Why I am PRO Ethical Dog Breeding! (Blog by Alexandra Dittmann)

Professional, Kennel Club registered Dog Breeders deserve our Support!

"... we do NOT promote breeding or breeders of any kind in our group." This is what I just read in one of the largest force-free dog training groups on Facebook ("Do No Harm Dog Training"). Written by the group admin, if I'm not mistaken. Wow.

Let that sink in for a minute. Doesn't such a statement imply that ethical breeders ... don't exist, or shouldn't exist? Sure, force-free groups don't need to promote certain breeders over others, but how about the ETHICAL breeding of healthy, even-tempered dogs, with focus on their, and their owners', welfare, which is very much in line with the force-free, no-harm, fear-free philosophy? (Funny how dogs from such ethical breeders very, very, very rarely end up in shelters, as such breeders have a clause in their purchase contract that precisely ensures the dog gets returned to them if ever they need rehoming. Then, they find a fitting new home for the dog from their network of breed-enthusiasts.)

Personally, I find that very much not in line with the spirit of force-free /no-harm / fear-free dog training and canine guardianship. Very much not in line with this: Without professional breeders' work of carefully selecting, training, showing, evaluating for impeccable temperament, health-testing and genetically screening potential sires and dams, there would not BE a healthy population of purebred dogs. As a society, we won't be able to "adopt our way out of the shelter dog crisis", as I remember someone saying. Hence, many trainers' personal dogs are purebred pups from professional breeders. And so are mine.

Shaming breeders and making it a group policy to not ever "defend" them, or speak in favor of them or their practices is one of the reasons I left that particular group. The other one was censorship of posts and comments that didn't fit the personal policy of the group admin.

In this new year 2025, it's time we as a collective of dog lovers wake up and dismantle the lies that are being fed to us by so-called authorities in the field of Force-Free training: Several of those have revealed themselves to be quite the hypocrites in 2024.

Dog Scams in Portugal: A Word of Caution from a Dog Trainer! (Blog by Alexandra Dittmann)

 By Alexandra Dittmann, Dog Trainer and Dog Training Consultant

Dog Scams in Portugal: A word of caution from a dog trainer and Estrela Mountain Dog owner:

CAREFUL when adopting a dog in Portugal - rescue organizations as well as owners who want rid of their dog are very good at telling people what they want to hear (like, in this example, "it's a Labrador"), and not what could get them into trouble (like, what that dog probably really is: An Estrela or Rafeiro cross with the propensity to bark a lot - day and night -, escape from the property via jumping over or digging under fences, go after bicycles, motorbikes, people walking past the property, as well as other dogs outside of the home etc.

Grossly misleading and setting those poor dogs up to fail miserably. Flock guardian breeds are not "normal" dogs who'll fit well into a family - they are diametrically opposed to a standard Labrador Retriever in temperament, drives, and trainability. Not easy dogs to raise, train, and manage.

If you'd like to adopt - fantastic, but please insist on an embark DNA test made on the dog you'd like to welcome in your life, to ensure that dog is the perfect fit for you. Such an embark test also, quite importantly, gives you detailed information about the dog's state of health, and of any underlying genetic issues the dog might have.

Sure, there's always a sad, sad tale getting told when someone tries to rehome a dog - but PLEASE don't fall for the narrative; question it, and preferably, ask a certified force-free canine behaviorist or trainer to perform a temperament test with any dog you are intersted in adopting.