Dog breeders Ireland

Dogs & the lessons we can learn from them.

Bow Wow Wow We’re just about recovered from what can only be described as an insanely busy week end at Pet Expo. This was the 9th year that the show gave pet owners and potential pet owners their fix on all things pet related. Obviously being involved with the Dog Breed Village I am biased in saying that it ranks up there with some of the other major attractions, and based on the feedback, post Expo on my personal facebook page where I posted pictures of the Breed Village, it delivered exactly what we set out to do every year. The message that all the breed village representatives get across to the huge numbers that visited over the 2 days, is one of responsible dog ownership. Often when people hear the term breeder, they shudder. It implies something “bad” and suggests that pedigree dog breeders are creating health difficulties in dogs down the line. This 2 day event gives us the opportunity to wave our hands in the air and say, hello, we are here, and tell t…

Responsible Dog Breeders in Ireland

Don't knock the person that researches a particular breed a wants to purchase a pedigree dog from a person that knows the breed inside out and carries out all the breed specific health tests before breeding from adult dogs that have great temperaments. The resulting pups have the very best chance of going on to lead long & healthy lives and very rarely if ever end up in a shelter / pound due to the screening that the owner / breeder does before placing a pup in a suitable home. Promoting responsible breeding / breeders and dog ownership is also a very valid form of combating the mess that back yard breeders & puppy farms create that often end up in the terrible situation of a pound / shelter due to being bred from unhealthy unsocialised dogs. By showing people there is a right way, they can then make an informed choice. But if you don't go down the above road, please visit your local shelter before you buy a dog from the back of a car on the by pass because t…

Showing Dogs – Where did it all go wrong ?

There are hundreds of thousands of dogs in Ireland, yet only approx 1500 of these attend at any individual dog show affiliated by the IKC. In the year 2010/11 there were over 29,000 dogs registered with The Irish Kennel Club which included over 5,000 litters. Let's guestimate that 1000 of these litters were from show kennels, that's 4000 litters registered by people not involved in the show dog scene. So the question might be what are show dog people and the governing bodies doing in relation to assisting and educating all the other dog owning / loving people out there ? Now some show dogs have it and others just don't - It's true that some dogs really come alive when in the show ring, and it looks like this is their true vocation, but time spent in the actual show ring for most dogs accounts for approx 5 minutes out of the whole dog show day. The rest can be spent crated in the back of a van, car or trailer for periods from 10 minutes to 10 hours, not to mention th…

Your Dog and the pursuit of happiness

Ok we're back......I hope some of you noticed that we hadn't been what you'd call very active on the run up to and through the Christmas Holiday. TBH it was a most welcome break, and a time where we could reflect on the year just passed, and plan for the year ahead. I've decided on a personal theme for myself this year, which can be summed up in one word - Happiness - My thinking is that if you try and make yourself happy then everything else in life must be good, or should eventually fall into place. Happiness comes in all shapes and forms but mid last year we posted a blog stating that happiness is Canis Lupus or Dog to you and me I'm sure everybody reading this blog right now or maybe years in the future, will have experienced the happiness that a dog can bring into your life. But let's flip that card, and look at it from a dogs perspective. What really makes your dog happy ? Is your dog happy sitting with you on the sofa after a good long walk and balan…

Budget 2013 – Michael Noonan, Pure Bred Dog or Cross Breed ?

Weather forecast not good for Dogs in Ireland It well and truly looks like the country is preparing to brace itself on two counts. Firstly it looks like the weather has taken a turn with temperatures heading due south,and secondly December 5th is rapidly approaching, the day we all find out just how much poorer we will all be next year when details of the Budget are released. Something tells me that Michael Noonan, won't be getting as many Christmas cards this year as he is used to. Noonan being the countries Minister for finance (for the meantime anyhow) is given the task of looking after the countries finances. The rest of us get to look after whatever little we have left after Mr Noonan decides on what we should pay in relation to keeping the government jet and ministerial cars fueled, as well as funding the health service etc, etc. You could say that we are all Ministers of Finance. Isn't it a pity then that some people in Irish society when getting a p…

A Dog Is For Life Not Just For Christmas

This is the message that ALL reputable breeders send out at this time of the year. I got thinking recently about another phrase we hear from time to time, "Do as I say not as I do" Can some Show Kennels be accused of this...What do we do if the promising pup we kept back from a litter gets a fright in the Show Ring, and decides it doesn't like this showing lark or just isn't making the grade ? What happens when we discover the breed that we start out in is just too competitive, or "Sewn up" so we look around for a rare breed, or one with less numbers in...what happens to the dogs we have from our first breed ? OK we can always say there are always people out there looking for a mature dog, no puppy training to do, with all the hard work done, but these are the minority. I'm sure we all know of people in our respective breeds that move on an older dog / champion - the only reason being to make way for the new kid on the block. Maybe after 30 years the messa…

Leopard for sale on Gumtree !

We posted a blog not so long ago titled Is your local Puppy Farmer playing by the rules ? Now I'm not in anyway trying to trivialise the whole practice of puppy farming, but they only exist because there are van loads (excuse the pun) of un educated people out there only to willing to shell out hard earned money to buy one of these poorly bred & raised pups. Some of these pups end up in the Pet Shops that continue to be involved in this cruel and unjust practice. Puppy Farmers Can Advertise for Free Others end up on the general online classified web sites, some of which offer the puppy farmer a free opportunity to reach their potential customers. Recently one of the largest Free online classified web sites announced a drastic overhaul of it's policies in relation to the advertising of dogs. All of a sudden they will no longer allow ads from puppy farmers or commercial breeders. No stud dogs will be allowed No animals under the age of eight weeks Only …

Buying a dog for Christmas ?

Is Christmas a good time to Introduce a Puppy to your House ? I was asked recently to give an opinion on whether Christmas is a good or bad time to introduce a dog to the family. It's a question that raises it's head about this time every year. Rather than just give my own views on the matter, I asked followers of the pedigree dogs Facebook page to give their views on it. We got a great response, and answers covered the full spectrum, from "never,never,never" to "I got my first dog as a Christmas present & it was the best one I ever received" A Puppy to the right home After reading all the comment's I posted the following - "Would it be safe to say that a puppy to the right home at Christmas is far better than a puppy to the wrong home any other time of the year ?" which met with a general acceptance. As the picture above proves, different dogs are suited to different lifestyles / households, so whatever time of the year you are introducing a new puppy or d…

Dog Breed Village at Pet Expo Punchestown

In relation to last years Breed Village I wrote the following "It was also great to see how all the dogs at the breed village reacted with children, as it is the younger generations where we can have the most affect. Adults have become prejudiced towards certain breeds or just dogs and pedigree dogs in general, and it is very difficult to try and change this persons mind once made up. Children on the other hand are open to the whole experience, and it was fantastic to see children in push chairs right up to teenagers engaging with all the breeds on display, and coming away with huge smiles on their faces." I think the above picture sums that up well,as my niece Emma was quite terrified of most dogs before she came to the event, but by the time she left, could not wait to get her hands on any dog she came across. She can't wait for school today to tell all her buddies about the great experience she had. Having said that, before she left, we did explain to her that al…

Pedigreedogs.ie Sunday Times 12-09-2010

Yesterday our site Pedigreedogs.ie featured on page 8 of the business section of The Sunday Times. We are delighted with this exposure, and hope that it brings our web site to the attention of a lot more reputable breeders / owners so they are aware that there is a web site in Ireland, where the welfare of the dogs is paramount. Thanks to everyone that has supported us from the start. Onwards and upwards Best regards Paul Barry (Pictured with Daisy the Dachshund, one of his homebred Irish Champions & Kyla a friends Ir Ch Leonberger)