How do you justify breeding dogs/ buying from a breeder?

Question

Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year:
6-8 million (HSUS estimate)
Number of cats and dogs euthanized by shelters each year:
3-4 million (HSUS estimate)
Percentage of dogs in shelters who are purebred:
25% (HSUS estimate)

Knowing that 3-4 MILLION cats/dogs are euthanized by shelters each year, breeders, how can you justify purposely bringing more animals into the world? People who buy from breeders, how can you justify financially SUPPORTING people who contribute to the overcrowding of shelters and the euthanization of perfectly healthy, well mannered animals?

I appreciate all of your input.. Yes it is ultimately irresponsible owners that put animals in shelters, however if you look at this in a supply/demand perspective: dogs need homes, people want dogs. So why create more when there are already so many? I wouldn't have a problem with responsible breeders if the shelters weren't already overcrowded.

Joanie- I don't understand you. You call my compassion and empathy for loving, beautiful animals that are euthanized for no reason other than that the shelter has run out of room hatred? I do try to educate people whenever I can.

Our local Humane society is also a no-kill, but that's because they send all strays to Animal Control, where they do euthanize, though I'm not sure of their criteria (could just be for illness, I don't know)

Gina C- what breed? This brings up a whole different concern for me. The creation of pugs, for example, I see as cruel to the dog because of the breathing problems they have. In their case I would advocate breeding them to make their faces LESS severe, alleviating their problems. How do you feel about maintaining a breed which has traits that cause health problems, or "line breeding" (inbreeding) when there aren't enough dogs? Both ultimately cause so many problems for the animal.

Answer 1

"Real" breeders do care. Most of the true breeders are breeding to try to get the closest to the breed standard as possible. Those puppies/dogs who do not meet muster are placed in Pet homes Without permission to breed. It's the ignorance of NON breeders who cause the problem!

And if you think real true breeders are making money in breeding dogs? Forget the money is IN the dogs! That's why dogs from puppy mills are usually so unhealthy, those people just want the money, so they don't take care of their animals.

NEVER BUY FROM A PET STORE !!!

Unless those animals are rescue shelter animals!

Answer 2

I think there are two parts to this question. First, there are breeders, and then there are breeders. An ethical breeder is one who works to improve his or her breed, and strives to produce the soundest, healthiest dogs possible. I suspect there's not more than a handful of quality breeders that do more than break even on the puppies they sell, and the large majority lay out more on their dogs than they ever get from puppy sales. OTOH, there are those that are making money off breeding, the puppymills, both large and small scale. Their concern is volume, not quality so they don't spend the time and money for generic testing or health screening, breed a b"tch as often as possible, and so forth. A quality breeder may not use their females for more than three or four litters over her lifetime. If you have one litter a year from about ages 2 to 5 or 6, it pretty much limits how many puppies you produce. If you breed her every time she comes into heat until she's unable to produce any more, you get a lot more puppies. That's the philosophy of BYBs and puppymills. Then there are those who are just careless or ignorant. And, since mixed breeds make up a huge proportion of dogs in general, who was breeding them? The second thing to consider is that virtually every dog that's in a shelter or wandering loose as a stray had an owner at one time or the other. Why did they dump their dog at the pound, or just along side the road somewhere? What happened to all the former owners of pound dogs? Owner responsibility has to be a part of the picture, as does owner education. Often people get dogs for all the wrong reasons, without taking the time to find out what it really takes to own that dog, whether or not the dog is compatible with their personal situation, and so forth. With Christmas coming on, there are going to be who knows how many puppies given as gifts to people who may not want them, don't know how to care for them, may not have the resources to care for them, etc. About June or July all those cute puppies bought on a whim are going to be adolescent dogs, and many of them will end up in the shelter. I wish I knew how you could educate people as to what's involved in having a dog, and instill responsibility. If you had a formula for that, a lot of the shelter problem would simply go away.

Answer 3

The HSUS has it's numbers off. Ran by a bunch of PETA freaks and while I am in no way stating that there is not a problem with irresponsible breeders... The way the HSUS and these AR people are trying to force laws onto people that basically ban pet ownership and hobby/show breeding is disgusting. Go to AKC.org and look at some of the legislative alerts. Read the ridiculous ways the laws are being presented. It is geared toward ending pet ownership making it impossible.
I do not know who you are or if you have motives here but I can tell you that I don't buy the 'whole' package of BS.
Have you read the latest from CA.? Louisville KY.?
I can justify breeding anyway I choose and there are people who want well bred dogs that adhere to the standard of their breed. I do not produce a ton of puppies but I can tell you that the people I place my pups with would NOT be going to the shelter if I didn't have a high quality healthy pup available for them. That's not what they want. You need to stop putting 'all' breeders in the same catagory and work on the problem through educating people. NOT by trying to force your beliefs onto everyone. There is a huge difference between breeding responsibly and the abundance of ignoratn back yard breeders and puppy mills.
I am not contributing/supporting ANY idiots agenda. including yours.
Read the TRUTH about PETA and the HSUS and stop supporting either. Their agenda's are not as animal loving as people sometimes think and you know what... they are a bunch of hypocrits. They kill animals and they talk all day long about animal rights while they strive to take away human rights.
If you can't get out there and teach people about responsible breeding then stuff it where the sun don't shine. NO breeding is NOT the answer.
This is the truth: http://www.animalscam.com/

Answer 4

There are lots of good reasons to buy a pet from a breeder rather than a shelter. Purebred pets - when bred responsibly of course, are more predictable in appearance, size, temperament, and ability. You wouldn't buy a dog from the pound if you wanted a sheep herder for example because you wouldn't know if it could do the job. There are advantages to buying puppies or kittens over older animals from shelters in that you can train them from the earliest age, they settle into the home environment better, and you are not so often faced with difficult, in-grained behavioural problems caused by neglectful or cruel previous owners.
On the other hand, buying a pet from a shelter helps reduce the problem of perfectly healthy, fine unwanted animals being euthanased. However, you can't really be sure what you'll be dealing with when you get home. Will the dog bark all day & night, will it be aggressive toward children unexpectedly, will it kill your cat, will the cat you buy from the shelter be friendly, or will it resent being handled once it settles in to your home? There is a lot of uncertainty, and many people, especially those with children, are not willing to risk bringing an animal of unknown temperament, with an unknown background, into close proximity to their children.
It is unfair to blame those who choose to buy a purebred after doing their homework & paying the big bucks for a good quality animal, for the numbers of animals in shelters. Those who are to blame are those who will not spend the money to desex their pets. They sell or give away the numerous offspring to people who then place a value on the animal equivalent to what they paid for it - ie if they get a kitten for $10, they reason that it's not worth spending $100 getting it desexed. When people need to pay a substantial amount of money for a pet, and need to convince the breeder that they will be good owners of the animal before they take possession, as you often have to do with caring breeders, chances are they will value the animal more highly, and take better care of it.
Place the blame where it belongs - not on the easy targets.

Answer 5

I am not a breeder, but I have owned both purebred and mongrel dogs, all neutered. Right now, I have two purebred dogs, bought from wonderful breeders who give extensive health and temperament guarantees, and are available to give advice for the lifetime of the dog. I compete in obedience and agility trials and want a dog who loves and is good at these activities, and who is highly unlikely to develop hip dysplasia or other crippling illness that will make this kind of competition impossible. So, when I got my Australian shepherd two years ago, I looked carefully for exactly the puppy I wanted, first narrowing down the breed, then the bloodline, then picking an individual puppy after looking at several from different breeders' litters. When I got my dog I knew what her strengths, weaknesses, and level of energy and "drive" were likely to be, and how to cope with those traits in my training program. Maybe that sounds selfish or control-freakish to you, but I pour a huge amount of time and effort into my dogs, and I live with each of them for fifteen years or so, so I want to maximize the chances that I will get what I want.

The purebred dogs who end up in shelters are likely to be puppy mill dogs, because responsible breeders take back any dog that doesn't work out, for the lifetime of the dog. (And many purebred dogs in shelters end up being "rescued" by caring breeders who double as purebred rescue volunteers.) If I get a dog from a shelter, I always pick an apparently completely random-bred dog, in which case at least I have natural selection on my side. But it's a tossup what you'll end up with, especially if you get a puppy. That may be OK in many cases. But if you NEED a dog that, say, is great with kids, or matures under 25 pounds, or is trustworthy around livestock, or doesn't shed, you and the dog are better off if you get a purebred dog from a responsible breeder in the first place, than if you get a mongrel from the pound and then have to return it when it ends up being too growly/big/predatory with your chickens/whatever.

Take HSUS propaganda with a grain of salt. It's not a reliable source of information.

Answer 6

There are several reasons for my buying a dog from a breeder, rather than adopting: -

1. I want my dogs to be sociable, trainable and suited to my house/lifestyle... therefore a puppy which I can train properly myself is preferable to getting an adult dog who's background I know nothing about. Many dogs in rescue centres have behavioural problems which would make them unsuitable for me, my children and my other animals.

2. I want to know the genetic background of my chosen dog - potential health problems, breed characteristics, inbreeding and size are important and again too little is known about the breeding and background of dogs from shelters - I don't want to get a dog only to be faced with heartbreak from a genetic condition a few years down the line. When I buy a dog from a responsible breeder I know that the pup is disease free, vet checked and healthy AND that the breeder will be there to offer support during the lifetime of the dog should I need it.

3. My only experience in getting a rescue dog culminated 5 days later in a huge vet bill, brokenhearted child and the dog dead from parvo - NOT an experience I wish to repeat!! Puppies from a breeder will be vaccinated and healthy, not exposed to fatal diseases which could compromise the health of my other pets.

4. Here in the UK a dog from a rescue centre will cost upwards of £90 - the centre will insist on viewing my home, at their convenience (which can sometimes mean 6 months down the line and even then only if you are within a short distance from their centre). They will then also insist that you sign an agreement which essentially means that the dog is still theirs for the rest of it's life - you are only 'borrowing' it. Yet they will offer no support at all with overcoming health or behavioural problems which may become apparent over time.

The real problem lies not with breeders creating more dogs but with irresponsible owners who do not train their animals or understand what owning a dog really means. My dogs are perfect for me - I chose their breed carefully; trained and socialised them from a very young age. I feed them a carefully balanced, homemade diet...they are fully vaccinated and microchipped and are well mannered and well kept... their breeder played a big part in that by ensuring that I was the right owner for their pups!!

Answer 7

I prefer to buy from breeders, more health guarantees, you have some idea of the activity level of the breed so you can choose to suit your lifestyle. Its not the breeders of healthy, good lineage show quality dogs that are to blame for the over abundance of pets in shelters. Its the idiot backyard breeders who pump out puppies at a phenomonal rate, just to make a quick buck. I can guarantee that if you have to pay nearly $1000 or more for a dog, its not going into a shelter if you have to wait months for the puppy and pay thro the nose for it, your going to value it more, but if you only have to pay $100 for a regular mutt, well its odds are a little worse. If you cant afford a pure breed dog from a reputable breeder, you cant afford to keep a dog any way. And its only 25% of the dogs in shelters are pure breeds, can you even give us an estimate of how many of those are actually from registered responsible breeders, not just some backyard breeder, you cant. And what about the other 75%, all the mixed breeds, they dont come from responsible registered breeders do they.

Dont bash responsible, registered breeders of quality dogs, how about you start on the backyard breeders, and the 'designer dog' breeders. Or how about the ignorant idiots who say 'I will just let her have one litter before getting her spayed, it will make her a better dog anyway'. What a crock of ****. Or how about the people who are buying the dogs, you know, the ones who say 'Aww, arent they a cute looking breed, lets get one of those', without finding out how suitable that breed is for their lifestyle, eg energy levels, grooming requirements. Its those people who are more likely to give the dogs to the shelters in the first place.

You cant blame just one element for the problem, its a huge problem with many sources, starting with the owners who abandon their dogs in the first place. If everyone treated their pets like children, instead of just a replacable commodity, there would be less in shelters, in fact none. Dont blame the people who are the suppliers in this case, blame the consumers, they are the ones who throw them away.

Answer 8

Hail to the Queen! lol You said just what I wanted to say..... I also want to add that I am a breeder, but I breed responsibly and I am breeding a rare breed, trying to improve on it and preserve it. I do not approve of people who don't know what they are doing and/or are doing it just for a fast buck. And there are alot of those out there. I think that puppy mills are a disgrace not matter how you look at it and sadly most pet stores don't care where they get their pups (or kittens) and often deal with these "mills". I don't think all breeders are to blame for the pet over population. The biggest problem is the mills and ignorant people who let their dogs breed just because. Where I used to live there was a guy that had over 60 dogs running loose, none fixed, all breeding like mad. Most had never been handled and had pack mentality, so the pups (and adults) were unadoptable. Animal control tried to intervene but he moved onto a local Indian reservation to avoid them. There was nothing that could be done. It's people like that that are the problem and make me sick. I realize there are alot of irresponsible "breeders" out there, but not all of us are bad. Please don't pass judgment on us as a whole.

Answer 9

Frankly, I think your blaming breeders for a situation created by irresponsible pet owners. Breeders sell their dogs to prospective pet owners, they don't release them onto the streets.

Personally, I've never met a breeder who doesn't care about the situation you have just outlined.

Where I come from, breeders have to pass rigorous tests in order to qualify to open a station. Part of those tests involve showing the pedigree dogs in dog shows to get third party measures of the quality of the animal (we could have a whole debate about the legitimacy of those here, as well!). They also have to demonstrate facilities, and are regularly re-visited to make sure these facilities comply with standards. Breeders are not "puppy mills".

I own a pedigree giant schnauzer ***** that I purchased in Hungary seven years ago. I cannot imagine life without her - she travels everywhere I do, and is treated as a member of the family more than a working dog. I purchased her as a six week old from a family of breeders, who thoroughly interviewed me as a prospective parent before selling her to me. I more or less "adopted" her. That's how breeders work here, in my experience.

I also donate the better part of €1,000 per year to a local pet shelter that I have confirmed do not put animals down, but look for homes for them (they also take horses, ferrets, parrots and other exotic pets as well as dogs and cats).

I understand the situation you feel you are addressing, and it's deplorable... but it's the fault of irresponsible owners, not breeders.

Answer 10

I find buying a pup from a REAL breeder far less risky than adopting from a pound (I say that having 2 kids, one quite small). There are some wonderful dogs in pounds, but some unstable, nasty ones too. By buying from a breeder, we can meet the parents, see the conditions they're raised in, and basically just see what environment they have been raised in that has been 'shaping' them in the start of their lives. Also, at least in my area, adopting a puppy is very hard- not many in shelters, and they are snapped right up.

As for the # of pets in shelters, I have heard many complaints that groups in our area make the adoption applications next to impossible, and groups often bypass terrific homes for ridiculous reasons. Some of the purebred rescues I know of are basically hoarders- you don't have a prayer in hell of adopting one of their dogs, unless someone in their group already knows you. It's ridiculous- if they want to save dogs, they should be more reasonable approving homes.