what do you think about people woe "breed for a living"?

All breeders have their pups vet checked - they cant sell a pup if it has problems. They also come with guarantees aboutt he pup's health & you can return them if something is wrong. What made you ask if they check the hips? Not every dog breed has hip problems so if the breed isn't prone to the problem, why would you want to check for it? You only breed with your best dogs - health wise, temperament & stuff like that - you wouldn't breed a dog with a genetic imperfection or a not so friendly nature would you?

If someone is breeding "for a living", meaning to me making a profit off of the sale of puppies or dogs, I am totally against them. I show and breed Great Danes and can promise you, a good, responsible, ethical breeder is LUCKY to break even financially on a litter! Anyone who makes enough money to live off of is definitely doing things wrong!! Just look at the cost for mine at age 4: $2000 for a show/breed quality Great Dane rough guess...$200 so far just in routine vet care such as wormings and vaccinations which we get low cost another rough guess...$3000 on *good quality* food $5000 roughly to test hips, elbows, thyroid, for brucellosis, and others I'm forgetting (yes, the testing is incredibly expensive but NECESSARY to ensure that hidden genetic problems are most likely not passed on to future generations!) $4000 roughly again for showing counting all expenses (he's got 6 points so far) $3000 roughly on misc. supplies such as toys, leads, bowls, etc. $1000 roughly on grooming supplies (thankfully danes don't require much in the way of grooming!) $1000 easily in bait and general treats So already, just financially speaking, I'm into this dog for very roughly over $19,000 (and probably more really as I know I'm forgetting some things here and there and probably underestimating at least a few of our expenses so far)!!! Then you have the added expense of the puppies, food, vet care, etc. for each pup is probably at least $500-1000 till they are ready to go to new homes PLUS any extra you spend on the female to keep her in proper shape before, during, and after the pregnancy. He's sired only two litters so far to his breeder's two females. We are VERY particular on who he can breed to so he'll likely only sire a handful of litters in his lifetime. They are his breeder's to sell but if I were to have and sell the pups you can easily see how even several large litters are not going to even let me break even on my costs (and don't forget, the owner of the sire doesn't get puppies to sell generally!)!! Even if I'd be able to sell every pup at the show quality price of $2000 I'd NEVER break even (not to mention at least several of each litter are NOT going to be show quality and sell for much less). Breeding should be done for the love of dogs and the breed, never to make a profit!!

Most reputable breeders will give you a health guarantee/certifficate with the dog/cat they breed.