SITE BOYCOTT

[Carole g]

thats a yes from me

[yoz1881]

Yep....midnight Sunday until midnight Monday

[amber]

Likewise
Amber

[Lainey74]

Count me in!

Or should that be out....?

[mhayhurst]

Enjoy your boycott if you wish.

It would have been a better route to address any specific issues directly as these matters have come up several times before and I think I've made the position of the site perfectly clear. Lest that not be the case I will reiterate and clarify:

This site in no way supports, condones or promotes anything other than the responsible breeding of Labradoodles. There are no fees associated with the use of this site in any way and no warranty or accreditation is conferred by having a listing on the site.

The Breeder Listings on the forum are provided to help people identify possible sources of a Labradoodle once they have determined from their research whether a Labradoodle is suitable for them, what makes responsible breeder, what questions they should ask and what questions they should expect to answer themselves. As such the directory is a major part of the site and will not be removed - to do would drive people wider afield to have to trawl among the mass of small sites that often actively promote misinformation.

The breeder listings are unpoliced yet it is my assertion that while there may be "puppy farmers" among the dozens of listings, the vast majority are honest, responsible breeders (either professional and licensed or "amateur") and thus a heavy handed approach to the facility is unwarranted.

Whenever there has been compelling evidence that a listed breeder falls outside the bounds of responsible breeding, such listings have been summarily removed.

There appears to be a reasonable consensus of what constitutes a Code of Practice for Labradoodle breeding and this is published on the site for all to see (albeit it needs to be pulled out of the forums into somewhere much more explicit).

I have stated the breeder listings area will be overhauled so that anyone listing must be a member of the forumsm, have applied and been admitted to a private breeders area, and therein self-certified their compliance with the published Code of Practice. Prospective buyers are then encouraged to verify this compliance themselves and seek references etc. Again, compelling evidence that a listed breeder is not in compliance may lead to removal.

The changes above were planned for implementation at the tail end of last year but time was in short supply so if will be rescheduled asap (it will take several hours development and testing work and I have a life, businesses to run, kids, dog to walk etc).

This is how it is. I am open to listen to sensible feedback. What I have considered is a sticky about the breeder listings area that makes the above even clearer to people and this might be an appropropriate interim step.

Bump

Mark

[Carole g]

Could you please put below the Code of Practice that the advertisers are supposed to adhere to.
This week I am "assisting" a local authority who are about to prosecute one of your advertisers.

[snoozledood]

Mark

I rarely post on the forum, but always read the threads with great interest - especially this one.

I feel you have put far too much emphasis on the prospective owner vetting and checking the breeder, as (you so eloquently put) time being in short supply.

Everyone has a life, kids, business, work etc, and think back to the time you bought your fist pup? Didn't you just want to get on with it? Weren't your kids so excited they were almost bursting?

Surely, as a group of doodle lovers, who have ultimately already gone through the experience of purchasing a puppy - some good, some bad, and quite frankly, some horrific, shouldn't we be sharing our vast experience with newbies - and making it as plain as day?

A case in point is when janie08 bought her puppy recently - this MAY have been preventable IF better guidelines were "stickied" on the puppy list INSTEAD of just a list of names and phone numbers!

If breeder information is available on this site, IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that they are NOT puppy farmers or unethical breeders.

We have a wonderful opportunity here - this is the biggest doodle site I've found, and we therefore have a DUTY OF CARE to promote (or at least make the information readily and obviously available) ethical responsible breeding, and do our damndest to stamp out puppy farmers.

So Mark, I implore you, if you are continuing with the puppy list - please PLEASE :
- get a moderator to vet these breeders,
- make a "sticky" about finding the right breeder at the top of the puppy list - something people can print off & take with them when they view the pups
- and GET RID of the farmers!

[Judy Shelton]

Please Mark, let us all have sight of your Code of Practice. If this could then be made not just as a sticky (which one can avoid) but something that comes up automatically before access to the breeders list is allowed ie it must be read or at the very least looked at, together with a message from yourself that if prospective owners find any contravention from the said code to inform you immediately.Then maybe if you get enough complaints about certain individuals you will be able to act more quickly.

judy

[Lainey74]

The breeder listings are unpoliced yet it is my assertion that while there may be "puppy farmers" among the dozens of listings, the vast majority are honest, responsible breeders (either professional and licensed or "amateur") and thus a heavy handed approach to the facility is unwarranted.

How do you know this Mark? That is quite a rash statement to make, and unless you have vetted all of the breeders on your lists, you actually have NO IDEA who is a farmer and who is a responsible breeder.

So many people are still buying pups who end up with such severe problems, that in the worst cases, they are being PTS! Surely, as a dog lover, you want to see an end to this???? Surely the fact that people are still buying these pups bred from poor lines, is proof enough that prospective buyers need help in what to look for when selecting a pup/breeder.

I came to this site as a prospective buyer, and with my hand on my heart, I honestly thought that the puppy list only had reputable breeders on it, as this was indeed the Labradoodle Association!!!!!
Whether or not you think that was a daft assumption for me to make, it seems it is a common error amongst most newbies.
Luckily, I did my homework, and have spent 8 months finding a reputable honest breeder.
But as Snoozledood quite rightly pointed out - Sometimes people just get caught up in the excitement, and do not do the necessary detective work required to find out what kind of breeder they are using.
Surely, but surely, it wouldn't hurt UKLA to lend a hand to prospective buyers by enforcing the t&c Carole and others have set up for breeders to follow. Most of your posters want this done, for the welfare of all the dogs concerned. So why are you so frightened to put it into practice Mark??

I dont think any of the reasons you gave in your post above are strong enough to make us think twice about NEEDING this facility, and I think deep down, you know that too.

You also state
"Whenever there has been compelling evidence that a listed breeder falls outside the bounds of responsible breeding, such listings have been summarily removed."

I seem to call Zareena Johnson was on the list for an awfully long time, even after everyones complaints...?

Come on Mark - For the dogs. Thats who this is all about.

[fudgepuddle]

Well said Lainey!

[Judy Shelton]

Well said Lainey!

I wholeheartedly agree with the above.

judy

[claire fifi]

You may have noticed (or not, depending on how new you are to this site) that I have already been boycotting for many months. My gripe is only with Mark and the Puppy Finder - not with the lovely people with whom I have corresponded. Luckily, most of those friendly, helpful folks can be found on -

http://www.doodletimes.org

So, please feel free to join us during the boycott!

[amber]

[quote="Carole g"]Could you please put below the Code of Practice that the advertisers are supposed to adhere to.
.[/quote]

Thats a request from me too.
Thanks
Amber

[coral]

Hi there
I have just joined this site, as im trying to gather information on labradoodles. I was going to ask your advice re which are reputable breeders, I have in the past made a huge heart breaking mistake in buying from a puppy farm, (classed as a family home, its along story). I never want to make that mistake again it has taken me 18months to pluck up courage to look again. Please can you guide me, before you boycott the site.

[amber]

Hi Coral
The forum will only be boyctted for a limited time.
I have pm'd you with some information i hope will help
Best wishes
Amber