‘Breeders advertising on Kijiji is not okay.’
Ultimately I think it comes down to image. Kijiji, Craigslist, Petfinder etc have been so tainted with backyard breeders, designer breeders, and puppy millers that there is just a glut of garbage on there. Who wants to be associated with garbage? Well, certainly I don’t but if there is no one but garbage out there then buyers will find nothing but garbage and begin to think that garbage is normal. So while the BYBs run rampant across the internet like hoardes of mice, purebred breeders stand on pedestals with our skirts over our heads. Real effective guys.
What tragic things would happen if a purebred dog breeder advertised on Kijiji? 1) Joe Bloe calls you to ask about your dogs and you are given a chance to educate them about whether it’s the right breed for them 2) Joe Assman calls you and says he’d love you to use his pitbull stud on your Ridgeback bitch and you tell him where to stick it 3) John Q. Public sees an RR on Kijiji and says to himself ‘Self, that would make a great cross with my Rottie – tough dog to tough dog makes a tougher dog” 4) the breed suffers a population explosion because as we all know Kijiji is the root of that sort of thing … not movies or pop culture 5) Well … I’m out.
For those not familiar with something like Kijiji, or Petfinder, or Cragilist … you have to be searching something specific. Really specific. I’m looking for a cargo trailer right now and seriously … hard to find. You have to type in the *exact* thing you are looking for. You MUST type in the word Ridgeback. Guess what? All you get is any post with the word Ridgeback in it.
So how exactly would Mr. Assman come across my ad to find my kennel to offer to breed to my bitch? Well, he has to be looking specifically for my breed. Really specifically. He has to have found the breed elsewhere and then used Kijiji as his chosen search mode. If all he were to find was an un-ethical breeder then yes … RR x Pit puppies. If he was to find, say, an ethical breeder, then the chances of him creating that cross could be lowered exponentially.
Just where is that ethical breeder? Oh that’s right. Head … up … ass. Can’t see or hear anything.
In recent years and with careful deliberation breed clubs have ensured that breeders are discouraged from advertising in classifieds. Some breed Codes of Ethics even state that you are NOT to advertise in newspaper classifieds or online forums. New breeders do not want rock the boat so they toe the line … even if the line is like the Berlin Wall. Most breeders probably couldn’t even tell you a rational reason why not to advertise there; simply ‘It’s just not done my dear.’
My guess is that to most breeders it’s just too … common. Maybe they don’t want to get their hands dirty. Many breeders live in bubbles. Many breeders suffer from tunnel vision. Some breeders suffer from delusions of granduer. This is one of the points for another post but seriously – we are near absolute snobs when it comes to our ‘hobby’. One breeder described herself as a Breed Guardian. Really? Do you wear a cape? Leap tall buildings? (I valiantly suppress a giggle.)
Not one single person can sell me a valid, solid, rational reason why advertising on Kijiji is like a bile burp. I have read several reasons from various sources which looked like swiss cheese to me. There is a difference between believing something because it’s actually true and trying to sell yourself something that is kind if well … irrational.
I have never had a need to advertise on Kijiji – my puppy lists have been full prior to the litter being conceived – but I’m oh so curious what would happen if I did. Would the sky fall? Would the breed suddenly explode into Golden and Lab proportions? Would the people I sell puppies to from Kijiji be the devil? Would they be bad homes? Would I abandon my pre-screening and evaluation criteria? Would I have a chance to educate people who did not find the RRCC website? Would I talk people out of the breed whose lifestyle would not fit a Ridgeback?
Gosh. The possibilities are truly endless.
2 comments:
I'm totally on your side here, Tamzin.
I think another argument that breeders use is that "Well, if you're a good breeder, you won't have to advertise at all. A good breeder gets puppy buyers by word of mouth only." And so therefore, good breeders do not advertise on classifieds.
I agree with you though, there is not really a reason not to, other than only trashy breeders advertise on classifieds right now. Well, if all the -good- breeders advertised on classifieds, then maybe it wouldn't -be- that way. But I guess classifieds are just for the -commonfolk-. Royalty would never bend to such depths.
The more good breeders can infiltrate the BYB society and try to either push them out of business or educate them/their buyers, the better. We can't do that by sitting back on our heels and letting them use the advertising that the common man looks at every day. It's not all about getting buyers, it is also about educating people and helping make them more responsible with their animals. I think that's a very worthy cause and a very good argument for advertising on classifieds.
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On another note, to be fair, on craigslist and kijiji you can both go to the pets/dogs sections and just browse what is there. The craigslist in my area has maybe 5 pet listings a day, so it's pretty easy to see what's offered without searching. :) Even on the SLC craigslist, I'll still scroll through it just to see what's offered, even though there are quite a few more. There are some people out there who just want a puppy (or something to breed their dog too) and that's it, they don't care what breed, so they will just scroll through and see what's available.
You raise a good point - I can see the arguement that a good well established breeder doesn't/should't have to advertise - 'to stoop to that level' - but how do new breeders get exposure? How do you start? Not breed until you have 'earned your stars'?
We DO advertise ... we list our kennels on 'approved' sources like club sites but the average person often doesn't even know where to begin.
You can scroll through but a lot of people have a general idea of what they are looking for. Small, large, hairy, smooth, active, sedate ... they skip to what interests them.
Yes, the more good breeders 'infiltrate' the more ammo we have against BYBs!
In many breeder's opinion the *commonfolk* not only don't 'deserve' to own a Ridgeback if they use Kijiji ... they don't even deserve to learn about it. It's born of this irrational fear of 'popularity explosion' or the breed being seen as a BYB's breed.
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