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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is a big mistake.  [b]Get rid of the dog. [/b] [/quote]

This is the number 1 problem and why animal shelters are full. People don't take their responsibilities seriously.  A dog is a life long member of your family.  Do not get a dog if you give it up.  And if you do give up a dog please do not keep getting a new dog.[/quote]

Giving up a dog you can't control or properly care for is not the problem. I wish more people would do this instead of just persisting in owning dogs that then become a nuisance to others and are poorly socialized and unhappy because their owners don't have the knowledge or will to give them a good life.

They real "number 1" problem is this ridiculous cultural belief that dogs are great pets for everyone, everyone should get a dog, having a dog means you're a good person, blah blah blah. No. A dog can be a wonderful pet for the right person but not everyone should have a dog and even people who are good with animals can be in living situations where a dog is not appropriate.  People think you can just shoehorn a dog into any situation and you can't, not without making the dog or the people involved unhappy.

What we need to do is more thoroughly educate the public on what it means to be a good dog owner, more aggressively spay and neuter dogs, and reduce the number of dogs in the population overall. We should discourage people in certain situations from getting dogs unless they have a clear plan for overcoming obstacles. Like people who live in small apartments, people who work long hours or travel a lot, people with young children who occupy a lot of their time, etc. It's not impossible to have a dog in those settings, but you need to be ready to put real work in (getting a dog who requires less exercise, being willing to pay for lots of doggie daycare or walkers, giving up a lot of your own freedom, etc.). Too often people adopt dogs thinking they'll just figure it out and then it turns out they don't.

So yes, when this happens, these owners should give their dogs up. And then as a society we need to recognize there are too many dogs and do things to reduce the number of dogs out there. Especially the number of pits and pit mixes because these dogs are not well suited for many potential owners and will languish in shelters. It is cruel to the dogs, it benefits no one.

Stop telling people "get a dog! they are so great!" Often it's not.[/quote]

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