I thought this was an interesting read...

[Shaykeija]

How to kill a shelter dog
On January 6, 2010 · 26 Comments · In General ....How to Kill a Shelter Dog

It’s really simple: Buy from an irresponsible breeder. I need you to hear this: If you buy from an irresponsible breeder, you are killing shelter dogs. YOU.

What’s an irresponsible breeder? Any breeder that does not breed as a caretaker and devotee of her particular breed, as shown by showing/trialing/titling (i.e., the dogs have a reason for existing and a measure of quality other than “because they’re cute”), health testing, and being involved in a community of her peers.

Where do you find irresponsible breeders? Flea markets; swap meets; newspaper ads; generic sites on the Web that list a bunch of breeders on the same page. They’re the guy at your office that let his girl dog get pregnant. They’re the friend of a friend who bred her miniature Australian Shepherd “just once.” They’re your cousin who thinks she can make some money by breeding her Chesapeake Bay Retriever to another registered Chessie. They’re the people with the plastic sign at the end of their driveway: “Yellow Labs: $250.” Some of them even have gorgeous websites and professionally produced graphics; many of them are wonderful people, members of churches, clean housekeepers. They don’t look like puppy mills or evil people. But hear this: I don’t care if the breeder is your best friend and you think her dog is just awesome and your kids love the puppies and there was a rainbow in her driveway when you came over to see the litter. If she is not a responsible breeder, go to any vet’s office and ask to see the big bottle of Euthanol and take a good hard look at it, then go to your shelter and pick out the six dogs that are going to get that needle because your friend bred her dog.

Learn to recognize the birdcall of the irresponsible breeder: “We focus on breeding happy, healthy pets.” “You don’t need a show breeder; you just want a pet.” “We don’t want our dogs ruined by the stresses of the show ring.” “I am going to breed her once and only once, just so I can keep a puppy.” “This mix offers the best of both worlds-the nonshedding poodle and the easy-going Lab” (or insert the two or three breeds of your choice). “Our pets are our babies – we breed only for temperament.” “Mom and dad vet-checked.” “Champion lines.”"Family-raised adorable pets.”

Learn to recognize the website of the irresponsible breeder: Dogs pictured lying down or playing. Males and females are called “mommies” and “daddies.” Puppies are often shown with props, or with hats on, or on a satin background. A special place in hell is waiting for those websites that show all the breeding females obviously pregnant or lactating (because, presumably, they are never NOT pregnant or lactating). There are no show pictures (where the dogs are “stacked” foursquare) or groomed pictures. The dogs have no achievements aside from looking cute. There’s usually a focus on external qualities: the biggest puppy, the smallest puppy, particular (often “rare”) colors, desirable hair textures or lengths.

So how does your purchase kill a shelter dog? Buying from an irresponsible breeder does several things: one, you’re buying a dog that you could have adopted instead. Irresponsible breeders don’t offer you anything that you can’t find at a shelter; they do not breed only the best to the best; they don’t warranty health or temperament; they don’t test and prove their dogs to demonstrate that their breeding stock looks, acts, or performs the way that breed should. So they are competing directly with the shelters in terms of putting dogs into people’s arms, and when people can buy a puppy instead of adopting an older dog, they virtually always do so.

Second, irresponsible breeders don’t just produce the puppy you brought home. That was one of a litter of perhaps six or eight. You gave them a pretty big check for almost no work on their part, so they’ll do it again. Maybe they’ll get a couple more bitches and make it a part-time job. So yeah, you may take this dog home and love it and never give it up, but your purchase encouraged the breeder to make thirty or forty or fifty more dogs. Can you guarantee that they all ended up in good homes? Can you be sure that they didn’t end up in shelters? The purebred dogs in shelters are the result of irresponsible breeders – yup, the same one you just handed a check to. It’s as simple as that.

Irresponsible breeders are going to keep on breeding until they cannot sell puppies. The market must end. That’s why it’s YOUR responsibility, not just theirs. The first time they have a litter of seven Labs who are all still chewing on kitchen cabinets at age one, having consumed several thousand dollars worth of food; the first time they have to raise an entire litter of Maltese until the patellas start to fail on all the dogs; the first time they get some of the pain and none of the dollars, they’ll reconsider doing this again. Until then, they will keep making puppies.

So what now?

There are exactly two ways to obtain a puppy or dog: adopt from a rescue, shelter, or pound; and buy from a responsible breeder who SHOWS (or trials) her dogs, who HEALTH TESTS (not “vet checks”), who INTERVIEWS YOU and who has standards for where she places her puppies-which means she may tell you no-who REQUIRES A WRITTEN CONTRACT including a puppy-back clause so your dog never ends up in a shelter or rescue, and who is open to PEER REVIEW and a member in good standing in her community (as shown by participation in a club or recommendations from other good breeders in the area). These are the qualities that set her apart as a responsible breeder, and they’re what keep your purchased puppy from adding to the statistics of homeless dogs.

[mummummum]

That is so well articulated Shay, it brought tears to my eyes.

How can we responsible animal guardians "make this go viral" ?

[Shaykeija]

Post in on facebook?

[Loki Love]

Originally Posted by Shaykeija

Post in on facebook?

Do you have the link to the comment/article itself? I would love to post it on my FB.

[14+kitties]

Originally Posted by Loki Love

Do you have the link to the comment/article itself? I would love to post it on my FB.

http://blacksheepcardigans.com/ruff/...a-shelter-dog/

[Loki Love]

Originally Posted by 14+kitties

http://blacksheepcardigans.com/ruff/...a-shelter-dog/

Thank you!

[Shaykeija]

sure do.....

http://blacksheepcardigans.com/ruff/...a-shelter-dog/

[Shaykeija]

lol we posted at the same time..lol

[Goldfields]

It's spot on. . Who wrote it?

[Shaykeija]

Part 2

This comment was given to the "How to kill a shelter dog" post; I will replicate it here because I think it's so important to respond to, but won't give the person's name or e-mail (after all, they did not ask to be singled out like this!)


Geez, this is WAY too sweeping! We bought a puppy from a sportsman with 5 chessies, and one litter. Met the mom and dad (both healthy and well trained, great temperments).
Our puppy is now 2 years old and a WONDERFUL dog. Well behaved, lovely, a dog of a lifetime. He's not quite show quality (topline is not straight enough). But he's not going to be bred. So why do you feel you need to go this far?
Shouldn't a better idea be to see the puppy at it's home, see it's mom and dad, talk to the person that's owns the litter? Even show dogs can have long term problems with health.
Let's not make love of a breed such a snobby affair so that only those bred from 'show lines' or 'champions' are considered worthy purebred pets .



This is EXACTLY what I am talking about.

Imagine that you came to look at a new house for sale. The agent said "I've sold fifteen of these; everyone just LOVES the brick facade and these are great houses to live in. Big closets, wonderful kitchens."

You look up at the house and the entire thing is listing to one side; the roofline shows a definite dip in the middle and shingles are already starting to buckle under the strain.

"But what about the roof? Isn't that a pretty bad sign? And the whole thing seems to be falling over!"

The agent responds "Why do you even feel the need to mention that? You're not going for the cover of Architectural Digest, are you? You just want to live in this house. The roof doesn't matter!"

Do you buy the house?

OF COURSE NOT. You'd be an rank idiot to buy that house and, furthermore, everybody knows that. The brick and the gorgeous kitchen is going to do you no good when the whole thing falls over in fifteen years. You know that the architect or the builder was at best clueless and at worst deceptive.

Why is it, then, that the exact same structural faults, when bred in by the "architect" of the litter, don't matter?

I am absolutely sure that your dog is a wonderful, wonderful dog. If you read this blog for any length of time you know that we are on the order of blinking bedlam in love with Ginny, who has more structural faults than you could list on a notebook page.

But here's the thing: ALL DOGS ARE WONDERFUL. The mind and heart of a dog is a mystical and astounding fit for the mind and heart of a man or a woman or a child, and even the worst dogs are endearing. The best dogs are life-changing. Nobody's arguing that you shouldn't love and bond with a dog who isn't as well-bred or well-structured as he or she should be.

The question is whether we should be deliberately producing MORE of those dogs.

Topline faults, like your dog has, are not because of a benign variation in the bones of the spine. Topline faults are the result of the OTHER bones being shaped incorrectly. Either the front (the assembly of the shoulder blade and the upper arm) is too far forward so the change in the direction of the vertebrae is exposed, or the angle of the stifle and hock is greater than the angle of the front and the dog literally trips over his front legs when he runs, so the dog has learned to pop up his loin to keep his rear out of the way of his front, or there is some other imbalance or lack of relaxation lower down in the body. Each of these imbalances affects the dog as he stands, or moves, or runs, and in each case some of his ability to be comfortable is gone.

You obviously adore your dog, which is fabulous. And you are going to watch out for him and make sure he's happy. But he doesn't exist in a vacuum. His mom probably had a similar topline fault. And she was asked to carry an extra twenty to thirty pounds (when she was pregnant) on a topline that was not as strong and supportive as it should have been. Breeders KNOW what pregnancy does to an iffy topline; it can break it down completely, leaving the bitch with not just a minor dip but a complete sway. And that contributes to injury, stiffness, arthritis, and so on.

And while he will never be shown or bred, his sisters quite possibly will be. And his brothers will be bred to other Chessies and pass on their own faults, faults that most assuredly do affect longevity and quality of life.

This kind of thing should be just as outrageous to us as a builder trying to sell a house with shingles falling off. It should tick us off; it should make us feel ripped off that somebody is out there selling living creatures who, through no fault of their own, don't have as good a chance at living a long and happy life.

It is NOT true that only champions should be bred. It IS true that breeders should have to prove that they are consistently and deliberately producing sound bodies so the wonderful doggy minds inside them can have a structure that allows them to do their job with ease and without pain. One way of doing that is showing; breeders who show are saying "This was not a fluke; this was my conscious effort because I understand how dogs are supposed to be built." Breeders can also do it by working their dogs, systematically and into old age and with some kind of element of peer review so there's somebody telling them whether it's working. This could be hunting or herding or doing schutzhund or flyball or one of MANY disciplines. The important part of it is not the name attached; it's having to show your dog to somebody who's going to say to you "See this? Neuter this dog" or "See that? Breed to that dog." Peer review forces us out of our own emotional attachments and makes us consider what we are doing in the context of the entire group or the entire breed; it also puts us next to people who have dogs who are MUCH better than ours are, which gives us something to strive for.

The reason I get so heated about this is not that I only love show dogs. Our rescues bring us great joy and a depth of experience that in some ways the show dogs will never touch; the deepest bond is saving a life, and when you absolutely know that you are the one who stood between this living creature and a premature death, it gets you right in the knees. What makes me mad is that it seems that everybody forgot the DOG in the conversation. It becomes what I want, or don't be unfair to that nice breeder, or are you saying I'm dumb for buying this dog, or aren't you such a snob.

Forget me, forget you, forget the breeder. Look at the dog.

He did not ask to be born; his parents did not fall in love and run through the field together. Somebody deliberately made him, and he had no choice in the matter. So it is the height of sin to make him in a way that means he does not have at least a decent chance of being comfortable, sane, whole, and happy for as long a life as he should have on this earth, and for his body to obey his brain with ease and joy. Please do not write a check to somebody who doesn't have that much consideration for him, or for his mother.

[Love4himies]

Originally Posted by Shaykeija

So what now?

There are exactly two ways to obtain a puppy or dog: adopt from a rescue, shelter, or pound; and buy from a responsible breeder who SHOWS (or trials) her dogs, who HEALTH TESTS (not “vet checks”), who INTERVIEWS YOU and who has standards for where she places her puppies-which means she may tell you no-who REQUIRES A WRITTEN CONTRACT including a puppy-back clause so your dog never ends up in a shelter or rescue, and who is open to PEER REVIEW and a member in good standing in her community (as shown by participation in a club or recommendations from other good breeders in the area). These are the qualities that set her apart as a responsible breeder, and they’re what keep your purchased puppy from adding to the statistics of homeless dogs.

So if a dog from a "responsible" breeder ends up in a shelter (owners die, owners get divorced, etc, etc.) and those who go to "responsible" breeders, rather than to the shelter to get a dog, that dog sitting in the shelter doesn't die?

Somebody who truly (and I mean truly) cares for a breed and not just their "superior" pups, does not want any of those dogs dieing in shelters, it's not the dog's fault they were born to unhealthy parents.

The other thing I get from this article, is if you find a purebred in a shelter, then it must be unhealthy, because healthy purebreds are only gotten from
responsible breeders and they do NOT end up in shelters contributing to the overpopulation of dogs/cats. There is such a stigma already attached to "shelter" dogs/cats and I don't think this article helps it.

Also, just because you win in the show ring, doesn't mean you have a healthy cat/dog or that your pet will not develop health issues down the road. Look at Himalayans and Persians and what the show ring has done to them. They end up with horrible sinus problems due to their "pushed in faces" (and personally I find them not as attractive as ones that don't quite conform to the "standards").

I just don't buy this "show ring" stuff. I think dogs (more so than cats because dogs are more likely to have "jobs") should be bred to be able to perform certain "tasks", that could be a mutt (Alaskan Huskies, for example) or a purebred.

To me, there is only one way to NOT kill a shelter dog and that is to adopt from a shelter.


Just my .
Whoops just realized it looks like I am directing my response to shay, but I'm not, it is to the article itself.


Yes, mods, I will be on my best behaviour

[Shaykeija]

LOL do not hang me up and whack me like a pinata..lol

[Love4himies]

Originally Posted by Shaykeija

LOL do not hang me up and whack me like a pinata..lol

I won't, I promise, you're a rescuer, so you're an

[TeriM]

Originally Posted by Love4himies

So if a dog from a "responsible" breeder ends up in a shelter (owners die, owners get divorced, etc, etc.) and those who go to "responsible" breeders, rather than to the shelter to get a dog, that dog sitting in the shelter doesn't die?

Somebody who truly (and I mean truly) cares for a breed and not just their "superior" pups, does not want any of those dogs dieing in shelters, it's not the dog's fault they were born to unhealthy parents.

The other thing I get from this article, is if you find a purebred in a shelter, then it must be unhealthy, because healthy purebreds are only gotten from
responsible breeders and they do NOT end up in shelters contributing to the overpopulation of dogs/cats. There is such a stigma already attached to "shelter" dogs/cats and I don't think this article helps it.

To me, there is only one way to NOT kill a shelter dog and that is to adopt from a shelter.

Interesting because that is not what I get when I read that article. I believe she is saying that either adopt from rescue or pound etc OR only buy from a responsible breeder. It is the byb and irresponsible breeders that contribute to the problem. Her defination of a responsible breeder also includes one that demands a dog is returned to her if the owners cannot keep.

http://blacksheepcardigans.com/ruff/...ould-have-had/
http://blacksheepcardigans.com/ruff/...rom-a-bad-one/

I actually regularly read that blog and imo she has some amazing advice and an incredible love for dogs. Unfortunately she also recently redesigned the blog which makes it harder to find some of the great posts but it is worth the time to read through a lot of the information.

I am in the process of purchasing from a responsible breeder. I have researched my breed of choice (vizsla) and the breeders. I could have easily got a puppy last year when we lost Lucy but I have chosen to wait until I could get a puppy from a responsible breeder. I know what to look for in large part from the wonderful information I have learned from this forum as well as from blogs such as the one posted here. I do understand and respect your opinion but please don't imply that I do not love the breed or dogs or I am an awful person if I buy instead of rescue.

[TeriM]

I just don't buy this "show ring" stuff. I think dogs (more so than cats because dogs are more likely to have "jobs") should be bred to be able to perform certain "tasks", that could be a mutt (Alaskan Huskies, for example) or a purebred.

I think the blog writer actually agrees with you on that ..

Breeders can also do it by working their dogs, systematically and into old age and with some kind of element of peer review so there's somebody telling them whether it's working. This could be hunting or herding or doing schutzhund or flyball or one of MANY disciplines. The important part of it is not the name attached; it's having to show your dog to somebody who's going to say to you "See this? Neuter this dog" or "See that? Breed to that dog." Peer review forces us out of our own emotional attachments and makes us consider what we are doing in the context of the entire group or the entire breed; it also puts us next to people who have dogs who are MUCH better than ours are, which gives us something to strive for.

[Love4himies]

Originally Posted by TeriM

Interesting because that is not what I get when I read that article. I believe she is saying that either adopt from rescue or pound etc OR only buy from a responsible breeder. It is the byb and irresponsible breeders that contribute to the problem. Her defination of a responsible breeder also includes one that demands a dog is returned to her if the owners cannot keep.

[

I understand the author's point, however IMO, there is only one way to save a shelter dog's life and that is to adopt for a shelter/rescue. I say this because there are only so many homes for dogs and cats. Homes are not created because a rep breeder decided to have a litter of pups.

If I was to pass away and I had a dog from a responsible breeder and had no family, would that dog go back to the breeder? I doubt it,the police would probably just take the dog to the pound. Also, if the dog is 10 years old, the breeder may also refuse it (has happened).

Secondly if I moved across the country and had to rehome my dog, would I ship it across back to the breeder, maybe, maybe not , who knows but it's out of the breeders hands unless she is in constant contact with ALL the families that he/she has adopted puppies to.

Thirdly, if you are looking for a dog and you adopt one from a "rep breeder" rather than adopting from a shelter, that shelter dog, who could have been adopted, may die, and that "rep breeder' keeps on producing more dogs . That is killing a shelter dog.

Maybe it's the accountant in me that sees only black and white numbers . X amount of homes and X+X+X+X dogs looking for homes. It just doesn't add up to keep breeding .


And, I didn't like him/her insinuating that shelter dogs are dogs that may health issues because they are from unrep breeders/mills. . I hear so many people say that to me when I suggest them going to the shelter/rescue that they think they are from mills/byb's and they don't want to adopt from there. . Very frustrating, indeed.