Oprah to investigate abuse at puppy mills REAIR May 29

[3muttsandaboston]

I am actually very good at saying things with a straight face. Especially when I have seen so many people find that their pound puppies weren't physically fit enough to run and play. Of course they love their dogs and continue to do whatever is necessary to keep them healthy comfortable and safe. They will continue to go the the shelter and support the shelter, but when looking for a dog for a purpose, they will find someone who knows all of the intricacies of proper breeding. Let us hope that dog breeds don't all tangle into a mash of dogs found at shelters with no identifying breed characteristics or health standards.

Personally, I would much rather get rid of all of the puppy mills, backyard breeders, and unaltered pet/multi-breed dogs out there. But, you go ahead and continue your cry against responsible breeding. Maybe you will get your wish one day, and all of the reputable breeds will cease to exist. I, personally, would be shocked if that put an end (or even made a significant dent in) the need for animal shelters, and yes even euthanasia. But please do go on and continue to enjoy that "attitude" of yours. It seems to be working well.

Not trying to be rude or anything but are you saying that all shelter dogs are unhealthy? It sounds as though you are trying to stop people from adopting from a shelter... My two aren't they are very healthy and I'm proud of them. I wouldn't trade them for any purebred and I will never ever go to a breeder just because in my heart I know if I do a shelter dog dies. My dog Lucy is very energetic and healthy she runs beside my bike. She is definatly Physically fit enough to run and play.

[Ginger's Mom]

It sounds as though you are trying to stop people from adopting from a shelter...

No I am not. You quoted the whole post but didn't read the whole post. As I said in the post they continue to support and work with the animal shelter. As I have said in earlier posts both of my girls are rescues, and my next dog will be also. But as I have also said repeatedly, until most people are sick of hearing me say it in this thread, is that if you are going to get a dog for a purpose, it is nice to have breeders that are actually doing their homework, spending their money and taking their time to make sure that the dog is fit to perform the work it will be doing. Yes, I know there are no guarantees in life, but it sure is nice that someone cares enough about dogs to make sure they are healthy and fit enough not to suffer due to insufficient skeletal structure, bad knees or hips, degenerative eye problems, or whatever, because of it. Rescue dogs make wonderful pets. Many have done very well in agility, flyball, obedience, etc. Many have suffered from knee problems, hip problems, heart problems, and cataracts. To tell people that there is never a good reason to contribute to and help perpetuate the breeding of healthy dogs by reputable breeders is not stance of someone who truly cares about dogs.

[3muttsandaboston]

No I am not. You quoted the whole post but didn't read the whole post. As I said in the post they continue to support and work with the animal shelter. As I have said in earlier posts both of my girls are rescues, and my next dog will be also. But as I have also said repeatedly, until most people are sick of hearing me say it in this thread, is that if you are going to get a dog for a purpose, it is nice to have breeders that are actually doing their homework, spending their money and taking their time to make sure that the dog is fit to perform the work it will be doing. Yes, I know there are no guarantees in life, but it sure is nice that someone cares enough about dogs to make sure they are healthy and fit enough not to suffer due to insufficient skeletal structure, bad knees or hips, degenerative eye problems, or whatever, because of it. Rescue dogs make wonderful pets. Many have done very well in agility, flyball, obedience, etc. Many have suffered from knee problems, hip problems, heart problems, and cataracts. To tell people that there is never a good reason to contribute to and help perpetuate the breeding of healthy dogs by reputable breeders is not stance of someone who truly cares about dogs.

I did read your post and to say that most shelter dogs are too weak to run and play is crazy. The woman who I board my dogs with/trainer has all rescue shelter dogs and these dogs all do flyball, agility, and frisbee and many of them are still doing it in their teens. Shelter dogs if you actually look at them and meet them can make perfect pets for anyone whether you want a service dog or a working dog. This is just my opinion though and of course I do not care at all if people go to a breeder as long as it's a good breeder. My little dachshund that lives with my grandmother for now came from a show breeder and was given to her because he had a parrot mouth.

Any dog can have health problems. Bulldogs can't even reproduce or give birth without help for heavens sake. Dachshunds have back problems and most shar peis have to have eyelid surgery to correct their eyelids. People need to ease up on breeding working dogs. Honestly I think we need to start breeding more for companion dogs and less for working dogs. 99% want a companion dog but some mistakenly get a border collie or some other working breed and it ends up recking their house. Yes there are rare occasions where someone needs a herding dog because they have a flock of sheep. This isn't all directed at you ginger's mom this is mostly just contributing to the whole thread.

Back to the subject of puppy mills. They are horrible and need to be stopped. Kennel clubs need to stop providing papers for these puppies.

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

I watched parts of the show and thought it was pretty well done. I was worried it was going to be 100% anti-breeder, but it wasn't... which was great. I hope it affects/educates some people - it'd be great if people would stop buying from pet stores.

Powerlounger, it is quite obvious to me that you don't know any reputable breeders. Any reputable breeder I know has lost money in breeding, or broke even in the end. They are most certainly NOT breeding to make money. They're trying to improve their breed. Lots of breeders I know also rescue. I don't feel guilty in the slightest for getting Dance from a breeder (though I do wish I had waited and got a toller from a bit of a better breeder, but evenso, I didn't support a mill/BYB when I got her). I don't feel guilty at all for getting Keira from a breeder either. I personally wouldn't be happy if all there was in the dog world were poorly bred mixed breeds everywhere and no purebreds. I'm not a purebred snob (in fact, my best dog was a mix), but I feel that having purebreds in society is very important.

As far as your "adopt, never buy" statement, I haven't had much luck with adopted dogs. Winston's excellent temperament wise, but his hips and such aren't very good. The other dogs we've adopted have all had horrible temperaments, and the dogs I got from BYBs/accidental litters (before I knew better) died before 5. Dogs in shelters and rescues are always from BYBs/mills/accidental litters. Reputable breeders are not the cause. That's not to say I'm against getting dogs from rescues or shelters, as I'm not at all. And I know that not all dogs from rescues/shelters are unhealthy or have poor temperaments. I know a lot of wonderful shelter dogs and often try and convince people to go to the local shelters around here to try and find a dog. I'll probably have more adopted dogs in my life, but I will also have responsibly bred dogs because I want to know that my dog will have a sound temperament and hopefully be in good health for a long time. That, and I can't imagine not having tollers in my life and very, very rarely will you find one in a shelter. Even breed rescue only gets in a handful of tollers every year.

Anyhow, I probably didn't have to type all of that out as I basically agree 100% with everything Ginger's Mom has said already and she said it better than I did.