My wife and I love dogs. Dogs have been a part of our lives since the beginning. We trust and love our dogs unconditionally and we spoil them rotten. Unlike people, our dogs never let us down… EVER… If you saw our three mastiffs you would think we have adult sized babies in the house as they whine and cry for snacks or slobber all over our clothes for big hugs and scratches. We also have oodles of dog hair that we clean up weekly, sometimes biweekly depending on the season…

Backyard dog breeders are the scourge of existence. I dissent with these unqualified dog owners/breeders. I’m not talking about responsible breeders who carefully breed sires and bitches with the concern for genetics and behavior. These folks care about their family lineages. They want the puppies from these pairings to be healthy, strong, and most importantly great family companions. Show dog breeding is a different beast all together… I’m not qualified to even utter words on that. There are several responsible breeders of English, Neapolitan, American, Boerbel, and Bull Mastiffs out there. I follow a few of them on social media. Their litters are well taken care of. The bitches get top quality veterinarian care and the puppies get regular checkups, deworming, and vaccinations before being placed in homes after the 8th week. Mastiffs require more time with their mothers. Eight weeks is standard.

Backyard breeders don’t care about the veterinary care. They care about selling a product. The sires and bitches are commodities for sale. Many Amish breeders fall into this category. Nothing is about quality of breed or health of the puppy with a backyard breeder. Everything is about cash for them.

Recently I talked with a backyard breeder about a pregnant Presa Canario he is wanting to sell off. She is barely two years old and is on her third litter. The breeder wants to sell his bitch, but wants the new owner to give them back the puppies. In my conversation I discovered they do not give the dogs proper health care. Nutrition is probably not a consideration either. They also claim they give the puppies vaccinations… …not a licensed veterinarian… These Presa Canarios are a rare breed of guardian dog from the Canary Islands. They almost went extinct in the 1960’s. I’m absolutely positive, based on my conversation, that they have no clue about the history or genetic anomalies associated with the breed, or its connection to the Spanish Mastiff of the 19th century.

Puppy mills are another example of backyard breeders interested in commodity rather than producing a healthy dog for sportsmanship, guardianship, or companionship. Many dogs from puppy mills have been bred or accidentally bred to other dogs that may have common ancestors. This propagates genetic and behavior issues.

Dogs with severe behavior issues pass those traits to their offspring genetically and through socialization. I’ve had a mastiff with aggressive issues, and it took weeks and months of training for both him and I to work through the process and build a loyal trust. Nothing is scarier than looking at a 150 lb mastiff who is scared. He never bit me, but there were times I wondered.

I’ve also purchased an English Mastiff Bitch from a backyard breeder. This particular breeder was angry that she couldn’t get pregnant. The dog in question was our Mia. Mia was in sad shape when we saw her. She had bite marks and scars all over her. She was underweight, shy, and had dug a hole under a deck to hide and wait for death. We paid the man $800 for her loaded her in the car and took her to her final home. Mia couldn’t have any more babies as her uterus was full of infection. When we took her to our veterinarian he told us she was maybe a week from full sepsis. We had her spayed immediately and pumped the girl full of antibiotics. We spent an additional $800 on medical care. She was worth it. Mia lived a full life succumbing to cancer around the age of nine.

I have yet to have an experience with a backyard breeder that left me happy. Any human being that treats a dog like a commodity is not worthy of my respect. The Presa Canario backyard breeder left me physically ill… I worry if I saw him, I would do something I would regret for the rest of my life. I love dogs. They all deserve to be loved… …honestly we humans don’t deserve dogs… they are too good for us… As I write this my boy Mack is laying under my feet.

I encourage those who wish to purchase a purebred puppy to do research on any breeder you come in contact with. It is better to spend big money for a reliable pup from a reliable breeder. I have no issue with dropping $2500 on a mastiff puppy. I’m not normal in that way either. I actually prefer to get my mastiffs from rehoming situations. I will gladly pay $700-800 for an adult male or female in need of a new home. My Neapolitan Mastiff Bubbles is from such a situation. We drove to Florida to get her. She was worth the trip.

If purebred puppies are too expensive, then please go to the local animal shelter and adopt one of the homeless babies. Understand that one of these homeless babies has suffered neglect, trauma, and a loss of a home that wasn’t their fault. Give them the love, the guidance (training for you and them,) and lots of treats. Every dog deserves that.

Many giant dogs never make it to the animal shelter as they are not equipped to handle them. I support the dog rescues that specialize in the giants. I just wish we could save all the boys and girls that are being neglected, abused, or simply used as a commodity from all of the backyard breeders.

Most importantly, my free advice, report the backyard breeders for animal neglect or abuse. We need fewer dogs occupying shelters and streets. We need fewer dogs with genetic issues. We as a society just need to be kinder to our dogs.

…so it goes…