But I may be misreading what buyers want.
And to your point: things are the way they are for a reason...the evolution of needs/wants that are different from that which you prefer.
My assumptions have been way off, until I looked at the big-big picture, which took me a long time. Years.
I thought most everybody would be in favor of breeding first for healthy dogs and 2nd for whatever they personally wanted. But after years of observation, most people just want what they want, and whatever comes with it is just a little baggage that they can deal with, cross that bridge if it's in their path so to speak. Since I know so very few personally but so very many in observation I could be wrong about some, but actions speak louder than words. I observe that some will breed what their market wants, or that in their opinion will boost their chances of success in whatever field they are in. I get it. That's business. Where I failed in my assumptions is that they would choose this type of breeding (success and sales) over searching for a breeding match that would produce a healthier litter with less chances (via pedigree lack of disease/longevity) but may not have as much concentration of show/work traits, so a crapshoot on your litter becoming instant stars. And again, I get it, I can't blame them. They are invested. But what I also didn't get is that very few of us on the buyers end know much of anything and just buy whatever is out there.
So there is no buyer demand except "I want to show, so I want a dog bred from CH's." or "I want an IGP/sport dog, so I want to buy from a sport dog breeder with those kinds of titles". So that's where they go and what they buy. Beginners with big dreams or pros that have been around the block. Then there are two more types of breeders, most just say BYB, but I separate them into Mills and BYB. Mills produce litter after litter after litter and make money hand over fist. They produce and sell more puppies than anyone, and almost all of them are to John Q Public who has no idea about health problems in the breed. They have 5 - 20 bitches and half a dozen breeding dogs. They live and whelp in kennels. Then what
I call BYB are pet owners who breed a litter or two a year at the most, usually don't know much, don't have a clue about testing but they have a nice dog and their neighbor has a nice dog so they have a litter and get on Good Dog website and get $500 per puppy and they are tickled to death at how easy that was. On this forum we bunch the mills with the BYB word, but honestly they are two different deals and Mills are the most dangerous of all to the Dobermans health. So if the buyer "demand" is looked at, it might amount to 10% show, 5% working, 5% active companion sports, and the rest are just looking for a companion Doberman. I'm GUESSING at these numbers, literally making them up, but I think most dogs go to pet homes. Why would they even imagine they need to ask the breeder as many questions as the breeder asks them? I simply think puppy buyers are not of the mindset to read, study and work hard to find the perfect puppy.
I'm with you on all the things I wish would happen, that we could review pedigrees, that breeders would post all the info on their breeding dogs, and stay up to date with their progeny, be available and open to talk to about things that have not gone to their liking in their own dogs. Honesty & transparency. LOL, I'm asking too much, I know. I use to think that we buyers could change the way breeders looked at their own programs, but now I think those of us with a high expectation of breeders will be sorting through them for quite some time. Basically they are just like us: They want what they want and at this point they don't have to change their ways to suit buyer demands.
it has been difficult to find dogs that combine form and function with healthy lines/and or longevity. Dobequest:Dog Profile Page
