Oprah to investigate abuse at puppy mills REAIR May 29

[Seravieve]

Also I do not condemn anyone for going to a reputable breeder. I wouldn't go to any breeder for a dog though...I will always go to my local high kill shelter. I feel horribly for all the millions of dogs who are euthanized in shelters and until this problem is solved I think all breeders reputable or not should cut back on their breeding...

I feel the same way. I -personally- wouldnt go to a breeder, and I try to steer people to shelters when theyre looking for a new dog.. but I wouldnt look down on someone because they went to a breeder. A reputable breeder anyways.

I too would rather frequent the local shelters. I love my rescue doggies.

[Giselle]

If you are a reputable breeder, it is your duty to help homeless pets of your devoted breed. That's how I see it.

Most of the breeders I consider 'reputable' are very active in breed rescue and regularly foster/rescue. Their heart dogs are often (would you know it?) mutts from the local shelter.

I didn't catch Oprah's show, but did she talk about the ethics of breeding? i.e. backyard breeding ("I think Fido and Fifi should be bred just once for the kids to witness?")

[ParNone]

Always baffles me as to why rescuers and responsible breeders/owners need to be pitted against each other. We’re on the same side. Responsible breeders are trying to better the breeds. They screen potential buyers and require spay/neuter contracts and take back any dog to ensure their dogs don’t end up in rescue. Responsible breeders/owners are not adding to the problem.

I’ve always felt one of the great things about dogs is that they were bred to perform all kinds of different functions. That they can not only be wonderful companions and family, but are capable to work as partners with man in many endeavors, really sets them apart from other animals. That’s why we have seeing eye dogs and police dogs and herding dogs and search and rescue dogs, etc. and my favorite since I have Smooth Collies, Alzheimer Guide Dogs. They’ve tried different breeds but weren’t successful until they tried a Smooth Collie. They needed a breed with a high spatial sense for the most important “Home” command, which was key to the program for when the Alzheimer patient became confused and lost. For whatever reason, that highly desirable trait seems to be apart of the Collie breed. Do we want to stop purebred breeding and lose these types of things?

Rescuing definitely needs to be supported, but we can’t toss aside one of the things that makes dogs special, the different breeds and their functions, by not supporting responsible breeding too. To witness them going extinct would also be very sad indeed.

Par...

[DJFyrewolf36]

IMO breeds of dogs were created to serve a purpose. Responsible breeders make sure that thier lines produce dogs that serve that purpose. If everyone got dogs from a shelter and no one bred, what dogs would be used for hunting, hearding ect. Dogs work, and some are better at some jobs than others.
Adopting from a shelter is a great idea when looking for a companion animal but very rarely can they perform a specialzed job (there are cases where they have though!
And even if you adopt a shelter dog, you aren't saving all of them. Adopting from a shelter takes the same time, concidration and care as picking a breeder. You have to pick a dog that fits your situation. Blindly rescuing a dog could end up with the dog right back in the shelter, and often this is the case when people don't evaluate why they want a dog.
Responsiblity is the issue here, whether it be in breeding or in shelters. Shutting down breeders isn't going to make people any more responsible. Awareness of the issues are.

Edit: I just said basically the same thing you did, par lol.