I think there is shame in buying a dog from a breeder. Sure, it's not as bad as buying from a store that gets dogs from a puppy mill. People can find dogs from shelters that meet their needs, but they give up or they refuse to compromise (as in, they want a puppy). And puppies bought from breeders can also turn in to problem dogs or be incompatible. It happens all of the time. Breeders are part of the problem, overpopulation of dogs, and the people who buy from breeders only encourage the problem. But people don't want to admit that. I'd have more respect for someone who admitted, "yeah, I went to a breeder b/c that was easier." But I can't stand the people who give the BS excuses. |
Um, dogs from breeders "snap" and bite people, too. Any dog can snap. If you adopt an older dog, you are actually able to have a better idea of its personality before you take it home. Not so with a puppy. |
+ 1 My guy was a bait dog in Southern MD and is a bit neurotic on-leash around other dogs, tall men, umbrellas, you name it. Skittish is an understatement. I feel as though the term "rescue" helps make folks more aware of the situation an animal came from, and that my guy is not like this by choice. |
Going to a good breeder isn't easier. They screen and have wait lists. We have had wonderful dogs from breeders. People meet the parent [sometimes dad too] while pregnant or before. See the pups at about 4 weeks. You don't choose-the breeder does. I've had breeders refuse to sell me a dog based on age of children. I got a shelter dog decades ago. He was great. I went to the pound and picked him. At a rescue event at a pet smart I spied a dog I would have taken home-turned out it was a black lab and the owners tshirt just resembled the rescue group's at a distance. It seems many at shelters are pitbull blends or chihuahua. This young guy looks good: http://lostdogrescue.org/dogs/56090/buddy-the-aussie |
humane society puppy mill raid
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/facts/ Note that licensed breeders are livestock /puppy mills. Sadly these puppies are/can be bred from unhealthy dogs, no socialization at critical periods, etc. My second childhood dog as a mut-one of my dad's friends male dog got the neighbor pregnant. Most people get their dogs fixed today. |
Oh, I get it. Your bully dog was provoked. |
It's so funny to even think of my dog giving a hard stare at anything but a squirrel, bird or bunny. I assumed you had a purebred because of the sarcastic tone of your response and the fact that you didn't say, as I did, that any dog can snap. So, tell me, what kind of dog do you have? |
So folks are supposed to deal with this? In the last month I have had to put up with several young adult rescue owners who were sold the pitbull bill of goods. I saw these dogs in the company of the owners for hours. Both gotten as puppies, obedience school, etc. These things can't even use the standard household big dog crates. |
Saying "she's a rescue" explains why you don't know what kind of dog it is. You're reading the "noble" part into it; again, context creates connotation -- so, either you have something of a tin ear for language or you feel guilty. |
You are mistaken. The premise of your post is wrong, and we reject everything that came after this erroneous statement. |
Gives the dog street cred. |
So many of the dogs at the shelters are the same breeds that the books tell you are "difficult" |
The dog we brought home was from Lucky Dog Rescue http://www.luckydoganimalrescue.org/adopt/adoptable-dogs . We were interested in a dog from Homeward Trails http://www.homewardtrails.org/adopt-a-pet/pet-adoption-process/ and they were the ones that arranged for the home inspection. When Lucky Dog learned we'd already had an inspection, they asked for the inspector's contact information. I provided it, they contacted her and she cleared us for their group. Lost Dog Rescue http://www.lostdogrescue.org/ also accepted it. I had phone interviews with all the groups but it only took about 15 minutes. The dog we were interested in from Homeward Trails was still in a rural shelter when we contacted them. They initially thought he'd be a great family dog but when they got him up here and fostered, they recommended against it because of high prey drive and a tendency to 'herd'. We agreed that wasn't a good fit for us. I contacted Lucky Dog about 3 dogs I found on Petfinder, they heard more about what or needs/preferences were and they recommended one of the three. We've only had him 4 days but he seems like a great fit and we're very happy with him. When I contacted the other groups to let them know we'd found one and were no longer searching, they were very polite and seemed happy for us. It was a very good experience for us - partly because I think we managed our expectations. We expected it would take us at least a month or two to find the right dog. And, some rescue groups are better than others. Montgomery County Humane Society was the worse. Fairfax County Human Society was great as was the Alexandria Animal Welfare League. Good luck. |
10:35 again. This was first family pet for us. I hadn't had a pet in over 20 years and DH never had so we had no vet reference. We have a partially fenced yard and we were clear that the dog would be left alone 8-9 hours/day. We didn't plan on crating the dog unless we had to. We also have 3 kids between the ages of 7-10. No one gave us a hassle about the amount of time the dog would be alone or not having a fully fenced yard. Except for the Montgomery County Humane Society, every shelter person we had contact with was very helpful and nice. I especially appreciated the advice from some of the volunteers about the dogs they didn't think were quite right. I never got the sense that it was because they disapproved of us but that there was likely a better fit out there. |
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