Rescue dog snobbery?

[elegy]

Heh. I recently had someone comment on my blog to tell me that she was disappointed that I chose to buy another Border Collie instead of rescuing, especially after "all" the health problems Steve has had (groin pull, and then a flareup of that groin pull). I was kind of hurt, to be honest, because I put a lot of time into choosing my breeder, and she's now a friend of mine.

I might have more rescue dogs in the future. I might not. It depends on where I am in my life and what I'm looking for in a dog.

I have definitely felt more judgement, both in person and online, over my purchased dogs.

 

[Barbara!]

People don't have a lot of room to gripe at me because I have two breeder dogs and two rescues. So I can appeal to both parties. Lol!

 

[Laurelin]

I haven't seen much snobbery from either side, but I also tend to surround myself with really good, knowledgeable dog people. I own rescues because it is what is right for me; I have good friends who are breeders. I don't think either of us is judging the other based on what we have for dogs. One of my closest friends runs a rescue - but has one dog purchased from a breeder.

The only place it even really comes up in conversation is at agility events with Gusto, where everyone wants to know what he is and where I got him. They all assume his is a (intentional) sport mix. The only comment we get that makes me want to hit my head against the wall is the frequent "If I could get a rescue dog like that, I'd be rescuing!" Well, guess what geniuses ? He's just plain a rescue dog. There were three others in the litter, and there are a ton more out there just like him.

Well, hopefully not *just* like him, for everyone's sake!

You're going to find me either a Gusto or a rescue BC/BC mix one day, right?

 

[Romy]

A friend of mine in sore need of a mobility assist SD was searching for a puppy to train (confined to a wheelchair and trying to raise a 3 year old). She made the mistake of asking for advice on Facebook.

I steered her straight at a couple of GREAT breeders who had produced several working service dogs, were local, and were experienced in evaluating prospects, and willing to work with her as far as payments so she could get a great temperament evaluated puppy out of health tested parents that had a bunch of socialization groundwork already done.

Immediately 6-7 other people jumped into the fray and started screaming that how dare she consider one from a breeder, there are wonderful dogs in rescue and they are just dying to become her wuvable widdle service dog and that it would love her so much and she had better save a life than "waste" a bunch of money on a breeder puppy. I argued with them for a while... Eventually she gave in and acquired an adolescent doberman/GSD mix puppy to train.

He was put down two months later due to escalating aggression. Instead of "wasting" hundreds of dollars on a puppy out of proven parents which everything stacked in her favor, she wasted hundreds of dollars on a crapshoot in training, and then behaviorists trying to get a handle on the aggression issue. Yeah the dog got a chance, but everybody lost in the end. She can't afford to get a SD at all now because she blew it all on the crapshoot rescue dog.

 

[BostonBanker]

You're going to find me either a Gusto or a rescue BC/BC mix one day, right?

Definitely! The person who rescued Gusto originally had (maybe still has?) the cutest little split face male BC puppy looking for a home recently. Not totally off the wall crazy, but lots of play drive. And ridiculously cute.

 

[Laurelin]

Definitely! The person who rescued Gusto originally had (maybe still has?) the cutest little split face male BC puppy looking for a home recently. Not totally off the wall crazy, but lots of play drive. And ridiculously cute.

Ack! Not listening!

One day I will really take you up on that offer though.

 

[Hillside]

I get it from both ends, kind of. Since both of my dogs are purebred, a lot of people assume that they were from breeders. They aren't, they are both rescues. Since Saga doesn't "do" anything, I got a lot of flack for not getting a mutt because "purebreds are more adoptable, so being the dog person you are, you should have got a less adoptable dog so someone else could have had an easy dog."

 

[rubygirl]

I've never had any flack for my dog (a rescue). No one asks if she is a rescue or a purchase lol.

 

[Pops2]

It happens.
The whole "You KILLED a rescue dog by buying from a breeder" is one of the most common/totally untrue statements you are going to get.

*shrug* I just walk away at this point. Most of the time, there is no reasoning with them the BREEDER=EVIL mentality is so deeply nailed in. Good on them for rescuing, but I chose a responsible breeder and have nothing to be ashamed of.

There is breeder snobbery, rescue snobbery, all kinds of snobbery lol a bad apple ruins the batch sadly and they come in all kinds. Just ignore them and enjoy your dog.

yep, and I am a working snob. soory to everyone i have & will offend.

 

[Tazwell]

As a rescue foster, I got a LOT of ridiculous responses from people about Fleetwood coming from a breeder. I more got a feeling or a glare, than comments. Things like "My dog came from X shelter. I would NEVER get from a breeder!"

I've had plenty of rescue dogs, and helped many many more. I know the facts about breeders and shelters and the numbers and statistics. The fact is, I just wanted a dog of a specific breed, from a specific breeder/line for once. Shame on me.

 

[rubygirl]

One day I want a nicely bred, registered Whippet.... so what? Someone have something to say? lol

 

[StephyMei1112]

We were just at the SPCA and a shelter called Danna something for my brother (see my other thread) and while looking at the dogs they had we were just in casual conversation and they asked about the "existing dogs" of our household - I told them there was only Katalin and she was great with other dogs.

"Wow, I've never heard of that breed - a Kuva-what? which shelter did you get her from?"

"A Kuvasz, she's not from a shelter - she's from a very reputable breeder"

".....well, as long as she's good with other dogs..."

wtf?

On the contrary I've had people also comment on her being a "nice mix" then apologize profusely after I told them she was a purebred. I don't care about the "mix" comment - but the constant ignorance of what she is can get on my nerves.

I personally don't feel guilty at all for having gone to a breeder rather than a rescue. The breed I wanted was rarer, there were NONE of that type of dog in any shelter close to me, and I just had my heart set on that breed and none other - simple as that. Personal standard I guess. I would welcome reputable breeder dogs and rescues in my household at any time. All dogs are equal in my eyes in terms of life value (don't want to get into titles and all that) - but I must say that in any given situation that I were asked to weigh or compare the lives that I would have to put my own dogs - regardless of rescue or not as my own priority rather than a foster/dog I didn't know. Only then perhaps would I say that certain dogs have a heavier life value than others (to me).

 

[Cheetah]

I have both a rescue dog and a dog from a good breeder, so I've gotten comments from each side. Fortunately, Shippo's fuzz brainwashes people into loving him even if they're anti-breeder. =P

 

[Picklepaige]

My solution? Every dog from a breeder I get (which will probably just be a GSD, and I plan on having at least one of those at all times) I will foster a dog from a high-kill shelter. There, I got my dream dog, I saved a life, everyone wins

I plan on fostering anyway, but still a good line of thought

 

[Shakou]

I've seen plenty of it from both sides, honestly. The world would be a much better place if so called dog lovers just shut the hell up and acted as such, regardless of where the dog came from.

 

[Doberluv]

Thankfully, I really haven't run into much of that what you guys are talking about. I hardly have it in my head at all, so maybe I'm just oblivious to what's possibly going on all around me. LOL. I like all kinds of dogs. And they're all lucky, regardless from where they came IF they have good homes and nice owners.

 

[RD]

Snobbery is annoying on both sides. Often times if you buy a purebred dog you get looked down on for not buying one from good enough lines, or choosing the wrong breeder, etc. etc.. Definitely do agree that people who buy their dogs from breeders rather than rescues get a lot more **** from everyone, though.

There's been a lot of judgment flung my way over the dogs I've bought, and also a lot of judgment over the dogs I rescued while I was in Mexico. Nobody cared about the dogs I placed within Mexico, but as soon as a dog crossed over into the U.S. border, I was KILLING dogs in American shelters by bringing in Mexican dogs. Overall, people are just SNOBS. **** em.

And honestly? With the prices some rescues (not shelters) charge, people need to quit acting like they didn't buy their rescue dog. opcorn

 

[Jenne]

I've not really had any problems with this. Chase is a mutt (ACSxESS), and people often ask what he is, but I didn't rescue him. I got him from a breeder. I don't tell people that unless they ask, though. Most people ask what he is and I tell them his mix and they just say, "Well he's so beautiful and friendly". Occasionally they say he is gentle. And he is, even when he jumps on people he's very soft about it, which is hard to believe because he's SOOO excited to meet people.

ETA: But I've seen the rescue vs. breeder issue with rabbits. The rabbit rescues have some hate on for rabbit breeders. It's seriously crazy.

 

[Emily]

I was going to follow up and say I'd never gotten any weirdness from people over having a rescue, but then I have had just a few people in disbelief that Macky was a rescue because of her temperament and level of training. Lol bizarre. First off I got her at 10 wks, so yeah... But even if I hadn't, not all rescue dogs are messed up, and you can certainly achieve a high level of training with many of them. I myself admit we hit the jackpot temperament-wise, though. One lady was like, "Oh, it's good you rescued her, instead of buying her from a breeder." I said I had no problem with good breeders, and she was like, "Oh but I mean like a puppymill breeder." Oh, ok, well that's not what you said...

Mostly my experience has been that a great many people don't understand the difference between dedicated breeders and puppy mills. To them it's just all the same, they must all do it for money on some level. I actually talked briefly in a class about hobby breeding (they were asking about Keeva in panties, LOL) and when they asked if she would be bred, I said maybe, pending a lot of things. I explained health testing, I explained that my goals would be to produce sound-of-body-and-mind Cardigans for performance sports and ideally stock dog work. Most of them had never thought of breeding that way, it was an eye-opener. I think many people just need a little education.

That said, yeah, some people are just jackasses. I had a client turning in paperwork for daycare ranting about intact dogs and all of these greedy breeders - like out of nowhere. I think they didn't have proof of their dog's spay, but she came from a reputable local HS and I said don't worry about it, I know they spay their dogs. And somehow he was like, "Well we wouldn't want her if she wasn't!!! All these greedy breeders blah blah blah and my friend asked if she would come into heat. Clearly he doesn't understand the point of spaying! I'm not some puppymill, why would I let a dog come into heat?"

His timing was too good, so I just smiled sweetly and said, "Ah, my dog's in heat right now, her first actually. She doesn't like wearing her panties!" He was like, LOLOLOL

 

[Aleron]

Most of them had never thought of breeding that way, it was an eye-opener. I think many people just need a little education.

A really big part of the problem is that most people's education about breeding dogs comes from AR propaganda. Which is designed to give the impression that puppy mills and other breeders are all the same, all do it for money, none really care about the welfare of dogs and ultimately they are responsible for the death of shelter dogs.

And somehow he was like, "Well we wouldn't want her if she wasn't!!! All these greedy breeders blah blah blah and my friend asked if she would come into heat. Clearly he doesn't understand the point of spaying! I'm not some puppymill, why would I let a dog come into heat?"

His timing was too good, so I just smiled sweetly and said, "Ah, my dog's in heat right now, her first actually. She doesn't like wearing her panties!" He was like, LOLOLOL

:rofl1: