It's all subjective.

There is no definitive good or bad breeder. There is no definitive natural or unnatural breed. It's all completely subjective and open to your wildest interpretation. If you want to look at it fundamentally, ALL dog breeds are unnatural and to continue such unnatural bloodlines is unethical.


To many people, brachycephalic dogs with short backs, profuse fur, curved legs, and deep chests are abnormal and should not be bred. Yet, I've just described what a Pekingese is. And Pekingese have been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Yet, the modern Pekingese is a far cry from the olden Pekingese. Before modern Pekingese were molded into the hairy furballs of today, they looked like Ah Cum:

Yesterday's Pekingese did not have the coat, nor the legs, nor the nose, nor the backs of today's Pekingese. So how do we evaluate this? Is this normal? Does it fit your definition of normal or are these physical attributes hindrances? Are modern Peke breeders only breeding a bunch of deformed congenital defects? Should the breed be eliminated?

This is an extremely common trend with ALL breeds. German Shepherd are supposed to look like this:

Now, they look like this:


And for what purpose? For conformational purposes? For a flying gait to pizazz the pants of a judge within a 30 second time frame?

The whole fancy of dogdom needs to be re-evaluated, IMO. There are serious flaws within conformation. While I love dog shows deeply and was close to many Peke breeders/handlers, I've come to view the conformation ring with a tinge of disdain. What has been done to these dogs is all subjective, but in MY opinion, something drastic needs to happen. In my opinion, there are very very very few truly reputable breeders left in this world.

Most, if not all, breeders inbreed. Whether you think it's a good or bad thing is up to you. Whether you think a standard causes mental/physical suffering is your prerogative. Good breeders try not to further congenital defects, but even a great breeder will not spay/neuter her winningest dogs because a single puppy got cancer or hip dysplasia.

And so that begs the question: are we breeding for our benefits or for the dogs'? I do believe in furthering breeds, but I believe we have lost sight of our original, honorable intentions.