How to tell legitimate puppy ads from scammers and puppy mill ads.

[collie1470]

Guarding livestock and herding livestock are totally different, though. The neighbors needed a herding dog, not a guard dog. The dog loves them and listens to commands like a regular dog, but being a guardian requires independence, while being a herder requires 100% listening literally as soon as a command is given. That's a different kind of bond.

 

[collie1470]

So she guards great, but that doesn't help move cattle.

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
actually, the worst Backyard Breeders LOVE their dogs. And that is exactly the problem - they love their dogs and think that that is a good reason to breed them. And people look at this nice family who obviously loves their dog and assume that means that the puppies will also be good healthy pets. AKC registration is simply a birth certificate. And, of course, now you have CKC (continental), APRI, ACA and other groups that the uneducated don't know means less than nothing. They only hear 'registered' and don't know that not all registries are equal. Or they assume that AKC automatically means "quality"

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
actually this doesn't work 100% either. many government shelters, while required to accept all owner surrenders and hold strays for a certain amount of time, also import more marketable dogs from other areas. I know local shelters that mostly have hound mixes (and many have an abundance of pit mixes) so they will put those dogs down ASAP - owner surrenders can be put down immediately and don't have a hold period - and import poodle and other small dog mixes that are easier to adopt.

 

[Finnie]

Quote: ZZZZZZ..... Oh, wait- are we back on topic again?!

I about fell asleep trying to wade through 3 or 4 pages of ridiculous back and forth bickering between Cockhen and Collie.... Why don't you two knock it off now. You were waaay off topic. It's ridiculous to call everyone who is different than you irresponsible, and it's ridiculous to defend yourself so fiercely against such a ridiculous accusation that has no bearing on your situation anyway.

OK then.

Dainerra, you have a good point. I remember now reading about some animal shelters on the west coast that were importing small fluffy dogs from other states because those adopt out better. I guess lately I have gotten used to the news articles around my own city where they are overloaded with strays and owner surrenders, and couldn't possibly fit more in from anywhere else.

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
sadly, there are plenty of shelters that are willing to MAKE room to bring in the small fluffy dog. Owner surrenders, for example, get the needle before the owner even leaves the parking lot unless the dog is an 'adoptable" mix that will be picked up quickly. Strays are held the minimum number of days and, again, not a minute more unless they are one of the more adoptable breeds. Others will have adoption days where they import a van full of small fluffies that have a crowd of people waiting in the parking lot to scoop them up before they even enter the building while all the local less sought after dogs languish in kennels until their time is up.

 

[collie1470]

Well, that was polite, thank you for your advice.

 

[Finnie]

sadly, there are plenty of shelters that are willing to MAKE room to bring in the small fluffy dog. Owner surrenders, for example, get the needle before the owner even leaves the parking lot unless the dog is an 'adoptable" mix that will be picked up quickly. Strays are held the minimum number of days and, again, not a minute more unless they are one of the more adoptable breeds.

I know my view is not popular, and I usually just keep it to myself, but frankly, if all the shelters would give the needle to every "unadoptable" dog as soon as it comes in the door, (well, as soon as they were legally allowed to with strays) they would have a lot more room and money to take care of the ones that stand a better chance of finding a home.

I once read a statistic that said for every dog that gets adopted, 7 others are euthanized. I'm not sure if 7 is the true number, but I think it's safe to say that there is definitely a number, and it's high. The point the person was making was that when you pick out a dog, you should not feel sorry for the worst prospect in there and adopt it, because that means a healthy dog with a better temperament will get put down instead. So I think it makes sense for shelters to not waste their space on the unadoptables. And if transporting the cute fluffy adoptables to areas that have a shortage helps to save more of the little ones, that's better than the little cute fluffies getting put down in one state when someone in the next state can't find any.

I think fewer dogs would languish in shelters if money weren't wasted on huge vet bills for the ones with serious or chronic health issues, and if the ones with obvious aggression, and yes, even high anxiety issues, were put down as soon as that could be determined. That would leave the better quality dogs for people to choose from, and then there would be fewer returns because the new owner would have a better chance to succeed with their new dog.

Guess I better prepare myself for all the abuse that is now going to rain down on my head.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

The dogs in pounds where I live have nothing but pits. None of the other shelters have pits, they import dogs from down South.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I know my view is not popular, and I usually just keep it to myself, but frankly, if all the shelters would give the needle to every "unadoptable" dog as soon as it comes in the door, (well, as soon as they were legally allowed to with strays) they would have a lot more room and money to take care of the ones that stand a better chance of finding a home. 

I once read a statistic that said for every dog that gets adopted, 7 others are euthanized.  I'm not sure if 7 is the true number, but I think it's safe to say that there is definitely a number, and it's high.  The point the person was making was that when you pick out a dog, you should not feel sorry for the worst prospect in there and adopt it, because that means a healthy dog with a better temperament will get put down instead.  So I think it makes sense for shelters to not waste their space on the unadoptables.  And if transporting the cute fluffy adoptables to areas that have a shortage helps to save more of the little ones, that's better than the little cute fluffies getting put down in one state when someone in the next state can't find any.

I think fewer dogs would languish in shelters if money weren't wasted on huge vet bills for the ones with serious or chronic health issues, and if the ones with obvious aggression, and yes, even high anxiety issues, were put down as soon as that could be determined.  That would leave the better quality dogs for people to choose from, and then there would be fewer returns because the new owner would have a better chance to succeed with their new dog.

Guess I better prepare myself for all the abuse that is now going to rain down on my head.

I share a very similar opinion. I saw way too many unadoptable dogs waste away in a no kill shelter. Had they been put down as soon as they realized there was an issue, the dog would not have suffered in the shelter and space would have been made for a much more adoptable animal. Not that all no kill shelters are actually no kill. Many do euthanize those with medical issues and aggression issues.

I love animals. I'm in vet school because I love animals so much. But I also have a more practical view of things and even though dogs, horses, whatever species are awesome, it is often more humane to euthanize than to have a difficult to adopt animal passed from home to home or constantly returned to the shelter. I saw how long it took my dog to settle in to my routine after I adopted her. I can't imagine how it is for these animals that just get passed around.

Cats are definitely an issue. I don't agree with letting a cat finish out a pregnancy at a shelter because we can spay them while pregnant and prevent an increase in population. Cats are already difficult enough to adopt out. We don't need to add to those numbers. We also had several nasty cats at that shelter which are still there so many years later. If these animals are unpredictable and can harm someone, they should not be adopted out when we can spare them the mental anguish.