As for “who cares” about backyard breeding and whether an animal is purebred or not. Purity of the breeding isn't that important. But ethics of the breeder is VERY important.
Every breeder should do a few things, as a bare minimum:
1. Only breed if they are trying to improve the breed. Not breed just to make more puppies (we have too many already), and not breed solely to make money (again, we have too many animals dying in shelters already).
2. Do all appropriate breed-specific health and genetic testing on the sire and dam before breeding. Only breed those dogs who are clear of any genetic health issues. Each breed will have their own breed-specific tests that should be done (i.e., breeds who have higher incidence of hip dysplasia should be tested for that, etc.).
3. The lineage of both the sire and dam should be known, so that there can be a higher degree of confidence about what kind of puppies that particular mating will produce. For example, no one should breed two dogs who have a chance of producing deaf animals (the white gene in Boxers, for example). This scrutiny includes both health and temperament.
4. Only breed if they have a list of waiting puppy homes, so that they know they can place all potential puppies (for some breeds, this can be 14 or more puppies!) in loving, forever homes.
5. Screen all purchasers of puppies, to ensure the puppies are going to forever homes.
6. Provide health and temperament guarantees.
7. Either spay/neuter all puppies before they go to their forever homes, or sell them on spay/neuter contracts, to ensure that people aren't going to contribute to the overpopulation of pets by allowing those puppies to breed (this includes males and females).
8. Require that if a person or family cannot keep the dog in the future, the dog will be returned to the breeder. This prevents the dog from going to a shelter and being killed, or from being given away to fall into the hands of dog fighters (to be used for bait) or to be sold for medical research.
If a “backyard breeder” is not doing these things, as a minimum, then they are not breeding ethically, and they should not be breeding.
That is not my recollection - Kraftwerk did NOT go get the dog immediately but waited - the airline was going to put her in some kind of doggie hotel.
I’m aware of all the alleged ethics of “reputable” breeders. My stance is the reality of what they’ve done to the breed. It is NOT BYBs that police/MIL go to when looking for working dogs, but these very breeders. They are obviously having more problems with GS lately or they would not be delving so much into Belgians. Despite “reputable breeders”.
Just as some time ago Seeing Eye organizations practically gave up on GS. There is a reason for that - and it isn’t the fault of BYBs.
Also, 20+ years ago I could buy a dog from a well-known breeder 1st-come, 1st serve; now everyone wants a “deposit” for a dog that doesn’t exist and might not for 3 years, and apparently not bother looking at other dogs in that entire time or lose your $$$$. Additionally, *I* will judge if I like the dog, thank you very much, and *I* will decide if I want to breed the dog or not, rather than immediately getting her cut. You can give your opinion but ultimately it’s my $$$, my choice. Including “I don’t like your puppies; give me back my deposit”.
That whole MO is total BS. It hasn’t helped the breeds.