Why dont people get dogs from rescues?!

Yes, you see those breeds in rescues. But the breeds that there aren't so many of (gsp's, vizlas etc) are not often seen in non specific breed rescues.
 
Spot_the_Risk said:
Hang on - if you ban all breeding (how would you enforce that?) for five years, the bitches which start the breeding programme again will be at least six years old, a little old for a first litter.
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obviously I know its unrealistic, but a more realistic approach would be to shut down all puppy farms and breeders who are breeding dogs with health problems. so there are only the reputable breeders left.
 
hollieeb said:
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This has all got blown out of proportion, I did not mean to be offensive towards anyone and if you took my comments offensively then sorry. However this is a forum and things may not come across as they intend to.

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I've read most of the posts, and I can't see how others can be offended at your thoughts.

You have your opinions, you've stuck to them, and I'm genuinely impressed. The fact that I don't agree, is (or should be) of little importance to you.

Consider my thoughts, if you will, but never walk away from your beliefs, and never be fearful of contradiction. In time, you may come to agree with me, but then you may not. Keep an open mind, always. ;)

Alec.
 
hollieeb said:
obviously I know its unrealistic, but a more realistic approach would be to shut down all puppy farms and breeders who are breeding dogs with health problems. so there are only the reputable breeders left.
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In which case what is wrong with people choosing to buy from reputable breeders from dogs with all of the relevant health tests?
 
Moogleberry said:
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No reputable breeder would sell a dog without full health tests, also, a reputable breeder will always take a pup/dog back if the owner can't keep it hence it should never be in rescue.
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In an ideal world, then that would be so, BUT, I sell a puppy to someone who makes a mess of it. Do I then take back a raving lunatic, or a dangerous dog? Actually, I probably would, and if I felt that it was beyond repair, then I would probably send it off to heaven.

The person who sells a car or a dog or a house or a gas cooker, is only responsible for the article or animal up to the point of the sale. What the buyer does with their purchase is entirely up to them. I'm really sorry, but that's the way of the world. Horrid, isn't it?

Alec.
 
Alec Swan said:
I've read most of the posts, and I can't see how others can be offended at your thoughts.

You have your opinions, you've stuck to them, and I'm genuinely impressed. The fact that I don't agree, is (or should be) of little importance to you.

Consider my thoughts, if you will, but never walk away from your beliefs, and never be fearful of contradiction. In time, you may come to agree with me, but then you may not. Keep an open mind, always. ;)

Alec.
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Thankyou, of course, in life we all come across people who have different opinions to us and that will never change. at the moment I know I will never go to a breeder- but in 50 odd years, who knows? I always have an open mind however this subject is very close to my heart and I feel strongly about it.
 
I agree that more people should look at homing rescue dogs, but I also want to speak up for pedigrees. I've bred two litters of Golden Retriever pups in the past. We all have our favourite breeds, (or even 'types' if it's a cross breed) and if dogs weren't bred then we would eventually lose our wonderful diverse breeds. In fact, if it wasn't for indiscriminate and accidental breeding there wouldn't be so many rescue dogs. This is only my view, not a criticism, as I like various types of cross breed and mongrels too, and they are often healthier and longer lived than some pedigrees.
 
As many others have said, alot of people wont even try to rehome from a rescue because of the ridiculous conditions they impose on prospective new owners.

There is a rescue fairly local to me who will only rehome a dog with a bitch and vice versa. I currently have two bitches and a dog so that counts me out straightaway! Another one I was looking at via another forum stipulated that not only did you have to have a properly fenced garden but you had to have a divided front and back garden too.

I also think that the term 'rescue' can be very misleading as it implies dogs which have terrible pasts full of mistreatment, starvation and cruelty. Sadly, although there are dogs like this, lots of dogs in rescue are there because of family breakup, change of circumstances, new baby etc and actually don't have the baggage people assume they will.

My first Dalmatian came from a rescue (many years ago!!) and she was the most beautiful and gentle girl with impeccable breeding who ended up in rescue as her owners were divorcing.

My breed of choice is a Dalmatian and I have been lucky enough to 'rescue' several over the years, through word of mouth, breed rescue, rescue centres and the dreaded preloved. (Although I did buy a puppy once!)
 
Alec Swan said:
In an ideal world, then that would be so, BUT, I sell a puppy to someone who makes a mess of it. Do I then take back a raving lunatic, or a dangerous dog? Actually, I probably would, and if I felt that it was beyond repair, then I would probably send it off to heaven.

The person who sells a car or a dog or a house or a gas cooker, is only responsible for the article or animal up to the point of the sale. What the buyer does with their purchase is entirely up to them. I'm really sorry, but that's the way of the world. Horrid, isn't it?

Alec.
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I totally see your point regarding taking back a problem dog.....my experience come from breed showing many years ago and more recently (last 10 years) dog agility. I have always bought from reputable breeders who breed small numbers of litters of DNA tested, hip scored, hearing tested eye tested pups and they will always take a dog back. Of course I agree in an ideal world it wold always be like this. I think a lot of good has been done to educate people to avoid puppy farms and bad breeders. I have always had to answer as many questions as I asked when I first approached a breeder and I have never re homed any dog I have owned... I think there is a duty of care from the breeder to find the right home and the prospective owner to source a responsible breeder.
 
My nanna wanted to get a rescue after losing her elderly terrier. She said rather than buy one shed give a little soul a second chance. So off we went trailing round rescue centres looking for (but not rigidly) a small-medium sized dog, over a year old, she would have even taken an elderly dog. We saw many small-medium sized dogs, the descriptions on the kennel door did not match when we asked for more info... For example on kennel door of a 4yo cairn terrier "meet Fred, he's a cheeky little fella who is looking for a mature home and a quieter life" excellent right?

Well no after further digging that staff told us "well he's food aggressive, aggressive with strangers, not house trained, is destructive and can't be left in the house at any time on his own, he's also been in 3 different homes in 18 months".

We also had ridiculous requirements expected of us and we trailed around for 6 weeks looking for a suitable rescue. I have to say I didn't find the staff particularly helpful.

In the end (for the same price as an adoption fee!) my and my aunt bought her a JRT pup. Nanna happy, pup is now 2 and is a much loved family member.

I certainly wouldn't look down on any responsible dog owner - regardless of whether the dog is a rescue or not.
 
Our 11year old bitch is a rescue. We have had her for 6 years. (We also had a boxer cross from rescue many years ago).Our 10year old dog died from cancer earlier this year& we have just got a pup from a breeder purely because we wanted our next dog
to be directly related to the gorgeous boy we lost earlier this year. It's that simple. We may well rescue again but have to say that,as we have young children,I never felt at ease as much with our rescued dog&the children,as I did with our boy we had from a pup. We are an experienced dog family&my kids are extremely well versed in how to(&not to!) treat dogs but given that our rescue has growled/snarled at me a few times (not for years now tho,she's a sweet old lady!) I always had that slight doubt about her&did not trust her in the same way. She had been mistreated,not her fault&it was only a few times but,with kids in the house,it's just a whole different ball game...If I didn't have kids,no probs-I'd have a house full of rescues ;D .
 
Also,my sis rescued a lab cross(looked like dome collie or whippet in her). She's passed away from old age now but she was tricky! Hated men,not brilliant with any kids outside of the family ie not our kids,was usually dog aggressive(especially to bitches) and tried to take a chunk out of a passing hiker's rucksack,the window cleaner(he was terrified of her,before and after!),a kid in a shop queue who tried to pet her& actually bit a door-to-door salesman on the thigh. Sis was lucky no-one ever pursued her. She was a sweet dog in the house(99% of the time!) but I never let my kids put their faces too near her. :-/ But with our dogs we've had from pups,they've had the joy of getting down for a cuddle with their faithful friend and I know,(as much as you ever can),that all will be well.
 
hollieeb said:
I dont agree with breeding full stop. if that would be puppy farms or reputable breeders. There are way too many dogs in the world who need forever homes so why breed more?
why pay ££ for a puppy when you can rescue one?
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Then how do you propose certain breeds can survive? As someone else has mentioned, certain breeds are rare and just cannot be found in rescue centres. We have bred working beardies, which are even rarer than show beardies and the working beardie society exists solely because the breed is in danger of dying out so do you still propose we stop breeding them and get a Jack Russell from a rescue centre so that one dog can have a nice home at the expense of a whole breed?
 
We have always had dogs, ever since I can remember there have been dogs about. Mostly working sheep dogs as we kept sheep. Our last collie died a while ago and I have been dogless for the first time ever for a couple of months now.
I thought as we didn't really need a working dog I'd get a rescue dog. Well, what a palarver, we have had numerous home checks from all sorts of rescue groups, understandable and obviously required. I don't want to pay a fortune though, for bull terrier cross, they seem to be crossed with everything, turn the place into an escape proof fortress to comply with rescue rules. What happened to training.
Anyway, I'm getting more sheep now so I'll buy a collie.
 
I am irritated by the Op's implication that people who buy from breeders will abandon them.

When my kids were small we bought a wheaten terrier, we researched the type, size and temperament of the dog we wanted, and kept her till she died at 14.

The next dog (parson JR, not pedigree) was bought from the breeder because we had seen and liked a relatives dog from the same bitch. She is currently 7 years old, we have overcome a problem with her training, and dealt with health issues that have arisen; she's fantastic.

We looked at our local rescue, full of big dogs, neurotic collies and old dogs that simply were not suitable for our household so we didn't get as far as being told we were not suitable because we didn't fit their criteria.

Getting a dog from the rescue home is very laudable, but it doesn't suit everyone.

Getting a dog and casually discarding it isn't good. especially if the behaviour is repeated. Interesting question is how this could be tackled?
 
Im a bit mystified by the anti- breeder stance too. My family breed Welsh Springer spaniels. Our breeding is far from indiscriminate - we have a litter every few years, and my father spends a long time selecting the right dog to use on our bitch. Every litter has been sold before the puppies are born, to people my father approves of. We've bred show champions (incl a Best of Breed at Crufts), field trials champions, and some that were just super pets. Tell me OP - What is wrong with that?
Do you mean breeders? Or do you mean puppy farms, and /or the people who decide to have a litter of mongrels from their bitch,and their mate's dog. That to me is where the problem lies - not with the people who breed healthy pedigree animals from carefully selected bloodlines.

Incidentally, I have had a rescue dog, and he was legendary - a truly fantastic dog. Eventually... He was the Oliver Reed of the dog world, and was a complete nightmare for several years until we reached agreement about acceptable behaviour. Not a dog for the fainthearted/inexperienced.

I would have another rescue, but I would go to a breed society rescue, so that I knew what I was getting, how it was bred, and that I was getting the breed of dog I favour.
 
hollieeb said:
I dont think anyone should get rescue dogs just to feel superior. However when someone asks me where my dog is from I feel proud to say "he's a rescue". I then ask them the same question and they say from a breeder- sounds harsh but I do feel a lot better about myself and bigger than the other person. IMO before you all start again!!
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lol so you shouldn't get a rescue just to feel superior but having a rescue makes you feel 'a bigger person':rolleyes: you want to join dogpages, you'd fit right in!
 
Surely it depends on circumstances too? I like big dogs, pyreneans, dobermans, rotties etc. I have a doberman x who was a rescue from before daughter was born. But unless I already knew the dog, I wouldn't take in an adult of any of those breeds, I need to know a dog is fine with not just my child, but her friends & my dog. Eg it would need to be predictable temperament wise. I'd consider small/medium adult rescues though.
 
Ibblebibble said:
lol so you shouldn't get a rescue just to feel superior but having a rescue makes you feel 'a bigger person':rolleyes: you want to join dogpages, you'd fit right in!
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I've already explained this in a previous comment..

why would anyone get a rescue to feel superior? I get a rescue for the dog, and for the dog only!! I am proud to tell people both my dogs are rescues because if you look at them now you would never believe one was left on a balcony for days with no food and the other was very very very over weight.

Maybe I worded it wrong. everyone judges each other, like it or not. And the experience I have had with people buying from breeders + the experience I have had within rescues DOES make me Judge. maybe my judgement is wrong and I accept that, but in my eyes rescues will always come above dogs from breeders
 
hollieeb said:
I've already explained this in a previous comment..

why would anyone get a rescue to feel superior? I get a rescue for the dog, and for the dog only!! I am proud to tell people both my dogs are rescues because if you look at them now you would never believe one was left on a balcony for days with no food and the other was very very very over weight.

Maybe I worded it wrong. everyone judges each other, like it or not. And the experience I have had with people buying from breeders + the experience I have had within rescues DOES make me Judge. maybe my judgement is wrong and I accept that, but in my eyes rescues will always come above dogs from breeders
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So what about the breeders who run breed rescues?
 
Pale Rider said:
Love this:)
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He was truly a great dog! Still look back on his rampaging with a wry grin!

Looks pretty innocent huh? Sooooo wasnt!
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This has been said before I know but the OP is only young and I suspect will develop a more balanced outlook as she goes through life. I really don't understand the anti breeder stance, just what does it achieve. Someone recently shared a link with me to a fb page entitled "I hate dog breeders", charming eh :(
Stopping breeding for even 5 years would wipe out some breeds. In Lancashire Heelers there were only 98 puppies registered last year,stop breeding them for 5 years and not many more years after that there wouldn't be any left, is that what you really want for some of the vulnerable breeds hollieb?
 
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