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Blog the Change: The Right Dog for the Home

Today is Blog the Change for Animals. It’s a day for us to write about animal welfare topics we are passionate about. On some level that seems silly because the main point of having my blog is to write about topics I care about. But the truth is, you mostly get the day to day stuff- diet changes, health issues, pictures from the dog park. Every once in a while something will happen and I’ll put together a post or two about topics I feel strongly about, but it’s really not that often.

In fact, I had a hard time coming up with something to write about today, despite the fact that I am passionate about a number of animal welfare issues. But then I read something over at No Dog About It that spurred a thought. First, let me say that I agree 100% with what Mel is saying- if you are not a responsible breeder, spay or neuter your pet. It is best for you and for them. And I also don’t want any of you to think I am accusing Mel of having the attitude I’m about to talk about. I doubt very much that she does. It was simply the line about not ending up with an oops pregnancy for your female dog that made me think about this.

You’ve met Copper before. Copper is my brother’s Black and Tan Coonhound/Golden Retriever mix. Well, we’re guessing on the Golden part. We know her mother was a papered, working, Coonhound. Her owner intended to breed her but made the mistake of thinking it would be safe to leave her unsupervised in his fully fenced backyard while she was in season. Hence Copper and her siblings.

There are people who don’t think my brother should have gotten Copper. There are dog bloggers out there (again, Mel is not one of them, and I’m not going to name names) who are against anyone getting a dog from a backyard breeder, from the guy in the parking lot at the grocery store, from the free to good home listing. Some think there are only two acceptable places to get a dog- a reputable breeder or the shelter. Others think the shelter is the only acceptable place to get a pet, at least while animals are still put down every year. And I have to, respectfully, disagree.

Let me be clear, all of my dogs have come from the shelter, including two purebreds. I very much doubt that we will ever get a dog not from a shelter, unless it’s taking one in for a friend/family member. But do I think my brother should be shamed for getting his puppy from an “oops” pregnancy? From a guy who was just trying to dump the puppies? Do I think my brother should have waited until this man took the puppies to the local shelter? Do we have any guarantees that that is what he would have done? This was a fairly rural area of northern NV. The puppies could easily have been dumped in the scrub. Would it really have been better for the pups for that to have happened?

Now, I know the good of the one vs the good of the many arguments, but for now, we don’t have an excess of puppies. We know this because it is not puppies being put down in shelters. You don’t walk into a shelter and find lots of puppies available for adoption. June was 6 months old when we met her, and we were simply, literally, the first people to grab someone and say- can we meet her. While we had our meet and greet with her, we were asked 5-10 times if we were going to adopt her.

The puppy supply does not meet the puppy demand. You don’t have to like that fact for it to be true. And most people who want a puppy (even if they would be better served getting an adult dog) very much want a puppy. (After Junebug, I call those people crazy.)

My brother wanted a puppy. He didn’t care about breed, but while we’d both grown up with dogs, he’d never had one that he had raised from the beginning, never had a puppy. And that’s what he wanted. (And don’t tell me it’s wrong for people to want puppies. Just look at how many kids 8 and older are available for adoption via foster care in your state, and then look at how much money people will pay to adopt an infant.)

And truth be told, Copper hit the jackpot. The guy was getting rid of the puppies as soon as they could be weaned. But Copper got to come to a house with another dog, so she still got socialization. She got to come to a home with experienced dog owners, who knew what they were getting in to. My brother has a friend who breed and trains champion hunting hounds and who was a constantly available source for specific training questions.

Copper got a fabulous family- one that would have been fabulous for any dog.

And my brother- he got exactly what he wanted, too. A dog that was his from puppyhood, a dog that he had trained, who was his baby. The hardest part about his time inAustraliawas not being away from friends and family but that Copper didn’t come with him.

Here’s the thing- people are going to get dogs, especially puppies, from lots of different places. Sometimes it will be a shelter. Sometimes it will be a reputable breeder. But more often, it will be from a listing in the paper, from the family down the street whose dog had an “oops” pregnancy. I don’t believe we should judge people by where their dog came from- not just mutt or pedigree, but “rescued” vs “bought”.

We need to judge people based on the way they are caring for their pet, for where they are now and what they are trying to be. Instead of judging people for that impulse in the parking lot to bring a cute little bundle of fuzz home, shouldn’t we instead be helping them make sure that cute little bundle of fuzz has the best life possible? Shouldn’t we be supporting them as they make training and care decisions so that when that puppy is 5 or 5 or 7 years old, it’s still exactly what the family wants?

Shouldn’t our goal be not only to make sure that every dog ends up in the right home, but that every family ends up with the right dog?

If we really want to solve our adult pet oversupply problem, we have to stop focusing on where the puppies come from and try to solve for what happens a few years later. If we honestly want our shelters to be less full, we have to focus not on where a dog comes from, but how he does in the home he’s in.

I’m not saying we will ever eliminate the need for shelters entirely, but just think about what the world could be like if we stopped caring about where someone got their puppy and instead focused on making sure that puppy grew into the right dog for that person.

10 Responses to "Blog the Change: The Right Dog for the Home"

BtC4animals says:

October 15, 2012 at 1:02 pm

Somebody needs to be educated about leaving in-season females unattended – even in a fenced yard – but an oops is not being done to make a buck, intentionally perpetuating the sick cycle of overpopulation. Fault certainly doesn't lie with your brother, in my mind. Your bother isn't breeding Copper. He's offering her the best life possible. Commendable, no? Copper was just a product of bad judgment on the part of the other guy.

When the dogs exists, I'm with you. We take care of who we can. If people intentionally breed to exploit the animals for personal gain, that's a whole different ball game – but that's not what this is. I do still think that buying puppies from those people is a huge mistake because money is the driving factor perpetuating the problem. Every situation is nuanced, though, and this one is the perfect example.

Thanks so much for Blogging the Change!

Kim Clune
Director: http://BetheChangeforAnimals.com
Blogger: http://thisonewildlife.com
1. ErinShanendoah says:
  
  October 15, 2012 at 2:36 pm
  
  If someone were to ask me where to get a dog, I'd ask what they were looking for and refer them to a shelter or rescue group preferably, or a reputable breeder if things were that specific. I certainly don't recommend that anyone go out and get a dog from the guy in the parking lot or at pet stores. But often, we (the general we) are not consulted before someone gets a puppy. They find out you're a dog person afterward and come to you. And that's when it's important to me to not care about where they got the dog. What's important is to help the dog grow into the best possible dor for the home they are in. Harassing someone over where they got the dog just drives a wedge between you and them.
wantmorepuppies says:

October 16, 2012 at 5:08 pm

Interesting take on the situation – you've definitely given me things to think about. While I agree with Kim that there's an issue with money perpetuating the problem, I also agree with your point that once someone has a dog, making them feel terrible about where the dog came from isn't necessarily productive. I think that it's still an opportunity to educate without being judgmental, but that's definitely a trickier thing to do.
1. ErinShanendoah says:
  
  October 17, 2012 at 7:52 am
  
  Yes, money does perpetuate the problem, but it really goes back to the fact that, like it or not, we do NOT have an oversupply of puppies. There is a very high demand for actual puppies, and as long as there is demand, there will be supply. What we have is an oversupply of adult dogs. To me, it seems like we have two options:
  
  1) Increase the demand for adult dogs while decreasing the demand for puppies. While I am all for this (and don't want another puppy myself), this is hard. As I mentioned in the post, there is something in us that calls out to baby anythings. There appears to be a natural instinct that draws people to puppies over adult dogs. We can work hard to get rid of the stigmas of shelter dogs and all sorts of other things, but I don't think we will ever be able to make a major dent in the demand for puppies.
  
  2) Help people with puppies (or any new dog), regardless of where the dog came from, to get the best match possible between the dog and the home. I think we have a much greater chance of reducing our supply of adult dogs by working toward the best fit between dog and home than we do of ever reducing the demand for puppies.
Jodi Stone says:

October 17, 2012 at 7:02 am

This is a great post. When I started looking for a dog I wanted a puppy. I looked everywhere, I went to local pounds, the Humane Society, breeders and pet stores (this was before I knew where pet store puppies came from), I just never found the right dog. Then my friend told me her brother's dog was having puppies and I immediately said, I want one. She was a pure Golden and had mated with a black lab, the result was Sampson. He is the best dog I've ever had. If it weren't for an oops pregnancy I might still be looking for that perfect dog.

I would never criticize anyone for where they got their dog, I would however try and educate them if they bought from a pet store or mass breeder, the bottom line is the puppies and that they get a good home and stay there! As you very nicely said.
1. ErinShanendoah says:
  
  October 17, 2012 at 7:58 am
  
  Thank you. I am very glad you found Sampson. My brother certainly adores Copper. Because I don't see the demand for puppies going down, I really do think our focus has to be on creating the best situation for everyone involved once the puppy comes home (and as the puppy grows up).
Kristine says:

October 17, 2012 at 11:34 am

It's not my place to judge where someone got their dog. One of my best friends got her dog from a pet store. She now works for a welfare organization and dedicates all her time to protecting animals. It's easy to make a quick opinion based on very little facts. It's harder to look closer at the people and discover the great things they are doing. Yes, my friend has a pet store dog who she is giving a great life. Yelling at her about that isn't going to change anything or save lives. My parents got their dog from a backyard breeder. Did I shake my head at them? Yes. Do I treat their dog any differently than I would if he was from a shelter? Of course not.

We've got to stop blaming and ranting and start listening. Why are people making these choices? How can we help them make different ones? Those are the questions to ask.

Really great post!
1. ErinShanendoah says:
  
  October 17, 2012 at 12:48 pm
  
  People want puppies. I think we have to accept that fact first. There are lots of reasons for wanting a puppy and for some people, it may be possible to convince them an older dog is better, but we're never really going to decrease the demand for puppies on a significant level. I don't really know how to increase the supply of puppies from what we consider "good" sources and have them remain "good",and I'm not certain I would want to limit puppies in that way anyway, as most "reputable" breeder specialize in purebred dogs of some sort, and I happen to love the mutts that come from the occassional "oops" pregnancy.
  
  And in the end, maybe that's what it comes down to for me- I will fight against puppy mills and some of the terrible intentional breeding situations out there, but I love the mutts and the mixes and the odd but fabulous combinations that come from non-intentional breeding of dogs. It's a bit of a catch-22, because I do believe in spaying and neutering your pets. But I'm always going to smile when I see the Lab/Basset cross. I'm always going to want to pet the Akita/Border Collie mix. And there's a part of me that doesn't want to live in a world where those dogs don't exist.
  
  So I'd rather spend my energy making sure that once those dogs do exist, they get to stay in their first forever home, well, forever.
  1. Kristine says:
    
    October 18, 2012 at 8:42 am
    
    I share your love of mixed breed dogs and couldn't agree more. There are many people who've had "oops" litters but who have been dedicated enough to find each puppy a very good home and then gone on to spay/neuter. We all make mistakes. It's how the mistake is handled that counts. One of the reasons I think I will always go to a shelter is because I love mutts. And it would be sad to not have that option any more, in a way.
Pamela says:

October 17, 2012 at 5:47 pm

Have nothing to add to all these great comments. Except to say thank you for writing a thoughtful and new take on this issue. Besides, it's never helped a single animal to have people tear each other apart over ideology.

Comments are closed.