Next time you want a dog

[Luddly Neddite]

This is only the tip of the iceberg of the issue of over breeding. There are many more examples - pit bulls, retrievers, King Charles spaniels but here are a few.

It used to be that cats were strong and healthy because they were not bred for deformities like dogs are. Not anymore. I have rescued two Maine coon cats. My first died at age 4 of a congenital heart defect that is common in that breed.

IMO, we should stop breeding "pure breeds". It almost never "improves the breed" and "registered AKC" is basically nothing more than having the dog's name, and yours, written in a book.

Adopt from a shelter. And if you think you want a "pure breed", check for breed rescues and check at your local shelter. fully 25% of all animals taken to shelters are pure breeds and more than 80% are younger than 3 years old. IOW, we're killing young healthy animals because more are born than there are homes for. Adopting from a shelter makes you part of the answer instead of part of the cause of the inexcusable tragedy of dog and cat overpopulation.

 

[Jimmy_Chitwood]

This is only the tip of the iceberg of the issue of over breeding. There are many more examples - pit bulls, retrievers, King Charles spaniels but here are a few.

It used to be that cats were strong and healthy because they were not bred for deformities like dogs are. Not anymore. I have rescued two Maine coon cats. My first died at age 4 of a congenital heart defect that is common in that breed.

IMO, we should stop breeding "pure breeds". It almost never "improves the breed" and "registered AKC" is basically nothing more than having the dog's name, and yours, written in a book.

Adopt from a shelter. And if you think you want a "pure breed", check for breed rescues and check at your local shelter. fully 25% of all animals taken to shelters are pure breeds and more than 80% are younger than 3 years old. IOW, we're killing young healthy animals because more are born than there are homes for. Adopting from a shelter makes you part of the answer instead of part of the cause of the inexcusable tragedy of dog and cat overpopulation.

In my experience mutts are healthier, more intelligent, have a better disposition, and live longer.

 

[Pogo]

This is only the tip of the iceberg of the issue of over breeding. There are many more examples - pit bulls, retrievers, King Charles spaniels but here are a few.

It used to be that cats were strong and healthy because they were not bred for deformities like dogs are. Not anymore. I have rescued two Maine coon cats. My first died at age 4 of a congenital heart defect that is common in that breed.

IMO, we should stop breeding "pure breeds". It almost never "improves the breed" and "registered AKC" is basically nothing more than having the dog's name, and yours, written in a book.

Adopt from a shelter. And if you think you want a "pure breed", check for breed rescues and check at your local shelter. fully 25% of all animals taken to shelters are pure breeds and more than 80% are younger than 3 years old. IOW, we're killing young healthy animals because more are born than there are homes for. Adopting from a shelter makes you part of the answer instead of part of the cause of the inexcusable tragedy of dog and cat overpopulation.

Hear hear.

We have a very good (no kill) shelter in town, for which I volunteer and have used their services to clean up and place (1) a little scared Daisy Dinmont Terrier that I found abandoned on the Natchez Trace Parkway (drove her all the way here, 700 miles), (2) a homeless cat that my sister was feeding and then wondering why it was hanging around, (3) another cat that I witnessed in the act of being abandoned right in front of my house (which immediately came to me),

.... and (4) this past February I found a tiny little chihuahua wandering on the highway freezing to death. I took him to the shelter, they took his picture and put it on their website and by the time I got home I already had a call on my phone from the owner who saw their notice. He was a long way from home but he got to his warm home that same night.

Needless to say when I wanted a cat I went to the same shelter. He's four years old now.

I had a Maine Coon many years ago but couldn't keep her. I called her "Suzy Homewrecker". She would be lurking in a corner waiting to pounce on me when I came in the door.

 

[K9Buck]

The AKC and the show rings have done catastrophic damage to dogs.

 

[Pogo]

The AKC and the show rings have done catastrophic damage to dogs.

Human hubris, fucking up Nature as usual.

 

[strollingbones]

i love dobermans.....i have had 3...all had spinal issues as they aged...i have rescues now...i do however think the latest one is purebreed....

 

[strollingbones]

if dogs were allowed to breed without human intervention....you would have a medium sized brown dog with a curled tail....

 

[Pogo]

This is only the tip of the iceberg of the issue of over breeding. There are many more examples - pit bulls, retrievers, King Charles spaniels but here are a few.

It used to be that cats were strong and healthy because they were not bred for deformities like dogs are. Not anymore. I have rescued two Maine coon cats. My first died at age 4 of a congenital heart defect that is common in that breed.

IMO, we should stop breeding "pure breeds". It almost never "improves the breed" and "registered AKC" is basically nothing more than having the dog's name, and yours, written in a book.

Adopt from a shelter. And if you think you want a "pure breed", check for breed rescues and check at your local shelter. fully 25% of all animals taken to shelters are pure breeds and more than 80% are younger than 3 years old. IOW, we're killing young healthy animals because more are born than there are homes for. Adopting from a shelter makes you part of the answer instead of part of the cause of the inexcusable tragedy of dog and cat overpopulation.

Hear hear.

We have a very good (no kill) shelter in town, for which I volunteer and have used their services to clean up and place (1) a little scared Daisy Dinmont Terrier that I found abandoned on the Natchez Trace Parkway (drove her all the way here, 700 miles), (2) a homeless cat that my sister was feeding and then wondering why it was hanging around, (3) another cat that I witnessed in the act of being abandoned right in front of my house (which immediately came to me),

.... and (4) this past February I found a tiny little chihuahua wandering on the highway freezing to death. I took him to the shelter, they took his picture and put it on their website and by the time I got home I already had a call on my phone from the owner who saw their notice. He was a long way from home but he got to his warm home that same night.

Needless to say when I wanted a cat I went to the same shelter. He's four years old now.

I had a Maine Coon many years ago but couldn't keep her. I called her "Suzy Homewrecker". She would be lurking in a corner waiting to pounce on me when I came in the door.

The lady who founded our shelter did so after she had a stray hanging around and asked the town what to do. The Sheriff told her "we'll send somebody around to shoot him". Not satisfied with that mentality she founded the shelter. I believe she just passed away last year at the age of 100.

 

[rightwinger]

This is only the tip of the iceberg of the issue of over breeding. There are many more examples - pit bulls, retrievers, King Charles spaniels but here are a few.

It used to be that cats were strong and healthy because they were not bred for deformities like dogs are. Not anymore. I have rescued two Maine coon cats. My first died at age 4 of a congenital heart defect that is common in that breed.

IMO, we should stop breeding "pure breeds". It almost never "improves the breed" and "registered AKC" is basically nothing more than having the dog's name, and yours, written in a book.

Adopt from a shelter. And if you think you want a "pure breed", check for breed rescues and check at your local shelter. fully 25% of all animals taken to shelters are pure breeds and more than 80% are younger than 3 years old. IOW, we're killing young healthy animals because more are born than there are homes for. Adopting from a shelter makes you part of the answer instead of part of the cause of the inexcusable tragedy of dog and cat overpopulation.

Sad really

Many of these breeds are bred to be nothing more than circus freaks
It was like if you were breeding humans and you chose a hunchbacked dwarf as your basis

The show ring is the worst thing for a dog. Dogs are smart, obedient and athletic. Breeding for show improves none of that

 

[Compost]

There are many breeds developed over many many years were used for specific jobs- herders, drovers, flock guardians, estate guardians, gun dogs, retrievers, flushers, companions, therapy dogs, police dogs etc. To suggest that breeding ought to be discontinued because there are some unscrupulous breeders makes no sense. Should Leader Dogs for the Blind stop raising Labs because there are some backyard breeders who do a crummy job of raising Labs?

Yes. Rescuing a dog is a beautiful thing to do. So do it. Don't demand that purebred dogs be wiped off the planet. I won't apologize to you for BUYING a purebred dog from a line of successful flock guardians for my farm. None of my assorted gang of dogs was up to the job so I went for a specialist.

 

[strollingbones]

i would drop the cash into a doberman puppy.....i just cant do the training and refuse to have a half assed trained dog....i am too old to fight the puppy in them for a year or so....

i swear this new one,,,ernest t...is suppose to be a mix....jack russel and satan?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

if dogs were allowed to breed without human intervention....you would have a medium sized brown dog with a curled tail....

Yep. What I call The Res Dog. I've volunteered on several Indian reservations and found the dogs to be tough, healthy, very easy to get along with - just excellent dogs. And, for the most part, they looked very much alike. Once in a while, I'd come across a med size, medium brown dog with short legs!

 

[Luddly Neddite]

i would drop the cash into a doberman puppy.....i just cant do the training and refuse to have a half assed trained dog....i am too old to fight the puppy in them for a year or so....

i swear this new one,,,ernest t...is suppose to be a mix....jack russel and satan?

Jack Russel's are such high energy pooches. I'd hate to have to keep up with them!

From what I know, they're also really intelligent. That means they're into a lot of trouble.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

There are many breeds developed over many many years were used for specific jobs- herders, drovers, flock guardians, estate guardians, gun dogs, retrievers, flushers, companions, therapy dogs, police dogs etc. To suggest that breeding ought to be discontinued because there are some unscrupulous breeders makes no sense. Should Leader Dogs for the Blind stop raising Labs because there are some backyard breeders who do a crummy job of raising Labs?

Yes. Rescuing a dog is a beautiful thing to do. So do it. Don't demand that purebred dogs be wiped off the planet. I won't apologize to you for BUYING a purebred dog from a line of successful flock guardians for my farm. None of my assorted gang of dogs was up to the job so I went for a specialist.

I'm sure you know and did this but so-called "responsible breeders" have hips and elbows tested etc. I came across this -

strollingbones - You might be interested in this as well.

Health Testing Requirements

Interesting that the breed at the top of the page is one of the saddest examples of over-breeding.

 

[rightwinger]

You can still get good dogs from a breeder

Working dogs, hunting dogs which were bred for skills rather than for looks are still out there

 

[mamooth]

i would drop the cash into a doberman puppy.....i just cant do the training and refuse to have a half assed trained dog....i am too old to fight the puppy in them for a year or so....

I have a soft spot for dobies, but they're so damn stubborn as puppies. They know what you want them to do. They just don't want to do it. They grow out of it, but what a pain until they do.

Cats, I never have to worry about choosing one to adopt. They always just find me. The one in my avi is an old-style applehead Siamese who came to stay with me. He's shaped like a normal cat, in comparison to the skinny mutants of the Modern Siamese breed.

 

[bodecea]

We adopted one of more than 190 badly neglected yorkies from an old couple who was hoarding them in this area. Very sad situation....the people at the San Diego Humane Society said it was one of the worst cases they'd ever seen. The one we got is about 7 years old....obviously had malnutrition issues....half her teeth are gone and she's got bad joints....scared of noises and was probably over-bred. But she's beginning to adjust to her new pack and we've almost got her completely house-broken now.

 

[Compost]

There are many breeds developed over many many years were used for specific jobs- herders, drovers, flock guardians, estate guardians, gun dogs, retrievers, flushers, companions, therapy dogs, police dogs etc. To suggest that breeding ought to be discontinued because there are some unscrupulous breeders makes no sense. Should Leader Dogs for the Blind stop raising Labs because there are some backyard breeders who do a crummy job of raising Labs?

Yes. Rescuing a dog is a beautiful thing to do. So do it. Don't demand that purebred dogs be wiped off the planet. I won't apologize to you for BUYING a purebred dog from a line of successful flock guardians for my farm. None of my assorted gang of dogs was up to the job so I went for a specialist.

I'm sure you know and did this but so-called "responsible breeders" have hips and elbows tested etc. I came across this -

strollingbones - You might be interested in this as well.

Health Testing Requirements

Interesting that the breed at the top of the page is one of the saddest examples of over-breeding.

Yes. Good breeders test for elbows and hips and for breed specific problems. I went to a good breeder. There are lots of them, actually. It's not all puppy mills and tragic cases.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Although Purebred Dogs Can Be Best in Show, Are They Worst in Health?

DNA testing & simple inherited disorders • The Kennel Club

 

[strollingbones]

if i had my way.....no breeding period for 10 yrs or until this country stop putting down millions of dogs and cats a year