Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a purebred dog who was, in fact, a shelter dog. I don't announce she's a rescue but I don't believe in breeding to increase the dog population when so many animals are homeless. Sorry.

+1

For every dog purchased from a breeder, a rescue dog who needs a home dies.

It is unethical to purchase dogs from breeders. IMO. I think less of people who do it.

Not really. I myself volunteer at shelters but got my own dog from a breeder. The fact that a person previously failed the rescue
Dog somehow does not lie on my shoulders.

It lies on all our shoulders. The way we treat animals says a lot about us as human beings. Buying dogs from a breeder while another dog dies in a shelter is just wrong. Ignorance is not an excuse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a purebred dog who was, in fact, a shelter dog. I don't announce she's a rescue but I don't believe in breeding to increase the dog population when so many animals are homeless. Sorry.

+1

For every dog purchased from a breeder, a rescue dog who needs a home dies.

It is unethical to purchase dogs from breeders. IMO. I think less of people who do it.

So you shouldn't have kids but adopt them as well?
You should never buy anything new but go to second-hand shops?
You should finish everything on your plate because of starving people?

I mean, you can go very far with such reasoning!!! Very far in the wrong direction

I mean to buy a healthy puppy from a very reputable breeder who specialized in preventing genetic disorders and I won't feel an ounce of guilt about it.
You stick to your rescues and shelters if you want

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a purebred dog who was, in fact, a shelter dog. I don't announce she's a rescue but I don't believe in breeding to increase the dog population when so many animals are homeless. Sorry.

+1

For every dog purchased from a breeder, a rescue dog who needs a home dies.

It is unethical to purchase dogs from breeders. IMO. I think less of people who do it.

Not really. I myself volunteer at shelters but got my own dog from a breeder. The fact that a person previously failed the rescue
Dog somehow does not lie on my shoulders.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a purebred dog who was, in fact, a shelter dog. I don't announce she's a rescue but I don't believe in breeding to increase the dog population when so many animals are homeless. Sorry.

+1

For every dog purchased from a breeder, a rescue dog who needs a home dies.

It is unethical to purchase dogs from breeders. IMO. I think less of people who do it.

So you shouldn't have kids but adopt them as well?
You should never buy anything new but go to second-hand shops?
You should finish everything on your plate because of starving people?

I mean, you can go very far with such reasoning!!! Very far in the wrong direction

I mean to buy a healthy puppy from a very reputable breeder who specialized in preventing genetic disorders and I won't feel an ounce of guilt about it.
You stick to your rescues and shelters if you want

FWIW I did adopt my kid, I did adopt my 3 dogs ( total, not all at the same time) and I do shop at thrift stores. I also choose not to eat factory farmed meat. This is because I have a conscience. There is a bigger world out there than just me and my family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a purebred dog who was, in fact, a shelter dog. I don't announce she's a rescue but I don't believe in breeding to increase the dog population when so many animals are homeless. Sorry.

+1

For every dog purchased from a breeder, a rescue dog who needs a home dies.

It is unethical to purchase dogs from breeders. IMO. I think less of people who do it.

Not really. I myself volunteer at shelters but got my own dog from a breeder. The fact that a person previously failed the rescue
Dog somehow does not lie on my shoulders.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a purebred dog who was, in fact, a shelter dog. I don't announce she's a rescue but I don't believe in breeding to increase the dog population when so many animals are homeless. Sorry.

+1

For every dog purchased from a breeder, a rescue dog who needs a home dies.

It is unethical to purchase dogs from breeders. IMO. I think less of people who do it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a purebred dog who was, in fact, a shelter dog. I don't announce she's a rescue but I don't believe in breeding to increase the dog population when so many animals are homeless. Sorry.

+1

For every dog purchased from a breeder, a rescue dog who needs a home dies.

It is unethical to purchase dogs from breeders. IMO. I think less of people who do it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, my friend's husband is a vociferous advocate of adopting from shelters.

He got a shelter dog and it has been nothing but trouble, since it requires much more exercise than he is prepared to give. It also has untrainable hang-ups about cars, other dogs, wildlife, mail carriers, visitors, etc... And it weighs 90 lbs and has a LOUD bark.

There are breeders and then there are breeders. If you go that route, pay more upfront for someone who has painstakingly tried to breed out genetic disorders. That's really what's important.

Those aren't "untrainable hang ups". It's reactivity; I deal with it every day as a dog trainer (Equal number in rescue/breeder dogs!) Counter conditioning and management can help create a liveable dog with a little consistency.

And I'm confused on why being 90 lbs and having a loud bark are because it's a rescue. Any large breed dog, regardless of the source, will fit those criteria. Someone who pays $1500 for a Bernese mountain dog surely wants a large, loud dog.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, it gets annoying. Right now I have a dog from rescue and I never describe her as a "rescue dog." People sometimes ask about her history, but it's pretty obvious because she's a mutt. I've also owned puppies from responsible breeders before and I will again some day. Sometimes people meet my dog and go on about how great it is that I "rescued" a dog, which I think is just silly. My dog is awesome and I'm lucky to have her regardless of how I got her.

The only time I think it's relevant is when you're talking about behavioral issues, because dogs that go through rescues may have issues that are different from puppies from good breeders. That's the only time when I bring up my dog's status as a "rescue dog" because I had to modify my training methods to account for some of her history.

Also, while I'm being grumpy and ranting, I think there are absolutely horrible rescue organizations out there that are basically just fronts for puppy mills and irresponsible breeders, and the idea that somebody should feel morally superior for getting a dog from one of these is laughable.

Anonymous wrote:I have a purebred dog who was, in fact, a shelter dog. I don't announce she's a rescue but I don't believe in breeding to increase the dog population when so many animals are homeless. Sorry.

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, my friend's husband is a vociferous advocate of adopting from shelters.

He got a shelter dog and it has been nothing but trouble, since it requires much more exercise than he is prepared to give. It also has untrainable hang-ups about cars, other dogs, wildlife, mail carriers, visitors, etc... And it weighs 90 lbs and has a LOUD bark.

There are breeders and then there are breeders. If you go that route, pay more upfront for someone who has painstakingly tried to breed out genetic disorders. That's really what's important.