NEW YORK – For an unprecedented 18th straight year, the venerable Labrador Retriever has captured the top spot on the list of most disposable pure-bred dog in America. The American Kennel Club released the findings on Thursday, reporting that more than 100,000 pure-bred models were manufactured in fiscal year 2008.

Painless Rote, a spokeswoman with the American Kennel Club, said the numbers reflected what most Americans already knew anecdotally. “Go into any puppy mill and ask them what breed is most in demand from posh suburban pet stores, and they won’t hesitate – it’s the Lab,” she said.

Puppy mills mass-produce even less popular models such as the ones pictured here.

“Labs are sort of the WASPS of the dog world,” agreed dog historian Thrilled Oaf. “Pure bred labs, that is. If you’re a perfect family living on the perfect parcel of land in a perfect house, with perfect kids, you want what? A perfect puppy. Nothing less will do.

“Of course, there is a honeymoon period at play here that tends to self-perpetuate the production numbers that have kept Labs at number one for the last 18 years. When the puppy enters adulthood or when the children’s attention spans wane – whichever comes first – it’s time to move on to the next attraction, usually an alternative to the low-tech, waste-producing puppy.”

However, in some cases, families will abandon newly matured Labs only to replace them with a next-generation puppy, which helps support continued demand, said Oaf, noting that some families do this bi-annually or even annually. This has prompted some pet stores to offer dog leases, which promise to lower costs for families who are looking to maintain a puppy on an ongoing basis.

Beyond the demand created from owners who regularly replace adult dogs with puppies, there is the yearly wave of children seeking to make their own debuts as pet owners. Parents, says Oaf, invariably will select the racially pure Lab because “only that particular breed reflects the perfection, superiority and purity that they see in themselves and their families. Even though their pet may only be with them for six months or so, that pet is going to be expected to project the values, the very gestalt of that family.”

Seamy Linen, co-owner of Linen Farms, an industry-leading puppy mill with plants in Arizona and Kansas, said, “From forced insemination to end-user disposal at a local euthanasia center, we’re talking about a product life cycle that can be as short as two years, an astounding figure and one very supportive of year-over-year positive growth rates.

“When you consider this short life cycle includes the time it takes for our retail partners to move the inventory we produce, it’s even more amazing. Other industries, like automotive and air transport, would kill for high-cycle value chains like we enjoy.”

For its part, the American Kennel Club is neutral on which breed is produced in the greatest quantity, although it says it is highly unlikely the Lab will be unseated anytime soon. According to Rote, the Yorkshire Terrier came in a distant second, with 42,000 models produced last year.

“No product – dog or otherwise – has managed to simultaneously capture the sentiments of elitism and disposability quite like the Lab has,” she said. “It’s a great dynamic – when your customer base destroys its product on an ongoing basis, then seeks to replace it, that sets up the kind of growth I think the Lab is going to enjoy for a long time to come.”

Originally posted 2009-01-26 21:23:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter