When everyone and his brother, and his brother’s neighbor breeds
anything, this can only result in a negative impact to that being
bred.  This kind of casual breeding has impacted many breeds.  The “Pit
Bull”, Doberman, German shepherd, St. Bernard to name a few, have all
suffered from this type of breeding.
For whatever reason, “TV., movies….” A breed may have the lime
light for a time, and because of their popularity many people buy
them.  (This of course is a good thing.  Here in the U.S.A. we can
have any dog we want.)  All these owners may be great responsible
people who love and care for their dogs very well.  However there is
much more to breeding that being a responsible owner.  I have
witnessed a number of exchanges that go something like this;
“Hello, how are you.  I noticed your dog.  It’s a beautiful St.
Bernard.  Is it male or female?  Male!  Whew, does he still have his
nuts?  That’s great!  I have a female.  Lets breed them, I know people
that want pups.”
It’s a wonderful thing to have a litter of puppies, especially from
your own dog or dogs.  But, there are many people breeding animals
that have no business doing so.  Their primary motive to breed is to
make money.  They may not know, understand or even care anything about
the standards of the breed.  Conformation, performance, how the breed
should act or “think”, these are all major issues, and worthy of much
study.  I would not say that “casual Breeders” are not concerned with
the quality of their pups, but when people are willing to breed ANY
male and ANY female, the quality of the pups, (and breed) WILL suffer.
A good number of people know a St. Bernard as a “large, brown and
white, hairy, slobbery, good natured dog.  They have no clue about the
standards; conformation, movement, intelligence, attitude, function,
and abilities of the breed.  They only think, male and female equals
puppies equals money.  Recipients of these “thoughtfully bred pups”
do the same thing, and breed their dogs.  It goes on and on.  There
are many generations of COMPOUNDED errors that make up too many breeds
today.
Genetics is a funny thing.  The paper work, (blood lines) of a
male and female may be excellent, and you are sure the breeding will
produce pups of the highest caliber.  You do everything right,
everything well, and the pups could be a nightmare.
I know of big name breeders, through much forethought, research
and planning bred excellent dogs.  The pups were sold for thousands of
dollars each, before they were born.  Everyone involved with these
breedings were very excited.  The pups were born, and raised, and a
total disappointment.

I personally have bred dogs from my yard that I knew completely.
They were most excellent “Pit Bulls”,
in every way they can be measured.  Exactly the hard hitting fire
power I want by my side, and in the house with my wife and kids.
These dogs were bred with other dogs in the past with excellent
results.  However, when bred together, it was a disaster.  The pups
were obviously nasty and mean.
Dealing with an obvious problem is not so difficult.  It is easy
to see, and any responsible breeder will take care of it.  Sometimes
problems are not so obvious.  When bad attitudes are subtle in a pup
they will be over looked by the inexperienced eye.  Only to be
manifest in a mature dog that NEVER should have left the breeders
yard.
There are many problems that would be alleviated if experience,
wisdom, knowledge, and very high standards are exercised, and
enforced.  This creates what I believe is the largest problem for the
“casual breeder.”  Or maybe I should say, their customers.  When a
“breeder” does not know what to look for, he will only achieve it by
accident.  When there are problems with pups, subtle or obvious, they
can not be addressed unless you understand what you are seeing.  To
complicate things, in every breed there are idiots breeding dogs that
should have been put down.
Show quality dogs are a beautiful thing.  I do admire well bred
dogs.  It takes much forethought, planning, knowledge, effort,
money….. to breed dogs that win in shows.  These breeders know what
they are doing, are committed, and are very good at what they do.  I
highly respect that.  But, the show is not my focus.  In my opinion
the “show” places too much emphasis on how a dog should “look”, when
the preeminent qualities and importance of a dog is how they think and
perform.
I absolutely adore extreme K-9 athleticism, intelligence and
attitude, off leash and under control.  Dogs of this caliber are most
difficult to obtain, but the rewards far out weigh the effort.  The
qualities of extreme intelligence, athleticism, and excellent attitude
are elusive, and often evade even the best of breeders.
Proper attitude is often the last quality to be identified.  For
instance, all St. Bernard puppies are cute, cuddly, beautiful……
It’s when they are grown; big, and strong that bad attitude may reveal
itself.  In small breeds bad attitude can be a nuisance, even a
liability, but with larger breeds it can be dangerous.  Again
recognizing problems, temperament or other wise, in pups, is most
important, and completely reliant on the ability to do so.
Anyone interested in owning a dog, no matter what the breed,
please make a real effort to research, and FIND reputable breeders.
The friendship, joy and satisfaction of owning a well bred dog will
far out weigh the experience.
Concerning the “Pit Bull”, most people, at least in my
experience, think they are mean vicious killers.  These qualities are
cowardly, and have no part in a well bred “Pit Bull”.  There has been
so much casual, indiscriminately, irresponsible breeding with the “Pit
Bull”, “most people” have never seen a real “Pit Bull”; Only the
manifestation of generations of compounded errors.

A True “Pit Bull” is the most courageous, loving, kind, athletic,
intelligent, playful, FUN, companion, guardian, and friend in the
world of K-9′s.  They are worthy of the same awesome love, and
devotion they are hard-wired to permeate.
I have “Great” “Pit Bulls”.  The result of over 30 years of a
relentless pursuit to have the finest K-9′s the world can produce.
Coupled with great sacrifice, money, and effort to “push the
envelope”, and move the breed to a higher standard.
As much as I would love everyone to experience the awesome
abilities, love, and devotion of a real “Pit Bull”, it breaks my heart
to know, “Popularity Kills A Breed”.

Brian