Why buy when you can adopt?

Question

why do people always insist on buying a pure-bred dog from a breeder? I mean, mixed breeds are so much healthier, and there are tons of dogs in pounds who need a home! not to mention its so much cheaper to adopt a dog than to go out and buy a 'designer doggy' from a breeder. i adopted my dog. why don't other people do the same?

wow. almost all of you act like a pure-bred is a much healtier dog that is automatically smarter and more obidient. the most violent foul-mannered dogs i've met are pure-breds. mixed actually are healthier dogs. heard that straight from the mouth of a vet. there are rescues for purebred dogs, why not go there if you want a purebred? and at pounds, you can hear from volunteers who work with the dogs as to whether or not the dog is foul-mannered or untrainable. and you can adopt puppies at pounds too. why pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a dog when you can save the life of a dog in the pound?

Answer 1

Many people think that buying a purebred will insure a healthier dog, or a better behaved dog. Also its a status symbol. some people really like how a dog looks and they want it. But as long as people keep wanting these dogs, people will keep breeding them. I am surprised that there are so many people out there that really don't know how bad the overpopulation of animals is. 4-5 million are euthanized each year in shelters across the US, because there are not enough homes for them. I adopted my dog, and cats as well. I also foster homeless kittens. When reputable breeders do all necessary checks to help insure a healthy dog that helps a purebred. I've worked in the veterinary field for about 8 years and in my experience and the 3 veterinarians that work there's experience, more purebreds come in with health issues associated with their breed, than mixed breeds. But also there are many people that buy purebreds from bad breeders that are not honest and don't do testing. Testing for genetic disorders in puppies is not always acurate and just because a parent is healthy doesn't mean that the puppies will be healthy. People are going to buy or adopt whatever they want to, and breeders are going to keep breeding. Just keep letting people know that there is an over population problem and that they should not be letting their pets run around and get "knocked up" and have litter after litter of puppies. Spaying and Neutering is going to be the fix to pet over population. There are so many low cost spay neuter places. If you want to help with the pet over population problem please call your local Humane Society. If you plan on breeding, please be a good breeder and make sure you are adopting out healthy pets.

Answer 2

Good question. I have 2 pound puppies of my own and I absolutely adore them. I want a pure-bred Great Dane, but when I do get one, it will probably be from the local rescue group. I can't justify buying a dog from a breeder when there is a dog at a shelter who will be more appreciative of getting a good home. I volunteer at the Humane Society when I get a chance, and I just love interacting with the dogs, although it breaks my heart that these poor dogs don't have homes.
I'm also a sucker for the underdog, no pun intended. When I got my last dog, I found her on PetFinder, and her pictures were so pitiful. She was curled up in the back of the pen as far away from everyone as she could get, looking absolutely terrified. The notes from the shelter said that she had been turned in by her owner because they had too many dogs, and the shelter suspected abuse. She was also listed as urgent, as it was a Wed. and she was due to be euthanized that Fri. I had to have that little dog (she's a Jack Russell/Feist mix) and show her that there is love in the world. I talked my fiance into it (her picture as the wallpaper on the computer helped) and he drove an hour and a half away the next day to get her for me. 2 years later, she's still skittish and shy, but the difference in that dog is like night and day. When she came home, she was shy, scared and just wanted to cower in a corner. Now, she jumps, barks, runs, plays, and does everything that a healthy, happy dog should do. I have never regretted getting her and literally saving her from death's door. I'm convinced that she knows it, too.

Answer 3

"I mean, mixed breeds are so much healthier."
There are no statistics to support that. Mixed breed dogs are bred indiscriminately, while good breeders of purebred dogs actually do their homework and really try to breed better, healthier dogs. That's not to say that they're always successful, but at least there's an attempt.

"... there are tons of dogs in pounds who need a home! not to mention its so much cheaper to adopt a dog than to go out and buy a 'designer doggy' from a breeder"
YES! You're absolutely right. Anyone who wastes money on a designer dog is doing just that ... wasting money.

Why do folks buy purebred dogs? Simply put, a lot of people prefer a dog with a known history, and a known purpose. Many people actually use their dogs to perform the jobs they were bred for.

There's a place for mixed breed dogs as well as purebred dogs for everyone.

Answer 4

For the first time in my life I purchased a purebred dog instead of adopting. My reasoning...I live in an apartment with strict dog breed rules. Nothing over 35lbs and nothing mixed with anything that might go over the limit or that is known as being agressive. My fiancee and I researched dogs for months before purchasing one. We found breeds that fit our wants and lifestyle and started scouring petfinder. We decided in December that we were moving and started looking at the local shelters and petfinder. In April, after still not finding anything on petfinder or in the shelters we decided to purchase a purebred of the breed that we felt would be a great fit with our family. She is a great dog and is perfectly healthy. While I prefer to adopt dogs I am happy with my choice to purchase from a reputable breeder this time around. The only other time I will purchase a dog rather than adopt a dog, is if we decide to show Rotties. However, our ultimate goal is to start a rescue in our area, we would rather have dogs than kids.

Answer 5

i understand your point on the subject and i partically agree.
mutts can be cute, respectable, loyal dogs. i have 2 dogs that i have adopted at the human society and 2 that were dropped on my doorstep and i have to say that they are the best dogs i could've ever had.
but at the same time i also have a siberian husky and that's a dog that you usually don't find at a adoption agency or pound.
so i got it from a breeder. i don't treat it any better than my other dogs though.
so if your thinking that people buy from breeders because they think pures are better than mutts (sounds like that's what you're thinking) it's not true.
it's just what the person wants.
when you go to a pound or adoption agency, do you point at a random dog and say "i'll adopt that one" or do you look around until you find the one you want?
it all depends how you look at it.

Answer 6

This is what I don't understand. All dogs basically come from a breeder. I mean they don't just drop out of the sky nor are they found under in the cabbage patch. Someone bred every dog, whether by an ethical breeder, a backyard breeder or n irresponsible pet owner turned breeder. Every dog was bred. I would rather know the history of my dogs than not know anything about them. I love mutts. I own 2 of them, and they were both rescues. However I would not have chosen them if I had been look9ing for a dog at the time. I would have bought a chihuahua from a reputable breeder. These dogs both more or less chose me. Mixed breeds are not healthier. Any dog can have any number of health problems. My chihuahuas are extremely healthy, with few health problems. They are one if the longest lived breeds. Designer dogs, no I would not buy one. I guess you could say my 2 mutts are labraheelers, but I didn't pay a cent for either one. If someone had stuch a cutesy name on them along with an exhorbitant price tag, I would not own either one of them. They are both wonderful dogs. The younger smaller one is very skittish and shy. She is terrified of my chihuahuas..lol The older one is very protective of us, our home and all our dogs. She was abused before we got her and it took her about a year to really learn to trust us. I love my dogs. They enrich my life every day.

Answer 7

Actually the reason was that the sire and dam were both tested for genetic diseases. You don't normally see that from the dog you get at the pound - which even if is a mixed breed doesn't mean that it's sire or dam had/has heart or hip conditions that cost thousands of dollars to treat over the life of the dog.

I personally don't think that mixed breed dogs are healthier - I think people are generally less likely to take the dog to the vet if it has an upset stomache when it was $200 vs. some people who paid $2500 may rush their dogs to the vet with every sneeze.

Answer 8

I have known these adopted dogs to end up not having the best temperment. I have personally known several who have gone for the new owners for no reason of teh owners fault but the way the dog had been raised.
Where I live the so called shelter is located at teh landfill.
They are not seen by the vet, they are not vacinated, they often have parvo with dogs and FIV in the cats.
They are continuosly failing the monthly inspections.
Ya I can adopt a dog for a measly $50 don't know the temperment no background and often what they do get is lies.
I rather buy a dog that I can meet the parents and the breeders and pretty much know what I'm gettign.
I hate these shelters and rescues I dont trust the animals that come from them.

Answer 9

First, mixed breeds are not healthier. If you think about that fallacy with any kind of logic you'd know that a mutt has all of the health problems that are possible in every breed in its genetic make-up.

Secondly, reputable breeders, unlike breeders of mutts, screen their breeding stock before breeding to try to eliminate health problems inherent in their breed.

There's still plenty of people left who wouldn't dream of touching a 'designer' dog, which, by the way, is not a purebred, it's a mutt with a fancy name so the back yard breeder can get more money for it from the uneducated public.

A purebred, from a reputable breeder is something entirely different. People buy purebreds for many reasons - they may want to show in conformation or obedience, they may do schutzhund or agility, they may need a dog to herd their sheep or cattle. There's a myriad of reasons out there why people would want a well-bred purebred - a dog whose appearance, temperament, energy level, and grooming requirements you can predict.

Answer 10

Do a google seek for toy dogs rescue businesses. there's a maltese particular rescue team on your section, yet whilst no longer, you will probable be waiting to discover one at a greater generalized rescue team. additionally, examine in alongside with your close by shelter often, now and back they'll take your call and what you're searching for and phone you if one is obtainable in. in basic terms because of the fact a dogs is at a rescue business enterprise does no longer recommend there is something incorrect with it. now and back human beings get a dogs and then understand they are in a position to't guard the two that particular breed or a dogs often. No fault of the animal, in basic terms the individuals that did no longer think of it out properly adequate.