Breeders Tell Fans of Water Dogs: Keep Your Paws Off

[question everything]

JUNE 20, 2009

Breeders Tell Fans of Water Dogs: Keep Your Paws Off
First Pup Bo Unleashes Demand, but Picky Sellers Turn Buyers Away

By NANCY KEATES
WSJ

(snip)

Ever since the Obama family anointed Bo the country's First Dog, requests for Portuguese water dogs have been soaring, jumping by about 100% in the U.S. and 122% in the U.K. from a year earlier, according to officials at the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America. The breed's new vogue has made it harder than ever to get a "Portie," a cute and intelligent dog jealously guarded by its breeders. Since the early 1970s, when the first few dogs arrived on U.S. shores, the nation's estimated 200-odd water dog breeders have kept a tight leash on the adoption process in the name of protecting the dogs. Even before Bo, many prospective owners had to submit to an interview with the breeder and fill out an application that can run 11 pages.

Sample essay questions: "How would you describe the ideal dog for you and your family?" and "What other breeds have you considered?" and "Of the dogs you have owned, what do you enjoy most about dog ownership?" According to Art Stern, the Texan who bred Bo, the President and Mrs. Obama weren't subjected to the usual scrutiny when they accepted the puppy as a gift from Sen. Edward Kennedy and his family. But Mr. Stern, who usually insists on a face-to-face meeting with children to determine an adopting family's suitability, says he carefully considered the behavior of 7-year-old Sasha and 10-year-old Malia on television and concluded they were water-dog-worthy. "We weren't about to throw a wrench in the process," Mr. Stern says. The first lady, through her press secretary, says Bo is "a perfect fit." Just 1,400 puppies are born a year, which means the Bo boom has created acceptance rates worthy of an Ivy League college. Amanda Ford, a breeder in Carnation, Wash., says she has seen casual inquiries for puppies increase from once a week to once a day. Her rejection rate -- before Bo -- was 10 to one.

(snip)

Ms. Eadie has a Web site and is on the water dog club's list of breeders. She says that with demand raging, she has created a few other parameters as well. She will sell only to people who can stay home with the dog or take it to work, who have a fenced-in yard and don't have children under the age of 6. And winners don't get to pick their prize: Ms. Eadie says she tests the puppies' temperament herself to make the perfect match. As for the losers, "I don't tell people they'd be a bad owner," she says. "I just tell people we don't have a puppy for them."

(snip)

Once rejected, some would-be buyers find themselves forever scorned. Julie Pincus, a 48-year-old graphic designer, barely escaped breeder banishment. Unable to have children and having battled breast cancer, Ms. Pincus decided a few years ago that she wanted a little company and underwent the lengthy review process, only to conclude her $1,500 dog had an underbite, a genetic flaw that compromises its value. She returned the dog to the upset breeder. A few months later, Ms. Pincus found a breeder in a different state, reapplied and drove three hours to the interview. Suddenly the breeder changed her mind. Only after many calls did the breeder confess she'd heard about Ms. Pincus's prior experience from the first breeder and had decided to reject her application. "They're all nuts," says Ms. Pincus, who was eventually able to persuade the second breeder to allow her to adopt her current dog, Milo.

Breeders say they're tough because they care about the puppies' welfare and contend the caution is needed because the breed demands a lot of attention. Historically, the dogs lived on fishing boats, where they fetched tackle underwater and acted as couriers, strengthening their hind legs and sharpening their retrieval skills. According to the water-dog club, the dogs, considered sacred in pre-Christian times, require regular and extensive grooming, need a lot of exercise, think independently and, as puppies, can bite.

(snip)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124545926120333167.html (subscription)

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A1

[glitch]

1. Very true. And also true of their cousins the Standard Poodle.

High energy, high maintenance dogs but so well worth it.

[shireen]

23. how old are those breeds?

I'm quite amazed by the lineage of these dogs, some are quite ancient.

I'm fascinated by the origins of dogs. Carolina dogs are thought to be among the most ancient lineages, not really breeds in the conventional sense because they've been feral for many generations till recently. Like the dingoes in Australia. I think there are some ancient dogs in India as well, but forget the details behind it.

And there's the amazing New Guinea Singing Dogs ... i wonder if there are any left in the wild.

New Guinea Singing Dogs on You Tube ... so cute!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yo3-MWwJxw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf2FXzD34Ws&NR=1

You can hear them singing here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZRPvxdRhWs

Website at http://www.freewebs.com/singingdogs/

[InvisibleTouch]

44. The oriental sighthounds go back thousands of years...

...which is what I have, while the "western" sighthounds were developed from those breeds more recently. The poodle and water dog are several hundred years old, I believe, so they're officially "antiques" but not truly ancient. :)

The Indian breed you may be thinking of is the Rampur Hound, which is another sighthound - though it may be a mix today of an ancient local hound and the more recent Greyhound. As best we can figure, standing-eared sighthounds were the original Egyptian/North African domestic breed, until drop-eared sighthounds started to migrate in with moving populations from the Middle East and India.

There are New Guinea Singing Dogs in the wild still, and while people do raise them as pets, they're a lot more difficult than more domesticated breeds. Same with wolf-dogs - people do raise them and they make fine pets under the right conditions, but it takes a certain type of owner to do well with them. They are not as tractable as, say, a German shepherd or a lab.

But then, a sighthound isn't a super-obedience breed either. Very independent. :)

[flvegan]

2. ...and we'll euthanize 5-7 million unwanted pets in shelters this year.

Bravo, people.

[pnwmom]

9. And should we stop having babies because there are bad parents

and millions of children end up in foster care?

[flvegan]

10. I didn't realize that children were a commercial commodity.

Lives bought and sold for profit.

Thanks for enlightening me.

[pnwmom]

13. The fact that dogs are bred and sold doesn't change anything.

Children are not commodities but millions ARE without homes. And no one is calling for a moratorium on births until all the children in foster homes are adopted.

Why should I not buy the hypoallergenic puppy I want from a breeder because other people dumped their dogs into a shelter? My family has never deserted or mistreated any animal, so we're not contributing to the problem.

[flvegan]

14. How many are euthanized because they're surplus?

Better yet, how many are euthanized because a younger, cuter one can be bought for $500 at ChildLand?

You're the one that made this about children, so your response is pretty weak.

[pnwmom]

18. They're surplus mostly because irresponsible dog owners dumped them.

The solution is to close down the puppy mills and the pet stores that support them.

But responsible dog breeders re-home the puppies they place, if a placement doesn't work out. They're not contributing to the problem -- and they and their customers are no more responsible for the millions of pets in shelters than any non-pet owner.

[flvegan]

22. Responsible dog breeder.

99% of the time an oxymoron.

And your last statement is lunacy. Yeah, people who choose to not have a dog/cat are just as responsible. Brilliant.

[LisaL]

50. I think purebred cats and dogs only constitute a small percentage

of dogs and cats in the US. So millions of pets ending up in the shelter is not the fault of breeders.

[pnwmom]

55. Yes, non-pet owners are JUST as responsible

in the sense that they are NOT taking in homeless animals and thus lowering the population in the animal shelters. And neither are they contributing to the over-population.

They are in the same position as responsible purchasers of dogs from responsible breeders, who -- although they don't lower the population in the animal shelters -- don't themselves contribute to the over-population in the shelters.

[northernlights]

36. because you can adopt a hypoallergenic dog

dumped at a shelter. There are tons of hypoallergenic breeds -- from puppies to older dogs -- to be found at shelters on any day of the week. In every size, color, combinations of colors. Just check out petfinder.

Around the time that the Obama's were given Bo, there were literally a dozen lab-poodle and golden-poodle cross pups, from 8 weeks to about a year, up for adoption via petfinder -- in my zip-code range alone.

There were also dozens of poodles of all sizes, bichons, wheatens, and various and sundry other "hypoallergenic" puppies available.

And yes, frankly, I think in this day and age *anybody* should at least consider adopting over giving birth. I would, naturally, put the anti-abortionists, at the top of the list. But, seriously, it is the responsible thing to do, imho.

[pnwmom]

56. Not true where I live. I followed petfinder closely while waiting to purchase

my puppy and there were virtually no poodle mix puppies in Washington or Oregon. When they do occur, they tend to be toy dogs, and I was looking for a medium size dog.

Actually, I just checked again, and there were NO medium sized poodle mix dogs of any age in either state.

[roody]

48. Yes, there are too many people on the earth.

[konnichi wa]

51. No, I say let's euthanize the extras.

:eyes:

[alarimer]

57. That woman who returned her dog because it had an underbite should never have pets at all.

I agree, though, that if people want a pet, they should go to the shelters first.

I really think Obama set a really bad example here. As did Biden and anyone else who wants a "designer" dog.

[InvisibleTouch]

3. Good breeders don't sell to just anyone.

I require an application form also (though mine isn't 11 pages long). Some really go overboard, I do have to say; there's got to be a balance between finding good homes for one's pups, and having such stringent requirements that almost no applicant would pass the test. Prospective buyers, for their part, need to realize that not every breed of dog is suited to every personality of owner, and vice versa. People usually start out liking the look of a particular breed (which is fine), but the research has to go deeper than that, or everyone in the equation ends up unhappy.

[question everything]

6. A friend of mine recently lost her dog to cancer

They were very attached and she was glad to find someone who had the same breed and whose dog was ready to breed. The breeder kept my friend informed, with photos and videos and once the happy moment occurred, all of a sudden the breeder wanted the puppies to be groomed for show dogs which my friend is not into.

I convinced her - I hope - to go to a shelter. One thing about a mutt, all the genetic background that make many pure bred ill or handicapped have been diluted.

[pnwmom]

12. Healthwise, it's a toss-up. There are plenty of purebreds with health problems

who end up in shelters after starting out in puppy mills.

On the other hand, purebreds and expensive hybrids often have parents who've undergone extensive genetic testing.

[InvisibleTouch]

46. Not an honorable breeder, IMO.

That's sad to hear that someone would just back out of the deal in order to keep the whole litter as show dogs. I'd be surprised if every pup in the litter was show-quality, in any case. I have placed show-quality pups in pet homes because I knew they'd have a great home there, and that not everyone wants to show their dog.

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Good. We don't need another 101 Dalmatians fiasco. k+r, n/t

[shireen]

5. i'm glad the breeders are being so careful

Dog fads are dangerous. When a breed becomes popular for whatever reason, be it a movie or commercial or living in the WH, puppy mills churn them out, and many end up unwanted in shelters.

My favorite breed is the mutt. I love all dogs, but cannot understand why some people gravitate towards specific breeds. Mutts are one-of-a-kind ... it doesn't get any more special and unique than that!

[XemaSab]

15. Bee, Pipster, and Muttuska thank you!

[shireen]

16. awww .... did you try to post pictures?

I can't see it. It says "This image link contains an illegal code"

Could you please repost? I LOVE looking at doggie pictures. :hi:

[XemaSab]

20. I edited

They should work now.

[shireen]

21. awesome! thanks for fixing the links.

They are utterly absolutely GORGEOUS. You are very very fortunate to have those sweet little souls in your life. :)

[question everything]

27. Aww... look at the eyes of the third one

and... why is the tail so short on the second?

They do like to pose, don't they?

[Neecy]

38. beautiful dogs!

[Fire1]

45. All breeders should interview and screen, imo. n/t

[imdjh]

7. No wonder marketing companies appear to think the average person has the IQ of a turnip

People trying to get a breed of dog because the Obama's have one.
No doubt, Malia, Natasha, Michelle, and Barrack will soar in the social security baby name rankings this year.

And of course, the ever popular phenomenon of people naming children after characters on TV shows.

One day soon, the Supreme Court will feature Justices named Annette, Darlene, Doreen, and Cubby.

[shireen]

17. LOL! that's funny .... nt

:D

[XemaSab]

19. My name's Brooke

People assume it's a TV show name, but it's actually after Dorothea Brooke in Middlemarch. :banghead:

[imdjh]

25. Brooke (for female) went from #260 to a high popularity of #43 in the last 35 years.

I immediately thought of Brooke Shields so I originally looked for a leap in 1978, but forgot all about Brooke English (All My Children)

[question everything]

29. One of the octokid's named MaLiah

spelled this way

[Odin2005]

32. Don't forget Aiden, Kayden, and Jayden!

:rofl:

[SheilaT]

8. Sigh. People can be so stupid.

It really is a shame that the Obamas didn't go to the nearest animal shelter and adopt a mutt there. But I respect their particular needs, including a child who is very allergic which necessarily limited their choices.

I am wildly in favor of adopting from a shelter. I'm a cat person myself, and my cats have come from a shelter, from the vet, and one who found us. I think the shelter animals in particular somehow understand how fortunate they are to be adopted, and seem for the most part to make wonderful pets. And if you do want a specific breed, the shelters frequently get them in, or there are always the breed rescue groups. They likewise do wonderful work.

[pnwmom]

11. Some breeds are almost impossible to find in shelters or even rescues.

Especially breeds like the PWD's, whose numbers are limited and whose breeders are careful about placement.

[SheilaT]

30. PWD?

What's that? So sorry that I don't know

[ellisonz]

34. Portuguese Water Dog.

[alfredo]

24. I'm waiting for a Russian Blue.

Our last cat lived 22 years.

Jeanie



Our next cat could possibly outlive us.

My wife has experience with Russian Blues and would love to have one.




Of course a right cat might come along and it won't matter if it is a Russian Blue.

[SheilaT]

31. It may depend a lot on the part of the country.

I used to volunteer for an animal shelter in Kansas City, Missouri, and we got Russian Blues a lot. Litters and litters of them. They seemed liked very nice cats.

I do know that where dogs are involved, the rescue groups tend to be limited, and you may live in a part of the country that has no rescue group for the breed you prefer. I am under the impression that some of them will work to place dogs in other parts of the country, although there may of course be transportation costs involved.

What it comes down to is that as others have mentioned the real tragedy is the millions of perfectly good cats and dogs that are euthenaized every year. When I volunteered for the animal shelter, someone had made a brochure about the problem of excess cats and dogs, and it said that if every family in this country took in its "share" of otherwise unwanted pets, each and every family would have to at any given time have something like seven cats and three dogs, or maybe it was five dogs and four cats. I forget the exact numbers, and whether more cats or more dogs were involved, but the numbers were really quite large, along what I've just mentioned, which is significantly more than most families are willing or able to accommodate.

[alfredo]

33. One very vocal cat was enough for us. She was nine pounds of dynamite,

a lovely cat and companion. She was very protective of us and fearless. I never saw her run from a dog, she always stood her ground or attacked.

[LisaL]

49. I am pretty sure what you get are kittens with

bluish gray coloring, not actual Russian Blues.
Russian Blues are rare breed of cats, you are not going to get litters and litters of them in the shelter.

[Stinky The Clown]

26. I'm partly in the Biden camp when it comes to dogs.

Of course, these will *always* be with us.



We have one of each and they're great.

[mrs_p]

40. we got one of those

rescued three months ago - i'm totally in love

[crimsonblue]

28. what fucking lunatics...

a dog is a dog is a dog.

[Abq_Sarah]

35. Who? the breeders or the people who want one?

Breeders who care about the types of dogs they breed have ever right to put strict guidelines on their adoption policies. Different breeds have different needs and while someone might want a specific breed, that particular type of dog may not be appropriate for their lifestyle. Our local shelter is every bit as picky about pet adoption. You don't get to just point at a dog and walk away. You have to fill out an application, your home will be visited. You have to provide references and you need to provide a reference from a Veterinarian. If you have kids, other dogs, cats, etc... you may be rejected from adopting certain animals that need special care or are considered "single pets".

[liquid diamond]

60. I agree. I can understand a basic interview or

questionnaire, but some of these asshole breeders are way too intrusive. No wonder people get dogs from puppy mills. Who wants to be interrogated to adopt a dog?!

[pnwmom]

63. Dogs are as different as people, with an extremely wide range

of behaviors and physical attributes.

[vadawg]

37. thankfully he never got a rhodesian ridgeback, as thats the dog im looking at for my son.

[ima_sinnic]

39. people who fall for fads are total assholes. adopt a dog from a pound, jerkoffs. (nt)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

59. I agree with you about adoption but there I am sure lots of kids out there

who don't understand, and want a dog that looks just like Bo. I can never see calling a kid a jerkoff or asshole.

[ensho]

41. I did the same when I bred/showed/trained Akitas

was picky who I sold a dog to.

[undeterred]

42. If this is their idea of a "rescue" dog, I can hardly wait to see "public option".

[vadawg]

43. rmfao once again i dont know if that was meant, but its funny

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

52. ....

:rofl:

[roody]

47. The shelters are full of sweet dogs ready for a home.

[pnwmom]

62. They're full of dogs, and some of them are sweet and will adapt well

to a new home.

[merh]

53. When the news of the adoption of Bo hit the news, many on

DU were upset that the Obamas did not get a dog from a shelter. I challenged them to find me sheltered waterdogs. A couple did provide me with links to a couple in shelters. I emailed the information to the PWD Club and those dogs were rescued from the shelter that week. No fanfare, no questions asked, the dogs were rescued.

The PWD breeders do love their pets and the breed. They are very protective.

[Pharlo]

54. My preference is large lumbering mutts.

My take on the individuals discussed in this story:

Let's start with Art Stern. He watched the Obama children on tv and made a decision about how a dog would be treated? The 'Bill Frist' discipline of dog placement? And, he didn't put the Obama's through the rigorous application process because the dog was sold to Mr. Kennedy. Pardon me, but where is the 'if you get rid of a dog, you must return it to the responsible breeder' clause? Is that waived if the intended recipient of a gift puppy is the POTUS? To a family that never had a pet before? How many responsible breeders would be okay with allowing a person to purchase a puppy as a gift for someone who had no history of owning a pet and whom they had evaluated by seeing them on television? (Think of someone who could have considered selling Michael Vick a dog before his association with dog fighting was revealed - "well, he's a sports star, I've seen him on tv - seems like an ok guy.")

Ms Eadie has unrealistic expectations. What happens if a death, divorce, job loss, or home foreclosure occurs in one of these 'perfect' envirnments? Does she mandate that if her 'point of sale' parameters are not met that the purchaser must return the dog? I'm not necessarily talking about loss of abilty to care for an animal, I'm talking about a household where there is no one home with the animal during the day, unable to take the dog to a job, loss of a backyard, etc. To me, this appears to be a discriminatory practice against a LOT of people who treat their dogs like family members yet don't meet her 'qualifications'. They are her dogs, and she can sell them to whomever she wishes, I'm just saying, if she sells them ONLY under these parameters, does she demand that any purchaser who is unable to retain those parameters return the animal?

As for Ms. Pincus... I wouldn't sell/give/or relinquish the care of a dog to anyone who was willing to dispose of an animal because a 'physical deformity' decreased it's resale value. She couldn't see the underbite BEFORE she took the puppy home? I think the second breeder who sold her the second pup did not have the pup's best interests at heart.

Based upon what I've read here, if the person is well known enough/or and willing to pay, some 'responsible' breeders aren't quite as responsible as they claim to be.

When I bring a pup home, it's a part of the family. The minute it comes through that door, death through old age or severe illness is the only way it's leaving.

Then again, I wouldn't pay $1500.00 for a dog. For that, I could get five or six pups from a shelter. Or, get one pup and donate $1200 or $1300 to a shelter.

That's my take on these characters.

[alarimer]

58. I am sure celebrities are always treated differently by breeders and even shelters.

Or how else could some irresponisible twit like Paris Hilton be able to carry that little chihuahua around with her? She probably has "people" to take care of it, as do Obama and Biden. It's not as if they will stoop to walking their own dogs.

[pnwmom]

61. Even shelters charge a premium for high-demand non-shedding puppies.

I just saw a labradoodle puppy in California (on petfinder) and the adoption fee was $1500.

As to the Obama adoption, the Obama family went through years of vetting by the entire public of the U.S. If they, with all their resources, weren't considered qualified to adopt a puppy, then no inexperienced family would be.

[Pharlo]

64. If CA shelters are charging $1500 for an adoption,

I'm not surprised they can't move animals. Is it some type of boutique rescue shelter, or a humane society shelter?

As for the Obamas, had Mr. Stern stated that based upon what he had seen of Michelle and Barack concerning their family dynamics and their responsible attitude about bringing a dog into the family only after the girls were settled in their new surroundings, I would agree with you. But, that is not what he said. What he said was "he carefully considered the behavior of 7-year-old Sasha and 10-year-old Malia on television and concluded they were water-dog-worthy."

From what I had observed over the past two years, was the Obama's protecting their daughters' from the 'vetting'. Which, is as it should be - once again, a point in their favor concerning how responsible they would be as a pet owner. But to declare you can watch a couple of young ladies in very limited (as it should be) exposure on television and declare they are 'puppy worthy'? If that were the case, he should just accept videotapes of other potential purchasers' children, and not require meeting them in person.

I'm not criticizing the Obama's. I think they are wonderful parents, and from what I have observed, they're doing a wonderful job with Bo.

What I have problems with is the pretentious, hypocritical discrimination these 'responsible' breeders show towards some purchasers, while holding others to a completely different set of standards.

[yewberry]

65. They don't.

The poster is probably referring to a fund-raiser for a shelter. There's not really a shortage of animals available for adoption, and most can be adopted for small fees.

[pnwmom]

67. It is common for shelters to charge significant sums for the dogs most in demand,

though you are right that the $1500 is unusually high and was in support of a fund-raiser.

[jmowreader]

66. Fifteen hundred for a mutt?

I swear I'm buying twelve dogs--cockers, shitzus, rottweilers and standard poodles--and starting my Cocky Shitty Rotten Poo business. Two or three litters a year and I won't have to go out on the road!