Since the dog show was just on I'd like to bring up something that has been bothering me for awhile.

[TorchTheWitch]

8. well that's a shame

Not all breeders are created equal, and there ARE good respectable breeders out there that breed for health and temperament and don't actually profit from it. Finding them isn't easy, and one has to know the right questions to ask, what research to do and what to look for. That's what breeding is supposed to be about. Backyard breeders and bad breeders are just as bad as puppy mills, but there ARE good responsible breeders out there and what dog breeding SHOULD be all about. But without supporting good responsible breeders, there will NEVER be better standards in dog breeding, and irresponsible and backyard breeding will entirely take over.

It's responsible breeding that has virtually done away with hip dysplasia in most large breed dogs when it used to almost a given that the average large breed dog would suffer from it as they got older. With responsible breeding most large breed dogs are now guaranteed in writing that none of their dogs will suffer from it. Without responsible breeding certain health issues CAN'T be eliminated, and good responsible breeders are always researching with the medical community how to identify suspect genes and eliminate them from their line.

Unfortunately, the OP worked for a typical irresponsible breeder. How much their pups cost are irrelevant. No responsible breeder has too many dogs they can't devote the time to work with nor be having more than a couple litters a year and no more than 2 or MAYBE three litters per female. There's a hell of a lot more to it like having the standard health certificates (hips, eyes, bones, etc.).