Breeding Dogs

[patandchickens]

Whether or not you see shelters as euthanizing a lot of basically problem-free very-adoptable dogs depends MASSIVELY on where you live.

To overgeneralize only a little bit, if you live in a rural area (that probably has a high proportion of 'good' dogs to begin with, and many are not neutered) then indeed your shelters probably ARE getting a lot more very-adoptable dogs than they can find homes for.

OTOH if you live in an urban or densely-suburban area, you are probably seeing most of the dogs coming into shelters be either small lapdog types (usually pretty adoptable) or large dogs with really significant behavior problems that should not be adopted out to any but a very experienced/knowledgeable person. It is *really* hard to find a medium to large dog without MAJOR issues (aggression, severe separation anxiety, that sort of thing) in most highly populated areas. They certainly do go through the shelters, but in small numbers and are typically adopted more or less instantaneously (as are the lapdog types). Thus the dog population in a typical urban shelter is exactly what some posters are describing here, animals that very few people are in a position to be able to deal with. Sadly.

Very different from cats, btw -- there are oodles of problem-free totally-user-friendly cats in ANY shelter anywhere, alas.

As for dog breed rescues being run to turn a profit off high adoption fees, given the high costs of dog ownership (esp. with vet bills involved, which is often the case with rescue type animals) and the typical pickiness of such rescues about who they'll adopt out to, I am skeptical that very many people could possibly even just break even at it...

JMHO,

Pat

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
Name calling is rude and inappropriate. Open debate and discussion is a good thing, but if you have to name call instead of agreeing to disagree you really aren't helping your side of the discussion.

 

[chinbunny]

Quote:
Name calling is rude and inappropriate. Open debate and discussion is a good thing, but if you have to name call instead of agreeing to disagree you really aren't helping your side of the discussion.

I agree about the name calling. Not cool.

But i also agree about the views on the poor owning animals. Many people that are poor take great care of their animals. Whether others feel they can afford them or not. I am poor and I still take care of mine. would I be able to afford an emergency situation? Probably not. My cat and dog still see the vet when they need it. Everything else(rabbits, birds) I treat myself. Just because someone doesn't have a lot of money doesn't mean they shouldn't own an animal.

 

[cutiepieacres]

I really haven't read through this but I think if you want to breed and want to do it right then thats yours choice. Breeding should not be a business it should be about the love of the breed and the animal. That means making sure you first find the best quality parent dogs(no matter your purpose) you can and have them screened for all necessary genetic health issues. It also means caring for mom dad and pups with quality feed and vet care. In the end you also have to be prepared to keep every baby that is born if there are unavailable homes whether that is a lack of actual homes of a lack of quality homes. I think it is also the responsibility of the breeder to offer a place for the babies to come back to if ever a situation arises where they are without a home as well as offer a lifetime of support and knowledge to the new owners and in this way you can also get updates about your babies and where they are.
As for the other things you mentioned, I think I would try to find a local breeder/semi local and see if they are willing to mentor you and that way you can see first hand if this is something you really want to be devoted to.

 

[chinbunny]

Also there are people that do have a lot of money that can be too cheap when it comes to vetting a dog. My sister is one of them. She has money(good paying job, nice things, etc), but refuses to take the dog to the vet when its sick. Last year she endedup forced to take it to the vet because it got so sick it had to go. So the vet nailed her, and made her update all of her puppy shots and everything. took me a good 15 minutes to convince her that the dog was sick and needed to be taken to the vet. The dog hasn't been wormed in a year that I am aware of. Was never potty trained properly. Has issues with peeing and pooping all over the house, etc. It used to pee all over the place at night because they refused to crate train it. It was a puppy, and it barked too much when they tried it. The last incident the dog got ahold of a mouse. It bit her. She panicked, overheated, and foamed at the mouth and was sick for nearly a week. yet she refused to take her in even though I recommended that she take her to my vet, which is a low cost clinic. And they are open on the weekends (when this happened). Instead, she left the dog at home by itself all day, while they went somewhere to the other side of the state to visit some friends. Never bothered to call anyone to check on the dog either.

Anyone else would have made sure the dog was taken care of. If that weere my dog, I would have had her in there the day she got sick. Money or no money. Luckily my vet trusts me, and allows me to write checks to be cashed a week later, then I have the money in my account.

So to say that the rich should be the only ones that should have a pet is moot.

 

[RabbitMage]

I've never said only the rich should own animals, but people seem to like putting words in my mouth. Like about how I "hate the pour." I love pouring things.

I also don't think I've said the poor shouldn't own animals. Rather, I've said if you don't have the money to properly care for or house them, then you shouldn't have them.

 

[chinbunny]

Quote:
Thats pretty much saying the same thing. Not having alot of (or no)money = poor. There is also different ways to properly keep, care, and house an animal. Not just one and only one way.

Those that shouldn't have an animal are those that refuse to give them basic care by law(food, water, vet care when they need it, and shelter). Everyone else shouldn't be judged and turned away just because they keep it outdoors, or can't afford high resale fees.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
Name calling is rude and inappropriate. Open debate and discussion is a good thing, but if you have to name call instead of agreeing to disagree you really aren't helping your side of the discussion.

I agree about the name calling. Not cool.

But i also agree about the views on the poor owning animals. Many people that are poor take great care of their animals. Whether others feel they can afford them or not. I am poor and I still take care of mine. would I be able to afford an emergency situation? Probably not. My cat and dog still see the vet when they need it. Everything else(rabbits, birds) I treat myself. Just because someone doesn't have a lot of money doesn't mean they shouldn't own an animal.

I think that the argument isn't that poor people shouldn't have pets, but that a person that can't or won't put out the initial cost of responsibly owning (vaccinating, heartworm, etc.) should put off acquiring a pet until they can afford the initial outlay. After all, just the shots, heartworm test and spay/neuter cost will be as much or more than the adoption fee. I have been reading about everybody saying that it costs so much to adopt in their areas. A few posters list under their names where they live. As I check www.petfinder.org and look up the websites for their local pounds, I keep finding that, even though some animals are that expensive, many in their areas aren't. My daughter lives in central Nebraska and went to the pound where she adopted her purebred dog. She paid $90. That $90 included the dog, all of his shots, neutering and microchipping. If she had got a "free" puppy from a newspaper ad, she would have paid more than that just for the shots and the neutering. BTW she is a poor and struggling college student. She works, goes to school, pays her bills and lives in a low rent neighborhood. She did understand that, no matter how bad she wanted a dog, it wasn't right to get one until she had the money to take care of it's initial needs.