Should everyone be forced to show they aren’t able to rescue a dog before they can buy a puppy?

[Coffeealwayshot]

Just that really

I see my local shelter is full again and saying they will need to euthanise if they can’t find homes.

Everyone I know (bar 2 or 3) who has a dog has bought from a breeder.

Im not rude enough to ask people if they considered a rescue. I know some say they were turned down but some that they just wanted a puppy or a specific breed.

So my question is as above?
I get we can’t say no breeding at all but should taking on a rescue be the only option for those who are suitable and reduce the breeding to just cater for those who can’t have a rescue dog?

Dogs often end up in rescue because their original owners got a pet that wasn’t suited to their requirements/bought from a puppy farm/failed to train them properly. Dogs in rescue don’t pass through the rescue and become the perfect pet - they’re still the untrained/poorly bred dogs that were given up in the first place. This has become especially true in the past few years - 10+ years ago there was more of a range of breeds/situations for giving up dogs in rescue - now rescues are invariably either anxious-aggressive cockerpoos, absolute medical car crash frenchies, or boisterous untrained status dogs.

If you want a project, have the expertise and means to care for a rescue, and can deal with some uncertainty in the end result - by all means get a rescue. But if people are pushed into getting a rescue dog when they aren’t really prepared for it, it will end up back in rescue.

The thing that needs regulating is backyard/amateur breeders - they create these dogs and sell them to whoever will pay. Those puppies are much more likely to end up in rescue, than dogs bred by a breeder who puts thought and expertise into the health and temperament of their breed, and vets potential owners thoroughly to make sure they are prepared and committed.

No, thank you. It's not my responsibility to take on a dog that someone else bred or abandoned. If I want another dog in the future, I might consider a rescue IF it is a breed I want and fits my other requirements—but only if I've decided that I don't want the full puppy experience. (Having done it multiple times already, there are parts of puppyhood that I wouldn't mind avoiding, but if I want a puppy, I'm getting a puppy.)

There's no guarantee that I'd pass the rules for rescuing a dog, anyway, but the bottom line is that as long as I haven't been proven to be an abusive or neglectful pet owner, it's no-one's business where I get my next dog or cat. If I want a specific breed/age, that's what I should be allowed to get, if I can find it and afford it.

I personally think we should try and cut down the number of animals going to shelters in the first place. So I'd like it if people thought far more carefully about getting an animal and what animal/breed/age would suit their lifestyle. It's a big responsibility. I'd like may be all secondary school age children to visit a rehoming charity so people realise how much damage what I think of passive neglect does (ie leaving a dog too long, not walking them, not providing them with mental stimulation). People think that shelters are just animals that have been horrifically abused and neglected as that's what we see on TV adverts etc, but not looking after your animals needs also does a lot of harm and is cruel. I'd also like to stop people being able to get dogs on a whim, so I'd stop bad breeders and puppy farms (which should be stopped anyway for a multitude of reasons) and also stop animals being given away via gumtree etc.

Likewise.
I would never even consider having a rescue dog.
All our puppies have been from reputable breeders that were recommended by our breed club or by people that we know within our breed.

I've got adopted humans, and there's only so much trauma and past issues my house can take- can I be exempted by already doing my "adopt, don't breed" duty?

They are so incredibly picky about the homes they deem suitable.,and you can never anticipate the nature of a rescue dog because of past trauma that many owners wouldn't take that risk

A lot of them now are paying extortionate amounts for crossbreeds bred from pets. They aren't talking about buying a purebred puppy from a reputable breeder.

We have a cat - ruled out loads of rescues

We have an autistic adult son - ruled out most rescues because of uncertain histories ( many have reactivity issues due to being abused and a clumsy, big adult who might not read the dogs behavioural cues... bad idea)

We were first time dog owners, without the understanding or experience to take on a dog that may well display issues that it didn't show in rescue due to being emotionally shut down. Dogs don't always show their true worries until a long way down the line

As it happens our dog is a wonderful family pet, who happens to have a pretty determined personality and attitude and my son has learned to be a brilliant dog person, so in future we would like to rescue.... if we don't still have cats!

But rescues make it very difficult and I do not wish to adopt from abroad as I don't think it helps.
I have a rare breed dog, spent a long time researching for a breed that would suit our lives, was vetted extremely thoroughly and waited a long time for her. No regrets.

It's a chicken egg for me.

I would only buy from a breeder, a reputable one. Who will or would take the puppy back in the event I died, changed my mind, whatever.

Same as I would take back any puppy in any scenario and deal with it myself.

Any dog un rescue is generally there because people are buying from puppy farms or unregulated breeders.

And like anything else, if the public don't follow, it all falls down.

So buy that puppy from the puppy farm, send it to the over bursting rescues to never find a home.

Or, buy it from a breeder who will take it back.

Or, rent the property for a holiday without a licence but looks lovely, lose your money.

Or, rent it from the people who jumped through the hoops and got the licence and who bend over backwards to help.

Stop the sale of non licensed pups. Stop the rescue issue. Aside from a select few. Perhaps breeder dies and owner dies and one lonely dog needs a home

There are massive holes in the idea.

Some breeders don't give a shit about animal welfare - they are in it to make money. Why would they want to check?

If a rescue thinks you're not suitable owners for a rescue dog, why would they sign you off to say you're all good to get a puppy? Surely according to their own logic that's asking for a new resident in 6 months' time.

I got a rescue dog about 11 years ago. She was lovely, 10 years at the time and lived to be 14. She was much loved. But getting her was so hard. Battersea (I live in London) turned me down immediately because I lived in a flat (it's London?) Dog's Trust tried to pawn me a staffy after staffy even though I had explicitly said I didn't want one. I had requested a small dog (the flat issue and all that) and it took 8 months to finally get a dog from a small charity. Even then people kept trying to convince me that a staffy was a "small breed". Honestly think adopting a baby would have been easier 😂

Now I have a small dc and it's just absolutely no-go with every dog charity. I tried for a bit for a dog and it was so hard that we just ended up with a cat (who is lovely, though). When the cat is no longer, I'm going to go down the puppy route too.

This. You really don’t know the history with a rescue dog, it’s basically a punt, which can be risky especially if you have kids.

from a reputable breeder you should know exactly what you’re getting

fwiw I’d always try a rescue first but it’s unrealistic for many.

Absolutely not.

Most dogs in rescue or short term foster exhibit very different behaviour to the sorts of behaviour they exhibit in a permanent home or LTF. This could, in a worst case scenario, end up with a dog attacking a child after being deemed ‘safe’ to live either children because it lived with a child for a week in a foster placement. This is made even worse by the fact that many people who relinquish their dogs actively lie about the dogs behavioural issues.

And then you get onto the cost, time, commitment of dealing with a rescue - three months if it all ‘goes well.’ Usually much longer.

Ultimately, what you actually need is a system to stop Dave from Croydon buying six GSD bitches, breeding them and dumping them. Control the sale of dogs to people who know what the hell they are doing and not Carol down the road who has kids who ‘just want a puppy.’ You’d end up with far less dogs in rescues that way. Win/win.

FFS. Some of these posts are just awful. And completely inaccurate.

Personally I think that all breeders should be forced, at their own expense, to arrange an independent, in person home check of anyone who wants to buy a dog. All dogs in rescue have been bred by someone and usually bought by someone who, being kind, didn’t think it through. Proper home checks would rule out unsuitable homes and massively reduce the number of dogs in rescue.

I can understanding your logic up to a point OP but don't agree with the suggestion.
I am 100% sure I would not be capable of looking after a rescue dog properly. Sure, lots of people do but at least half of them are absolutely useless. And it doesn't actually improve those dogs' wellbeing as much as they like to think it does.
I have a few friends who are absolutely brilliant with their rescues. I can't do what they do. My parents always have at least 2 rescue dogs and they do their best, but I couldn't do what they do.
All my own dogs have been bought from puppies, from reputable breeders and have been well adjusted and well trained, perfect family pets for an active busy family. I know exactly what I'm doing in this scenario.
So I can do one but know I can't do the other.
With your plan, I'd never have a dog. For purely selfish reasons, I don't like your plan at all.

I can see where you are coming from OP, and perhaps there does need to be a bigger push to get people to look at rescues /talk to them. I had a year of trying to adopt a dog before giving up any hope of a dog that could be housed with children (that wasn’t bigger than me! I’m quite small and know my strength limits, would not have a dog I couldn’t control) but in the end we bought a puppy.

that said, I’ve just had a look on the website of one of rescues I’d previously been on the list for (I asked to be taken off the list when we got our dog), they have quite a few dogs that are relatively young and state could be housed with a family and other dogs. Perhaps I had unlucky timing when we were ready for a dog, or perhaps it was then just problem dogs being surrendered and now there’s more cases of financial problems causing surrenders.

Even from a breeder there's no absolute guarantee.

Absolutely not. I think it’s a real shame how many dogs there are in shelters - and I’m truly baffled by the number of people who seem to choose to ‘rescue’ dogs from Greece / Romania as family pets with no idea as to their temperament - but we’re not all canine social workers who are duty bound to save the unloved over choosing a responsibly bred puppy

to each their own - it’s nice to have a shelter dog (we have had two, our current one is a giant- he is anxious, leash reactive, hugely loved and would be totally totally unsuitable as a family pet to inexperienced owners) if that works for you. But making it an obligation sounds a bit like making people who want to have a baby take on a child from foster care. A worthy calling. But not the same thing - and not an obligation.

I have a rescue dog, from the Dogs Trust. I thought I might have a hard time because of things I'd read re rescues will never allow x, y, z, but I found them very pragmatic.

They were fine that I work part time, because it was an older dog who likes a snooze and he wouldn't be left for more than 3-4 hours without a dog walker. They wouldn't have said yes for a young dog (who needed more input) or a dog with known separation issues as that wouldn't be fair on them.

I didn't need a 6 foot high fence, because again it was an older dog who can't jump 5 foot.

My dog couldn't live with cats - he enjoys chasing them, it wouldn't be fair on the cat, but he's fine with other dogs.

He's also fine with children of any age because they know his history and he's been around young children in his last home. Plus he is not super excitable and bouncy, he doesn't mouth, and he doesn't have a bite history.

Rescues are in a difficult spot as some / a lot of the dogs have difficult or unknown histories and they have to err on the side of caution. But there are some absolutely cracking dogs in rehoming centres. Although I would caution to go in with your eyes open, bad habits take time to undo, and know what you could or couldn't cope with in terms of behaviours.

my local shelter currently has 56 puppies at the mo..all dumped 20 of them from so call breeder.
our laws should be like Germany. mandatory training on dog ownership. have to have all vaccines etc. dedicated government staff who regularly inspect homes, how dogs are and being cared for.

Who is enforcing this?

Because I can't even get the police to investigate the burglary I was a victim of. Rapists aren't sent to prison. Where does this force exist?

Rescues need to
make the rehoming process less of a challenge for decent people to rehome a dog.

we were turned down as on paper we both work full time.

in reality, we work extremely flexible jobs, we both work fully remotely with international travel every month or so but we are never away at the same time.

we have 2 dogs, they live an amazing life, we have horses and land and the dogs want for nothing.

more fool the rescue and a huge shame for the rescues we could have re homed.

Why should those of us who want a pedigree puppy for working or show, from health checked stock and specific bloodlines need to "prove" that we can't take on a rescue?

Those of us buying purebred puppies from reputable breeders/show kennels aren't the ones causing these issues for shelters. You need to penalise the people buying crossbreeds from free ads and not doing any research into health issues, temperament, energy levels and inherited breed traits. Those are the ones who end up dumping their dogs. It's not the people who are on a waiting list for a puppy from a specific kennel.

No, why should people who want a certain breed and a puppy be forced to clean up someone else's mess?

Why is that dog a rescue dog in the first place ? That's what needs looking at. What lead to them being there? How to interrupt and fix that issue.

I tried for years to rehome a dog as I would have preferred that to getting one from a breeder. I worked in an animal shelter so had a good understanding of what dogs need, was committed to the levels of exercise and no children in the home at the time but I was consistently turned down because my ex and I both worked full time.

Eventually we did get from a breeder as it was clear we wouldn't be able to rescue and we wanted plenty of time with a dog to settle, socialise and train it before eventually having children.

So no I don't think your point is fair as not everyone will have the ability to rehome and obviously dogs that have been through trauma need to be the priority and have the best possible home to go to.

Plus breeding can have a place when it's done ethically - to help eradicate certain health conditions in dogs for example. The main problem is unethical breeding at the likes of puppy farms etc where dogs are overbred and inbred and become unhealthy and traumatised. There should be more of an onus on breeders to prove responsible breeding and on the buyer to make sure they're doing proper research.