Branding, What Difference Does It Make?
Not once, not twice but many a times I have been called ... a puppy miller or accused of having a puppy factory and have gotten all sorts of bad looks or whatever ... I have always managed to count from one to ten and tried my best to just gain my composure, never ever even trying to defend nor argue. Nor do I ever wish to ill-speak of these people who are just too quick to judge. To my mind, just as in their mind, they are reputable breeders forever trying to breed their perfect dog, they seem perfect themselves ... or at least that is how they seemingly perceive themselves.
The first purebred dog I ever owned came from a reputable breeder now a retired judge (refutable, to some), Ma. Rocio de Vega; I was nine. But you see, I was never taught the difference between pet, show or breeding stock. It was only three years later did I first lay my eyes on a litter ticket. So by the time I was twelve, I was experimenting with my Pekingese and the Japanese Spitz dogs I had my aunts supplied me. And if you think that is horrible, what about the cross between the Dalmatian and the Pekingese that I found amusing? What was important to me then was that I had puppies to give away to whomever wanted dogs and shared the same passion I had. After all, my dad kept giving away my dogs when his business associates would comment about them. And in return, my dad would give me money which of course, I would use in buying another dog. Back in the 70's, there weren't any terms like backyard breeding, puppy milling or ethical breeding.
I was around fifteen when I first met a show breeder, Mrs. Topacio who encouraged me to show a monorchid Shih Tzu only to find out later on at aged six months that I could no longer show him. I ended up getting another Shih Tzu, a female which of course I showed. And yes, I got hooked and started showing different breeds under the toy group. My breeding practices still were questionable and so were everybody else's. All twenty three dogs were just loose, I had puppies to give away. The ones that were pure, I kept and showed and the accidents were given to either my dad's associates or relatives. They were all too thrilled for somehow, to them, they were pure. Well, I thought so too until I met Ms. Penny Cham who shared her passion with the Shih Tzu breed.
Penny lent me her Shih Tzu Reporter magazines and other books. And staring over and over again at pictures, reading borrowed magazines, I begged my mother to buy me Shih Tzus. In 1978, I brought home with me two Chumulari and one Lainee Shih Tzu. Yes, the now-renowned Shih Tzu Specialty Judge, I met in a studio apartment in Ocean Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. Penny too, sold me the Philippines' First Local-born Shih-Tzu Champion, Achilles June Peanuts. And so I learned and stopped cross-breeding my dogs. I also learned about stud fees, the tenth day and how to shoot. Mang Larry and Efren weren't so much a big hit in town yet. Everybody knew everybody and dog shows were fun, more like picnics and family affairs.
While in college, I stopped showing due to the demands of schoolwork. I could no longer groom my toy dogs four to five hours a day. By the mid-80's, I shifted to showing and breeding Boxers and the German Shepherds. By the late 1980's, I tried showing a Rottweiler. And through these years, I learned about parvo-virus; sour milk; heartworm; and kennel cough from Parreno to St. Louis, Carlos Dog and Cat Hospital, Cabanlig, Vizmanos' at San Antonio Village all the way to Las Pinas and back to the littel garage dog and cat clinic at Kamuning.
By 1992, I missed having lots of dogs around me. And having established my own business just gave me enough resources to buy dogs right and left. I bought "Cobi", an unregistered Chinese Shar-Pei and later on bought a couple of other female Shar-Pei. I bred them in our backyard or should I say, at the yard on the side of our house. Coaxed by fellow backyard breeders of the Chinese Shar-Pei and an infamous veterinarian, I bought other sellable breeds from of course, fellow backyard breeders of Chow Chows, Toy Poodles, Pekingeses, Neapolitan Mastiff, Boxers and German Shepherds. I swapped Chinese Shar-Pei puppies with brokers disposing Golden Retriever puppies and pet shop owners would come by and buy whole litters of whatever I've got. I was connected. I was a puppy miller. I learned about backyard breeders, met them who are either bored rich housewives with nothing better to do or just dog collectors both in the Philippines and abroad; snotty reputable breeders with their ass-kissing snotty dog-show handlers and trainers who instead of teaching the newbie just creased their eyebrows; brokers importing pet stock and selling them tagged as "AKC imports"; puppy millers picking up strays and passing them of as "partly-pure" and show enthusiasts, passing up pet stock as quick as possible to ever-eager, compulsive, ignorant buyers like me.
It was two years after that I learned that the Chinese Shar-Pei indeed was recognized contrary to what I was lead to believe. It was also in 1994 that I met Ms. Marivic Lim and Mr. Dinky Santos who introduced me to the world of Golden and Labrador Retrievers respectively. I gave away all my unregistered Chinese Shar-Pei and imported my AKC breeding stock. I also imported a Golden Retriever and adopted some of Care Bear's foundation Golden Retrievers, opened my doors to unwanted dogs namely, Sly, the Basset Hound and Conan, the English Bulldog. By December of 1995, my first registered Chinese Shar-Pei litter was born and so did Cob ...
I studied the rules of the game. I invested time, money and effort.
Knowledge is power. Experience is the best teacher.
There is no NO, just GROW.
It builds character and in it where reputation lies.
What
You Should Know Before You Shop
Breeders
Terminology
What Is A Breeder?
To Breed Or Not To Breed
Stud
Service: The Responsible Way
The Difference
Between A Breeder and A Puppy Mill
Puppy Mill/Breeder
Distinction
Puppy Mill VS
Backyard Breeder
Breeder VS Pet Store
Commercial Brokers and
Breeders
Puppy Farmer
Puppy Mill, The Definition
Game
Puppy Mill Overview
Screening Puppy Buyers
So, You Still Want
A Dog, Huh...
Pets and You
10 Rules For Getting A Pet
From This to...
Pet Chat
I Am Not A
Puppy Mill
The
Westminster Puppy Mill Show
Breed Savior?
Conformation and
Working... The Perfect Balance
The AKC And The Mill
Connection
FCI VS AKC/CKC
Making A Statement
Finding A
Responsible Breeder
Puppy Mills And
Their Effects On Breeding
What's
Wrong With Selling Puppies For Profit?
Champion Puppy
Miller
For The
Love Of Money
Dying For Dollars
Profit
Is Made In Many Ways
Animal
Issues of A Pet Hobbyist
Buying Puppy Mill
Pets Promotes Animal Cruelty
Puppy
Mills And How To Avoid Them
Beware of The
Puppy Mill
How To Recogize A Puppy
Mill
The Hidden Cost
Of A Puppy Mill Puppy
Where Not To Buy
A Dog
The Truth
Behind Pet Store Puppies and Puppy Mills
Prisoners
For Profit, The Shame of Puppy Mills
Mill Prisoners
The Horrors of
Puppy Mills
The Tragedy of Puppy Mills
The Sad Reality of
Puppy Mills
The Puppy Mill
Atrocities
The Scandal of Puppy Mills
Using The Puppy Mill
Crisis
The Horrific Reality Of Puppy Mills
Puppy Mill Pictures
Prisoners of Greed
Rags to Riches
Voices ... For The Voiceless
Thoughts From A Puppy Mill
Puppy
Puppy Mill Pups And
Their Stories
True Stories About Puppy Mills
Godiva And The Puppy Mill
Lucy Blue
Puppy Mill Movie
I Never Knew Her
Name
Chloe's Story
Puppy Mill Success Stories
Judster's Story
Patch Adams
The Voice For Dogs
Puppy
Mill???
Definition of A Puppy
Mill
Get The Facts On Puppy Mills
Beverly Passe's What Is A
Puppy Mill
Puppy Mills
Puppy Mill Facts
Puppy Mills, What Are
They?
Well,
A Puppy Mill Is
Just Another Puppy Mill
What Is A Puppy
Mill Anyway?
Just What Is A Puppy Mill?
About Puppy Mills
Puppy Mill Warnings
Learn About
Puppy Mills
The Truth Behind Puppy Mills
Stop Puppy Mills!
Puppy Mill Auction
The Problem of Puppy Mills
So
Let Them Die
Red Flags
Rehabilitation of A Puppy
Mill Dog
Puppy Mill Horrors
Pitbulls, A Puppy Miller's
Delight
Dogs-R-Fun
What Is Wrong With This
Picture?
The Puppy Mill Internet
Connection
The Printed Pause
A Puppy Mill Story
About Mills And
Auctions
Puppy Mill On Line
Petition
Puppy Mill Poem
Puppy
Mill Flyers
Scenes From A Real
Puppy Mill
Puppy Mill Industry
Typical Puppy Mill
Conditions
Puppy Mills, Lots Of
Pictures!!!
Puppy Mill Bust
Puppy Mills In The News
Puppy Mill Nightmare
Puppy
Mill Shutdown
Take Time To Take
Action
Puppy
Mill Issues
Pet Shop Puppies
Debate The
Issues: Would You Buy A Pet Store Puppy?
Where Did That Doggie
In the Window Come From? Puppy Mills, Wherelse?
How Much Is That Doggie
In the Window?
Don't Buy That Doggie In The
Window!
Should You Buy That Doggie
In The Window?
Why You Shouldn't Buy That
Puppy In the Window
A Lesson On Pet Store Puppies
They Are A Puppy
Mill
Puppy
Mills, Bad For Consumers
The Straight Poop Puppy
Mill Puppy
Wolf
Miller
Dog lovers are always welcome in our homes.
THANK YOU!
Contact: Cob Kennels!
Fellow dog lovers (& divers!) are always welcome in our homes!
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Don't forget to leave your paw prints (or bouys) behind!
