Adopt or Shop Responsibly

The Knock-Off Golden Retriever Market

Adopt or shop responsibly: I believe in this so strongly that I devoted an entire chapter to it in Puppy Brain. It seemed that I couldn’t write a book about raising puppies without addressing this incredibly important point. But I’m beginning to understand that the word “responsibly” modifies both verbs: adopt responsibly and shop responsibly. 

I’ll leave the first for a future post, as delving into ethical versus unethical rescue organizations could be a book unto itself. But today, shop responsibly is on my mind. Well, it’s always on my mind. But today, it’s especially on my mind.

I just sent an email to someone about a Golden Retriever breeder that they are considering. I send dozens such emails every month, painstakingly going through a breeder’s website, health clearances, and pedigrees of the parents. I send long, detailed emails back, helping people discern whether the breeder they are considering is one who is doing everything humanly possible to promote the breed and raise healthy, resilient puppies.

I spend an inordinate amount of time doing this work. Searching for a breeder can be overwhelming and confusing, so I walk people through OFA clearances, DNA clearances, and rearing protocols. Without question, I could start a research support service and charge for my time in this endeavor. But I don’t, as I know that the way we preserve the breed and reduce puppy mill consumption is by educating the public. I want that bar to be as low as possible, making “shop responsibly” as accessible as possible.

The most recent inquiry came about an “English Cream Golden Retriever” being advertised like it’s a horse trough at Tractor Supply. A big “special offer” banner across the ad.

Honestly.

I can understand why the word “breeder” is a four letter word (yes, it has a couple of extra letters, but in many cases, it still qualifies). Oh to come up with a different word to describe what I do, as I don’t want to be associated with people like this. Thank goodness for ethical breeders who stand firm with me on this battleground.

Puppies are not chattel. They are not widgets. They are not something that should ever have the words “special offer” attached to them. 

I’ve never said this so plainly, but perhaps it’s time. If someone is advertising “English Cream” or “Irish Cream”, do not buy from them. Using such vernacular reflects such a complete disconnect from the understanding of the breed that I think that’s a low bar on your search. You can just stop at that phrase and move on. 

And discount banners. 

Stop there too.

Perhaps a helpful analogy is that of the knock-off market. We went to Europe in October and in high-traffic tourist areas, the knock-offs abound. Rows of “Chanel” and “Louis Vuitton” bags lined the sidewalk. To my untrained eye, they looked like the real thing. But had I bought one, I’m sure that edges would have frayed and clasps would have worn. It might have resembled the real thing for a little while, but ultimately, its deficiencies would have been revealed. If I were a purveyor of authentic luxury items, peddling the knock-offs would be unethical.

With Goldens, frayed edges are things like heart conditions and poor temperament. When shoppers support the knock-offs, they support the perpetuation of unhealthy dogs by unethical people (or in the case of breeding, it’s often ignorance about the harm being caused). And here’s another layer of the problem: many knock-off breeders have relationships with rescues, allowing them to offload the puppies they weren’t able to sell. Good-hearted people adopt the rescues, thereby inadvertently supporting the knock-off breeders. And getting frayed edges.

Do you see the problem here?

I spoke with a rescue organization this week and she told me that they are getting inundated with purebreds, as the post-Covid market has changed the demand. Clearly those breeders are selling enough puppies to make their efforts worthwhile (and then easy peasy, dropping the rest at the rescues who will take them). For those of us who love a particular breed, our job is to educate so that breeders like that don’t sell even a few puppies. 

Perhaps they’ll go sell horse troughs at Tractor Supply instead.