The New York Times recently published an editorial by Mark Derr titled “The Little Dog Has His Day,” that embraced the rising popularity of small breeds. Mr. Derr is better known for being fond of larger dogs and critical of the breeding practices that has produced mutant toy breeds. According to him, toy breeds are “eentsy, primped and preened, frivolous creatures that tremble and yap.” He is a self-professed “canine sizest.”

In this editorial, he has a change of heart for the small dog because of a recent article published in the journal Science that says a single gene is a major determinant of small size in dogs. This leads Mr. Derr to all of a sudden like small dogs because they’re no longer just small, juvenilized wolves, “diminished in physical and mental capacity.” He realizes that small dogs are, what the rest of us already know, just a genetic variation of the dog species.

I really wish he didn’t jump on the small dog wagon, because twice in his article he points the reader to breeders, with no mention of adoption. Upon hearing his friend say that she is planning to get a small dog after her current large dog dies (sick planning if you ask me), Mr. Derr tells her, “Excellent. Just go to a reputable breeder.” Later in the article he writes, “I would hope that buyers would deal only with responsible breeders trying to produce healthy, defect-free dogs.”

He hit it on the mark when he said “breeders trying to produce healthy, defect-free dogs.” What happens to the dogs that are not healthy or have behavior problems? What happens to dogs sold to people who decide dog-ownership no longer fits into their lives? With over 4 million dogs in shelters each year and over half of them euthanized, the term “responsible breeder” is almost an oxymoron.

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Tags: Just for Fun, News, small breeds