Do your believe it's right to buy/sell pets?

If I was going to buy a dog or cat, I would never buy from a pet store or a "backyard breeder". Only from a reputable breeder. And the only reason I would buy from a breeder to get a purebred is because I needed the dog for a specific purpose other than being a pet. Such as a service dog. One of my dogs is a service dog, and when she retires I may train her successor myself... if I do, buying a specific breed from a reputable breeder is almost necessary to have any kind of chance of the dog being suitable for the work, health and temperament wise. Because even among purebred with good lineage, a small percentage of those dogs turn out to be suitable for service dog work. If I just want a pet, I definitely go to shelters. Besides, "mutts" have always been the best dogs I've had experience with.

But, I should mention that when it comes to buying a dog from a reputable breeder, I don't see it as "buying" or "selling" an animal. I see it as paying the breeder for their hard work in building a trustworthy and healthy lineage, and for their hard work in caring for the mother dog and the puppies for 2 months until they are ready to go to new homes. To me, I'm not really buying the dog. I'm buying the breeder's services and labor that went into bringing the dog into this world. The dog itself is adopted to me.. free, I welcome it into my home and pledge to care for it until the day it dies. I would only be paying it's "ticket" to get here in the first place.

 

have to agree with Catahoula here...I researched dog breeds endlessly before I bought my Shih Tzu to make sure I got a breed that would be compatible with me. I would be miserable if I got a dog that I wasn't compatible with (and the dog would be miserable too). I think I did the right thing for me at this time...my dog and I are wonderful friends, and she and I fit together personality-wise like hand in glove. It would have been heartbreaking to me to get a dog from a shelter, (with my general inexperience with dogs...see my earlier post in this thread) then not be able to meet its needs because of personality differences, and have to give it away again. I am all for reputable breeders, and I am also for getting animals from shelters (my cat is a former stray)...it just depends on what a person's situation is at the time.

 

Think of it in more of the terms of an adoption.

I don't have any animals myself right now, but years back, my husband and I had two cats that we totally worshipped. They were our kids. Everytime we went out, we'd stop at the pet store and pick them up some new toy mice or cat nip. Those cats were family members, not bought like slaves. I still miss them.

One day down the road I'd like to have another animal friend or two. They would be a part of the family, not just "pets".

 

If you are thinking of getting an animal, please check out this site first. I love this website!

http://www.petfinder.org/pet.cgi?action=v

 

You put that very nicely Bree - I couldn't quite find the words myself!

Sus, my grandma and papa have a little shi-tzu named Tia that they rescued from a puppy mill seizure in Manitoba. Even after all of that, she is still the sweetest little dog! Shi-tzus are cutie pies.

Elle, I love petfinder too. On another forum I frequent, sometimes I'll put a picture of the pet in my signature with a link, saying "adopt me!" Though no one on the forum has ever adopted one of them lol.

 

i see nothing wrong with buying a dog from a reputable breeder who spends all their money time and effort to make the breed better for show and quality.
I am getting my next puppy from abreeder... not sure of what breed but i will figure it out one day ..

i think puppymills and BYB are very ignorant people, alot of the time they dont even know what they are doing is wrong... i think that no kill shelters are a good place to adopt a dog or cat from.. but killshelters arnt a good thing to place your money into..


cheers

 

" am getting my next puppy from abreeder"

Can I ask why you are buying a dog from a breeder when there are dogs waiting at a shelter for a good home?

 

I am getting my next puppy/dog from a breeder for several reasons.
I want to be able to view the parents, and siblings. (pedigrees too).
I want to know that my pup is coming from a clean, pure health line and is going to be in the best health.
I want to be able to do showing with my purebred dog, with registration papers and pedigrees.
there are sooooooo many more reasons.
I would just prefer to get my next dog from a reputable breeder rather then a shelter or BYB.

 

I can only conjecture that "showing" a dog must compensate for some kind of really really deep neurosis.

 

Showing is alot of fun. It's awesome for socialization and obedience. A dog that is shown has to learn how to behave well around other dogs -- it is a great test for both you and your dog to see how well you've trained yourselves. Showing isn't for "status" and it certainly isn't neurotic - in fact it's incredibly difficult - It's not about how your dog looks -- that only plays a part -- it's how well your dog acts, and even more on how YOU act. As the handler, you get faults for what you do wrong. Dogs have just as much fun in the conformation ring as they do in agility or any other dog sport. If you go to a dog show or watch one on TV, you'll see how excited the dogs are, especially when the crowd cheers. However, there are a few things I'd change -- I'd like to see more altered classes in conformation groups. And I'd like to see more rare or miscellaneous classes.


Another thing I'd like to add; something that came up on another board. Breeding for guide dogs, or rescuing for guide dogs. My dog is going to be a therapy dog. He will have to complete his CGC and a variety of local therapy tests to ensure that he can do this. He will virtually have to have the temperment of a guide dog. The guide dog society both breeds and buys...Only 1 out of 8 shelter dogs complete the program -- including the puppies. 3 out of 4 of their bred dogs pass the program. Shelter dogs can carry alot of baggage or genetic tempermental flaws. That's why it's generally best, if you want to raise your own guide dog, to go to a reputable breeder or get a puppy from a guide dog society, rather than get one from a shelter. I watched a movie about a family that raised a guide dog. The first dog they had gotten to raise was from a BYB (where shelter dogs come from) and after alot of heartbreak they had to give the dog up. It wasn't bred to be a good example of the breed and therefore wasn't what they were looking for. Too hyper and neurotic. They then got their next dog from a reputable breeder, and all was fine. If you are looking for soley a companion, then a shelter dog is great. However, sometimes you need a dog bred for a specific purpose, such as guiding, then I say go to a reputable breeder. It means one less dog in the shelter when your dog just doesn't work out.

 

um...I think that just completely confirmed my hypothesis.

 

basically you cannot show a mutt, or a dog that has no papers...
I might get into showing...

 

Ok? I confirmed it by saying how much fun the dogs have? Letting your dog have fun is neurotic?


The catahoula show in California was just last week. I saw pictures, and it was awesome. The dogs were having a great time in the ring, baying hogs, treeing coons, doing obedience...It's fun to socialize and it's a great credential for your dog to have. People look more lightly upon dogs with great obedience skills. Catahoulas are illegal in some places -- it's always good to be more "involved" with a misunderstood breed. Dog sports are an awesome way to do this. I don't see how it's bad in any way. As long as both you and your dog are having fun...what's the big deal?

 

It's not any different than service dogs really. My service dog and all the ones I have worked with LOVE their jobs and their handlers. They are the happiest dogs I've ever met, a far improvement over the bored and frustrated pet dogs that just lay around with nothing to do all day. Desperate Housedogs, dude.

 

True. Nothing bothers me more than people who don't feed their pets' need for stimulation and activity!

I was just reading a news report the other day.....in some country ( i forget I think it was sweden or italy maybe) they just passed a law that requires all dog owners to walk their dog atleast 3 times a day. I think it's good.

 

I don't like how people get a dog, and keep it by itself with no other animal friends for it to socialise with. Then they go out half the day and leave the poor thing behind a huge fence or inside, so it has NO interaction with anyone...

 

My opinion on this whole issue is that, in general, I think it's not "wrong" really. But what I have a very serious issue with is the breeders that act as "pet mills". I agree with the idea of looking to humane societies, shelters, etc... first. I would have done so myself, but they didn't have what I was looking for.

Another thing that kills me (especially with birds, and I have strong feelings about birds because I have several) are t hose people who buy a pet without giving a moment's thought to what will go into caring for that pet. So either the animal ends up neglected or gets sold/given away somewhere down the line.

This seems especially common with birds, probably because they live so long. Cockatoos are the worst really - I would love to have one, but i cannot give them the amount of care they need, so I chose more "independent" birds - though they *still* need a lot of love and attention.

As birds get older, they tend to change their personalities. If not cared for, some of them start screaming for attention out of habit (VERY loudly), others will pull out their own feathers or even mutilate themselves when they are neglected. These birds can live nearly a century. My african grey will probably outlive me. People don't *think* about what is going to happen a couple years or a couple decades down the road with their newly purchased pets. This is the sort of thing that REALLY upsets me.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. As for other animals besides birds, I guess the same applies.

And if you're going to buy a "pet", don't. BUT... If you're going to buy a companion that might be with you for a lifetime - a companion you're willing to sacrifice your time, energy, and money for - then you've probably got the right idea.

 

i think selling pets is ok if you're not in it for the profit. The animals will probably be happier with a nice family. But i guess too often people are just mean and dont care about how the animals feel

 

_We have no shelters in my country, so what should we do then? Not get a pet?

If you are in a position to adopt a pet do so, I have adopted dogs I've found in the street, I've purchased dogs, from breeders that cry whenever they have to give/sell one of their little ones away, & I've received dogs that have been purchased as gifts. These dogs are the same in my eyes, my babies.

Not all breeders that are making profit from their sales are evil. All the breeders I know are amazing parents to their pets & they sell them as a way to survive, just like you might decide to sell your paintings, or clothes you make.

It all boils down to, what is the attitude towards the breeding. If the enviroment is a loving one, in which the dogs involved -mother& father- are healthy & happy and the puppies are also happy & healthy & nothing is inhumane, why would I oppose someone making profit from that?

 

a reputable breeder will sell puppies/dogs and not make any profit from it, because it is very expensive to show, raise and take pups to the vet. .. .