When you buy, does a shelter dog die?

[RealPitBull]

Just to play devil's advocate. Thoughts, opinions, ideas, etc on purchase vs. adoption, ethical considerations of buying a dog (any dog, even from an ethical breeder), etc.

I also pose the question, if you are going to be buying a purebred, registered dog for show/work, etc from a reputable breeder, is a shelter dog dying in place of the dog you are buying?

(Note: we are PRO ETHICAL BREEDER here, and this thread is not meant to bash or demonize anyone! This is just to get the wheels turning and a discussion of ethics going Buying from a breeder is something I've done in the past and most surely will do again in the future, but I DO admit to having some conflicting feelings on the matter in terms of what is moral/truly ethical. )

[loverocksalot]

For me I have no need to buy from a breeder. I did not always think this way I will say it was learned. I feel I have no need for a working dog which for me personally is the only reason to purchase. Especially pit bulls. THeir are pleanty of good dogs in the shelter who would be good at sports etc. .
And I guess it helps that I had a good experience with my first adoption and got a good dog. Had I had a bad experience I may be thinking different. Some people believe when you adopt you are getting someone elses problem. Like a used car.

[loverocksalot]

Oh yeah I chose depends because when it comes to pit bulls I believe in adoption over buying. I also think I said it already but I am saying it again. I did not think anything about this nor did I have any care until I adopted a pit bull. But that day I went to the shelter to adopt a dog of any kind right for me. My husband would have easily bought a back yard dog. We were clueless at one time. Have learned all about this stuff after joining forums and researching. No offense to anyone who had bought a pit bull from a breeder. I do however wish we could preserve the breed and bring it back to the dog it was 50 years ago. I feel fortunate to have found one like that in the shelter.

[adoptapitbull]

I don't feel it's a "buy one, kill one" scenario, but I do feel that for every dog purchased, it has a negative effect on those sitting on death row in a shelter.

If you are breeding for breed improvement, for a job (herding, working, etc.), or to keep a breed from becoming extinct, then fine. But, too many people think they can be a "breeder" by getting their dog pregnant. So many people out there have no idea what they are really buying. A cute little puppy with a high price tag means a better dog to some people. I have never, and will never buy from a breeder. Too many animals die on a daily basis because of overpopulation. I will not contribute to the problem by encouraging "breeders" to keep having puppies.

I could go on for days, but I will shut up now before I really get going!

[pistis]

I think a lot of it has to do with "where" so many dogs are coming from. Meaning, regardless if someone actually buys a dog or not there are still thousands of breeders, BYBs, and just plain irresponsible owners. It's because of them that there are so many dogs in shelters, and dogs will continue to be placed in shelters because of them. This is why so many of them will die in shelters and not because of where someone gets their dog from. There could be a huge decline in the purchasing of dogs, and there would still be dogs getting euth. in shelters because of the afore mentioned people.

I'm not saying all breeders are bad, but there are a lot that just don't care who their dogs go to and it's sad. All they do is add to the problem and are no better than BYBs. Of course there are breeders out there trying to do their best for the breed, are honest people, make sure they know what kind of person they are selling their dogs to, and back up their work, but those people seem to be few and far between when looking at the ratio between them and the breeders who are being irresponsible out there.

So, while I think it's better to save a dogs life and adopt as opposed to buy, I do not believe that buying a dog will automatically constitute the death of another dog that's in a shelter because again, I don't think the people buying dogs are causing the problem. I think in order to solve a problem you have to figure out what the exact root of the problem is in order to solve it. In this case, to me anyways, it's not the people out there who want dogs (whether they purchase them or adopt them), it's the people who just won't stop irresponibly producing the dogs/ those willing to sell their dogs to irresponsible people.

Imho- If any of that makes sense I could be wrong though. Those were just my first thoughts to the question.

[AmyJo27]

I also chose depends.

If you buy from a backyard breeder, yes you are killing dogs in shelters. You are supporting someone’s unethical ways. Does that mean you are an awful person if you have purchased from a BYB? I don’t think so, hopefully you have learned and realize you could get a dog that is virtually the same from a shelter/rescue...You could save a life!

If you show, compete, and work your dog…You might want to buy from a breeder. IMO you can get a great working dog and possibly competition dog (Lots of shows don’t require papers) from a shelter or rescue. But for conformation you need a papered pooch. You DO need to choose your breeder wisely and if you buy a dog for show and cannot/don’t get it fixed DO NOT breed, then you are practically killing MANY innocent dogs in shelters. Resist the temptation!!!

So, IMO (For the most part) you are not killing a shelter dog when you buy IF and ONLY IF you do it “right” (Select a ethical, responsible, moral breeder- NEVER breed the dog- ONLY buy when you “have” to i.e. for show or work)

[emilys]

no, and I HATE that slogan.
I got my last dog from a breeder. There would have been no such dog available in any shelter, anywhere.

[suziriot]

Mary, you must have thought things were getting too boring around here and decided to liven it up a bit!

I'll have to word my response to this carefully, because I'm a bit conflicted about it as well. Not that long ago, I would have said yes... but my position has softened a little. I am absolutely a rescue person and personally would never buy or breed while there are millions of dogs PTS in shelters every year. Having gotten directly involved in rescue and preparing for law school (animal law) the past 6 months, I've learned a lot about rescue policy and practice. From a policy perspective, back yard breeding and fighting operations are the biggest problems. I don't think that ethical, reputable breeders are responsible for the very high number of pit bulls in shelters. On the practical side, good rescues work VERY HARD to find fosters and adopters and prioritize the dogs with the best temperaments.

Ultimately, it's a personal ethical choice. My own ethical principles mean that I will always only have rescues. With the exception of Dharma, all of our dogs pretty much just happened to us. I guess I pretty much agree with Amy Jo: "So, IMO (For the most part) you are not killing a shelter dog when you buy IF and ONLY IF you do it “right” (Select a ethical, responsible, moral breeder- NEVER breed the dog- ONLY buy when you “have” to i.e. for show or work)."