Would You Adopt A Dog From A Shelter If You Could Not Get A Purebred D

[mixeduppup]

My pound dog can balance anything on her head. That's the main thing.

Even that tricky orange! :laugh:

Girl's got skills.

[Trisven13]

So I initially answered this based simply on the poll, without reading your initial post.

I have run an all-breeds rescue for 6 years. In that time only once did we foster-fail and it was a scenthound mix (Bloodhound x Foxhound). I have had a number of dogs who we NEARLY kept - all of them sighthounds, except for one awesome little scruffy terrier.

For the last 6 years I have shown dogs and, for the last 2 years, been a breeder (having 3 litters) of Basset Fauve De Bretagne - a scenthound.

I can tell you categorically that I am a hound person. My husband is a hound person too, though is preferred hound is an Italian Greyhound lol.

I spent the first 30 plus years of my life being a confirmed "mutt" owner BUT honestly don't think I would pick a mutt again, unless it was a hound mix. I like hounds. They have a different style and a different way to other dogs. My friend owns Border Collies and can't understand how I can possibly stand to have such "dumb" dogs.... I don't understand how she can stand to have such boring dogs who stand by you waiting for instruction. :laugh:

In my experience of running an all-breeds rescue the vast majority (I would guesstimate to be between 80% and 90%) were from backyard, mum & dad type breedings. About 2% to 5% were from registered breeders. Of those we were able to confirm came from registered breeders, sadly only about 10% of the breeders gave a toss that a dog of their breeding was in the pound. I have been brutally torn apart on DOL previously for "outing" a breeder who refused to take a dog of their breeding :laugh: and have witnessed a pound cop hell for selling a main register dog, surrendered to the pound with pedigree papers signed by the breeder (but never transferred under Dogs NSW or any other body) to another breeder & show person. However I have also seen mum & dad breeders of their much loved Molly (mated to next door's Max) come in and purchase pups they had bred. Long story short, there is good and bad everywhere, if I had to choose again I would only go pedigree from a breeder I personally knew!

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I got a cattle dog mix 10 week old puppy from the AWL (pound).

I would go to the pound or rescue for the next puppy except for one thing - which I'm still not sure about the data on - the early desex. Ie desex at 8 weeks. So far so good, but if I want to do dog sport and agility maybe better to get a puppy from the breeder and desex later like 18 months old. With agility dog sport - I'm not sure whether it's best to get a dog off a farm with good working history or from a breeder with dog lines that have had good success in my chosen sport. Not an easy find unless I want a border collie.

But surplus working dog pups are so easy to get...

As for oversupply - with an increase in compulsory microchipping and maybe if they start putting the breeder name on the microchip data and keeping the owner history... it might become more obvious who dumps dogs and why.

[sandgrubber]

I wish that option said "only of a certain type/look AND TEMPERAMENT". I care a damn sight more about how a dog behaves than what it looks like.

[Perry's Mum]

I would always take a rescue in preference to any other dog.

[*kirty*]

I don't mind either way. I have three purebred dogs (two of whom are rescues) and two mutts. I would have no hesitation adopting another rescue but we'll see what the future brings. I would like another Iggy at some point, but only time will tell if I get a puppy or keep a foster. :D

[dancinbcs]

Something to think about. Shelters, pounds and rescue provide a convenient place for irresponsibly bred puppies to be dumped. If the people producing these had nowhere to dump them, they might think again before letting another litter be born. No puppies in shelters and rescue have come from responsible breeders so buying them is no different to buying a puppy from a pet shop. It just provides incentive and space for more to be produced.

Adults from shelters, pounds and rescue are a different story. Some are genuine surrenders from people who can no longer keep them due to tragic family circumstances but they are usually not originally from reputable breeders as if they were they could have returned the dog to the breeder for rehoming. They are also usually not cute, attractive dogs either as they could usually be rehomed easily by the owner. These surrenders are often very well trained and looked after, they just aren't pretty. Surrender is the last resort for dogs that only their owner could love. The majority though of dogs in pounds, shelters and rescue are dogs who have not been raised right and trained and are therefore not desirable to the average person looking for a pet. Easily acquired from any source that doesn't ask a lot of questions, so irresponsibly bred in the first place, the owners who dump or surrender them usually do it over and over again. Screw up a puppy so that it is a nuisance, then dump it so they can go and get a "better" puppy to replace it, over and over again. These are the people who are responsible for the high euthanasia rate. Why should people who want a pet, have to take on and try to fix a problem created by someone else? When I worked taking in surrenders I really wondered if we where just making it easier for these people to treat dogs as disposable.

If all dogs came from responsible, ethical, registered breeders, there would be no need for shelters or rescue as any dog that needed rehoming could be returned to the breeder. Every breeder I know personally has this requirement in their puppy sales details or contract. Pounds would then purely be to reunite dogs who have escaped with their owners.

So I would be highly unlikely to ever take on a rescue of any sort from any source but might take on a dog that needed to be rehomed direct from the owner or breeder it had been returned to. I would want to know the dog's history if I couldn't raise it myself.

[OSoSwift]

Hmmmm a hard one.

My first choice is a pedigree purebred puppy from a breeder. I have taken on older purebred rego'd dogs from breeders. I have bred my own pupas well.

If I couldn't get a puppy from a breeder it would be a rescue, preferably younger rather than older and from a breed rescue. I wouldn't get a dog direct from the pound unless it was an 8 week old pup. Even then it would have to be an exceptional pup.

[cali]

well I have 8 dogs in my house, 5 are rescue mutts from the pound, 1 is a purebred from a rescue, 2 are purebred from breeders, so I suppose that answers that question lol. now my mom will only rescue random adult mutts. I like specific types of dogs(herding) I dont care if that dog comes from a breeder shelter or rescue or how old they are, as long as it fits what I want lol

[Nic.B]

Since a kid I have owned both. From shelters mostly, four from very good registered breeders. Absolutely adored each of them, I have three now, two poundies and Bella my old Kelpie from a brilliant breeder in Berri. I have to say Bella is simply a standout dog in health, temperament and ability.

I have never met a dog like her before, she came from two parents in work. It was her Mum’s first litter, Dad was a star. I have his registered name somewhere.

I get a bit frustrated with shelter stat’s as there is simply not enough being done to get a true representation of universal figures/data.

I agree that the majority of dogs impounded are cross, though I have witnessed many papered purebreds impounded or surrendered. More than once I have seen papered dogs surrendered to the shelter by the breeder entire. It was hard work ensuring that dog go to rescue rather than a member of the public to have another litter with.

We had multiple papered dogs surrendered by their breeder a couple of times, all entire.

Socio economics play a huge part. Lower socio economic areas have a much higher impound rate, usually BYB and unwanted/unplanned litters. Higher socio economic areas have lower impound rates and a much better reunite rate though many of these dogs are designer x breeds.

Training and socialisation is critical, many dogs are impounded/surrendered between the ages of 9 – 18 months with no training at all. It is all very cute and funny when they are puppies, then it creates problems, the dog is relegated to the backyard or chained, they hit maturity and we all know what happens next.

Another area of huge concern is unwanted/unplanned litters. I lost count!

BYB’s actually “shop” for breeding dogs. You can always pick them as most people looking to adopt connect with each dog as they walk by and stop to say hello. BYB’s walk up and down the rows without saying a word, looking for only entire dogs. When desexing was introduced from the shelter one of these dingbats wrote to the local paper saying it was illegal to desex from the shelter and he was seeking legal advice to stop it! I still laugh at that one.

There are genuine surrenders, many are not. Rentals are an issue, training, elderly people moving into care, a new baby, can’t afford to have a pet any longer etc etc. It would be great to see pre surrender interviews done prior to offer advice and support or even held with landlords etc. More importantly you could get stats on reasons, breeds, age etc though you are relying on the owner to be honest, many don’t give a toss and lie through their teeth.

Adopting from a shelter occurs every day of the week and is the way forward for shelter pets. I have met the most incredible dogs at my local shelter. Having said that this shelter is very proactive, vaccinate with a C5, desex, worm, flea treat etc and the dogs are very carefully monitored. If there is an issue they are placed with rescue so that health and or behavioural issues are addressed.

Then you have to make sure they go to a reputable rescue lol. I take my hat off to shelter staff and rescue.

I won’t be adding any more dogs to our family for a while, when I do will probably have another rescue, I would not ever rule out a dog from a registered breeder either though.

I believe adopting a shelter pet or buying from a registered breeder is the way forward. If these were the only two sources of dogs I believe there would be very few impounded and if they were, both sources would take that dog back into their fold.

Sorry for the rant, I blame the two cups of coffee.

[Rosetta]

I would always take a rescue in preference to any other dog.

This. Too many dogs needing homes out there.

[raineth]

I would happily get a dog from either a responsible rescue org, or a responsible breeder. I would be much more wary of getting one direct from a pound, because it is so hard to establish what the dog is like in a home environment.

But if it was my only choice then I probably would get a dog from that environment. I would try and be as careful as possible about selecting it. However, a responsible rescue org or breeder would be my first choice, and I would only consider getting a dog directly from the pound if it was the only option available to me.

If I could only get a dog from a petshop or BYB I would never get one at all.

[cali]

They are also usually not cute, attractive dogs either as they could usually be rehomed easily by the owner.

I have to say...this part bugged me. of my personal 6 dogs, my rescues are the dogs I get the most compliments on how stunning they are, and NON of them were snatched up quickly. Paisley's previous owner spent several months looking for a home for her before giving her to rescue. Gem and Gyp both sat in a high adoption shelter for 2 full months without interest. 2 of my plain boring dogs are from breeders and 1 was an owner re-home. I have a hard time finding anything but the most attractive dogs in shelters and rescues lol

[Steve]

I believe one of the main reasons people dump dogs is because they have a dog which doesn't suit them and their lifestyle. I believe that some people and some families can live with any dog and make adjustments to their lives to accommodate the dog's needs and can live with the dog regardless of its characteristics,traits and management requirements. Many people and many families cant and Im one of them . I want a pure bred of one or two particular breeds and I want it to come into my home as a new baby.

There are less registered purebred dogs dumped than others because there are less bred.

Believe me Ive placed puppies with people who appear to be perfect owners - who couldn't have been given a tighter screening and who couldn't have been given more education or informed on the breed - and they are great owners for a while and then for a myriad of reasons they no longer want the dog.Three in 30 years that I know of have been dumped in rescue and have told lies to avoid honouring their contracts and coming back to me first.

The type of stats we need for anyone to say whether or not one group or another is the bad guy breeders and should be more accountable for dogs being dumped are not kept so any ideas we have of which breeders are possibly creating the problem are at best educated assumptions.

Fact is there is a demand for puppies. I no longer keep a constant waiting list because at any given time I had between 50 and 100 waiting.I dont believe I could ever breed enough to fill the demand for puppies of my two breeds in the foreseeable future. Rescue dont have any trouble at all in finding homes for new puppies and nor do puppy farmers and large scale commercial breeders and pet shops. while ever there is a demand someone will supply it and the less predictable pure bred dogs are bred the higher the demand will be for the next best . Less predictability = higher risk of being homeless.

Until we focus on the choices people make and go after greater education and look at how owners accept the responsibility of dog ownership there will be limited progress - however any push toward pure bred dog ownership which will give greater predictability and a better chance of happily ever after for family and dog the numbers for pure bred dogs and breeders who educate and try to match owners and offer a safety net has to increase and its dropping more and more every year. As the supply decreases for predictable pure bred dogs the demand for second or third best increases. Time we took the focus off who is doing the breeding and look at it from a different perspective.

The only way to do that is if breeders and rescue listen to each other and work together to address the whole problem and not just land on assumed solutions without knowing all of the variables and possible unexpected consequences.

[gwp4me]

I would always rescue a dog from a pound again, If I needed another one. But I prefer certain non aggressive breeds/xbreeds (herding/pointer breeds) of a type that appeals to me, must not over two years of age. I trust the rangers to give a fair description of the dog, and would arrange my life around that dog. I would be fair, and believe every dog deserves a second chance. I have woken up to the fact, that many desirable types of dog can now be found in pounds, it is a smorgasboard ~ one can pick and choose, and most important save a life at the same time. I believe many dogs end up in pounds through no fault of their own, people lose their jobs, change their rental accomodation, split up, move away ~ the dog has no voice/option, and has to go, very easy ~ problem solved!

Over the last 30+ years, we bought well bred/beautiful dogs from reg. breeders, unfortunately our present much admired/very much loved dog has HD, now I worry about how his life will turn out. Yes, a certain healthy pound dog for me, anytime. Excuse my explanation in pidgin english.

Edited December 29, 2013 by gwp4me

[Christina]

This is a question you won't even need to ask in about another 20 years.

There won't be any pure breed registered breeders.

There will be government approved large scale breeding facilities that breed anything to anything & put out designer mongrels & the pounds for the dumped mistakes or those whose owners die.

The choice of place to get any dog will be puppy farm or pound.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

They are also usually not cute, attractive dogs either as they could usually be rehomed easily by the owner.

I have to say...this part bugged me. of my personal 6 dogs, my rescues are the dogs I get the most compliments on how stunning they are, and NON of them were snatched up quickly. Paisley's previous owner spent several months looking for a home for her before giving her to rescue. Gem and Gyp both sat in a high adoption shelter for 2 full months without interest. 2 of my plain boring dogs are from breeders and 1 was an owner re-home. I have a hard time finding anything but the most attractive dogs in shelters and rescues lol

I strongly agree with this, whilst beauty IS in the eye of the beholder, I have been completely blown away - most weeks - by pound dogs that I think are absolutely stunning, beautiful and very lovable. I've been the proud foster carer/rescuer and/or owner of many such dogs. Don't want to bore everyone with tonnes of photos as proof but I've attached 2 PAWS foster dog pics - a Pom cross from Hawkesbury Pound (Celeste) - a more wonderful dog you simply could not have met and the delightful Biggles (Border Collie x) from Renbury Farm in 2012. Both the most amazing dogs, now rehomed.

Both were in need of vet work and tlc. This is why I will probably not be able to ever go to a breeder, these dogs would have died if not for PAWS helping them and that would have been an incredibly tragic waste of beautiful souls - they are just a drop in the ocean with regards to the dogs in the pounds.

Edited December 29, 2013 by dogmad

[dragonwoman]

I was part of a discussion recently where many people were implying that breeders were the main cause for overpopulation in animal shelters and that breeders and people who purchase purebred dogs were responsible for the death of 1000's of dogs each year that would have otherwise been adopted. The disturbing thing is that many of these people are working in the veterinary/pet industry.

I do not believe this is true at all.

The cause for over population in shelters is the irresponsible owners who dump them there in the first place.

These people are solely responsible for the death of these dogs. Its unfair to blame breeders or other potential dog owners. Sure, some breeders and owners are part of the larger problem but most of the responsibility lies with the owner who dumped/surrendered the dog.

Yes, buying a shelter dog is potentially saving a life but is not for everyone. I believe many shelter dogs would make suitable pets, some immediately and some with a lot of work. If you get a puppy, you run the risk of not really knowing how it will turn out in terms of looks, size or temperament. If you get an adult dog direct from a shelter again, you don't really know its temperament as the shelter environment often changes behaviour. An older dog will have had the opportunity to practice undesirable behaviours for months, even years and may take a lot of work to fix those behaviours.

True 'no kill' shelters are even more of a risk because they won't euthanise unsuitable dogs. With so many healthy, good tempered dogs out there needing homes, I don't believe there is a place for rehoming dogs with serious behavioural issues such as dog aggression, resource guarding, anxiety/phobia or human aggression.

A better option imo, is a rescue organisation who places dogs into foster homes before release. I rarely advise new owners to adopt straight from a pound. I know some people who would not have a dog if they could not get a dog from a responsible breeder. They have certain requirements which makes any random dog from the pound an unsuitable choice. Surely they should be commended not condemned for doing their research and only getting a dog that they are pretty sure will fit with their needs.

Personally I have no problems with a mixed breed dog, although my preference is for a purebred pup from a good breeder. I would look to going through a reputable rescue group though if I couldn't get a purebred.

[/q

One needs to establish by what they mean by "breeder" or even "registered breeder" If it comes down to dogs registered on the ANKC database, I believe the number ending up in rescue would be the minority of the total. I refuse to accept responsibility for dogs being put down, I didn't breed them and I didn't sell them to unsuitable homes. BTW I have "rescued" and owned all the rest of their long lives three of my breed, the first and probably most loved of all the dogs I have ever owned was a rescued crossbred.

[Staffyluv]

Over my life, we have had dogs from breeders, BYBers and pounds...

My current guy, Ziggy, is a pound mutt and after a bit of a rocky start with training - we are fine.. He has excelled at obedience, far beyond my expectations, has a wonderful temperament and really is a joy to have around..

I wouldn't recommend taking a dog directly from a pound to a novice dog owner - I would encourage them to a breeder or a rescue..

[wings]

Pure from a breeder or no dog for me.

My life can be kind of complex so the best chance I have of a complimenting dog occurs when I have selected the breeder, breeder, sometimes even the parents and then raise the pup. I also have minor allergies to be careful of and I know certain breeds can set me off.