Whats with breeders? Why breed your dogs while shelters dogs die!?

Question

About a week ago I said I hated puppy mills, breeders and petstores. Then I apoligized cause some of you took offensive to my question about breeders. Now that I think about it, I'm not sorry. First of all, why do people breed their dogs when there are already so many homeless animals being killed in shelters because nobody wants them? Yes, I have heard about people saying how much they love their dogs and care for them, but if you truely loved them you would not be breeding them and letting other innocent animals die! The pet population is already high enough! And the people that buy from a pet store and breeders arent making the situation better. They are just supporting them to keep breeding their animals. If everyone rescued animals, we wouldnt have millions dieing each year in shelters. We adopted our little dog that we gave a second channce. And I'm sure if nobody hadnt, she wouldnt be here. But unfortuantly I cant safe all of them. But the bigest question to me is, why do people

still buy their animals from petstore and breeders even when they know that millions are dieing? If you are a breeder out there, I really hope you rethink about breeding your animals. If you go to a shelter and see how many homeless animals there are, I hope you will see what you are doing by breeding your dogs is NOT helping the animals in the shelters! You are decreasing the chances of them getting homes! The people who are thinking of getting a pet, please adopt or rescue one. And if you are a breeder, please stop what you are doing and help the animals in need.

Dont buy while shelter dogs die!!

Answer 1

OH SWEETY!
You are my kind of person!
I was with our Humane Society and a local Animal Control for 12 years! Many many times I had to standby & watch as countless animals took the final walk! Yes purebred dogs also!
Break my heart, ya betcha it did & still does! I had to give it up as I was suffering from severe depression as were many others in the same 'profession'! I saw several have nervous breakdowns do to the senseless killing of precious animals! Yes due to irresposible breeders, and uncaring owners!
If every single person who visits a pet store would also visit their area animal shelter,Humane Society/ Animal Control, We could reduce that five million euthanized pets every year down to a mere fraction of that! Come On People!
Have your Pets Spayed & Neutered!
Adopt A Shelter Per!
SAVE LIVES!
I did! So can you! I pulled numerous dogs out of their hell on what was to have been their final hours on earth!
Let's come together and save those innocent lives!

Answer 2

Nope. When someone buys a dog on a whim from a BYB that doesn't care about screening potential new owners, that's one of the reasons why dogs end up in shelters. So, WHY would someone get a shelter dog if they didn't want one? Do you honestly think that wouldn't end up back in the shelter anyway? If I had a flock of sheep and wanted a WELL BRED Border Collie, do you think that a shelter would be the first place I'd look? No way! Reputable breeders are NOT the problem. BYB's, puppy mill dogs sold in pet shops, and the buyers who buy on a whim are the reason for all the problems. Add: Oh, and let's not forget about the *Doodle* breeders who claim that their mutts are hypoallergenic, don't shed, and will turn out to be a certain size. They LIE all for money, and the stupid buyers believe them.

Answer 3

Ok, this is actually a simple question to answer.

Registered Breeders breed dogs to better the breed, they usually don't make any money, there are a lot of health and genetic testing they do. The aim is to provide you with a healthy & well tempermented dog that will give you many years of joy.

Then there're backyard breeders, these guys breed purely for the money or because of lack of education, they don't health screen or genetic test their dogs, they don't care about the temperment of the dogs, they just want your money.

Then there are puppy mills, churning out masses of puppy to petstores and private buyers, they're exactly the same as backyard breeders but they just churn out more pups and usualy keep the dogs in tiny crates.

Dogs in shelters: Well this is a very sad thing, sadly not all dogs should be saved, many people dumb their dogs because they have issues, some of their issues may include aggression that may form from a lack of socialiation or bad & uneducated breeding.

Answer 4

First of all, if like you said, everyone adopted a dog instead of bred, in a few short years (maybe 20 tops) there will be no dogs left anyway... Other than that though, many breeders are backyard breeders. They may care for their dogs, but they don't have their best interest in mind to breed. However, there are VERY responsible breeders (but you don't hear of them because they don't advertise in the newspaper and stuff). They breed for a purpose. They breed in an attempt to eliminate health defects and, overall, improve the breed. Many breeds have a purpose, and often people breed for that, like herding, hunting, water rescue, competitions, etc. There are many reasons to breed a dog other than wanting puppies around and to make money. Those are just the bad reasons that you hear about. Do you think we would have as many specialized police dogs, or dogs that help the vision imparied if not for breeding? It's hard to train shelter dogs sometimes since their pedigree is often not know, so their temperment, health history, and even their physical characteristics can be hard to predict.


EDITED TO ADD: If you are truely a responsible breeder who strives to improve the breed and take all the necessary precautions, vet care, etc, you often don't make a single penny, but rather you LOSE money on the litter. Also, homes are often prearranged before the pups are even born, and, if in the unlikely case that the home does not work out, the breeder fully takes the dog back with no questions so that it doesn't end up another shelter dog.

Answer 5

I agree with you. I think there should be a limited number of breeders - they should be licensed and very knowledgable. If we don't have some breeders though, well, some breeds would die out I'm afraid.

I do hate puppy mills and petstores that sell dogs though. I also hate these backyard breeders who are looking for a quick buck or just decide they want some puppies around because they're just so cute. That's insane. I do feel there are reputable breeders and they should be the ONLY ones that are allowed to breed. I purchased a Chocolate Lab from a breeder once - BIG MISTAKE - she had worms and mange. Nice breeder, huh??

It kills me when people post notes saying "anyone is southern CA want to breed a doberman" Who are these people???

Don't ever be sorry for what you feel and don't ever hold back on your opinions.

Answer 6

i get what you are saying but if there was no more breeding dogs than in 20 years there will be no more dogs. they would all bee dead. if we can cut down on breeding is fine. there are some good and bad breeders out there. i hate the mills too. i have akc dogs that i show i also have mixed dogs. i hate some petshops that i've been in. if i didn't get my dogs from breeders and people that weren't the best breeders than when my dog was stolen from me than i would have been a hopeless reck. i volunteer at my shelter trying to find homes for dogs and cats and i found 5 homes. so it's bad now imagine no dogs. im on both the good breeders not the bad ones and saving the animals too so calm!!! also tell us what you are doing about this if you so strongly about this. i think you should find more info on this subject that hate

Answer 7

It isn't the real breeders that are the problem. It's the BYB and millers. Their dogs, and the oops! litters are the ones that end up in shelters for various reasons. I can't remember ever seeing a quality bred dog in a shelter. People keep them. And if they can't keep them they will take the time to find the dog a proper home.
And even if..in your perfect world..the breeders (all of them) stopped breeding, there would still be dogs in shelters because not everyone wants a shelter dog.
I know of alot of successful and inspirational stories with shelter dogs, I also know of alot of failures and a couple of outright nightmares from adopting a shelter dog.
You shouldn't apologize for your opinions. Keep your passion going strong. But if you really want to make a difference then you need to be realistic and what you are proposing as a solution...isn't.

Answer 8

I appreciate your concern for the dogs in shelters every day and that I, too, would like to see these numbers reduced largely. The problem here does not fall on the reputable breeders, tho. It is the backyard "my pup is cute, I wanna make a buck" breeders and puppy mills and pet stores which are the problem.

If you were to contact a truly reputable breeder to inquire about a puppy, you would find that you could be on the waiting list for up to 2 years as they don't breed often, usually only to improve and gain something in their lines. They also would screen you intensely to insure that their breed is right for you. They might even attempt to discourage you at first about their breed. They'll tell you all the wonderful things, but more importantly, the bad things about their breed. They want you to know what you are getting in to here before getting a puppy of their breed. They will make you sign a spay/neuter contract for your pet quality pup, which you are assured healthy from much testing of genetics to ensure this. If you are considering breeding, most will require a co-ownership as they want to have a hand in what is going on with their lines. Finally, if and when they do sell you a puppy, they will be there for a lifetime of support, help you any way they can and have a 100% take back policy, should you not be able to keep the dog, at any time or any age.

Backyard breeder DO NOT go to these great lengths to care for their lines or litters. They just want you to hand them the cash and be done with you. They could care less what happens to Fido in 10 months when you're at your witts end with a dog tearing up your home because maybe it was a working breed that you didn't bother to work, or knew it needed to work to be truly happy. When you called them about your problems, if you bother to, they tell you it's your dog and not their problem.

So the reputable breeder strives for a genetically sound dog, that meets a proper breed standard (and does showing to prove it does BEFORE ever breeding) and actually CARES about the pups they produce. The reputable breeder is not the problem.

The other issue here is that specific breeds are bred for a purpose. The benefit is... if I want to herd sheep, then I know my Border Collie can do that for me. I can't know that with certainty of any mixed breed in a shelter.

I think the finger here needs to be pointed towards those backyard breeders, who don't care, breeding desinger mutts only for profit and the puppy mills filling our pet stores.

Instead of yelling at the good breeders, take the time to educate people you know, who are set on a purebred, about backyard breeders/puppy mills and ENCOURAGE them to find a reputable breeder to get their choice of purebred from.

Answer 9

I do rescue, and spent 3 years as kennel manager at a shelter, as well as very occasionally breed shelties, so I feel I have a right to answer this question.

I breed a properly genetically tested pair of dogs who have important virtues to their breed on occasion to improve upon the quality of my breed as a whole. All shelties I have had come into rescue or shelter situations have been very poor examples of the breed. Why? Because the irresponsible puppymillers or backyard breeders who bred just any two shelties together for a buck have no clue how a sheltie is supposed to look and behave, and don't care. How can a new owner get a dog that looks and acts like a sheltie if no one cares what they are breeding? So I breed to preserve the breed. I also take complete responsibility for dogs I've bred, making sure pet quality pups get spayed/neutered, and always taking back ones I bred at any time, for any reason, in additon to taking on the responsibility of rescuing the product of BYB's and puppymills.

Answer 10

I have rescued so many animals that I cannot keep count. but then I would aslo want a pure blood breed animal as well. The dog I have now is a pure blood boxer, but I donot have any papers on him because he was a rescue. I would love to have another one to breed with him, but coming up with a pure breed female boxer at the humane society is difficult to come by. So one of these days I will buy one. I love boxers they are one of the most gorgeous dogs ever. I have plenty of other animals that I have went to swap meets and bought because I felt sorry for them. they looked malnutritioned, and or sickly and I would want to nurse them back to health. I have picked up puppies left on the side of roads and brought them home to take care of and try to find homes for them. So I will not agree with your question. Some owners take pride, love and a lot of money in their animals, so you should not jugde the ones that do not want mixed breed animals. that is not the way to go about getting what you reallly want.