alone. The biggest challenge will be teaching her to get along with the kitty, but we’ve done it before. Eleanor goes nuts when she sees the cat, but Sapphire stays calm and actually seems glad to have a dog around again, as long as we enforce the rules against cat-chasing.

Above is a photo of Eleanor on her first day with us, which was Wednesday, April 2. Since then I’ve been so busy getting her settled (and working on taxes) that it’s my first chance to post the good news.

P.S. Perhaps I spoke too soon about the “very obedient” part. While I was typing this, she went into the bathroom and pulled the trash out of our waste basket!