Why are people in the UK so keen to get certified pedigrees?

[Monkley]

I am thinking of getting a dog. I have owned dogs in the past but this was when I lived in Thailand, I lived there for 6 years and had 4 dogs. All the dogs were found at different times as stray mongrel puppies, apart from one which was a miniature pinscher we bought who and had chronic mange, we spent a lot of time at the vet with him.

I miss having dogs but getting one over here seems a whole new ball game, people seem very hung up on pedigree, a reputable breeder and seeing the parents, why is this?

Personally I think it is more important that the puppys parents have had the relevant health screenings than a piece of paper that gives a pedigree.

Seeing the parents, well you wouldn't want the puppy to be born on a puppy farm which is why people recommend you see at least the mother with the puppys.

The dogs rescues are also a good place to start as most dogs roaming the streets in the Uk are taken to rescue centres. It is also important when rehoming a rescue dog that you know as much as you can about the temperment.

it's all about welfare - and some other things

1. getting what you paid for. if you paid for a pure-bred dog, you don't want to be sold a x-breed - therefore you need the pedigree
2. other paperwork -hip score, eye cert (whatever else as per breed) guarantees health testing has been done and not just made up by breeder (hopefully)

seeing the puppies with mum is not a guarantee they are not puppy farm dogs, but it's a start..
'reputable' breeder = not a puppy farmer (hopefully, though some maintain good reputations whilst being just that)...
person who shows/ otherwise competes their dogs at least has a non-financial reason for breeding. Breeding for money with so many dogs in rescue is immoral.

an out and out Heinz 57 can of course make every bit as good a pet as a pure-bred dog, if you aren't after anything specific - so start at a rescue centre and see if you can give a dog a much needed home!

if you do want a pedigree, try finding the breed club web page and contact the rescue rep for your area - they may have puppies/dog for rehoming or be able to recommend a decent breeder if you decide to go that route.

if you think it is daft to be hung up on pedigree for pedigrees sake, i agree with you. most peoples need for a pet can be met by a rescue dog.

I got a pedigree because I knew which breed of dog I wanted to suit the amount of training, company & exercise I could provide. I chose to go to a well researched breeder rather than a person advertising in the paper because I wanted a dog that had come from health screened parents and had been well socialised as a puppy. I was got to meet the mum and several 'aunts' and 'uncles' I could see that they were well cared for, lived indoors and were raised as family pets - I didn't want a puppy that had only ever lived in a shed and had no idea about living in a house. I'm not bothered about the fact that he's kennel club registered.

I looked at breed specific rescues initially but found that they would not rehome to me as I was a first time dog owner with young children and cats.

imho, it's 90% pure snobbery. Even though with most pure breeds you'll get a well-documented if not well-publicised set of very likely health problems due to the narrow available gene pool (rabies quarantine) for that breed, yet people still like pedigrees as status symbols. And seem to think they know what they're getting (when they often don't, not really).

I know someone who spent around ££££ on fixing his Retriever puppy's tendons recently. Gorgeous dog, he tried to get one without problems.

I had no idea about puppy farms .... I had a look on the RSPCA website and was shocked to see how many staffordshire bull terriers they have, I wondered whether they might have something for us but all the dogs seem to have behavioral problems

ragged lots of people just import sperm these days, or get pet passports to mate out to foreign lines...

the best pedigree breeders are very passionate about sorting out breed health problems - in a way crossbreeders/ backyard breeders aren't going to be.

though most people don't buy from 'the best' breeders, they buy from friday-ad, gumtree etc...puppy farmers...where bad rearing causes health problems, before you even consider genetics..