How do you justify buying from a breeder instead of rescuing a mutt?

[Anonymous]

I volunteer about 10 hours/week at an animal shelter and have always gotten my dog at a breeder. Mind=blown!!

[Anonymous]

I looked actively for 12 months for a rescue dog, to no avail. We want a small non-shedding dog. The only ones we found were too old (like 10+, I can’t do that to my kids) or had serious health issues I am not equipped to deal with, or were not cleared for homes with children.

So we went with w a reputable, non-puppy mill breeder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1 word:

Pitbulls.

It is hard to trust shelters who try to pass off obvious pitbulls or pitbull mixes as "mixes", "labs", "lab mixes" "terrier mix"

Avoiding a pitbull in the bloodline makes a breeder super appealing.

I used to be pro mutt back in the day, but with the number of rescued pitbulls appearing in my child filled, suburban neighborhood has made me very anti rescue.

+1

[Anonymous]

Re: breeder re-homes...if the breeder was reputable, they will do whatever it takes to take back or even buy back the dog if they suspect the dog is unwanted or cannot stay with the family. A good breeder will never let one of their dogs end up at the pound.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re: breeder re-homes...if the breeder was reputable, they will do whatever it takes to take back or even buy back the dog if they suspect the dog is unwanted or cannot stay with the family. A good breeder will never let one of their dogs end up at the pound.

Yes ours takes her dogs back at any time for any reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a PP who posted about considering going to a breeder in a couple of years, when my current rescue dog has passed away, and we are ready for a new pet. My rescue is a wonderful dog but his anxiety has been rough to live with, now that I have kids. But with more research, I am realizing how many rescues there are now where all the dogs are in foster homes and have been vetted with kids, cats, dogs. There is also an amazing lab rescue in my area that will match a family with the right lab, even if it takes a while (and a reputable breeder is going to have a waitlist too).

I do think there is a place for reputable breeders, esp for folks who show or compete in agility or work seriously with a certain breed. But for a family pet, I did a deep dive into Petfinder this weekend and found 10-20 dogs I would make serious inquiries about if it were the right time for my family to adopt. All rescues, with dogs living in foster homes, and transport available from the South.

By the way, my local shelters generally do not have dogs that are good with kids, by their own description. That is why rescues and Petfinder are key.

You can't believe anything you read on Petfinder.

Really? You can't believe everything on your breeders, aka puppy mills either. When Biden purchased a Shepard years ago, a lot of people went digging and found all the dirt on this reputable breeder he purchased from. It was disgusting how many citations they had.

This time? He fostered from Delaware Humane Society and just adopted that same dog he fostered this weekend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1 word:

Pitbulls.

It is hard to trust shelters who try to pass off obvious pitbulls or pitbull mixes as "mixes", "labs", "lab mixes" "terrier mix"

Avoiding a pitbull in the bloodline makes a breeder super appealing.

I used to be pro mutt back in the day, but with the number of rescued pitbulls appearing in my child filled, suburban neighborhood has made me very anti rescue.

+1

Can you post how many kids have been bitten in your neighborhood by these rescued pit bulls?

I am guessing minorities also make you feel uneasy too, right?

Gotta love stereotyping

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
1. We needed one of a very limited list of specific breeds known for being less allergenic (less dander). None of them could be found at local shelters or rescues.

2. Temperament is largely inherited, and we wanted to be sure of getting a sociable, friendly dog. One of the many duties of a good breeder is make the lineage characteristics known to prospective buyers. Our dog's parents and grandparents are all very social, and so is he and his littermates.


You appear to be confused about the differences between puppy mills, backyard breeders and reputable breeders. The first is by definition unethical. The second may not place the dogs' interest first, either through ignorance, lack of means, or cruelty. The third should be the only genetically and ethically sound solution to pet ownership.

Reputable breeders are passionate about their work and it usually costs them much more than any income from dog sales or stud fees. Call it an expensive second job, if you will. They attach great importance to weeding out genetically-inherited diseases that have developed through the decades by poor breeding programs, by testing every single dog they own and entering all results - both good and bad - in the national dog health database (CHIC). They do not breed unhealthy carriers.

Our breeder set a camera 24/7 in the whelping pen she had constructed in her bedroom, so that we could check on the puppies and dam at any moment, right from birth.

We saw the breeder handle the puppies every single day, as she should, to habituate them to human handling. I can clean my dog's ears, clip his nails, take away embedded thorns in his pads, clean very sensitive areas, take away his food, clean his teeth, place medication down his throat, and he will not flinch. That is a result of proper handling.

The breeder exposed them to all kinds of city and farm noises, so they wouldn't be jumpy creatures.
She leash-trained and started to potty-train them before we picked up our puppy at 9 weeks.

We visited her home, and the dogs were well cared for. Good breeders care for a small number of dogs, which live inside the home and not in a kennel. They do not breed mothers often. Our breeder manages a birth once every two years and allows two pregnancies per dam.

Yes, those reputable breeders love losing money as long as those puppies are happy!! I have a bridge to sell you PP.

[Anonymous]

I love all the people here justifying their expensive dog as they went to someone "reputable". LOL You only wanted someone else to do the forced mass training of the puppies in the hopes you wouldn't have to do as much when you get home.

There are so many "reputable" rescues and fosters too.

To think the humane society and just grabbing one dog is the only way to rescue. So ignorant.

Millions of puppies and dogs die each year so you have your brand name $1000 puppy. Sickening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wanted what I wanted and paid for it. Simple.

Typical......

I've got mine, screw the consequences to others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love all the people here justifying their expensive dog as they went to someone "reputable". LOL You only wanted someone else to do the forced mass training of the puppies in the hopes you wouldn't have to do as much when you get home.

There are so many "reputable" rescues and fosters too.

To think the humane society and just grabbing one dog is the only way to rescue. So ignorant.

Millions of puppies and dogs die each year so you have your brand name $1000 puppy. Sickening.

You mean reputable like the rescues that buy from auctions and puppy mills, or pass off pit mixes to unwary families? That kind of reputable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I volunteer about 10 hours/week at an animal shelter and have always gotten my dog at a breeder. Mind=blown!!

Do they know that? You wouldn't be welcome at our rescue. All volunteers have had to adopted/rescue all of their animals. It is in the volunteer application. The only loophole is a child with severe allergies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I volunteer about 10 hours/week at an animal shelter and have always gotten my dog at a breeder. Mind=blown!!

Do they know that? You wouldn't be welcome at our rescue. All volunteers have had to adopted/rescue all of their animals. It is in the volunteer application. The only loophole is a child with severe allergies.

Who cares? Doesn't make you any better.

[Anonymous]

This is a fascinating thread. The disconnect seems to be between people who have dogs because dogs need a home versus people who have dogs because they want a dog.

I wonder if the rescue camp would be okay with breeders if there were no more rescue dogs?

Personally, this thread has confirmed for me that I am ethically fine with our decision to buy a dog from a small breeder because we knew we wanted puppy and a certain kind. I looked at some nearby shelters and did not see any dogs that would suit our preferences, and do not have an overarching sense of responsibility to "save" the dogs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a fascinating thread. The disconnect seems to be between people who have dogs because dogs need a home versus people who have dogs because they want a dog.

I wonder if the rescue camp would be okay with breeders if there were no more rescue dogs?

Personally, this thread has confirmed for me that I am ethically fine with our decision to buy a dog from a small breeder because we knew we wanted puppy and a certain kind. I looked at some nearby shelters and did not see any dogs that would suit our preferences, and do not have an overarching sense of responsibility to "save" the dogs.

Even the people who do dog rescue have found a way to turn it into a profit-making industry. Not that people are getting rich off of it, but it is being sustained by the same economic forces as any other commodity people desire. So rescue dogs will always exist, as long as someone can make a little money off of them.