A Letter To Puppy Buyers A statement I hear all the time from people looking to add a puppy/dog to their family is "Oh the pedigree doesn't matter. I just want a "pet". Let me try to explain why it should matter. Anyone dedicated to the preservation of his/her chosen breed breeds those dogs according to a "standard" approved by the AKC ( The American Kennel Club) that defines what that breed should be. This standard includes size, temperament, color etc. Everything that makes that breed look like that breed, consistently. ( click here to read The Miniature Schnauzer Standard ) ( click here to read The Boston Terrier Standard ) With that in mind, they also do whatever genetic testing is available for that breed to weed out possible genetic defects or problems in the offspring. Dogs with many champions in the background are those lines that have been taken to the AKC shows, set before judges and judged on how closely that dog comes to adhering to the AKC standard for that breed. Showing is for breeding stock to see that they are worthy to pass on their genes to future generations. Also, the more champions in a pedigree means that the line can be traced SHOULD a problem ever crop up and that dog or dogs can be eliminated from a breeding program. People who only breed to produce puppies for sale care nothing about future generations and how that may affect the breed as a whole. They either: a) think their dog is the best in the world and want more just like him/her. (Understandable but it rarely happens that you get one just like the original. And what do you do with the others? The ones that are not like the original?) b) looking for an "easy" way to make money. They do no genetic testing or pedigree research ("we owned the parents and grand parents- they are fine"), and have no support system to help if they have a problem ("take him back? we can't do THAT!") c) The 3rd and worst, of course, are the pet shops. They buy from commercial producers that mass produce many breeds of puppies and ship them out directly to pet shops all over the country. There is absolutely NO way you can EVER trace a health problem or temperament problem back through these producers nor do they care. Many of the commercial producers are now going with "alternative" registries . For more information on these alternative registries and what they are REALLY all about ( click here) Many of the above mentioned "breeders" produce dogs which look very little like what they should. You can see a prime example of this diversity right here on the website by first checking out our dogs and then clicking the link to " rescues"the page. All those dogss came from malls, back yard producers or flea markets. Note the difference! Even they do not look much like each other whereas carefully planned breeding programs such as ours produce a very consistant look and temperament. I hope this helps you to understand how to find your next pet! Chris