10 Things I Hate About You

“There is a fear that the Ridgeback will be construed as a popular breed and bred to death as a result of being listed on a site like Kijiji (quite a leap of assumption)”

The Ridgeback does not suffer from the same glut of popularity in Canada that it does in the US. There are several reasons for this and they are reasonably simple. Weather. Country population. Breeder population.

Weather. Sucks it. Really … an African breed so seriously does not want to live here. You can wrap them up in booties and coats and snoods and leggings but they will never love the cold.

Country population. Our population is about a 10th of the USA. Such a low population means the odds of Ridgebacks gaining a comparable popularity to the USA is not something bettors would put money on.

Breeder population. Look at the club website. Even if you assumed there were the same number again of non-member breeders in Canada that’s still a very low number … between 30 and 40 probably in the entire country. Not all of them are breeding either, some people only breed every couple years and some people don’t breed at all, they just have websites to show off their breed and their interest in it.

So the argument goes that if Joe Irresponsible sees a reputable breeder on a site like Kijiji that he will assume the breed is popular and get one to breed to his Rottie because a ‘lion hunter’ to his Rottie will make an even tougher breed. Or someone un-ethical will see the ad and decide to churn out puppies because they have the idea that the dogs will sell like hotcakes.

Say uh, what?

What’s to stop them from seeing the breed pretty much anywhere else? It’s not like they are a secret. Anyone could see a Ridgeback at the dog park. Shopping at a pet store. Walking down the street. Riding in a car. On TV. In a movie. A vet brochure (coming out soon!). A magazine. A dog food bag (there’s an RR on the Large Breed Iams bag).

An ad in Kijiji placed by a responsible breeder would make it pretty darn clear that no breeding to the Rottie would occur and no puppy will be sold to someone intending to start a puppy mill. They can ask. And get educated. They may listen. Or not. The point is an opportunity is wasted if the right information is not there at all. If they see the dog at the park, search Kijiji for one, find a ethical breeder and get educated then what’s the problem?

To ignore the opportunity to educate for fear that the breed will be construed as popular is a little short sighted. Certainly the breed is becoming better known, which is not the same as popular. As long as what people find online are good sources for information and education then there shouldn’t be a fear of popular breed syndrome.

There seems to be a misconception by some breeders that they can control what other people do. Sorry … you can’t. People lacking in moral fibre will always find some way to inflict their poison on society and they know, through experience, you can’t do a damn thing about it if their actions are not illegal. Breeding dogs irresponsibly is not illegal and you can’t stop them – it is however; illegal to harrass, slander and libel them. (You know who you are.)