It’s almost time for the holiday season. This time of year a lot of pets will be bought as presents for that someone special. There is certainly nothing wrong with that under the right conditions. As a breeder I try my best to evaluate people who are buying our puppies and try my best to make sure they understand what they are getting. A puppy is a huge commitment and although they are super cute and lovable and cuddly, they do grow up to be dogs within a year. If you have a small child, a husky puppy with surpass them in size in a blink of an eye. Then they will be knocking over little Susie when she goes outside to play with the dog. The dog is just playing and means no harm but it will be a handful. We caution families with small children about this all the time.
So one decision for the uncommitted dog owner some times is to drop them off at a shelter. Sadly we live in a world where we just drop off dogs like discarded trash. We have government ran programs that makes it really easy to dump a dog and never look back. Of coarse the breeder is now the bad guy. You are being taught and groomed to think that way. This is nothing new. As a breeder I can’t sponsor certain events, videos, or advertise on certain sites because I am a breeder. The guy who is responsible for all the homeless animals in the world. If a breeder would stop breeding dogs then the shelters would be empty and there would be no homeless dogs because people would all of a sudden stop abandoning them. Um yeah. There are bad breeders and there are bad shelters and rescues. They all exist and there is no denying that fact. You only hear about the bad breeders. Most shelters are kill shelters. The ones that aren’t, sometimes pass dogs off to kill shelters to get rid of them. If they do this practice they are kill shelters in my book. Lets not loose focus on what a dog shelter really is. They take in dogs and kill them to make more room for dog so they can kill them and the cycle continues. Some get adopted but most don’t. A lot of shelter dogs get adopted and brought back. We take back any dog and even had to start plans to rescue one from a shelter this year because the previous owner wanted a lot of money for the dog and wouldn’t just bring it back to us to re-home at a more reasonable price. We are going to share our micro chip numbers with shelters so we can quickly be alerted should this happen again.
The problem of unwanted dogs are the fault of the general public. By not researching and thinking about this being a 12-15 year commitment. Not knowing what breed of dog would fit the family the best, or not understanding what that dog will need to be a good dog. Guess what? They have to be trained. That means you have to spend some time during the day to work and train your dog. Sadly the majority of people who buy or even adopt a dog does not keep it for the life of the dog. I get calls all the time from all over the country hearing lame excuses given by somebody wanting to give up their dog. Dogs that don’t come from us. The most popular one is “We are moving and they don’t allow dogs there” Really? So your going to move there and make a dog homeless in the process. What a lucky dog to have been picked by you for a family member. When one of my previous customers tell me that I feel like I failed my dog. I didn’t get it to the right family. When I tell that excuse to others they always encourage me to make an argument against it, but I never do because there is no point in it. They have already de-committed from the dog. They know they could move to a dog friendly place. They just choose not too for whatever excuse they come up with that lets them sleep better at night.
Some people just look at dogs as something disposable or replaceable. Here are some examples of whats wrong with some people who have dogs. Wonder why so many dogs are in shelters? We can see what some pet owners value their dogs by just looking at craigslist.
Trading this puppy for an air conditioner. Has to be a really good one. No dents!
They will trade this puppy for a different breed or even an ipad.
Pitbull puppy they will trade for a good gaming system.
Will trade these guys for some guns!
Just want some good rims for this pup and no junk either!
Just a few examples of why dogs become homeless. I feel so sorry for these dogs. I suppose some will end up with a good family with a lot of luck, but most will probably be dumped in the end. Some people are not committed and do not see their dog as a family member. We do our very best to make sure these people don’t get one of our puppies. A lot of the backyard breeder dogs are in danger of ending up in shelters and homeless because they are sold so cheap and had very little invested in them. There is a big difference between a backyard breeder and a professional breeder. As we approach this holiday season stop and think before you buy a pet. Is this the right breed of dog for you? Are you committed for the next 10-15 years to this dog? Am I willing to teach and train the dog. Do I have time for a dog? If the answer is yes then you could give a dog an awesome home and life. If not then wait until the time is right so you can. Lets be honest with our self and be fair to the dog. Things change and the right time will come to own a dog.
