Rescue -- Just Not Into It?
- Thread starter Absolute Peril
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I have rescued dogs, and I'm sure I will again. Gavroche has been an awesome dog. He's a rescue, he's doing great in rally, he's **** smart. The only drawback is his hips.
That being said, there are times I want a dog for a breeder and not a rescue. And of course a responsible breeder. In my quest for the perfect service dog candidate, rescue is my last resort. Breeder comes first, and I will only go to rescue if all else fails.
That being said, there are times I want a dog for a breeder and not a rescue. And of course a responsible breeder. In my quest for the perfect service dog candidate, rescue is my last resort. Breeder comes first, and I will only go to rescue if all else fails.
Certainly. It's a matter of personal preference and I'd never put you down for it. I know my local SPCA is a great organization and would never hesitate to adopt a dog from there. Seeing as all I want in a dog is a companion and am not against any breed in specific I can find what would fit me easily there. So that's where I'll be going to get my next dog. But if you want to go through a breeder all the power to you. There is no shame in that.
I've got to agree with Renee that the APBT people I've been most impressed with are also the ones dedicated to helping the much-maligned breed that they love so much. I have no problem with breeders, and support everyone's right to seek out an experienced and reputable one... but I do think it's sad that you say you "don't have time" or you're "just not into" rescue, when you claim to love a breed that needs it the very, very most. It's just an awfully... callous-sounding way of putting it. Of course, this is the internet, so it may just sound that way 
well that of course is just foolishness.
yes, parentage is important. but it's not as important as the dog who is standing right there in front of you, being what she is. luce is as freaking rock-solid steady in temperament as i could ever ask. i don't care who her parents were or what they were like. all i care about is how amazing a dog she is.
yes, parentage is important. but it's not as important as the dog who is standing right there in front of you, being what she is. luce is as freaking rock-solid steady in temperament as i could ever ask. i don't care who her parents were or what they were like. all i care about is how amazing a dog she is.
:hail: :hail: :hail:
this is how I feel about Abby. I don't know or care who her parents were, I care that I can trust her, aside from playing unsupervised with other dogs
On a side note, I own Eerie's mother (granted we had Eer first...) and know tons about her father. She is bred to the nines and is NOTHING like her parents aside from her headpiece and confirmation (identical to daddy's). Temperament-wise, she was a surprise !
My dogs do dog sports. Pretty much any dog sport I can get into. We rescued a BC for my son precisesly cause we wanted to know what we were getting. (omg I think we are crazy lol) We looked at a couple of dogs breeders had that washed out of herding. But they weren't quite the dog we were looking for.
We got Sport at 11 months, we were his 3rd home. He will be 3 next fall. He is PERFECT for Darien (who is now 9) He is drivey to the point of crazy but still extremely biddable. He and Darien have that story book relationship of boy and his dog. We might have got that if we had gotten a puppy, but it wouldn't have been as a sure thing.
For me I breed my own sport dogs. (JRTs) Because the sort of dog I am looking for so rarely comes into rescue. (I work with rescue)
Now if you don't feel like rescuing that is totally fine. I personally love it if people go to great breeders to get dogs. You are not only getting a great dog with lots of perks, you are also investing in the future of your favourite breed and dogs in general. But your reasons for not wanting to rescue are silly and erroneous.
We got Sport at 11 months, we were his 3rd home. He will be 3 next fall. He is PERFECT for Darien (who is now 9) He is drivey to the point of crazy but still extremely biddable. He and Darien have that story book relationship of boy and his dog. We might have got that if we had gotten a puppy, but it wouldn't have been as a sure thing.
For me I breed my own sport dogs. (JRTs) Because the sort of dog I am looking for so rarely comes into rescue. (I work with rescue)
Now if you don't feel like rescuing that is totally fine. I personally love it if people go to great breeders to get dogs. You are not only getting a great dog with lots of perks, you are also investing in the future of your favourite breed and dogs in general. But your reasons for not wanting to rescue are silly and erroneous.
First off, I think rescue is really important even though I personally may not be "into it." Someone out there has to catch the unwanted dogs and cats that most people are too irresponsible to take care of.
I think that in the right circumstances, you can find a great rescue dog. It will just take some researching and seeking out and getting an older dog with established personality traits.
I personally happened to "luck" into a rescue dog that would not fit most people's ideal of a good pet, but she's not a bad dog. She's just like alot of people I know who have come from hard circumstances- she's got emotional battle scars.
IMHO- if you get a rescue, you just have to be prepared to deal with a dog that could have problems and could require training.
I think that in the right circumstances, you can find a great rescue dog. It will just take some researching and seeking out and getting an older dog with established personality traits.
I personally happened to "luck" into a rescue dog that would not fit most people's ideal of a good pet, but she's not a bad dog. She's just like alot of people I know who have come from hard circumstances- she's got emotional battle scars.
IMHO- if you get a rescue, you just have to be prepared to deal with a dog that could have problems and could require training.
IMO, any APBT fancier that says they have NO time or arent into rescue. Really arent in it for the breed. The breed needs help pure and simple. My dad does most of those sports either for fun or competitavly (sp?) hes used both breeder dogs and *gasp* rescue dogs for it and you know what if you go in KNOWING that is what you want you can find it. Even if you dont have the "time" tese dogs that are a part of a breed that you say you love dearly NEED help and you disregard that as they arent worth it. TO me that is sad. In a breed with so many problems right now you just disregard it and leave it to people who care enough about the breed to do both.
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I personally think looking for a rescue with a proper temperament is less time consuming then finding a breeder breeding what you want!!
As for weight pulling being a sport...IMO unless your dog is pulling a loaded cart around a farm, completing chores, or making money doing it, it's sport...I mean lots of things humans do for sport or fun is hard work mentally or physically...football, chess, boating, etc. I know many rescue dogs who would weight pull or hunt, no problem.
I'd rather rescue because if open my local craigslist or shelter's page I see 15 + dogs in need that would be a good fit for me. When I need a dog to work I plan on doing the same...yes it will take a bit more time but no more time than looking for a breeder. I may in a very long time get a dog from a breeder, but probably only one or two dogs in a houseful...
Out of curiosity, to the OP: do you ever think you will have just a pet dog in the future? then will you rescue or would you still get from a breeder? Also, let's say you were looking for a pup from a breeder and came across a two year old dog in a need of a home, say it WAS a rescue pup but now needs to be rehomed, it never worked but without a doubt has the correct temperament...would you not take the dog because you didn't know the lineage?
As for weight pulling being a sport...IMO unless your dog is pulling a loaded cart around a farm, completing chores, or making money doing it, it's sport...I mean lots of things humans do for sport or fun is hard work mentally or physically...football, chess, boating, etc. I know many rescue dogs who would weight pull or hunt, no problem.
I'd rather rescue because if open my local craigslist or shelter's page I see 15 + dogs in need that would be a good fit for me. When I need a dog to work I plan on doing the same...yes it will take a bit more time but no more time than looking for a breeder. I may in a very long time get a dog from a breeder, but probably only one or two dogs in a houseful...
Out of curiosity, to the OP: do you ever think you will have just a pet dog in the future? then will you rescue or would you still get from a breeder? Also, let's say you were looking for a pup from a breeder and came across a two year old dog in a need of a home, say it WAS a rescue pup but now needs to be rehomed, it never worked but without a doubt has the correct temperament...would you not take the dog because you didn't know the lineage?
Agreed, and that goes for ANY breed a person claims to love and want the best for.
And for the record, no, dog SPORTS are SPORTS.........working is a JOB that NEEDS to be done, whether it's hunting (to supply food) police work, bomb sniffing, security WORK, whatever the JOB might be.
That doesn't mean dog sports are EASY........it takes time, training, and energy to prepare and do them well. But in the end, it's for FUN, trophies, ribbons, prestige, whatever you are in it for.
And for the record, no, dog SPORTS are SPORTS.........working is a JOB that NEEDS to be done, whether it's hunting (to supply food) police work, bomb sniffing, security WORK, whatever the JOB might be.
That doesn't mean dog sports are EASY........it takes time, training, and energy to prepare and do them well. But in the end, it's for FUN, trophies, ribbons, prestige, whatever you are in it for.
:hail::hail:
Very true. Anyone truly observant who has attempted to rescue or who has worked in rescue would be able to tell you that there are plenty of dogs there who have rock solid temperament. While not rescuing is fine - it all comes down to personal choice - boiling the issue down to 'not knowing the dog's parents makes it a complete unknown' is ridiculous.
Very true. Anyone truly observant who has attempted to rescue or who has worked in rescue would be able to tell you that there are plenty of dogs there who have rock solid temperament. While not rescuing is fine - it all comes down to personal choice - boiling the issue down to 'not knowing the dog's parents makes it a complete unknown' is ridiculous.
Yes, any dog can have problems. This is true.
I guess I just like to know what I'm getting. With my current pup, there is a depth of pedigree on both sides for rock solid temperament and health and while nothing is ever fail safe, it's a heck of a whole lot more "sure" then adopting an unknown from the pound or rescue.
Since you've only ever rescued, I'm guessing it would be hard to understand how genetic temperment and health really is, because you've never really researched a pedigree through and through regarding health and temperament.
This is not to say that you won't have that one outlier that could have a bad temperment or health problems, but even if that does happen I personally have a network of people I can depend on including my breeder for support and help.
It's a completely different ball game then rescuing and trying to compare them are like trying to compare apples and oranges.
I guess I just like to know what I'm getting. With my current pup, there is a depth of pedigree on both sides for rock solid temperament and health and while nothing is ever fail safe, it's a heck of a whole lot more "sure" then adopting an unknown from the pound or rescue.
Since you've only ever rescued, I'm guessing it would be hard to understand how genetic temperment and health really is, because you've never really researched a pedigree through and through regarding health and temperament.
This is not to say that you won't have that one outlier that could have a bad temperment or health problems, but even if that does happen I personally have a network of people I can depend on including my breeder for support and help.
It's a completely different ball game then rescuing and trying to compare them are like trying to compare apples and oranges.
I've never purchased a dog from a breeder because I've always been able to find stable temperament in rescue. And if something did go wrong, I have that same network of people to depend on--my rescue has a list serve for all adopters (that includes several behaviorists, vets, and trainers on it) where adopters can ask questions and request help. It's not something unique to a good breeder to have support.
It's obvious that the issues you've had with Abbey have completely turned you off from rescue, and whatever, that's your choice--but don't go around saying that you can't find rock solid temperament or know what you're getting unless you go to a breeder. If you do your research, no matter which direction you choose to go, you know what you're getting.
It's obvious that the issues you've had with Abbey have completely turned you off from rescue, and whatever, that's your choice--but don't go around saying that you can't find rock solid temperament or know what you're getting unless you go to a breeder. If you do your research, no matter which direction you choose to go, you know what you're getting.
You should have met Trey lol. Best pedigree of any of my dogs ever and he was a nutcase. He was not stable at all and I could sit here and list all the issues he had for pages. Shack, our GSD mongrel of unknown parentage, was rock solid in every situation. The paps we got as adults too for the most part have really good temperaments. Although they are all from breeders, we are Rose's third home.
If I were into a breed like the APBT I don't see how I couldn't help in rescue just a little bit at the least. That was the most draining thing for me working in the shelter because I saw a ton of really awesome pit bulls come in and knew most wouldn't make it out.
Most the reputable papillon breeders I know also work in rescue. the whole group of them in OK run their own offshoot of the national rescue. Luckily in my breed they are not overrunning shelters -yet-. They are not often in danger of being pts -yet-. But as popularity increases I expect that to change. But still the breeders do help rescue, groom, transport, foster, etc. That to me is important to see because it shows how much they love the breed and desire to take care of the breed.
If I were into a breed like the APBT I don't see how I couldn't help in rescue just a little bit at the least. That was the most draining thing for me working in the shelter because I saw a ton of really awesome pit bulls come in and knew most wouldn't make it out.
Most the reputable papillon breeders I know also work in rescue. the whole group of them in OK run their own offshoot of the national rescue. Luckily in my breed they are not overrunning shelters -yet-. They are not often in danger of being pts -yet-. But as popularity increases I expect that to change. But still the breeders do help rescue, groom, transport, foster, etc. That to me is important to see because it shows how much they love the breed and desire to take care of the breed.