Moon's Graden

Hi every one,I have just uploaded my web site
www.americanbulldogkennels.com
I would like some people to come by and take a look and let me know
what they think. On my site www.americanbulldogkennels.com I have a
history page about the american bullodgs and how they came about.

Well thanks for your time

Brad Higgins
www.americanbulldogkennels.com

Nice site. Good looking dogs. I especially like the looks of your stud
dogs, and they have impressive pedigrees.

Your history page takes one of the many sides in the controversial
history of the AB. Which is fine...you're entitled to your opinion. I
would agree with most of it, disagree with some, but, overall, it's
not bad.

Snuggles, our (my ex-gf and mine) AB, one of Rattler's many
granddaughters, literally adopted my Staffie pup, Sheba, when we
brought her home at 6 1/2 weeks...lactated, allowed her to nurse, very
protective...the whole false pregnancy thing. Snuggles is an awesome
girl, and shares some of your dogs' pedigrees.

David
www.geocities.com/sammiesdad/dogs2.html

Well, that you are asking for feedback is a great thing. It shows,
perhaps, an openness for learning.  If your goal is to create a web site
which reflects a caring responsible breeder you have some work ahead of
you.  You will need to do more than say what you believe, you will need to
show what you have done toward accomnplishing it.

At the moment your web page shows someone who is proud of their
dogs, but not particularly involved in the breed, in breed related
activities, or in protecting the breed.  There is nothing that shows a
breeder educated in canine gentics, nor concerned about increasing laws
against their breed, nor concerned about the members of their breed
abandoned and dying in shelters all over.  It's pretty much not designed
for the education about and improvement of the welfare of the breed, but
more about selling puppies. You can change these impressions, of course,
if you actually have the goals of promoting the welfare of the breed as
opposed to just selling puppies.

Well, let's start with your "guarantee".  Obviously since dogs are
biological beings breeders can only do the best they can. Bad things can
happen to even the most careful breedings.  That said your guarantee (1)
doesn't show a lot of confidence in your breeding quality and (2) does not
comply with some laws in some states.  Yes a two year period is better
than some, but I've seen pet shops that offer a two year warranty. It
really is a bare minimum.  A breeder who has actively taken steps to avoid
genetic problems and who takes responsiblity for what they breed offer
lifetime warranties for late onset problems.  While no state requires a
two year warranty many do require reimbur***t of veterinary expenses.  
http://www.moonsgarden.com/

I could find fault with this warranty
http://www.moonsgarden.com/
but it is better than yours in many respects.  The primary reason I
selected it was to show a warranty that demonstrates some concern iwth the
welfare of the breed, and some knowledge of genetic screening.

It is obviously a good idea for the buyer to educate themselves about the
breed and its needs.  BUT you are the breeder and it is equally your
responsibility not to place any dog with a person who has not been
educated to the needs of the breed.  In other words YOU need to educate
the potential buyers about the breed, and YOU need to dissuade people from
buying who are not appropriate or responsible owners for the breed. And
nothing on your site does a good job of explaining the needs of the breed
and what circumstances are right of it, and which are not.

Other than producing puppies what is your goal in breeding?  I note that
you say "There are a lot of breeders out there, unfortunately only a few
are committed to preserving the true working American Bulldog."  But
nothing on your site explains what YOU are doing to preserve those working
qualities.  So in what venues and competions do you establish those
working qualities?  And why aren't those competitions and results
reflected in the pedigrees or somewhere on your web site?

On a purely technical note all or most of your images are missing. You
should avoid using javascripts and flash unless you can't accomplish the
goal without them.  Keep your pages readable by as many browswers as you
can manage, and don't use fancy features that exclude people (such as
people using screen readers) when you can provide the same information
without using those exclusionary features.  Your images should have "alt"
tags to explain what they show to people who are blind or are using
non-graphics browsers.  A simple description e.g. "Picture of Angus" is
sifficient, although a more complete description is to your advantage as
it will show up on many user's "tool tips".  

You have many spelling and useage errors which are distracting to the
reader (e.g. "at are kennel").  I make such errors here all the time and I
know how badly it can disrupt the message.

You "borrowed" the descriptions of the Johnson type and Scott type
bulldogs but you don't describe what "type" your dogs are, nor what your
goals are regarding type.

Overall there are many things on the site that suggest a breeder who is
not particularly involved in the breed, and not particularly concerned
about its health and welfare.  Those things include:

the breed information was not written by you, It therefore lacks any
touch of personal experience and research

the complete absence of any information on genetic health screening,

the lack of use of correct terminology for genetic health problems in the breed,

lack of information regarding the manner in which you test your dogs for
the qualities you say you breed for

your "health care" page provides no real information on health care, just
an advertisment for a particular food.  There is a lot more to proper
health care than the food.  Oddly your home page claims "We only feed are
dogs Diamond dog food" This is not the same food as advertised on your
"healthcare" page.

I hope these comments will help you show your very best qualities as a
promoter of the breed.

 --
Diane Blackman
http://www.moonsgarden.com/;  
http://www.moonsgarden.com/