The problem is it's not what if's but fact, reducing gene pools reduces health. I'm just not sure after reading your posts you really do understand.

I think many breeder such as myself do try to strive for the all round dog, There was a thread recently asking about breed/working whats the diff or something like that, but as a breeder I want to breed dogs that are good family pets and have the right temprament to be just that, but also good examples of the breed, with good enough health to do a days work,I will try to find it and post a link,
striving for this may have held me back in the show ring {who knows} but my dogs still make it to crufts,
you do have a point about most dogs being pet, rottwielers must have the right temprament, but my pet puppys could still walk into a show ring and not disgrace themselfs, Im off to find the linky if I can x

I'm interested in where you would place me as a would be breeder (apart from hating the fact that I breed at all! ).

I'm breeding a litter from my bitch that is shown and will be worked at the end of this year. I aim to produce good healthy, quality pups that look like the breed they are meant to, have good calm temperaments, but still contain the ability to do a days work in the field. I have chosen a stud dog that has some new blood behind him in the shape of working lines, his Sire is a Swedish import and he has an excellent temperament, has done well in the show ring and shooting field.

I hope to produce healthy pups through health testing and carefully selected lines, with pet homes being my main focus for the pups I don't keep (and myself obviously, but I do plan to work/show my pup/s).

So, where in your above statement, do I fit?

sounds like your in the same pigeon hole as me

At least we're not alone, eh? It's harder to fit two people in one pigeon hole!

Hi
Im no expert on breeding so i wont join in with the last 4 pages of threads but the initial statement do you get what you pay for? I don't think people do as many breeders just breed for money and don't seem to care about the pups and their health problems. I know people on here do so i'm not disputing that. We had a westie from a farm and paid £350 for him which i think is a lot of money for a dog but then i have never breed dogs so i couldnt say how much it costs to rear them. We had henry from 6 weeks old and found in the first year of his life he had perthes disease and luxating patellas. Henry has been through the mill and i did contact the breeder to tell him. He never got back to me!!! I was so upset to see henry go through the ops and he will never be 100% so the pain and suffering the pups go through should be thought out but they dont see this side or even care as it has been shown through the breeder we dealt with. I couldnt take him back as we got attached to him.

I do understand that even with health checks there are no guarentees but we did pay good money and the breeder showed no interest

My sister had her Westie Ellie, from a breeder in Lincolnshire, they paid £600 for her, with all the reassurances of health checks, both parents seen etc., papers the lot. Poor mite has suffered with first one health problem then another over her eight years. When she first became ill she was 3 months old, the vet suggested that she rang the breeder, just to ask if either parent had been health checked for this particular disease, as he insisted that it was handed down. When she did, she explained to the the breeder and told them that they didn't want to get rid of her because she was thier baby and they loved her,but could she answer the question the vet had asked, the breeder put the phone down. Saying that she later got a rescue, a scruffy Westie which she paid £70 for it's as hard as nails and over the 5 years she has had her she has never been ill. Which is good as Ellie is always visiting the vets
But she wouldn't be without either

Don't want to make you feel like I'm picking on you here, but that sentence just has alarm bells ringing for me. Health reasurances are never enough, all certs chould be viewed (if there are any for Westies?). Also being able to view both parents at the same property would make me think twice, this is often the case of pet breeders who own both parents and just breed continually to make money.

For me being able to see both parents would not cause alarm bells, same property or not. I would think kennels around longer may use their own dogs and bitches sometimes or at least make it possible to see the dog used. I would be more worried if I couldnt see the dad.

Total opposite for me mate. IMO a good breeder will go to the ends of the earth for a good stud dog, hence the Sire is often not seen. Yes, sometimes a breeder will have bought the dog in or, in the case if Isla's breeders, have bred 2 separate lines to put together. But 9 times out of 10 you'll find it's just a cheap way to produce pups over and over again. I would be very wary of a breeder that advertised as having both parents and would only proceed with extreme caution, once I knew what lines both parents were from and whether it made sense to put both together to produce a litter!