[QUOTE=Sonesta;6526435]
Please PM me the name and location of this abomination. The Cavalier King Charles Club USA is diligent about investigating such breeders and trying to close them down.[/QUOTE]
Nice to see a Club invested in protecting their breed of choice. Please keep us updated.
yeah, well, that’s info from the people who don’t want you to have a dog to begin with…
AKC does more for dogs than the HSUS, and with less money…
you can confirm all the information about AKC’s eager support of puppy mills from independent sources. Surely you’ve heard about the time they openly proposed forming an alliance with Hunte corp. (puppy mills), that wasn’t that long ago. You should be very suspicious about the laws AKC tries to block- read them carefully and make up your own mind. In general AKC’s policies are good for AKC and possibly not so good for the welfare of dogs.
MANY, possibly MOST, dogs who are registered with AKC are bred and born in puppy mills. It’s easy to buy an AKC-registered purebred of any breed you want, any time you want. The papers don’t mean all that much, and are not a guarantee of quality or a guarantee the breeder is reputable.
[QUOTE=wendy;6526913]
…In general AKC’s policies are good for AKC and possibly not so good for the welfare of dogs.[/QUOTE]
This! (a thousand times over).
The AKC is all about the AKC. It is a business. And a business is all about making money.
IF the AKC had the welfare of it’s member dogs at heart it would never allow dogs in conformation classes if they hadn’t been fully tested (and passed) for genetic health issues that affect their particular breed; health issues that can be passed on to future generations. AKC conformation classes are, by their very nature, just a vehicle to promote a dog for breeding purposes (that is why only intact dogs are allowed to enter conformation classes).
Why does the AKC allow untested (and even worse, dogs who have been tested and FAILED a health test), to be shown in those conformation/breeding classes? This makes no sense whatsoever for an organization that would have people believe that they do so much for dogs! What they are doing is promoting the continuation of genetic health issues. Make ANY dog with the right LOOK a champion and everyone wants to have one of the offspring. Dogs who are genetic health risks or even disasters are welcomed into the AKC show ring (as long as they pay their entry fees :lol:). And their offspring are happily registered with the AKC (as long as their registration fees are paid :lol:).
The AKC is nothing more than a money-making machine. And they have quite a monopoly going too.
What is needed is an organization that truly cares about dogs. One that will refuse to register any dog whose parents did not pass mandatory health testing. This is probably the very minimum that should to done “for the sake of dogs”. Maybe then registration papers would actually mean something. Today’s AKC papers are worthless (and you have to pay money to the AKC to get them!). :eek:
[QUOTE=GraceLikeRain;6526833]
Nice to see a Club invested in protecting their breed of choice. Please keep us updated.[/QUOTE]
Cavs have definitely hit a popularity spike and appear in every pet shop in my area (great DC region). Super popular pet store breed.
This can’t be news to the Club?
[QUOTE=Claddagh;6526997]
IF the AKC had the welfare of it’s member dogs at heart it would never allow dogs in conformation classes if they hadn’t been fully tested (and passed) for genetic health issues that affect their particular breed; health issues that can be passed on to future generations.
Why does the AKC allow untested (and even worse, dogs who have been tested and FAILED a health test), to be shown in those conformation/breeding classes? [/QUOTE]
I’m in total agreement that the AKC is invested in the interests of the AKC. They are a registry.
But we’re not talking about warmbloods - the breeding window for dogs is not very long. If a dog can’t even be shown in a conformation class until it has cleared of all possible genetic health issues – e.g. dysplasia, which OFA won’t clear until a dog is 2 – who would still be able to show, finish, and breed a bitch (especially) before she is too old?
Not to mention…who is going to evaluate these health tests to decide which dogs can even enter the shows? Those people don’t exist at the AKC now, and it is unlikely breeders will be willing to increase the price of their puppies to cover the extra costs of getting the AKC stamp of approval before they can even set foot in the show ring. Again - we’re not talking about horses. People will not pay $15,000 for a puppy…and at the peak of its career, it will not be worth $250,000+. It’s a dog…8-15 year lifespan…with a breeding window in bitches that is only a few years long.
In theory it’s great. In practice, I don’t think it would work very well.
The AKC is like the Jockey Club. It is a registry. If you want to buy a racehorse, you don’t just say “hey, well, it’s JC registered…let’s get it, we’ll be able to breed the next Zenyatta!” Buyer beware in Thoroughbreds just like it is in dogs…you have to do your research.
[QUOTE=Bicoastal;6527123]
Cavs have definitely hit a popularity spike and appear in every pet shop in my area (great DC region). Super popular pet store breed.
This can’t be news to the Club?[/QUOTE]
No, unfortunately, it is not news to the Club. But we do what we can. And if the one mentioned in the previous post is a horror, then we can try to do something. It becomes very difficult to protect a breed when the mills get hold of them. But we have been successful in shutting down some bad ones throughout the country.
FWIW, I can tell you that any breeder of Cavaliers that is a member of a Cavalier Club that is affiliated with the national Club, is CAREFULLY checked out by the Club and has to sign a several page Code of Ethics and Agreement to abide by those rules and do all the health testing and follow the Swedish breeding protocol to combat MVD. And any complaints received by the Club are carefully investigated and if found to have substance, action is taken - up to and including kicking the breeder out of the Club (which IS DONE quite readily for repeat infractions or serious single infractions). The Club takes the welfare of this breed very seriously.
My own local club, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club of Greater Houston, once kicked out a former PRESIDENT of the Club when we learned that she was standing at stud a male that had a history of seizures that she was not revealing to the owners of the bitches to which she bred him.
[QUOTE=Sonesta;6528528]
No, unfortunately, it is not news to the Club. But we do what we can. And if the one mentioned in the previous post is a horror, then we can try to do something. It becomes very difficult to protect a breed when the mills get hold of them. But we have been successful in shutting down some bad ones throughout the country.
FWIW, I can tell you that any breeder of Cavaliers that is a member of a Cavalier Club that is affiliated with the national Club, is CAREFULLY checked out by the Club and has to sign a several page Code of Ethics and Agreement to abide by those rules and do all the health testing and follow the Swedish breeding protocol to combat MVD. And any complaints received by the Club are carefully investigated and if found to have substance, action is taken - up to and including kicking the breeder out of the Club (which IS DONE quite readily for repeat infractions or serious single infractions). The Club takes the welfare of this breed very seriously.
My own local club, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club of Greater Houston, once kicked out a former PRESIDENT of the Club when we learned that she was standing at stud a male that had a history of seizures that she was not revealing to the owners of the bitches to which she bred him.[/QUOTE]
Thumbs up to them! I hate when a breed gets popular. Even if that is how I learn about a future addition to my household, the mills and the JoeShmoe’s learn, too. And profit.
Animal rightists have successfully brain-washed breeders too
These gossip forums with little basis in fact are a sad commentary on life in the digital age.
I am the breeder/exhibitor/veterinarian being “discussed” in the initial post. I do whelp 30 litters per year, because I have the expertise to do so and save more puppies than the lay person who whelps 1 litter per year. Which of you wants to go to an OB/GYN to have your child when they rarely see a pregnant woman?
I have a total of 12-14 adult dogs (that’s less than 150-175 lbs of dog flesh) that live on our 35-acre horse farm year round. Until 2 years ago, we did not even have fenced dog yards—they were free to come and go through a doggie door and go down to the horse barn with us or hang out on the deck. All stayed within voice. However, as I got several studs and then had visiting females to be bred, I had to install some dog yards—yards, not kennels, not runs—multiple 30’x40’ grassy areas with trees, dog houses, pool and toys. All dogs come in the house when the weather is cold or hot, and at night. I had a random AKC inspection 3 wks ago and the inspector was impressed with the comfortable conditions and healthy, socialable dogs.
In addition, I co-own about 15 other dogs (all 1 breed) and each lives with a family who has no more than 4-5 dogs. I manage their health care, the pedigrees, mentor the owners in getting involved in showing, handle the breeding, A.I., if needed, whelping, and puppy care. I supply the monthly heartworm and flea/tick topical preventive, vaccinations and dewormings, and brucellosis testing. This allows me to have genetic diversity and avoid closeup line breeding as so many “respected” show breeders do, while at the same time, it also means that I can retire bitches at a young age—usually by 4-5 yrs (rarely 6 yr) in a breed with lifespan of 14-16 yr)—decreasing the risk of mammary neoplasia and, best of all, the female already has a built-in forever family home!
No dogs live on wire! Where did that come from? They don’t live on concrete either. The doggie door leads into the carpeted bedroom—yes, I have a steam carpet cleaner! They rotate who gets to sleep in bed with us. We can fit 4-5 in our bed. The rest sleep in crates—show crates with plastic floor and several fleece pads. All are housebroke. All will go off-leash and come on recall. Several go to visit a riding academy for autistic children where my husband volunteers and where we have donated a pony. They take turns going to polo matches, steeplechase races, and local parades. I have no children. I would not have time for them if I had children. And, because I get visitors to see the puppies, the adults get loads of attention from strangers too—so they are outgoing and friendly—they are not good guard dogs and are risk of becoming lost by jumping in the back of someone’s car or the back of the FedEx truck without my knowing.
I sell the puppies I breed AND that my sires’ sire to ensure that homes are appropriate; I have the web site to get the contacts and I have the expertise to ask the right questions; I am also available for veterinary advice for the life of that puppy! Every puppy is microchipped and the chip registered with me as backup. I do this even with pups born to females that I don’t own but which are sired by my males. My set-up should be a model for how to breed—not criticized. I took back 2 adults last month and both were placed last week. One came back because the male dog had bonded with the wife and was getting aggressive with the husband and after 2 months of counseling them and having a private trainer work with them, it seemed best to get the dog out of the environment. The dog now lives with a dog trainer and is doing great. The other came back because the wife started an in-home chocolate candy business and the state law does not allow pets in the home with a food-based home business. She had a new home within a few days with a family who bought one of my pups last year.
My breed is new to AKC and at risk of going the way that so many breeds have gone—too small of a gene pool. I am making a concerted effort to avoid this—it takes patience and it takes 2-3 generations or more sometimes to get a good show type. It also takes a tough skin to put up with the type of gossip about the breeding, like has occurred on this forum. If you are breeding one litter a year and repeating that same cross, year after year, how are you helping the breed overall? You are helping yourself only. You have succumbed to the high priced lobbying efforts of HSUS to do away with purebred dog breeding.
I do not like crossing the same pair more than twice—usually only once—I want to mix up the gene pool of health-tested dogs. It is quick and easy to line-breed a champion to a champion and get a show dog each time. It is harder and takes longer to produce a show dog by outcrossing non-champions, but it can be done and get you there—and it will be better for the overall breed 10, 20, 30 years from now. I am not short-sighted as so many show breeders are. I also do not give males more emphasis than females in the gene pool—why should they have more influence on the breed? Each sex contributes 50% of the chromosomes. The only reason males get used so much more than females is for the convenience of not having to keep multiple intact males. By having co-owners with multiple family homes available, I can have access to several males and better match pairs and distribute the genes. Every one of my breeding dogs is DNA profiled, not just the males siring multiple litters as AKC requires.
Regarding pricing, I would venture to say that someone is more likely a puppy mill if they charge $400 or less. Properly raising for and caring for dogs, is time-consuming and expensive. Add to that, the lifetime phone/email support I give (and I get more than most because I am a vet), is time-consuming and expensive. And, as a vet, one of the hardest things to do is to euthanize an animal solely because the owner decides the surgery or treatment is too expensive. It is not uncommon to have the husband say “but hunny, we only paid $350 for her as a pup and there are no guarantees that the $1500 surgery will be successful and maybe there will be complications and it will cost more; we can get 4 puppies for the cost of this. The kids will get over it when they get excited about a new puppy…” etc”. Sad, but true. BUT, when that same dog cost $1500 as a pup, they will pay for the surgery. It’s psychological. Also, regarding prices, I have spent a lot of money on bringing in dogs from 3 continents (Asia, Europe, and Australia) to work into my breeding program. The one from Asia was $5000 no including shipping. The shipping alone for the one from Australia was over $2000. Do you think that you are somehow more righteous for selling pups cheaply? Put them in your garage sale then! I don’t sell pups based on the “going price” in the area or what the backyard breeder sells them for. I don’t sell them for a “pet” price, as if something is wrong with them, just because they don’t fall at the top for a “show standard”. I don’t have “sales”. The litter is priced before the parents are bred, and the price does not change—it is not more for one pup over another—not more or less because of sex or color or markings—all are equally “valuable” lives. I do not lower the price simply because a pup hasn’t sold by 12 wks—I don’t want anyone to have one of my pups who can’t undertake the financial responsibility; I want them to think long and hard about getting a pup and not have it be a spur-of-the-moment decision, which happens with $300 pups.
Prices have nothing to do with the breed becoming recognized by AKC this year. My prices have been the same–$1200-1500 for 6 years.
Yes, I have been successful in the show ring so far. I have the #1 and #2 dogs in breed points for my breed. That said, my primary goal in breeding is to produce wonderful, healthy pets—first and foremost—waaaay more important than creating the “perfect” show dog (no matter how many sanctimonious breeders there are who try to claim that one should only breed to improve the breed according to the standard—funny how many breeds have deteriorated over the years then!).
D. Caroline Coile, PhD, who writes the Breeders Notebook for Dog World, and also contributes to various AKC magazines is so correct when she says “Breeders are their own worst enemy. They turn against each other, labeling any breeders who produce more litters than others as puppy mills, even when those breeders produce high quality, health-tested puppies that go to good homes. At some point, even breeders were ‘sold’ on the idea that breeding is bad. As that great philosopher Pogo said, We have met the enemy and he is us”. Dog World, Oct 2011, p22-23.
Why do you need to whelp 30 litters a year to diversify?
How is creating 150 new puppies each year diversifying long term?
Are you planning on producing this many puppies each year indefinitely?
How do you properly socialize 100+ puppies?
How do you keep up with all of your puppies and ensure that they receive proper care?
Until recently you allowed your intact animals to roam freely because they were always “within voice”?
Where are the 100 puppies kept?
At what age do you send off your puppies?
What are the goals of your breeding program outside of “diversity”?
How are you able to effectively evaluate your lines if you outcross 30 litters a year and rarely repeat breedings?
What percent of the puppies you produce are show quality? What are you doing to improve this?
Are your dogs proven in any area except for conformation?
Do they have the ability to excel in performance and if so, what percent of your puppies are in performance homes?
You seem very comfortable with your breeding practices. I think answering the above questions would help us have a better idea of why you feel that breeding so many puppies each year is in the best interest of a newly recognized breed.
Quoting for posterity 
Popcorn, anyone?
[QUOTE=Cagney;6541739]
These gossip forums with little basis in fact are a sad commentary on life in the digital age.
I am the breeder/exhibitor/veterinarian being “discussed” in the initial post. I do whelp 30 litters per year, because I have the expertise to do so and save more puppies than the lay person who whelps 1 litter per year. Which of you wants to go to an OB/GYN to have your child when they rarely see a pregnant woman?
I have a total of 12-14 adult dogs (that’s less than 150-175 lbs of dog flesh) that live on our 35-acre horse farm year round. Until 2 years ago, we did not even have fenced dog yards—they were free to come and go through a doggie door and go down to the horse barn with us or hang out on the deck. All stayed within voice. However, as I got several studs and then had visiting females to be bred, I had to install some dog yards—yards, not kennels, not runs—multiple 30’x40’ grassy areas with trees, dog houses, pool and toys. All dogs come in the house when the weather is cold or hot, and at night. I had a random AKC inspection 3 wks ago and the inspector was impressed with the comfortable conditions and healthy, socialable dogs.
In addition, I co-own about 15 other dogs (all 1 breed) and each lives with a family who has no more than 4-5 dogs. I manage their health care, the pedigrees, mentor the owners in getting involved in showing, handle the breeding, A.I., if needed, whelping, and puppy care. I supply the monthly heartworm and flea/tick topical preventive, vaccinations and dewormings, and brucellosis testing. This allows me to have genetic diversity and avoid closeup line breeding as so many “respected” show breeders do, while at the same time, it also means that I can retire bitches at a young age—usually by 4-5 yrs (rarely 6 yr) in a breed with lifespan of 14-16 yr)—decreasing the risk of mammary neoplasia and, best of all, the female already has a built-in forever family home!
No dogs live on wire! Where did that come from? They don’t live on concrete either. The doggie door leads into the carpeted bedroom—yes, I have a steam carpet cleaner! They rotate who gets to sleep in bed with us. We can fit 4-5 in our bed. The rest sleep in crates—show crates with plastic floor and several fleece pads. All are housebroke. All will go off-leash and come on recall. Several go to visit a riding academy for autistic children where my husband volunteers and where we have donated a pony. They take turns going to polo matches, steeplechase races, and local parades. I have no children. I would not have time for them if I had children. And, because I get visitors to see the puppies, the adults get loads of attention from strangers too—so they are outgoing and friendly—they are not good guard dogs and are risk of becoming lost by jumping in the back of someone’s car or the back of the FedEx truck without my knowing.
I sell the puppies I breed AND that my sires’ sire to ensure that homes are appropriate; I have the web site to get the contacts and I have the expertise to ask the right questions; I am also available for veterinary advice for the life of that puppy! Every puppy is microchipped and the chip registered with me as backup. I do this even with pups born to females that I don’t own but which are sired by my males. My set-up should be a model for how to breed—not criticized. I took back 2 adults last month and both were placed last week. One came back because the male dog had bonded with the wife and was getting aggressive with the husband and after 2 months of counseling them and having a private trainer work with them, it seemed best to get the dog out of the environment. The dog now lives with a dog trainer and is doing great. The other came back because the wife started an in-home chocolate candy business and the state law does not allow pets in the home with a food-based home business. She had a new home within a few days with a family who bought one of my pups last year.
My breed is new to AKC and at risk of going the way that so many breeds have gone—too small of a gene pool. I am making a concerted effort to avoid this—it takes patience and it takes 2-3 generations or more sometimes to get a good show type. It also takes a tough skin to put up with the type of gossip about the breeding, like has occurred on this forum. If you are breeding one litter a year and repeating that same cross, year after year, how are you helping the breed overall? You are helping yourself only. You have succumbed to the high priced lobbying efforts of HSUS to do away with purebred dog breeding.
I do not like crossing the same pair more than twice—usually only once—I want to mix up the gene pool of health-tested dogs. It is quick and easy to line-breed a champion to a champion and get a show dog each time. It is harder and takes longer to produce a show dog by outcrossing non-champions, but it can be done and get you there—and it will be better for the overall breed 10, 20, 30 years from now. I am not short-sighted as so many show breeders are. I also do not give males more emphasis than females in the gene pool—why should they have more influence on the breed? Each sex contributes 50% of the chromosomes. The only reason males get used so much more than females is for the convenience of not having to keep multiple intact males. By having co-owners with multiple family homes available, I can have access to several males and better match pairs and distribute the genes. Every one of my breeding dogs is DNA profiled, not just the males siring multiple litters as AKC requires.
Regarding pricing, I would venture to say that someone is more likely a puppy mill if they charge $400 or less. Properly raising for and caring for dogs, is time-consuming and expensive. Add to that, the lifetime phone/email support I give (and I get more than most because I am a vet), is time-consuming and expensive. And, as a vet, one of the hardest things to do is to euthanize an animal solely because the owner decides the surgery or treatment is too expensive. It is not uncommon to have the husband say “but hunny, we only paid $350 for her as a pup and there are no guarantees that the $1500 surgery will be successful and maybe there will be complications and it will cost more; we can get 4 puppies for the cost of this. The kids will get over it when they get excited about a new puppy…” etc". Sad, but true. BUT, when that same dog cost $1500 as a pup, they will pay for the surgery. It’s psychological. Also, regarding prices, I have spent a lot of money on bringing in dogs from 3 continents (Asia, Europe, and Australia) to work into my breeding program. The one from Asia was $5000 no including shipping. The shipping alone for the one from Australia was over $2000. Do you think that you are somehow more righteous for selling pups cheaply? Put them in your garage sale then! I don’t sell pups based on the “going price” in the area or what the backyard breeder sells them for. I don’t sell them for a “pet” price, as if something is wrong with them, just because they don’t fall at the top for a “show standard”. I don’t have “sales”. The litter is priced before the parents are bred, and the price does not change—it is not more for one pup over another—not more or less because of sex or color or markings—all are equally “valuable” lives. I do not lower the price simply because a pup hasn’t sold by 12 wks—I don’t want anyone to have one of my pups who can’t undertake the financial responsibility; I want them to think long and hard about getting a pup and not have it be a spur-of-the-moment decision, which happens with $300 pups.
Prices have nothing to do with the breed becoming recognized by AKC this year. My prices have been the same–$1200-1500 for 6 years.
Yes, I have been successful in the show ring so far. I have the #1 and #2 dogs in breed points for my breed. That said, my primary goal in breeding is to produce wonderful, healthy pets—first and foremost—waaaay more important than creating the “perfect” show dog (no matter how many sanctimonious breeders there are who try to claim that one should only breed to improve the breed according to the standard—funny how many breeds have deteriorated over the years then!).
D. Caroline Coile, PhD, who writes the Breeders Notebook for Dog World, and also contributes to various AKC magazines is so correct when she says “Breeders are their own worst enemy. They turn against each other, labeling any breeders who produce more litters than others as puppy mills, even when those breeders produce high quality, health-tested puppies that go to good homes. At some point, even breeders were ‘sold’ on the idea that breeding is bad. As that great philosopher Pogo said, We have met the enemy and he is us”. Dog World, Oct 2011, p22-23.[/QUOTE]
What breed are we even talking about? The OP referenced “a breed recently recognized by the AKC.” I looked up the GCH rankings of breeds recognized in the last two years and didn’t see a breed where the #1 and #2 dog came from the same kennel.
[QUOTE=Cagney;6541739]
These gossip forums with little basis in fact are a sad commentary on life in the digital age.
I am the breeder/exhibitor/veterinarian being “discussed” in the initial post. I do whelp 30 litters per year, because I have the expertise to do so and save more puppies than the lay person who whelps 1 litter per year. Which of you wants to go to an OB/GYN to have your child when they rarely see a pregnant woman?
.[/QUOTE]
I only got this far. Seriously?
Because none of the other breeders out there have veterinarian support in case of an emergency. Although with only 1-2 litters a year, they are probably able to respond quickly to an emergency because they don’t have 25 puppies to care for during the whelping of another bitch.
Having just helped my dog’s breeder whelp and raise a litter of only 4 puppies this spring, I have to say - if you are breeding 30 litters a year, you either have a lot of help, or they are not getting very much attention.
To do it right is very time consuming, and I just don’t really see how you could “do it right” with 2-3 litters being born every month…so you are talking 4-6+ litters of puppies on the ground at a time before they are old enough to go to their new homes? Matching puppies with owners, screening for temperament, giving shots, deworming, keeping track of the pregnant bitches and making sure they are healthy before they whelp, matching and breeding other pairs, showing your dogs that are show quality? Who does all this and cares for 150 puppies a year?? Maybe you have a staff…?
I like my vet’s statement “how do you know if it’s a puppy mill” – “if you have to ask, then it is.”
Did i miss what breeds these dogs are?
I WHELP 30 litters per year, not RAISE 30 litters per year!
Every repro vet worth their salt sure better whelp more than that or they are inexperienced. I whelp dogs that I don’t own. I whelp dogs that I co-own and then the mother and pups go back to their own homes and live with their families—about 6 different close friends/colleagues/co-breeders. I see the pups weekly to check on their health, deworm, vaccinate etc. How many of you have vets check your pups weekly???Vets certainly better be able to handle the vaccination of 150 pups per year or they have a problem. I CAN handle an emergency during whelping faster than anyone could get to their own vet clinic. I can recognize when there is a problem faster too. Do you really disagree?
I am guessing that none of you have ever brought a new breed through AKC-FSS, based on some of your comments. You are naive to many of the issues.
I have dogs competing in agility and lure coursing.
GraceLikeRain—I will answer all your questions personally and privately and you may come visit if in the area. You will change your mind. Call me at work 610-840-4912.
[QUOTE=godiva13;6543486]
Did i miss what breeds these dogs are?[/QUOTE]
I think it’s a secret. Either that or I missed it, too.
But since it is recently AKC recognized, I assume that would put it in the Miscellaneous class?
Azawakh
Belgian Laekenois
Bergamasco
Boerboel
Chinook
Cirneco dell’Etna
Coton de Tulear
Dogo Argentino
Miniature American Shepherd
Peruvian Inca Orchid
Portuguese Podengo Pequeno
Pumi
Rat Terrier
Sloughi
Spanish Water Dog
Wirehaired Vizsla
I’m guess Rat Terrier because it sounds like they are small.
{QUOTE]help us have a better idea of why you feel that breeding so many puppies each year is in the best interest of a newly recognized breed.[/QUOTE]
Because 95% of the currently registered dogs go back to the same 4 studs, all from the same litter, and only about 5 generations back. Are you familiar with the Founders Effect? Are you familiar with the issues the Borzoi and Basenji breeds (and others) have had? While still in FSS, we have an opportunity to prevent those issues.
Why do you want to know the breed?
You have become an out-of-control mob, unwilling to fully read and consider my responses, only thinking of your next sarcastic come-backs–makes you feel good, I guess. No wonder we can’t get our own Congress to work together–look at what society has become.
As a vet, yes, obviously you have more experience whelping than the average breeder. That doesn’t necessarily make you a better breeder though. I’m not sure how that actually changes the quality of your breeding program. FWIW, my dog’s breeder has only lost one puppy during whelping in her entire life; of 30+ years in the breed; and unless you have an unusual breed, many bitches successfully whelp without any intervention at all.
I guess the question of “puppy mill” v. “bad breeder” is pretty irrelevant. The breeders I know do NOT “breed one litter a year and repeat that same cross, year after year.” I think we would all agree that this is not a good breeder even if they don’t earn the “puppy mill” title.
But it takes a while to fully appreciate the quality of a litter…how do you know your litter is “good” enough to even repeat the breeding once? My dog is 2.5 years old, and I am not sure we know yet whether he is truly breeding material – he earned his Ch. but not his GCh yet, no field titles yet. Could we breed him - of course! Should we? I’m not convinced yet. At least in my breed there are a lot of already proven sires out there, so we don’t have the pressure of adding to the gene pool.
And no, I am not familiar with the challenges of bringing along a new breed in the AKC, but I am disappointed to think that it requires AKC breeders to breed over 100 puppies a year in order to simply increase the numbers and/or broaden the gene pool. At that rate, I don’t know how you could have any idea of what to expect in the next 10, 20 or 30 years.
Finally, on the point of “puppy mills” being breeders who charge less than $400 v. breeders who charge $1000+…that’s just silly. Go search for cock-a-poos or puggles, or any number of other “designer” mutts, and you will certainly find “puppy mills” charging over $1000 for these puppies, often without many (or any) health screenings, but breeding for color and quantity.
As for whether we are an out of control mob, I don’t think we are. I think all breeders should be able to defend their breeding programs, and if they feel like they are being attacked, maybe there is a reason. 
ETA: obviously there are people who will attack purebred breeders simply because they are breeding (e.g. not rescuing), so I am not talking about having to defend your program to people like that. I am referring to other breeders and/or supporters of purebred breeders.
If you are so proud of your breeding program why do you not want to disclose what the breed is?
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