Feeling guilty about not adopting

[adamjohnson]

I have been looking at a few different dog breeds. However, recently, I've been feeling almost guilty, lately, about not rescuing or adopting a dog.
If I could afford it, I'd get a puppy from a breeder and adopt a dog. However, I can't afford to do that at the moment. I have legitimate reasons for wanting a well-bred puppy but as all of you know, there are so many dogs out there that need homes, that I am torn, at this point.

One of my fears about rescuing is that I don't have any history, as far as possible genetic issues and illness and, also, an adult dog may be more difficult to train. I realize that there are no guarantees but I've had a lot of traumatic things happen with dogs that I've owned in the past. Those dogs were not from reputable breeders. Unfortunately, I didn't know what I know now.
My last dog was from a "reputable" breeder but he still had a lot of problems and, although we loved him very much and he was like a member of the family, I wasn't able to really enjoy him. In this case, the breeder steered me away from the puppy i wanted in the litter because that dog was a better show prospect. I ended up with a dog with a temperament that I couldn't handle. So, I couldn't do the typical things that people do with their dogs because, despite LOTS of training, his behavioral issues were formidable.
So, while I'd like to give myself the best chance of having an enjoyable experience this time around, I sort of feel like I'm depriving another dog, perhaps in a shelter, who may be euthanized, a home, by getting a puppy.

Did anyone else have this kind of dilemma?
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[Beret]

Nope. And wanting a dog from lines with known health & temperament histories is a perfectly "legitimate" reason to want a well-bred dog. That's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. If you want to adopt, that's great! If you want to go the responsibly-bred route, that's great too! You should go the direction that best suits YOU, not some preconceived notion of what's "right" or "wrong".

At the end of the day, you're making a years-long commitment. Your priorities should be on making the choice with the most potential to be the right one year after year down the road.

 

[Doberluv]

I agree with Beret. I don't feel one bit guilty about not adopting a dog from a shelter. I think there's a place for both adopting and supporting reputable breeders who strive to improve their breed, keep our purebred dogs pure and work hard to improve their health. What could possibly be wrong with that? I didn't cause these dogs to be dumped in shelters. Of course it's pathetic and sad...a situation that morons caused in most all cases. It's sad as hell. And while I very much admire those to rescue, I don't feel that it is my responsibility and that I should rescue in lieu of purchasing a puppy. (those rescue fees are nearly as much as a well bred dog and they often don't really want to adopt out their dogs at all. Have you seen some of the rejection stories???)

And I resent those who get all in a huff toward those who support reputable breeders who are responsible for the well being of our purebred dogs and really go all out to try and improve their situations. I've come across so many people who see me walking my flashy white poodle and they brag self righteously how they rescued a shelter dog. Okay, that's fine and yes... admirable. But puleeze....let's get this into perspective. I can also brag that I supported a breeder who works damn hard to produce healthy, well balanced dogs who do what they were bred to do and reputable breeders dogs don't wind up in shelters. They take responsibility for their puppies for the lifetime of the puppies. It is not reputable breeders' dogs that are causing the homeless problem for so many dogs.

I happen to have very specific traits I'm looking for when I get a dog, at least since I've been in a position to make that choice. That is why we have purebred dogs...because they all have something they were bred to do and with that comes these specific traits. I like to start out with a puppy that doesn't carry a bunch of baggage, not that all shelter dogs do...of course not. But I like to start out with a puppy from a reputable breeder as a near blank slate and very definite characteristics. I also showed one of my poodles to champion in AKC conformation. I couldn't do that with a dog of unknown origin. So it's up to you. Follow your heart. If you feel guilty, then do what you must do to not feel guilty. I hope you get the dog of your dreams.

 

[Alpha1]

At the end of the day, you're making a years-long commitment. Your priorities should be on making the choice with the most potential to be the right one year after year down the road.

I couldn't have said it better.

 

[DanL]

I don't feel guilty getting a dog from a good breeder either. Especially if you want a breed with certain traits, like working ability and a proven track record of health and temperament- you can't always get those with a rescue.

Here's our recent experience with a rescue.
A little background, we lost our GSD who was nearly 12 years old a little over 3 weeks ago. We also have a 2 year old female American Bulldog and an almost 15 year old male Pug. Prior to the AB, we had a Great Dane. We loved the Dane, and as our GSD's condition became imminent over the last few months, we decided we wanted another Dane. We wanted to rescue one vs going thru a breeder this time. A few months back, we applied to a regional Dane rescue group. Had a phone interview, a home visit, we passed it all with flying colors. We told them we didn't want to adopt anything until after our GSD was gone, and they understood.

A week or so after our GSD's time had come, we called our contact and said we're ready. They said because we have a female in the house (our American Bulldog), they would only consider us adopting a male. (which makes no sense since our Pug is a male) We gave them a dog from their site that we liked, a 2-3 year old male, it says he needs a "medium to large dog to play with". Perfect, Nola fits that bill. They shot us down- said "Nola is too small" They must not know what an American Bulldog is, because she's 23" tall and 75lbs of rock hard muscle who can easily keep up with a Dane. They must think all Bulldogs are the English type, but they wouldn't let us explain that Nola is an active, athletic dog with high level obedience and other advanced training.

Then we posed the question of why we couldn't take a female since our other dog is a male. Our rep said she'd check with the powers that be. Meanwhile we gave them 2 other female dogs we were interested in. One had been adopted. The other, they shot us down on because of our Pug.

I understand that these organizations want to find the best possible fit for a dog, and they don't want you calling in 3 months and telling them it isn't working. But we are experienced dog people, have had a Dane so we know what they are about, and we have a dog in the house who can handle a Dane's size. Our pug grew up with big dogs and knows how to stay out of the way. If our Pug was an issue, why was it not addressed during the home visit? It seemed like the application process didn't matter at all, and that the area reps were the ones who decided who could have a dog or not.

Basically the whole process turned us off to trying to rescue, at least going thru a specific breed type rescue group. We began looking at breeders who had what we were looking for, and found a new pup that we put a deposit on the other day. She's 6 weeks old and we will pick her up on the 20th.

Bottom line- don't feel guilty about getting the dog YOU want. You are the one who has to live with it, and dont' let people guilt you into getting something you don't want.