Now that sound weird "even after they are retired from breeding ". There are people who just get rid of their dogs when they get old?
I think framing it that way doesn't do it justice.
When we were ready to adopt another doxie, I contacted a show breeder and let her know that we would love to take in an adult dog and especially love the piebalds. If she knew anyone, could she give us their name. Well, she had a girl that had a couple of litters and was ready to retire, and that suited us just fine. We were questioned quite a bit, and on the day we came to pick her up, the lady cried, and so did we. I have no doubt that she had the best interest of the girl in mind, that going to a pet home where she could be the queen of the castle would be a kindness, rather than being one of many. It was very difficult for the breeder to let her go and after getting to know this sweet girl, I came to understand how very darling and charming she was and what a sacrifice it must have been for the lady to let her go to a pet home.
The lady insisted that we have a secure kennel when we picked her up, that she travel by kennel in the car or we couldn't take her. We got all her papers and vet records, and we promised to give her updates on her settling in. We had an older male that she could cuddle with and they got along great. It was such a good experience that we adopted an adult male from her later when it was his time. They had been good buddies and it seemed like a natural thing to bring him home too.
I feel that show breeders are doing their best to improve the breed. They put up their puppies to compete against the best of the best. They are very conscious of health testing, temperaments, conformation, etc and we have been very privileged to adopt from them, and also we are making room for the next generation of champion dogs. Although that may not seem very important to some, I've been to many dachshund meet ups and have seen many dogs that look like doxie mixes, and these families have paid the same amount of money to get their puppy as a breeder who goes the extra mile to show and do health testing. I have spoken to women who were breeding their doxie and they told me that they got their dog from a pet store so they have no idea where they came from, what conditions the dogs were living in, their health issues, etc. The income is what they are looking for, not bettering the breed. One lady told me that this is how she pays for her son's hockey. Not what I want to support personally.
As you can tell, we have been very happy with our dogs and I wanted to give a different perspective. Engli was 4 when we brought her home, Beau was exactly on his 3rd birthday, and Georgia wasn't even 2 yet. Not old by any means.
Thanks for your patience. lol
Lupita, I was typing this up when you posted.