Breeders, the responsible ones as opposed to puppy mills & BYBs, have zero financial interest at stake. We breed, raise, train and exhibit dogs because its an addiction, and we lose money hand over foot on it. I’ve turned down sales, bought dogs back without requiring a reason from the person it was sold to and given pups/dogs to people for free or the price of shipping.
Those with a financial interest in dogs will have pups at almost any time. Breeders in it for the best interests of their breed and dogs in general have one or two litters at year, if that. And yes, they will tell you to buy from a breeder because a good breeder will always be there for you no matter what - no shelter can do that and no puppy mill wants to.
It helps if you actually have some background on a subject before you, uh, preach it…
No breed is “prone to biting”, but some do tend to inherit a much stronger bite inhibition, such as the retriever breeds. The sporting breeds also tend to need quite a bit of mental and physical exercise, as do most of the hound breeds. Something else to consider is the amount of hair a prospective owner wants to deal with, as some breeds shed quite a bit, while others need to be clippered regularly. Some breeds are naturally noisy.
All of these things are not things one can easily determine ahead of time when looking at the average dog in a shelter.
I am not a breeder, and every one of my dogs is a pound mutt. I have zero financial interest in promoting them. I do, however, have the great pleasure of knowing some good breeders, and I very much enjoy going to dog shows and meeting people there.
Good breeders DO NOT make money on their dogs. HA! Far from it. They lose tons of money. In a very good litter they may break even, but that’s about it. Puppies absolutely do not subsidize shit. They rarely even pay for themselves!
Really, if all you know are back yard breeders or puppy mills, i can see why you would have a bad view, but read up on good breeders, people who love dogs and work in rescue and dedicate their lives to their breed. It is a beautiful thing, and it really kills me when I see people talk so disparagingly about a group that does so much work for dogs.
ETA: unfortunately, there is not a huge web presence for breeders of the type I am talking about. There is a stigma that a good breeder doesn’t need to advertise. But, if you’ve never gone, go to a dog show! You can meet lots a great people and learn so much.
I guess it would, indeed, be ridiculous if someone had claimed that everyone was going to stop adopting puppy mill pups at the same time. Fortunately for you, you can rest easy, because nobody has done so.
Well, you’re an angry pup, aren’t you? Could we leave personal attacks out of this, please. I assure you I haven’t kicked your puppy or anything.
The sentence you quoted began with a conditional, as it was reply to a call for everyone to engage in said boycott. It discusses a hypothetical. It certainly doesn’t say that I’m of the opinion that the whole world is going to actually do it.
No. A GOOD breeder has the money to do it independently or they shouldn’t be doing it. This is true in ANY breed and ANY species. The sale of puppy/kitten/pony does not even pay for the cost of raising it, let alone subsidize the breeding animals. Not if you’re feeding top quality food, doing veterinary checks, vaccs, etc.
My advice is going to be: if you DO get the dog, get a young adult dog from a rescue, not a shelter. Rescues usually keep their dogs in home environments with foster families, many of them with children, other dogs, and cats so they can tell you how the dog behaves with those groups, and usually gets them a head start with housebreaking/basic obedience.
Fence the yard.
And most importantly find a positive-method dog trainer near you (no collar-jerking/hitting/alpha rolling) and enroll in a puppy or basic class. Seriously, do this. It’s amazing how much you and the dog will learn in a group environment.
Did you see what I wrote? Unethical breeders give their puppies to rescues and shelters if they do not sell. Meaning, you can get the exact same dogs in a rescue or shelter, without giving financial incentive to amoral breeders to keep breeding. If you buy a puppy from an unethical breeder you are NOT saving a dog; you are damning many many more puppies (not to mention the adults used for breeding).
Yes, I saw it. It’s an excellent point. You wrote it after the post we’re discussing.
Rachelellogram is attacking me because she thinks I think that everyone in the world is likely to stop buying breeder puppies simultaneously. I was attempting to explain that what I said at the time was not that.
Google Dogs101 and go to Animal Planet on Discovery. Lots of REALLY great info there and the videos are addictive! There’s also a quiz you can take that will tell you what breed would be best suited for you. (There are breeds out there who can handle being alone.)
Since you already have cats, I strongly recommend working with a rescue organization that fosters its dogs prior to adoption. The rescue will generally have a very good sense of how each of its dogs handles things like cats, young children, being alone, etc.
cwSpouse and I are big fans of older dogs. They’ve grown out of their puppy craziness, and because they’ve already matured, you don’t have to wonder what they’ll be like when they grow up.
Thanks for all the input. We are going to figure out the fence situation and research local rescue organizations. We are not in a big hurry to add to the household, so we have plenty of time to think through all the options.
Now. Who knows a good contractor who can install a fence?
It’s a hypothetical. Hypotheticals are often unrealistic thought experiments.
Please leave me alone. I wasn’t even talking to you. If you don’t like that I responded with a hypothetical, I’m truly very, very sorry to have upset you so. It certainly was not my intention. Please, please forgive me, rachellelogram, and direct your anger elsewhere.
Puppy sales? Trying to break even on cost? Sounds like financial interest to me. I didn’t say “making money hand over fist,” but I did imply “interested in moving product,” which indeed seems to make you “happy.”
It’s still not a financial interest in that I don’t pay any attention to how much money I make selling pups. If I had a financial interest in it, I’d breed more often, charge more and not give pups away. And no, I am not trying to break even on the costs of producing a litter, most of the time I don’t even get close. But since I am only interested in producing the best I possibly can, what it costs is a non-issue.
The buy from a breeder slogan is more aimed at trying to get people to realize that a far better quality animal is available out there, and that it will come with a life time of support. Not everything in the world is about money.
