buying mixes

[mojozen]

rosebud*
I agree. I was also told that if I had young kids, which i do not, then rescues wouldn't adopt out to me. I asked them "What if i am training the kids everyday how to be good dog owners? And if I never leave them alone together?" They said it didn't matter... they couldn't trust me.

I know that they probably see enough animals where they take a chance with the people and they come back with even more problems. But I guess if you don't take responsible chances with people, then the animals will not find their "forever" home.

And frankly I just don't like no-kill shelters. If a dog has problems, and is kept in a kennel all day so that it develops even MORE problems (spinning, leaping etc) then that dog has a very slim chance of being adopted out.

I saw a pair of dogs at a shelter who jumped and spun... they were cute, sweet natured, but highly stressed out. They had been in that no-kill shelter for 6 months by that point. I visited the same shelter about 6 - 8 months later, those sweet, cute dogs were still there spinning and jumping. I asked a shelter worker, wouldn't it be kinder to just put them to sleep? And I was looked at like I was a murderer. So i asked "How many dogs do you turn away in a month?"

They didn't get my point. Few do.

 

[rosebud*]

I know what you mean. They can't see the shore just the sand. I don't agree with no kill shelters unless you are able to move your animals quickly. No dog deserves to be kept in a cage just to be alive. What kind of life is that. They would rather feel like they are helping animals by keeping them alive.
I also think that isn't the whole thing behind the rescue groups to make home visits? When I looked into getting a rescued greyhound they said they would make periodic home visits to make sure that the dog was doing good and they could remove the dog at any time. But it seems like many rescue groups don't want to even give a chance to someone who can provide a dog a loving home. How sad.

 

[yoko]

i know what you mean about the restrictions. one of my friends was turned down because she wanted her dog to be an inside/outside dog. outside during the day and inside during the evening and night. it was a border collie. they said they could only let her have it if it was a complete inside dog.
my other friend tonya was turned down because she took two college classes every other day and would not be home with the dogs for 4 hours on those days.

 

[Fran27]

But, I think personality comes from mum and dad, just like pedigree's, so that is something that can be looked at and predicted.

I disagree. There is no way to predict which traits a puppy is going to get, especially when it's a mix from two very different breeds. That, plus environment still plays a huge factor, IMO.


About rescue prerequisites with children, I've actually found a good one, where they don't let people who have children below 8 adopt dogs unless the children grew up with dogs. I think that's pretty smart, and I'll probably use that rescue next time we want a dog (hoping we will have children by then of course...).

Yoko, I can understand the outside/inside thing. It depends a lot on where you live too, and how safe your yard is (fenced or not etc). I know there is no way i would let my dogs outside when I'm away. So I don't really blame rescues for being picky about that, at least if they don't do home visits.

And I totally agree about no-kill shelters... A life in a cage for a dog that has little chance of being adopted is worse IMO... especially when there are adoptable dogs that get euthanized everyday.

 

[rosebud*]

i know what you mean about the restrictions. one of my friends was turned down because she wanted her dog to be an inside/outside dog. outside during the day and inside during the evening and night. it was a border collie. they said they could only let her have it if it was a complete inside dog.
my other friend tonya was turned down because she took two college classes every other day and would not be home with the dogs for 4 hours on those days.

Yeah because we all know how good border collies do cooped up all day. I understand some of their reasoning, but you can't expect someone to be with a dog 24 hours a day. Will they fault you when you have a dr's appy or go to the store for more than an hour? I think some restrictions are ridiculous. IMO if you provide a safe,loving, happy home for an animal, what difference does it make if you leave the dog alone 2 hours once a week. Like with Mojo, how can you provide food and shelter if you don't work.

 

[Tilt]

Why don't you go to a shelter and adopt a dog just like her?

If you buy a mixed breed puppy or dog from a breeder you are supporting a backyard breeder. A backyard breeder is an irresponsible breeder who breeds for bad reasons (like "because my dog is sweet/pretty/loving and all my friends want a dog just like her!" or "so my kids can experience the miracle of birth!" or, just as bad, because they want to make money.) No responsible breeder purposely breeds mixed breed puppies. There are MILLIONS in shelters across the United States. All you have to do is walk into one and keep your eyes open for exactly what you want.

You can always find what you want in shelters.

 

[tintinabulation]

thanks for everything!

Just hearing about all those poor dogs and puppies in all the shelters makes me want to go and adopt half of them.

I was just wondering, when you get a dog from a shelter, are they free of worms and fleas and everything?

 

[bubbatd]

The ones here are... kept, evaluated,spayed or neutered, given shot and micro chipped......then up for adoption.

 

[tintinabulation]

oh, then that's great! because when I tried introducing the idea of adopting a dog from a shelter to my parents, my mom started saying how they have worms and fleas and everything. I'm gonna go right now and prove her wrong.

 

[Fran27]

They usually don't, but depending on the shelter they can have other problems, it's usually not much though. But I think it's important to take a new dog for a vet visit no matter where they come from.

Either way, even if you end up having to pay for worm meds, it's still a very good deal to get a dog from a shelter as you don't pay for vaccination and neutering.

 

[bubbatd]

I agree , Fran ...it's better to be safe than sorry ! There are some shelters that don't take the care ... I was talking about our HS.

 

[Fran27]

Yes, it really depends on the shelter is what I mean. I've seen mine have dogs for adoption who had eye or ear infections, and they didn't do anything about it, they just said they didn't know.