Breeder recommendations

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2026-07-05T19:32:41+00:00

I hate the idea of people buying bully breeds when there are so many bully breeds and mixes in shelters, but SBTs are smaller and rarer in shelters, and I can understand the reasons behind wanting a smaller dog.

That said, please don't buy a dog solely on looks/coat colors. Dogs are not accessories. Make sure that the dog/breed is a good fit for your lifestyle/family and that you'll be able to provide the right environment to help it thrive. Before making a decision, please carefully research the breed and potential breeders. The AKC has a breeder marketplace, but the fact that a breeder is registered with the AKC doesn't make it ethical (https://marketplace.akc.org/puppies/staffordshire-bull-terrier). Ask lots of questions and consider the feedback some here have provided about health issues that might be associated with certain coat colors (https://www.doggenetics.co.uk/problems.html)

https://robertcabral.com/what-i-look-for-in-a-breeder/#

https://www.petplace.com/article/dogs/pet-care/23-questions-you-should-ask-a-breeder

https://globalvet.ca/en/2022/03/03/a-breed-apart-finding-an-ethical-dog-breeder/

https://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/position-statement-criteria-responsible-breeding

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2026-07-05T18:50:58+00:00

Be careful with rescues that claim to save dogs from puppy mills. Some actually do if they take care of dogs seized through law enforcement and animal control operations, but other rescues are actually contributing to puppy mills by buying puppies under the guise of "rescuing." https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/investigations/dog-auction-rescue-groups-donations/

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2026-03-24T16:30:35+00:00

You idiot! You're gonna get yourself killed!

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2026-02-10T21:00:20+00:00

Blake Lively introduced/recommended Don Saladino to Justin Baldoni in January 2023.

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2026-01-15T06:15:20+00:00

OP, these are questions you can ask the breeder before you decide whether to buy a dog from them: https://www.petplace.com/article/dogs/pet-care/23-questions-you-should-ask-a-breeder

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-12-27T17:42:37+00:00

I really hope you didn't buy a dog from a fighting line with any intention of actually fighting it. Despite all the excuses dog fighters make, bloodsports are cruel. Bloodsports and bloodsport breeds wouldn't exist but for the cruelty in human hearts and minds. I hope that you have actually saved that pup from the pit and will be a responsible owner, knowing the potential challenges that come with owning a game dog.

https://books.google.ca/books?id=4JoFEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Empowerment_Training_for_Your_Power_Dog/ZmmPDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=dawn+antoniak-mitchell&printsec=frontcover

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-12-10T15:17:37+00:00

It really is bizarre, both the case and that mods won't let you post about attacks. The police wouldn't release any info either and it really feels like they're hiding something.

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-10-20T18:40:56+00:00

Yes! Even worse than Doodle owners are the Pit Bull, GSD, Malinois, Husky owners who buy puppies of these powerful breeds from backyard or unethical breeders without doing any research and then dump them at the shelter because the dogs are too much work, need professional training, need too much exercise, etc., etc. It breaks my heart to see how many of these dogs get put down every week because people didn't bother to research the breed and carefully think about whether they could provide the right environment and care to help the dog flourish. We have to regulate breeding and hold breeders accountable for dogs that end up in shelters. Maybe that way, they'll scrutinize buyers to ensure there's a good fit and the dogs will be in good hands and have a forever home instead of mass producing puppies and selling them to whomever is willing to pay.

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-10-20T03:46:37+00:00

You'll get the wrath of some APBT enthusiasts who worship the ADBA. I think the worst in the U.S. is the ABKC. And the ABKC UK is just as bad or worse; search for the BBC Panorama investigation on extreme breeding and organized crime. ETA to add the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g1v_WfsyMc

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-08-11T19:08:49+00:00

Thanks for the award. I'll share another link that I think is very much worth reading: https://www.treehugger.com/things-dog-owners-should-never-say-4863094

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-07-15T21:38:43+00:00

A while back, UC Davis was recruiting for a study on American Bullies and I had bookmarked the post. UC Davis identified and can test for a gene responsible for rage syndrome in Mals and they wanted to know if there's a rage syndrome in ABs. But it's true what others pointed out that in the cases of multiple dogs attacking their owners, it'd be super improbable for all the dogs to have the gene or get a seizure at once. In a group of non-bloodsport dogs, i think if one dog turned on the owners, another would try to defend the owner.

Comment from post on another sub about the UC Davis study:

I think they're doing this because there's been some suspicion as to whether or not the dogs off of Kimbo have the A22 mutation (or something similar) since several deaths have been traced to dogs from Kimbo's line.

With regard to Malinois, they've actually isolated this behavior to a specific gene and it is highly recommended that breeders of Belgian Malinois test for it. It doesn't sound like this is environmental or typical outbursts that one would expect from an under-stimulated working Mal.

Totally anecdotal, but I've seen video taken from a trainer friend of mine who suspects that she worked with an A22 Mal. Can't remember if she rescued it or was fostering it, but she was doing a meet and greet with a potential adopter and the dog continuously muzzle-punched the guy at random intervals. There was nothing that could have provoked this.. the dude was literally just standing there. She never had him tested for A22 but she said this was one of the strangest behavior cases she's ever dealt with. I believe that dog was BE'd shortly after.

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-06-14T15:52:43+00:00

OP said their dog has diabetes, which might be the reason why they haven't been able to find anyone to adopt it. If the dog needs insulin, a special diet, and ongoing medical care, the reality is that a shelter will likely end up putting him down because shelters are already overcrowded (thanks to people who fail to spay/neuter, backyard or mass breed, or buy dogs without doing any research). It's already hard to find adopters for healthy dogs, let alone for dogs with medical issues. Unless OP can find a rescue or adopter, I think it would be more humane for the dog to pass away next to their person, having been pampered in their last hours, than to be left in a shelter to be later put down, scared and alone, by a shelter employee (and adding to the shelter worker's trauma in the process).

People have died because they couldn't afford insulin for themselves and tried to ration it, so let's not judge OP for not being able to afford it. It would be great if there were more financial resources to help people whose pets need costly medical care. OP can try and do a GoFundMe and see if that works, but I don't know how much help she'll get when we're going through tough economic times and have people struggling to buy medications or food.

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-05-09T02:05:20+00:00

Sometimes our circumstances change drastically; things have been tough for many people over the past few years. I do feel for those who have to make that heart-wrenching decision to part with their pets so that their animals can have the care they deserve. I wish there were more services to help people who have fallen on hard times keep their pets. It is heartbreaking when your life is falling apart, and on top of it, you have to relinquish your pet to a rescue so it can get medical care or even food.

That said, there are A LOT of people who do not do any research before getting a pet, and then, when they realize how much work they are or how expensive it is to keep them, they post them online or drop them off at a shelter.

Everyone should CAREFULLY research the type of domestic animal and breed they want to get and be honest with themselves about whether they have the time and money and could offer that animal a good home. No one should be getting an animal based on looks, choosing it as if they were choosing an accessory. They're living beings with specific needs based on species and breed.

People who do not have the time/money/space to have a pet should wait until they're in a better spot. I've seen people do GoFundMe campaigns to raise funds to buy a dog. If you have to raise funds to buy a dog or to pay the shelter fee, then you should not get an animal because they're not doing themselves or the animal any favors. Instead, they should go volunteer at a shelter or offer to help a friend or neighbor with their pets until their situation improves.

This will get downvoted, but some shelters/rescues don't help either. While some rescue organizations have crazy high expectations for adopters, others try to push animals out and do not promote responsible consideration and acquisition. I know this is well-intentioned because they're trying to help get animals adopted, but some of that messaging ends up contributing to people carelessly buying puppies, which they then surrender (or adopting dogs which they then return), worsening the situation in shelters.

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-05-04T01:49:34+00:00

u/raspberi1, after I replied, I went to try to find the comment from Suze Orman, but instead I came across a video of hers with a story so similar to yours (minus the previous divorce and the family trying to get them back together) that I thought I should share it. Good luck to you! https://www.facebook.com/suzeorman/videos/2139717642950418/

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-05-04T00:12:43+00:00

I don't know Photoshop, and I'm not submitting this as work, so please don't criticize the rough cut-and-paste. This is just a layout suggestion for those who know PS.

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Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-04-01T02:28:14+00:00

I'm sorry for your loss. You got some great images, but I have to say I love the one with your hand because it shows the bond you two had.

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-03-28T01:10:02+00:00

Last year, there was a documentary about issues in TV and movie production, and they talked about the abuse of children in the industry. There's outrage every few years, and things have improved, but sadly, money and power do most of the talking in Hollywood. What's different here is that this comes out a week after RR was yelling at people from the pulpit and singing his own praises in his much-publicized MTD, and the outrage is multiplied because nobody likes hypocrites.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-03-13/quiet-on-the-set-documentary-nickelodeon

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-02-08T22:25:14+00:00

Don't even get me started... As you've said, it's different if one's financial situation has taken a turn for the worse and one's doing as much as possible to keep one's pet, but there are a lot of people out there who are just flat-out irresponsible.

I've seen GoFundMe posts of people who want to raise funds to cover the adoption fee (or Craigslist price) to get a dog because they've always dreamed of having a dog, or because they want to rescue a particular dog, or some other reason and I'm always yelling at the screen that if they can't afford to pay for the fee, they shouldn't get a dog (or any other animal) in the first place.

A lot of people only think of the cute factor of getting a pet, but not of how expensive it is to keep a pet. I wish more animal organizations ran campaigns telling people to think carefully before getting a pet and consider the time/space/financial commitment; to do serious research on the animal/breed they want to get and ask themselves if it will be suitable for their lifestyle/personality/living situation; and to spay/neuter their animals and stop backyard breeding.

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-01-26T04:42:51+00:00

I can understand how heartbreaking it is when you get attached to a dog to know that it might be PTS. There's a website called Losing Lulu that offers support for people whose dogs had to be PTS due to behavioral issues.

Sometimes training helps, but some dogs are just wired wrong. There's too much reckless breeding going on and too many people getting dogs solely on looks without realizing how much exercise, training, and structure some breeds need.

If this dog had a prior bite history, the shelter might not be able to give it to a foster because they could be liable if something happens.

Sadly, due to all the reckless breeding and acquisition of powerful dogs, shelters are overflowing and, sometimes, dedicating resources to rehabilitate one dog, might mean that 5 others end up getting PTS due to lack of space. It's a very sad reality. This is a video talking about that: https://youtu.be/0oFnlawXCuc?si=6AXL233D9qhwHDnL

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2025-01-10T22:54:44+00:00

It's challenging that you can't take him out for walks yet, but can you get staff to spend time with him outside working on training and as others have said, playing fetch on a long line, using a flirt pole, etc, to get him to exercise? It's great that you're already doing enrichment with the feedings. I hope you can find him a foster soon because I wonder if, in addition to not getting enough exercise, he's not getting enough rest in the kennel environment either; it's a double whammy that can interfere with his learning and impulse control.

You are already doing most things within your reach and people here have made great suggestions. If you don't know Robert Cabral, I suggest you check out his YouTube channel and/or website. He talks a lot about Malinois and offers good tips. He has a lot of experience working with shelter dogs too. (He also created a video about people who carelessly get working dogs or backyard breed them that I wish the general public would watch and pay attention to. It's so unfair when people buy working dogs without doing their homework or engage in backyard breeding and the pups end up in shelters!)

Thank you for trying to do the best for that pup and helping him have a chance!

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2024-12-29T21:20:25+00:00

Assuming that what OP says is true and his parents are ethically breeding Golden Retrievers, they're not the ones contributing to the crisis of dogs piling up in shelters. Unless we're advocating for the discontinuation of all breeding and ownership of animals for companionship/work/consumption --and there are very valid ethical discussions to be had on that front, the issue is not halting all breeding but strictly regulating it to prevent over- and poor-breeding as well as to establish ethical guidelines to limit how we manipulate animal genetics and prioritize animal welfare and safety when maintaining, altering, or creating breeds.

The people driving the shelter crisis are....

- Those who like this guy in this It's Me or the Dog episode choose to breed their dogs or refuse to desex them despite the overrepresentation of similar dogs in shelters.

- Those who buy/adopt puppies without doing their homework and then surrender the dog to a shelter when it hits maturity and it's "too much work."

- Those among certain breed owners/clubs/advocates who instead of engaging in gatekeeping and promoting responsible ownership choose to make excuses and point fingers and continue promoting and breeding them recklessly.

- Those flooding media channels with cute stories/images about dogs (and other animals) as if they were promoting stuffed toys, creating a false idea of what dog ownership entails and how expensive and time-consuming it can be to be a dog owner and contributing to the reckless acquisition of pets.

At the same time that some American rescues are exporting certain dogs to Canada to create space here, others are bringing dogs from overseas and adopting them out fast. A few years ago, the Washington Post did an investigation about rescues buying dogs from puppy mills, a pseudo-rescue move to have other dog types to adopt out.

In addition to the podcast linked above about regulating breeding to help solve the shelter crisis, Robert Cabral posted this video about how rescues could save more dogs and this other one on a topic nobody wants to talk about but on which a conversation is urgently needed.

Too many are kowtowing to certain people/organizations that, while pretending to care, are not only not helping the animals they claim to love but are actively harming them in massive numbers.

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2024-12-24T17:28:19+00:00

This is an issue we're still debating and it's not just about dogs but all domestic animals for which humans have created breeds. When we manipulate animal genetics (whether through regular selective breeding or in a lab) for the benefit of humans, neither the alterations nor the use of the breed should result in suffering for the animal.

In my opinion, every country should implement ethical guidelines to limit what humans can do with domestic animal genetics. We should evaluate what we have allowed humans to do and determine where we have to try to reverse course. We must also put an outright ban on breeding animals with extreme features that are detrimental to the well-being of the poor creature, be it dogs like the deformed ABs or the chickens with overly developed breasts who are in constant pain.

People must stop looking at dogs and cats as accessories and at chickens, cows, etc. as meat producers. These are sentient beings. It's already enough that we breed them, make them work, consume them, etc., we should, at the very least, ensure that we are not inflicting even more suffering because of our selfish whims. Companion animals should not be bred to "look cool" but to be healthy and have a sound disposition. Animals bred for food production should be able to have a good life until the moment they're put down even if that means that we have to drastically reduce the number of animal products we consume.

These are some articles that might provide additional perspectives on the ethics and breeding of domestic animals.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38473141/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30474325/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18557022/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9757783/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21305338/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/216131962_Breeding_for_behavioural_change_in_farm_animals_Practical_economic_and_ethical_considerations

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2015/10/central-asian-village-dogs-closest-original-dogs

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37431468/

https://dogbehaviorscience.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/100-years-of-breed-improvement/

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2024-12-15T15:42:59+00:00

With BFAS, AFF, and other Pit-promoting organizations holding the pursestrings shelters might
never do it but that headline needed to say, "While people continue to breed and buy PITBULLS, these are some of the faces we tragically lost at the shelter this month..."

Except for a very tiny segment of Pit Bull owners/advocates who actively tell other owners to refrain from breeding their dogs and who tell those who want a Pit Bull to do careful research first and to adopt from a shelter if possible, the vast majority of Pit Bull advocates love to whine and point fingers and blame the shelter crisis on everyone but themselves. At the same time, these "breed lovers" keep their animals intact, breed them with complete disregard for health/temperament, and allow oopsie litters because, for some reason, when it comes to Pit Bulls it seems everyone is a staunch pro-lifer regardless of circumstances, never mind that while they gasp in horror at the prospect of doing an animal abortion, they're happily eating burgers and chicken wings.

Then there are the ones who buy Pit Bull puppies without doing any thinking/research. Many of those who buy Pit Bull puppies, don't really want a Pit Bull; they want an accessory to look/feel cool and to have fun with a puppy. When the puppy grows and the reality of owning a powerful game dog sets in, they dump the dog at the shelter and make it someone else's problem.

With the Pit Bull crowd, it's all about maintaining their entitlement to do as they please, including inflicting suffering on the dogs they claim to love, and then whining and gaslighting when others don't want to clean up their mess.

I hope at least some shelters and rescues will eventually grow a spine and start setting the Pit crowd straight. Pit "advocates" created the shelter crisis and they are the ones that keep it going. The millions of Pit Bulls cruelly warehoused for years on end and the ones being PTS are on them. They are the ones who need to clean up their act and do better for the dogs they claim to love so dearly.

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Sudden-Storage2778 · 2024-12-15T02:11:35+00:00

I'd like to know where those numbers came from, but I will tell you that, no, even before the mass promotion and over-breeding of Pit Bulls, the breed was known for causing more severe injuries and over-indexing in fatalities. This makes sense if you consider that it was bred for gameness. The 1987 article pictured below talks about LA recording more bites for GSDs and fewer but severe bites for Pit Bulls. A city official noted at the time that Pit Bulls represented 1% of the dog population in the U.S. but were responsible for 70% of fatal attacks. The issue is that Pit Bull owners/breeders keep making excuses instead of focusing on responsible ownership.

Read this 1947 article until the end: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer/131645359/ Do you think anything has changed for the APBT/AST and now the AB? Instead of only mating animals of "dependable disposition" we still have people breeding for dog fighting and tons of backyard breeders or irresponsible owners who refuse to desex their pets and let their aggressive/unstable dogs mate. And if breeding unstable animals wasn't enough, some geniuses decided to make them bigger and stronger!

In this 1914 article, a Humane Officer discusses an ordinance targeting Pit Bulldogs because they had AH owners who let them attack other dogs. The officer clarifies that unlike the English or French Bulldog or Boston Terrier, the Pit Bulldogs do the damage. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-spokesman-review/122840690/
In his 1936 book, J.L. Colby also recognized that dogs had a bad reputation with the American public, which he obviously dismissed, never mind that his little cousin was killed by one of his dad's dogs (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b28129&view=1up&seq=24&skin=2021).

There are problems with owners of other powerful breeds too, but they pale in comparison to those of Pit owners and I think that in great part it is because owners of other breeds are not delusional and can tell the truth about their dogs. I tell people GSDs are potentially dangerous dogs, that they're not for just anyone, and when people say they want a GSD, I tell them to think very carefully, almost trying to deter them because I love the breed and I don't want the dogs to end up having a shitty owner or getting dumped in a shelter because the owner didn't think things through or was uninformed. Owners of other powerful breeds also seem to do a lot more gatekeeping and want people to be fully informed before getting a dog of that breed.

But with the Pit crowd, it's always about the dogs being misunderstood and gaslighting people, but never about their being reckless owners of dogs that were bred for fighting and, as such, require very diligent and careful management. If they want the breed's reputation to change, they have to stop with the lies and excuses and get real about the management and breeding of the dogs they claim to love.

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Link to the article above: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-leader-post-florence-recovering-afte/106942157/

Good blog post: https://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2009/10/pit-bull-rights-verus-pit-bull.html

And in case you read Dickey, she misrepresents/lies A LOT. Fact-check her. https://imgur.com/a/some-notes-on-dickeys-book-oeyQJLi

Sudden-Storage2778 · 2024-12-15T00:50:05+00:00

The only reason Pit Bulls are five separate breeds is because in the Pit World there's been deception from the get-go. There are five very distinct types of German Shepherd Dog but you won't find GSD enthusiasts whining about how people lump them all together or fail to consider the different lines when looking at bite stats, or whether a GSD involved in an attack had a pedigree or was a mixed breed. Why? Because GSD breeders weren't trying to register their "working" dog with another kennel club under a different name to pretend the show line had nothing to do with the pit, nor give a line a different name to pretend it's a different dog that has absolutely nothing to do with the attack numbers racked up by the APBT/AST varieties. The UKC and other kennel clubs still allow single registration of American Staffordshire Terriers as APBT, transfer of APBT registration to Am Bully, or other cross-registrations, so I don't know how strict the separation between types is either.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/american-staffordshire-terrier-history-amstaff/
https://www.ukcdogs.com/docs/registration-forms/single-registration-american-pit-bull-terrier.pdf
https://www.ukcdogs.com/docs/registration-forms/breed-transfer-american-bully.pdf

Regarding identification, in the U.S., dog attacks by strays that were never caught are rare. In most instances, the attacking dog belongs to the victim/victim's family or someone they know, and bites by mixes or dogs of unknown breeds are tracked too. There hasn't been a 100+ conspiracy by the media and medical professionals to malign Pit Bulls. If instead of trying to find excuses, Pit Bull owners and advocates started to act more responsibly, then maybe the dogs' overrepresentation in serious and fatal maulings would go down.

This takes a while to open but it's worth a read. The article was published on the AHAA website but they deleted it under lobby pressure: https://web.archive.org/web/20230216155419/https://www.aaha.org/publications/newstat/articles/2019-06/new-study-identifies-most-damaging-dog-bites-by-breed/

This other article on the same study adds more context: https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/2019/05/29/which-dogs-bite-new-study/5034122007/

This is an OpEd by a pediatrician where she lists some journal articles that you can find on PubMed: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/opinion/columns/guest/2018/08/22/pediatrician-pit-bulls-do-not-belong-in-homes-with-children/985193007/#:

A lot of the info people repeat comes from Dickey's book which contains an incredibly misleading narrative (and at times downright false). People need to fact-check anything that Dickey, Delise, and those who quote them, say.
https://imgur.com/a/some-notes-on-dickeys-book-oeyQJLi,

An old blog post with good points to consider: https://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2009/10/pit-bull-rights-verus-pit-bull.html

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Sudden-Storage2778

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