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Parenting
TriciaChick
member
Why on earth do people buy dogs from breeders???
TriciaChick
member
in Parenting
It just makes my skin crawl that people can go out and spend hundreds sometimes thousands of dollars on a dog (encouraging the breeder to breed MORE dogs) when there are so so so many in shelters and rescues desperate for a home. Many would describe me as an "over the top" animal lover (been vegetarian for 23 years and now vegan) but it seems like anyone who has any respect for animals would see it the same? (Sorry I know sounds a it random but stemming from a situation I just heard about.)
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Re: Why on earth do people buy dogs from breeders???
Of course there are always the folks who only want a purebred or puppy, or think there is something "wrong" with shelter/rescue dogs.
Not all breeders suck. The good ones breed good dogs with all their health tests and socialize and train the pups. Many get involved in rescue and show and promote their breed. Yup, there are a lot of dogs in rescue. But that is not for everyone. For the record, I am very involved in dog rescue and have done a ton of fostering and have held many dogs and cats as they were euthanized because they had no home. And I still fully support people buying from RESPONSIBLE breeders.
I mean, sure in a perfect world all animals would be in a loving home & well taken care of. However, passion on a particular topic =/= the only side that there is. People like purebread dogs & there isn't anything wrong with it.
Also, just because you are a vegetarian turned vegan doesn't mean you are more compassionate than other people. Esp. people that buy from breeders. I think your OP is harsh & misguided at best.
That better dear?
Sure, but sometime the groups can make it a bit difficult to actually place animals. I know, I used to volunteer for one. The cats were a bit easier, but the dog volunteers sometimes got too picky for their own good. A dog in a foster home because the home you just visited wasn't perfect meant another dog sitting in a kill shelter waiting for their slot.
The ones who came out to our house wouldn't adopt out to us until we put up a fence. We said we lived in a no-fence area and would put up an invisible fence once the ground thawed. They said we couldn't have the animal until we did so. It was January. No digging would be happening any time soon. So we went with the breeder. One happy dog in our house. I hope the other one found a good-enough home.
I buy from reputable breeders only. This way I can look back and see their family tree so to speak. I know what kind of genetic issues I am getting with a certain breed of dog, so I find a good AKC qualified breeder through my AKC group that only breeds animals without certain genetic disorders. I am kind of a dog snob though. I was in the junior showmanship program as a child. I showed a purebred yorkie. He was an amazing dog.
Currently DH and I are looking into getting me a puppy. We have it narrowed down to 2 breeds with 2 breeders. These breeders are part of my AKC group and have champion bloodlines. I know none of the puppies they have bred have had any genetic problems and a few are champions themselves. I am willing to pay the few grand for one of these dogs.
I know my style of dog ownership is not everyone's cup of tea. I know people think that it's a little archaic and cruel. We aren't, trust me. I love dogs and am very passionate about them. If I have no desire to show my dogs then they are fixed. I donate heavily to organizations like the SPCA and have personally adopted all of my cats from them. I just have too much of a history with pure bred dogs and prefer them. So I will seek out the good quality breeders when I am ready for dog ownership.
It simple means that is how I choose to express my compassion. I know there are others who are just as passionate about the homeless animal (and many more so) than I am who eat meat.
I love all animals purebreds or not. I think people assume that purebreds cannot be "rescued." Many rescues and shelters have purebred dosgs I personally love muts...
I completely understand there are "shady" rescues out there. Just like there are "shady" breeders. There is one paticular rescue I know of here that I can think of off the top of my head. I think they will stretch the truth about a dogs temperment/history just to get it in a home. I am sure breeders will do the same just to make a buck.
It is not better sweetypie aka sofa;) But I appreciate the gallant effort. I guess I was in a confrontational mood tonight about this topic and I took it out on the poor Bump since my hubby has heard it all before lol. I will step away with my rigid views and I appreciate all of your stories and input!
We have always rescued, and I would never do it differently. In certain situations, I an see why someone would, like PPs mentioned wanting a specific breed etc...
My good friend volunteers at the Humane Society weekly, and her asshat of a BF went out and bought her a $600 puppy for Christmas last year. Great dog, but she feels really guilty when she goes to hang out with the HS dogs.
To each their own I guess
Labor Buddy to Blowfish11
I hope the incident that sparked this isn't really awful though, because that would suck. I hope you have a good slumber though! Good to see you around a little more
I tried to adopt a cat from our local rescue group. They turned me down because I was going to be gone for more than eight hours a day. WTF. Who has a job and is gone less than eight hours a day? I went to the pound and adopted from them (a kill shelter). He's been with me for thirteen years. And you know what? Most days I don't see him for twelve hours because he sleeps all day.
A friend of mine has poodles. They don't show up at the pound every day, so she went to a breeder. I don't judge her.
"We" do it just to piss you off. And then we go and eat a steak dinner.
This happened to us too. We were turned down for not having a fence, not owning a dog before and because I had a full time job. We still got a great rescue dog thanks to the girls on the Pets board on TN, but it was really frustrating being turned down so much for such silly things.
Snort.
I do agree that, all things equal, it's better to adopt a dog from a shelter than a breeder. But there are other factors at play - all things are not equal. And it's not just people buying from breeders that cause the overpopulation problem - it's uninformed dog owners, the backyard breeders themselves, even the housing crisis had increased the number of animals in shelters.
I think it's easy to get caught up in generalizations but the fact is that dog owners are individuals that have individual constraints and needs. We should encourage and support adoption where possible, but not berate the people that adopt from breeders. It may have been the best option for their family.
Well, I only like dogs a little bit so we went with a breeder. If I ever decide that I love dogs, I'll go to a shelter.
OP-Way to go causing an actual intelligent discussion regarding pet overpopulation. NOT.
mbenit-Please don't compare a designer whathaveyou to a "purebred" dog. One is a living creature.
JustAPhase-your cousin is bordering on puppymill. Are her dogs being shown or champions in any way? What makes those 4 "breeds" (doodles are expensive mutts, not purebreds in any way) special?
Having worked in rescue a lot, i've met the people that are TOO picky about letting dogs go. Some of them are just crazy, but a lot of them are that way for a reason. None of the homes I placed my fosters with were perfect to the rescue's standards, but they did have what mattered-love and patience.
Did anyone else notice the incarcerated put bull part? That's what made me giggle the most.
I'm just a regular animal lover. I've volunteered in rescue for more than ten years, and run my own. And done spay/ neuter clinics and talked to people who abused and neglected animals and fought dogs in order to get them to change their ways, since the country I was in had no laws about that. But since my skin doesn't crawl when people buy from a breeder, I don't really like animals.
OP, if you really want to make a difference, you need to work on not coming across so strong. It just makes people tune you out.
Oh, and the person whose cousin breeds lots of breeds? That is my definition of a backyard breeder/ puppy mill. Every responsible breeder I know focuses on one breed because it is so hard to know the bloodlines, breed standards, health issues, temperament issues, and so one for one breed and to select crosses that would better the breed.
But if people didn't buy from breeders (and therefore breeders ceased to exist) then we wouldn't have moments like this:
Harhar...i love that movie.
I agree with this. Our Australian shepherds growing up came from breeders...we knew their parents and bloodlines, and they were wonderful dogs. I don't have time now to train and take care of a puppy, so when we do get a dog again, it will be an adult rescue. OP, my H's family has a history of buying dogs from the mall pet stores, knowing nothing about where they came from, and that does drive me nuts.
I want a good quality show-child.
I read a fascinating argument essay FOR purchasing from breeders. The reasoning went like this:
* Using the shelter system supports the shelter system and makes palatable for many the current dog-raising/breeding situation of puppy mills, store-bought puppies, and re-sheltering. Shelter-animals have a higher rate of return.
* Legitimate breeders go through an intense placement process and thus send their bred dogs to good homes.
* Legitimate breeders will take back and rehome their animals - often the breeder's contract has specific language regarding the future of the animal in question.
*Legitimate breeders will help early pet training, creating better-socialized animals.
There was more, but I can't remember it all. It's been a few years. I found it to be a fascinating argument I'd never considered before.
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I just wanted to see this one more time.
My uterus is a backyard puppy mill. I should say sorry to my slightly defective children. . .
Seriously though. . . the vehemency behind this whole argument makes me giggle a little. Particularly after watching a friend go through the rescue-dog thing recently. Ugh.
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Sadly, there is a shortage of legitimate breeders. Legitimate breeders often have waiting lists & it may be a year or more before you can get a dog from them. Not everyone wants to wait that long.
Well, sure, but we're taking an ethical stand on dogs, not a realistic vision, per the OP.
FYI: I'm a cat owner, so I don't have a dog in this fight. Ha ha ha ha ha.
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Legitimate breeders often have clauses in their contracts that require any passage of ownership of their dogs to be done through the breeder itself -- part of that is to keep track of the bloodlines for AKC but I honestly believe another part is because they really care about the futures of their animals.
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