Snowdog, thank you, but as you can see from my signature, some don't feel as you do.
That signature line is a compilation of several names I was called by one person here, as a result of my postings in a past thread that was almost exactly like this one!
I do understand some feel that this is bashing the original poster, or others who feel those of us chiming in are the judgmental evil Newf police who love to bully others who don't agree with their breeder.
We're really not evil, don't want to be mean, will always be there to support and commiserate with people who need help, but yes...we do tend to be the purists - those who want breeders to breed to the standard, and feel there's a great need to educate others who are new to the breed. So yes...we do "police" those who we feel are hurting our breed and yes, we are judgmental about their poor breeding practices.
I've had Newfs for 9 years now, and still learn something new every day from those judgmental Newf police who have been involved with the breed for decades. I'm still a "newbie" myself. And ask questions of others who know much more than I do, every day. I have six Newfs. Two "rescues", four I purchased..three of those as "show dogs". ONE of those three has his Championship, so far. I do NOT breed and I will not ever be breeding Newfs.
You'd think I'd know all there is to know about them by now. Not even close. But I sure do know a LOT more than I did when I joined this site in '04...thanks to the people who reached out to me...in threads MUCH more heated than this one. (We used to have some drag out raging battles on this site in the beginning, and that's how friendships formed, and knowledge was gained. I miss them. They were truly a great public service).
Most of us have done the exact same thing many "newbies" do. Bought our first Newf from a poor excuse of a breeder. We leaped before we looked. We fell for a "nice" person who loves their dogs, takes good care of them, who was a good salesman, perhaps who had a slick website, someone who sounded reasonable, and OMG...had puppies! Right then!! Only later did we learn that we had been fooled. And we learned from sites like this. We started making a lot of friends in the Newf community.
We found that what our first puppies breeders were saying wasn't true. We found that just because they love their dogs and treat them as family members, and even might get health clearances on the parents, doesn't mean that they have a clue what a "good" Newf is. Or if they do, they just don't care. They have other ideas. They may even spout the breed standard, and then breed dogs that look NOTHING like that standard.
But a Newbie doesn't know that. They want a Newf puppy NOW. And no matter how poorly bred a puppy is...they're all as cute as can be. So the newbie is suckered into that first purchase. Then they stick around here, and elsewhere, and watch their puppy grow. They start comparing their growing Newf to other pics of quality Newfs posted and think (some even ask) "why doesn't mine look like that"? Or "when will mine look like that?" And then the learning begins.
The majority here who get their second Newf take the information they learn on this site (and other social media sites), and make a much more educated, better choice the next time around. (That's what we hope for and is why we bother to do this.) And then, over time, THEY become one of the the teachers...and join the Newf police club, thank heaven. Just look at this thread and you'll see how many have said they made a mistake the first time, but won't do it again.
We found that poor breeders will bash quality breeders who spend their whole lives doing things right for speaking out trying to educate new people. Those poor breeders will call the reputable, quality breeders "snooty" and "elitist" and even "mean" and "bullies". That's NOT true. They truly do want to help and mentor new people - guide them in the right direction. And do it all the time, with those willing to listen and learn. But once a Newbie is hooked up with a poor breeder, that "help" is looked upon as "interference" and "being nosy", and the name calling, or negative labeling spews forth from the poor breeder's mouth.
The whole purpose of the "educating" process is to stop, or at least slow down, the plethora of BYB's popping up all over the place who prey on the uneducated and uninformed. They make a LOT of money doing exactly that. The more people we can reach to warn them off...the better for the breed.
And that's what it's really all about...our beloved breed.
In Tennesee. Via Jersey and finally Denver airport after their hearts were cleared. I spend a lot of time talking to people when out with Misha, all about good breeders.
