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Reputable Breeders versus Rescue

That’s not “poop happens”
That’s being an irresponsible pet owner & not watching an in season bitch. :woman_facepalming:

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I agree @mommy_peanut.

That is like someone posted on facebook that their brother/sister intact dogs had tied and it was all his fault, he jumped her (and it included all of the 'he should know better, it is his sister).

Bitch in season means watch 100% of the time when they are anywhere not secured away from other dogs. That includes your backyard, because clearly other dogs can get in.

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Female dogs in heat will sometimes jump out and over backyard fences to roam. Even tall 6 ft. privacy type fences.
Yes you needs eyes on them constantly, never let them out of sight.

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I can’t stand this!!! The viral videos on the dodo of dogs and cats that have literally no limbs left and have to learn how to hobble around on a makeshift wheelchair…. It’s insane.

I will say I recently was perusing petfinder.com just for funsies and I was actually shocked at how expensive some of the adoption fees are. Like I’m talking $500-$600 for a random mutt breed rescue dog!!! It’s obviously not as much as buying a puppy but it still seems like a lot to me

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I never knew that people who hunted preferred to keep their dogs intact for non-breeding reasons, until I read this thread and Googled.

(Not relevant to me, I’d just assumed it was for breeding reasons. Or bias against spaying an neutering.)

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Some “men” see neutering their male dogs as an affront to manlihood, not sure if it’s theirs or the dog’s. :frowning_face:
I see it often here in the South.

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Yeah, I think that’s always been the case! The man sees the male dog as an extension of himself. Dude, if you can’t handle the responsibility (and have no reason to have an intact dog), get a female dog!

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Also many rescue organizations have a checklist of questions to eliminate less than perfect adopters.
Despite having a farm/acreage totally fenced and gated, and many years of experience with different breeds
and training, volunteering at several shelters, I was still turned down for being “retired”- implying I was too old.
County Shelters are still the best bang for the buck, IMO. Fully vetted, spayed or neutered dogs
cost me $ 10. and $75. for purebred GSDs.

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There are many reasons not to spay or neuter early, or at all. You’re altering their hormones before they’re physically mature, which has consequences, especially in large breeds. Unspayed females do run the risk of pyometria, so would recommend an ovary sparing spay for them. Keep the hormones intact, no risk of uterine infection. I suppose for those that can’t be bothered to keep track of their animal at all times, there’s also doggy vasectomies available.

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Turned down for being retired!!! That’s absolutely insane.

It’s super annoying to me when rescues require a fenced in yard because then that gives people license to leave their dog out in the yard for hours at a time, barking at everything and being a nuisance and also miserable and bored. I don’t have a fenced in yard but I walk my dog three times a day! Like I get the intention but come on people

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My mini Aussie was a rehome; my ex-husband would always call her a rescue which I never felt comfortable saying. She came from a family that had a pair of older mini Aussies and decided to get two younger ones from the same breeder. No one was spayed or neutered and one of the young ones got their older female pregnant :woman_facepalming:

Two merles too at that. These people had no clue.

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Bite me :smiley:

I did my thing, and my yard was invaded.
But thanks for playing.

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I have not heard this, but then again, most of the people I know who enter competitive hunting events don’t spay/neuter because they might consider breeding them. Even if they have no specific plans, there isn’t a good reason to alter a performance dog or bitch if they can be properly supervised.

While most people I know do spay their bitches eventually, they don’t typically do it early because pyo is really the main concern - and while it is dangerous, it’s not extremely common in young, healthy bitches. (Although all owners of intact bitches should understand what it is and be aware of the symptoms.)

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About twelve years ago I wanted to get a couple of dogs. I had been dogless while I helped my mom through her last illness. She made me promise to get another dog. I had wanted a Cavalier, and figured I could first find a small adult rescue since you generally have to wait for a Cavalier puppy. So I was on a list with a Cavalier breeder while I looked through rescue sites. Some of them were just crazy with the requirements! There were very few smaller dogs that had the potential for being good with a small breed puppy. (I didnt want a larger dog after having difficulty managing my 60 lb dog when he was sick) So I ended up with two Cavalier puppies! :smiley:

Once those dogs had passed, I waited a bit before thinking about another dog. Once again I was checking rescues and Cavalier breeders. I finally found a breeder but it would involve driving ten hours round trip and I didnt know if my back could stand it. Then I found a little puppy found in a box of puppies in Louisiana and brought to RI by a rescue. He was a pediatric neuter (Four pounds and undescended - couldnt have been easy!) puppy shots and microchipped. This time I opted for the rescue (which was easy to work with) and got my little demon dog!

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My mom, who was a small scale breeder of labs had considered keeping her last bitch intact after her last litter. They weren’t competing anymore, and all of the other dogs that they hunted with were female. Had never had any issues before, until they were out for a walk one day while she was in heat. A loose intact male Rottweiler appeared. My mom was trying to run home while basically dragging the bitch, all while trying to beat the rottie off with a stick.
Never saw the dog again, she suspects it belonged to a cottager and must have gotten loose from the marina.
Anyway, scared her enough that she decided to take her in for a spay ASAP.

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Importing plays an important role in keeping the bloodlines from getting too close. When a breeder knows what they want, they do their best to find those qualities from as wide of a gene pool as possible.

In my area at least, the working breeders routinely import and actively maintain relationships with overseas breeders.

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That’s correct. And some import also for getting new show lines as well as working lines, even if not for breeding.
Same as in the warmblood horse world, going to Europe extends one’s choices of horses not yet available in US. It’s a global economy in the animal world.

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Here’s the irony of this…

I work in rescue (a legitimate, long-established rescue that takes in dogs from hoarding cases, dumps, deceased owners, etc). We screen the hell out of adopters. I’d say the reject to approve ratio is 3:1. If you ever had a dog that was unaltered, unvaccinated, or not up to date on flea/tick/heartworm prevention…application denied.

And yet, as you point out, oftentimes breeders will sell a puppy to anyone with money. SMH.

Also, I want to say that I agree with @Scribbler regarding hybrid vigor. As someone with a lot of experience with purebreds and mixed breeds, we see fewer health issues with the mutts.

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It isn’t strictly necessary to import to do that. The US is a huge country. There are breeders whose lines are completely separate.

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Did anyone else hear that Joe Biden got a new German Shepherd puppy? Major was the one that came from a shelter and that was biting at the White House. He went to live with family friends. In the article that I read, it sounded like the new puppy came from a breeder. I’m sad for Major but maybe he’ll be happier in a less busy environment. I wonder if they went with a puppy from a breeder so it can grow up in that environment and so they might know a little more about the temperament.

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