Criosphynx

I've asked this many many times on many many forums and I can give you the common answer...

"our dogs are not the problem, our dogs do not end up in shelters, because we screen homes and take back unwanted dogs"

Rescue people feel that breeders pups are taking away homes from homeless mutts and Breeders feel that their buyers wouldn't get a puppy unless it was purebred and thus they are not taking away homes.

pawzaddict

That is all exactly what I have heard as well. Its so sad I always say "be the cure not the cause fix your pet" I wanna make a shirt that says that LOL and maybe put statistics on it for how many animals lose their lives. I also cannot stand people who want to spend hundreds of dollars on a pure bred and refuse to rescue a mutt.

Criosphynx

You should see all the bumper stickers on the back of my car.

I think some breeders should put alot more thought into the overpop issues but my main beef is with consumers... why on earth would you pay $1500 to get a pug from a pet store.. that makes sence on zero levels to me...

Som' people just like to say how much they spent on their dog. I find it tacky...I mean, if your having a long convo and it comes up...cool...but ..."hey this is Bruno, he was two grand" speaks loudly of a persons character.

Another issue is that a lot of shelter dogs are sick (i can attest to that personally) not everyone wants to deal with that...so they go to a rescue...now most rescues want you to practically give them a blood sample, shave your head and give up your first born to get a dog from them.... I know of many people that tried to adopt, got shot down( for dumb reasons) and then ended up purchasing instead...

I wanted (for my second dog) to rescue greyhounds...but I needed to have a 6foot tall fence around my entire property to get one..thats not even legal in any city I can think of. So I can't get a dog.

I wanted to resuce a parrot but no matter how qualified I was i could not because I own snakes (or dogs too) its absolutely silly...I finally was able to rescue my bird, but it was not from a bird rescue, but a dog one that happened to get a random parrot. But most people would not wait (I waited 6 years) they would just go out and purchase instead.

Personally I dont' see myself ever going through a private rescue...the idea of unanounced home checks and having to notify them when I move and pretty much just having to over the top PROVE over and over that I'm a decent owner is just too much for me.

pawzaddict

I do agree, why would you spend that kind of money? I have rescued a lot of dogs from private parties (like my Glacier and Harvick), the humane society (one chihuahua), the streets (the other chihuahua), and from a private rescue who goes to Mexico (Peyton). Someone told me "thats not rescuing", it is when I am not purchasing an animal from a breeder and I am keeping a dog from going to the pound.

I get the whole getting a sick dog sucks, especially when you already have others...we were afraid that Peyton had Giardia or some kind of serious issue because of his diarrhea and Glacier had a runny nose and discharge (which wound up being a reaction to the old owner smoking). It sucks I wish it were nothing but rainbows and sunshine!

6 ft block wall fences are already done here around the back yard

Rescues..don't even get me started! The chihuahua rescue out here charges 250 for a pup under like 6 or 9 months...come on that is a bit much, just because of its age its 250?! I could understand 150! my personal opinion. And the screening process is dumb.

We are judged because of how many pets we have, even tho we care for them extremely well. Maybe one day the system will be better

Criosphynx

I have seen people being told that thats not rescue (wtf?? huh) There are also people who feel that getting a shelter dog is a "purchase" also because money changes hands... that a dog has to to free to be a rescue (wtf again) basically people just try to downplay the good that people are doing by nitpicking.

By six foot fence I ment around the whole house...including the front. We are a corner lot and any fence on the street can't be more than 4'..since its a corner my backyard fence it against the street, so i have to have 4' backyard fencing too.

If It were up to me we'd have barbwire and a moat but thats another story...lol

My BIL spent $450 on a "rescued" english bulldog...the dog had already been returned once and they had collected the same fee then too (not refunded)

I told him why that was bunk but he go the dog anyway...oh well.

pawzaddict

WTF?! LOL I would be afraid and suspicious of a house who had a high fence all the way around it haha. I am with ya on the moat LOL

To me rescuing is not purchasing from a breeder thats it LOL

ChathamHillKennels

I'm a champion for responsible people who breed dogs responsibly. And dog shows do not promote being responsible breeders.

I understand the perspective from both camps, the ones who believe in adoption and those who believe in breeders. There are plenty of negatives from both sides. Having experienced it from each side, I prefer to march to the beat of my own drum. If you study the breeds and the history of them then you'll come to realize that all dogs which are labeled as pedigree and acknowledged as such by an accepted registry all began as mongrels. They were all at one point in time just a dog like any other mutt, with the exception of a few pariah breeds, all dog breeds were the product of mixing and matching different dogs for temperament and health first. There were no closed registries in the beginning and dogs sort of got classed according to what they were doing at the time. For example, retrievers were basically any dog that could do so. The same for pointers, water dogs, hounds etc etc. There wasn't a set look in the beginning, there weren't problems with genetic defects or high cancer rates etc, etc. That all happened after the closed registry systems took effect.

Line-breeding and in-breeding become common practices once you add a closed registry into the mix. Add an elitist dog fancy and dog shows then suddenly the completion of a recipe for disaster is in effect. Its a slow road to creating a breed of closely related dogs that have an increasing amount of defects. Throw in fad breeding and all of a sudden those minor health defects become extreme defects that according to each breed specific club is the acceptable conformation standard.

Then you have the adoption route. People who feel that for whatever reason they are getting a much better option by choosing to adopt. By taking a guess into the lineage of the dog and casting logic to the wind by assuming that what they are getting will be a healthy ambassador to the dog world for many years. No knowledge of where the dog came from or what breed it is or even what the condition and temperament of the parents was. These people assume the dog doesn't have any health issues, genetic problems or physiological issues and the new adoptive owners just accept that everything the shelter is guessing at should be the final word. The story behind the dog, where it was rescued from or the conditions from where it came, all a toss up.

All I can say for sure is that there was an advantage with a mixed breeds in the beginning. An intentionally crossed mutt is a window into the past and how our ancestors did a positive thing for the canine world without really knowing it. They introduced diversity into their gene pool and allowed for them to be more resistant to diseases and to pass on good genes to their offspring. Pure breeds today are at a disadvantage because the thinking is now directed towards cosmetic concerns first and addressing the latest fad in each breed standard. In doing so breeding practices take a course that promotes breeding closely related dogs and thus thinning the diversity to perilous levels. As it stands today most pure breed dogs have a genetic diversity that is equivalent to an endangered species with less than 10% diversity in the living population. And to say that the average golden-doodle or labra-doodle is at an advantage is a gross misunderstanding, since unscrupulous breeders have taken advantage of them for profit to levels that already decimated diversity in the pure breeds they mixed to obtain these hybrids in the first place. The super-sire syndrome has taken hold and hundreds of pups fathered from a small pool of fathers has had the effect of poor specimens even in these designer dogs. Many websites brag about the sires they use over and over again, which makes them at this point no better than the insane dog fancy and their pure breed dogs.

The rhythm I'm in tune with tells me that the closed registry system and greed have had the same results on both sides of the fence. And that in order to give back something positive that our choices are to either use DNA mapping to our advantage or to begin to outcross responsibly like our ancestors did. Since DNA mapping is still years away for many of the pure breeds then the best logical approach left is to outcross different breeds to create new lines once again.

I've taken a lot of heat from both sides for my stance. But fortunately I'm not alone in my thinking. And many geneticists agree with it. The only people screaming the loudest against it are the Brain washed dog fancy and the insane rescue organizations. Both of which haves skewed agendas and a need to relearn the real reasons why they have those dogs they love so much.

Criosphynx

what a great post!

Personally, I don't go and get a rescue dog with the assumption that it will be healthy and sound, I also don't know of anyone else who does.

The closed gene pool will be the death of PB dogs.

pawzaddict

Yea I have never heard anyone assume a rescued dog is going to be totally healthy and behaved...I actually expect to have to put a lot into a rescued dog, but would assume the same thing with a PB anyways since genetics are not the only determination of a dogs behavior....

ChathamHillKennels

I usually gather that the expectation from the adopter is that if its a mix breed its generally healthier than a purebreed. Which is really not the case. There are many factors involved. And temperament is molded through socialization. Some breeders have no idea how important that is. I see it like raising children, because just like children our dogs are a product of the environment they are raised within. Problem environment.... equals Problem Dog. Genetics only plays a portion in the end result by providing you the template. The rest is up to you. If the breeder has no idea on socialization practices, then you'll have a lot of work to do when you do get that puppy.

We show our dogs, but we're not the typical dog fancy elitists. We actually go there to see the other dogs and have fun, its a family event for us. Our 5 children come along and our relatives all show up. Mostly we try our best to show people what our dogs are really all about. And the primping and preening process is not something we participate in, since at least for our breed they are supposed to present as if they just came in off the field. So we get a big laugh out of all the owners with the blow dryers and styling tools on the sidelines. The real joy is in getting our dogs up off the floor dusting them off and still winning the match. Our kids just love the different colored ribbons. Our dogs just like the company of others and really don't give a crap about a ribbon.