Dog Breeders vs Dog Rescues? New puppy or second hand dog?

Dog Breeding vs Dog Rescues?

There really is no contest! Even though I am an English Bulldog Breeder, I would always say to anyone that asks me this question that if you are in a position to rescue a dog from a shelter, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE choose to rescue rather than buy a puppy! There are so many dogs in shelters around the world and they all deserve a loving home.

But not everyone is in a position to rescue a dog from a shelter.

Why would you choose a puppy when there are so many dogs waiting for a home in a shelter? Well for one, you may have small children and not be allowed to adopt a rescue dog. None of the rescue centres in England UK will allow a rescue dog to be placed in a home with small children as they are not certain of the background of the dog and its full temperament. Usually, rescues specify over 8’s or older children only.

Also, you may be looking for a specific breed which is not available in a rescue.

There are specific breed rescues so you should always contact these first if you are looking for a particular breed, however there are many more generic shelters and unfortunately the main inhabitants of these are either crossbreeds or overly bred money makers for greeders/backyard breeders/puppy farms; whatever you wish to call them.

At the moment in the UK, we specifically have a problem with too many Staffies and staffy crosses in rescue shelters. I think this is because they have been named a status dogs and bred en mass to make money, then when people don’t want them anymore because they realize they aren’t what they expected, can’t cope with the chewing stage or just ‘want a new one’, they just get rid of the poor souls without a second thought.

So how do we help to combat the situation as breeders?

I have a strict set of personal rules that I stick to. For example I will only sell a puppy to someone once I have researched their background in owning dogs, their lifestyles to make sure that they suit the personality of the dogs, time spent at home, eg if everyone is out all day and the dog is left alone, how does that benefit the dog? It doesn’t! So no thank you to that particular home.

Puppies should be sold with a puppy contract stating terms like “must not be sold on” or “must be returned to the breeder before re-homing” etc.

As for the breeding process, we should only breed from healthy dogs and never over breed a bitch.

It is important for people to research their breeders before buying from them. Not everybody has a moral compass and wants the best for every puppy that they breed.

I think we need to better regulate dog breeding with licensing laws, regular home checks and compulsory health testing for breeding dogs.

We also need to understand that without good breeders, we wouldn’t have the beautiful breeds that we have today. It is important to keep these breeds alive and to better the breed with every future litter, health being the primary concern over looks (IMO).

If you are in a position to rescue a dog from a shelter, PLEASE choose to do this over buying a puppy.

If you decide that you cannot rescue and wish to buy a puppy, please research your breeder and only buy from reputable people. You may think you are rescuing a puppy from a bad environment by taking it away from an awful breeder, however realistically all you are doing is lining their pockets and creating a space for them to breed and abuse more poor babies. Never buy a puppy out of sympathy no matter how hard it is to turn away.

I will write another post on tips and questions to ask a breeder to make sure they are reputable and not trying to con you into believing that they are. You will be amazed at the lengths people will go to!

Thank you for reading! Much love @beautifulbullies xx