Anonymous wrote:I have been looking at petfinder for two years. Most there are pit mixes, lab mixes or hounds.

You see very few desirable dogs. I want a cocker mix, shepherd mix or a schnauzer. You almost never see schnauzers; those seem to be dogs people don't give up.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently no one is allowed to post any opinions against buying from a breeder on the labradoodle thread, so I'm starting a new thread here. I'm seriously interested in hearing how anyone can justify buying a designer dog when so many beautiful dogs are available for adoption in shelters. How do you sleep at night?

I don't need to justify it.

+1

Though my husband has dog allergies and it's near impossible to find a hypoallergenic breed at a shelter.

We wanted to know the dog's background, meet parents, and raise it as a puppy. We also wanted certain characteristics.

Our puppy has been VERY well-socialized right from the start. I would say that 90% of the rescue dogs in our neighborhood have issues and can't even meet other dogs while on the leash. Many have some issues that owners haven't been able to solve by their breed mix (some pit) or the way they were treated prior.

By...researching what kind of dog I wanted and...buying it? I sleep amazingly well on most days. I dont get why this question is being asked? People are gonna do what they want. And you can't guilt them into doing otherwise.

Anonymous wrote:We're currently trying to find a family pet to replace our dog who died last year after having her for 13 years. We've dropped by our local shelter multiple times and not found what we want. We're not super picky but want a dog that is good with kids, isn't an aggressive breed and one that shedding isn't horrible (ie we can pet it without a handful of hairs flying out). The majority are pits or pit mixes - even though online searches say they're lab mix. :/

We have one child (age 8), live in a single family home that we own, have a large yard, I work from home and husband is retired, we plan to take the dog camping or rv'ing with us (which are our usual vacations), have a best friend who is a dog sitter (in case we do need to leave the animal), have an anytime access doggie door, have stated we're open to either sex and any size dog, preferably puppy - 5 years old, and have stated we're amenable to training the dog. In the past 6 weeks, I've submitted 4 rescue applications and (after the initial contact) have gotten 1 email and 0 calls back.

This is my justification to search for a breeder.

Now, OP, let's hear what I've done wrong and why I'm a horrible person.

Also don’t forget that rescues are usually volunteer run. It doesn’t hurt to follow up by other means like Facebook or send a follow up email. They have families and dogs and jobs and sometimes don’t answer promptly, so give them some leeway.

Anonymous wrote:We're currently trying to find a family pet to replace our dog who died last year after having her for 13 years. We've dropped by our local shelter multiple times and not found what we want. We're not super picky but want a dog that is good with kids, isn't an aggressive breed and one that shedding isn't horrible (ie we can pet it without a handful of hairs flying out). The majority are pits or pit mixes - even though online searches say they're lab mix. :/

We have one child (age 8), live in a single family home that we own, have a large yard, I work from home and husband is retired, we plan to take the dog camping or rv'ing with us (which are our usual vacations), have a best friend who is a dog sitter (in case we do need to leave the animal), have an anytime access doggie door, have stated we're open to either sex and any size dog, preferably puppy - 5 years old, and have stated we're amenable to training the dog. In the past 6 weeks, I've submitted 4 rescue applications and (after the initial contact) have gotten 1 email and 0 calls back.

This is my justification to search for a breeder.

Now, OP, let's hear what I've done wrong and why I'm a horrible person.

Another plug for Wolf Trap. There are adoptions happening this Saturday at the Tyson’s Petsmart. If you are set on a particular puppy, I recommend scheduling a meet and greet or arriving early to put your name on the waiting list.

Anonymous wrote:Apparently no one is allowed to post any opinions against buying from a breeder on the labradoodle thread, so I'm starting a new thread here. I'm seriously interested in hearing how anyone can justify buying a designer dog when so many beautiful dogs are available for adoption in shelters. How do you sleep at night?

I don't need to justify it.

We're currently trying to find a family pet to replace our dog who died last year after having her for 13 years. We've dropped by our local shelter multiple times and not found what we want. We're not super picky but want a dog that is good with kids, isn't an aggressive breed and one that shedding isn't horrible (ie we can pet it without a handful of hairs flying out). The majority are pits or pit mixes - even though online searches say they're lab mix. :/

We have one child (age 8), live in a single family home that we own, have a large yard, I work from home and husband is retired, we plan to take the dog camping or rv'ing with us (which are our usual vacations), have a best friend who is a dog sitter (in case we do need to leave the animal), have an anytime access doggie door, have stated we're open to either sex and any size dog, preferably puppy - 5 years old, and have stated we're amenable to training the dog. In the past 6 weeks, I've submitted 4 rescue applications and (after the initial contact) have gotten 1 email and 0 calls back.

This is my justification to search for a breeder.

Now, OP, let's hear what I've done wrong and why I'm a horrible person.

We have done both and next time going back to the breeder, we really like our rescue, she is probably close to pure bred but the dealing with the rescue place, the constant pushing of types of dogs we specifically said we didn't want, to the health issues, etc not fun and not cheap.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You also worry with rescues that you are supporting the crazy animal hoarders.

For example, a small house in Ohio just burned down, with 20 dogs inside. 10 were rescued, 10 died. You never know whether supporting rescues is supporting that kind of animal hoarder abuse.

This is a ridiculous excuse. Hoarders don't care about whether or not you adopt from rescues or not. Hoarders hoard because they have an illness. Whether or not you adopt isn't going to encourage or discourage them.

There are some hoarders who try to present themselves as "rescues," but you can usually tell if you visit the place. And then you can make a report to animal control.

But adopting doesn't support or encourage animal hoarder.

Not necessarily.

There are rescues who only show their animals in public places.

I lived next to a cat hoarder like that

She was an active cat rescuer, and rehomed a ton of cats. She always met people in public, like outside Petsmart or the Starbucks parking lot.

When her landlord discovered she was hoarding over 50 cats in her home, it was too late. The place was trashed.

I knew several people who got cats from her. She was really well regarded and no one had a clue that she was hoarding.

Anonymous wrote:You also worry with rescues that you are supporting the crazy animal hoarders.

For example, a small house in Ohio just burned down, with 20 dogs inside. 10 were rescued, 10 died. You never know whether supporting rescues is supporting that kind of animal hoarder abuse.

This is a ridiculous excuse. Hoarders don't care about whether or not you adopt from rescues or not. Hoarders hoard because they have an illness. Whether or not you adopt isn't going to encourage or discourage them.

There are some hoarders who try to present themselves as "rescues," but you can usually tell if you visit the place. And then you can make a report to animal control.

But adopting doesn't support or encourage animal hoarder.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Fine, it's mostly OP versus everyone else. I think all you've managed to do here is solidify the stereotype of rescue people as crazy people.

This X100. Plus I have never known anyone who has gotten a dog from a breeder decide to re home it or get rid of it. I have known several people who got a dog from a rescue and had to get rid of it due to behavior problems. Dealing with a large dog that has behavior problems is very exhausting and often dangerous. The rescues really need to stop passing along pit mixes as labs.

The same is true for me. I have never known anyone to re-home a dog from a breeder. I have known several who had to re-home dogs from rescues for aggression and other terrible behaviors.

I have known lots of people who rehomed dogs from breeders. I don't care what you do, but don't spread lies. Every rescue dog I've had (4 total) were originally dogs acquired from breeders that the owners gave up to shelters. None of them were pit mixes, by the way. They all had information provided by the previous owners. All of them were good dogs, but in all cases, the owner underestimated the level of care necessary and wasn't willing to put in the energy to exercise them appropriately.

Yes, there are a lot of pit mixes. I think it's wrong of shelters to try to downplay that by calling them a "terrier mix" or whatever. If they truly don't think pit mixes are dangerous, then just admit that they suspect the dog is a pit mix. I agree that it destroys credibility.

But that said, local animal control and SPCA shelters tend to be pretty good at giving you whatever information they are able to get on the dogs at their facility. And there are plenty of clearly non-pit dogs. There's also usually plenty of dogs that are owner-surrenders and the shelter has a lot of detailed information regarding personality, etc.

All of the dogs I adopted were 4-plus years old, so the personality of the dog was already pretty clear. I suspect that at that age, they were clearly no longer cute puppies, and that played into why the owner surrendered them.

I don't in theory have an issue with breeders. I do have an issue with viewing dogs as commodities, and that's where it gets sticky. I also think that it's a shame people get in their head they want a specific breed of dog before even visiting their local SPCA or animal control.

I am suspicious of the breed-specific rescue groups or any rescue group that charges a high fee. SPCA facilities have very low adoption fees, as do most animal control facilities. I also know of people who have had issues with breed-specific rescue groups, especially the ones made up completely of foster people. I know of several cases where as soon as a person applied for a particular dog, the person fostering the dog suddenly decided to adopt the dog. Things like that deter people from adopting, and it makes me sad. But, again, that's why I like using SPCA or even animal control facilities.

The next dog I get, I might actually take a drive down south and visit some animal control facilities there. They tend to get a lot of dogs who are bred for a specific purpose (hunting, retrieving, etc.) but aren't good at doing that thing and are just abandoned. Or they are abandoned once they get a little bit older.

You also worry with rescues that you are supporting the crazy animal hoarders.

For example, a small house in Ohio just burned down, with 20 dogs inside. 10 were rescued, 10 died. You never know whether supporting rescues is supporting that kind of animal hoarder abuse.

I justify buying from a breeder because it's my money and my life. Your opinion doesn't matter at all to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been looking at petfinder for two years. Most there are pit mixes, lab mixes or hounds.

You see very few desirable dogs. I want a cocker mix, shepherd mix or a schnauzer. You almost never see schnauzers; those seem to be dogs people don't give up.

Our neighbor got her son a rescue puppy that she said was part cocker spaniel and part lab almost a year ago. I heard growling and barking outside today and when I looked outside the boy was trying to hold back his dog from another dog. When the other dog passed by I went outside and said hi to the neighbor boy. I looked at his dog who is almost a year and no way is the dog cocker spaniel or lab. The dog looks like a pit bull. I asked if they go to dog park and he said they can't because his dog wants to be the alpha dog and is too aggressive. They should require DNA testing to prove the dog isn't pit bull before adopting dogs out.

The rescues know they are lying. They just want to keep pit bulls alive and do not care about consequences to people, children, other dogs and cats.

You are an idiot. Truly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been looking at petfinder for two years. Most there are pit mixes, lab mixes or hounds.

You see very few desirable dogs. I want a cocker mix, shepherd mix or a schnauzer. You almost never see schnauzers; those seem to be dogs people don't give up.

Our neighbor got her son a rescue puppy that she said was part cocker spaniel and part lab almost a year ago. I heard growling and barking outside today and when I looked outside the boy was trying to hold back his dog from another dog. When the other dog passed by I went outside and said hi to the neighbor boy. I looked at his dog who is almost a year and no way is the dog cocker spaniel or lab. The dog looks like a pit bull. I asked if they go to dog park and he said they can't because his dog wants to be the alpha dog and is too aggressive. They should require DNA testing to prove the dog isn't pit bull before adopting dogs out.

The rescues know they are lying. They just want to keep pit bulls alive and do not care about consequences to people, children, other dogs and cats.

You are an idiot. Truly.