More for breeding or Rescuing? Both?

We bred cockers for a few years.  We did everything right, except for showing, but we did have outside confirmation of their suitability from other breeders in our breed club and from a couple AKC judges that we met through the breed clubs.  Many of our pups were show quality and a lot of them went to breeders who DID show as well.
 
Now, I do rescue and foster.  I made the mistake of thinking I could handle anything.....Thor and Sheba mated through the crate resulting in 2 pups that didn't last but a day or so, and then a foster child let Sheba out of TWO crates when I went down to start laundry....he thot she wanted to play with Thor since she was whining so much.....oh yeah, they wanted to play alright......and along came Shadow.  So, business got taken care of after that, and since I absolutely LOVE  having pups around, I have taken in one litter who's momma developed mastitious (sp) and a VERY pregnant bitch who whelped within hours of arriving in my home.  One pup from the first litter stayed, two from the second....I've been asked to take a pregnant doxie, but I know NOTHING about them so I'm not real sure I want to go there.  Not in this nuthouse!

While I'm definitely not against breeding (although I honestly believe people should be liscensed to breed as well as have a limit), I am more for rescuing. I do love the idea that good breeders in general, try to improve the quality of the specific breed of choice and yes, I think that is important HOWEVER all too often people really don't know what they are doing. My first German Shepherd came from a very well known breeder in the Chicago-area and we were VERY lucky to get a pup from her because she breeds every few years or so, actually sometimes even longer than that. Not often at all. The woman studies and studies and studies the blood lines, watches for health problems over a span of years and basically, just watches everything there is to watch (LOL). She also took in strays. One of her male GSD's brought in a starving stray cat from outside and she kept it. I loved him because he had such a wonderful personality and we were lucky enough to get a pup from him (female). That is the only dog from a breeder I have ever had, or even my family. They have all been rescues. I think both have wonderful qualities but the difference to me, is that the dog rescued KNOWS he/she was rescued. The attitude is different, IMO. I find all dogs equally beautiful and intelligent (there are just as many dumb dogs from breeders as there are intelligent  because nowadays, EVERYONE calls themselves a breeder- LOL). 

ORIGINAL: glenmar

We bred cockers for a few years.  We did everything right, except for showing, but we did have outside confirmation of their suitability from other breeders in our breed club and from a couple AKC judges that we met through the breed clubs.  Many of our pups were show quality and a lot of them went to breeders who DID show as well.

Now, I do rescue and foster.  I made the mistake of thinking I could handle anything.....Thor and Sheba mated through the crate resulting in 2 pups that didn't last but a day or so, and then a foster child let Sheba out of TWO crates when I went down to start laundry....he thot she wanted to play with Thor since she was whining so much.....oh yeah, they wanted to play alright......and along came Shadow.  So, business got taken care of after that, and since I absolutely LOVE  having pups around, I have taken in one litter who's momma developed mastitious (sp) and a VERY pregnant bitch who whelped within hours of arriving in my home.  One pup from the first litter stayed, two from the second....I've been asked to take a pregnant doxie, but I know NOTHING about them so I'm not real sure I want to go there.  Not in this nuthouse!

Rescuing! What better way to get to experience so many different breeds and learn about all the different temperments.The only part that is hard is falling in love and having to say goodbye eventually.But there is allways a new one waiting for you!

I'm sorry to say I don't really understand the question. What do you mean by "for?" I think you'll be hard pressed to find anyone here who is not in favor of both rescue and responsible breeding. As far as whether any individual person chooses to buy or adopt their next dog... everyone has their reasons.

I have never breed or ever gotten any dogs from anything but shelters, rescues or homeless pups wondering the streets.   

I agree with jones.  Not only are there reasons why someone will choose one or the other, but it may also change based circumstances at a specific time of life.
 
I only ever had rescues/rehomed dogs before.  I loved them dearly, but my time with them was too short.  When we decided to get a dog I knew I wanted a puppy just so I could have the experience of raising a dog from puppyhood and spending his WHOLE life with him - not just the last few years.  It was to be my SO's first dog, and he's especially partial to labs.  Lab puppies are incredibly rare at shelters here, so I went the breeder route.
 
My next dog will be a St. Bernard, and we will adopt/rescue that.  Too many Saints are given up because they have suddenly gotten "too big" and "the Beethoven dog drools too much".  I can and want to give one of those poor dogs a home - it's not the dog's fault that the owners did no breed research.  Unfortunately I have to wait for my Saint because I am making a transatlantic move and one dog is as much as I can cope with for that. 
 
Kate

I think both responsible breeders and rescues are wonderful, I can't say as I'm for or against either. However, that being said, I prefer to get my dogs from breeders for numerous reasons and 99% of my future dogs will come from breeders.

I dont have anything against breeders who do things correctly.... but I will never own a dog that didnt come from a shelter or the streets. 

I'm curious, what exactly are those reasons? This is just for my own knowledge and by no means is this question meant sarcastically.

ORIGINAL: orangedog

I think both responsible breeders and rescues are wonderful, I can't say as I'm for or against either. However, that being said, I prefer to get my dogs from breeders for numerous reasons and 99% of my future dogs will come from breeders.

There are lots of reasons to get a dog from a breeder. I have always adopted dogs from shelters and currently have the first puppy I have "bought". I made this decision because:

1. Had a really heartbreaking experience with last dog, needed to put her down because she was dangerously aggressive (after working with her for one year with trainer and behaviorist)
2. Heard a handful of stories about other people getting aggressive dogs from a shelter in my area, even though the shelter knew they were aggressive and lied when these people asked questions about the dog's potential for aggression.
3. Thought about the fact that every dog I have gotten from a shelter had some real issues (most requiring work but handle-able). Decided that I didn't want to take responsibility for someone else's dog mistakes again.
4. Started going to dog shows and talking to people and meeting dogs, and saw that if I was patient and met lots of siblings and parents of dogs and talked well with breeders, I could get a puppy that really matched what I wanted.
5. Realized that this is the way I want to make a twelve- to fifteen-year decision. That I feel like it's insane to roll the dice when bringing an animal that is supposed to be a part of the family for two decades into the house.

Honestly, I have thought about this a lot and while I understand that rescue is necessary, I think the shelter system is really flawed and am curious about what it does to relieve overpopulation. It gives amoral people a place to dump their puppies guilt-free once they become a drag, and then guilts moral people into taking a dog that someone else didn't socialize, didn't train, and probably bought impulsively at a pet store (so add to that shelter pup the potential for impossible to housetrain with myriad health problems).

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to be a part of this system of other people's mistakes. The most important, most responsible thing you can do is get the dog you want. The dog you are going to keep until it dies.

Edited to add:

Having a dog is supposed to be a joy. What I distrust about shelter groups is the way they want to make it okay that sometimes having a shelter dog is not joyful. It's a lot of work. Having a dog with serious separation anxiety is a ton of work. A really reactive dog is not a joy to walk--it's a lot of work. A dog that bites is scary and not a joy.

The difference between my gigantic handful of a vizsla puppy and the shelter dogs I have owned is, to varying degrees, this joy factor. Having a puppy is a lot of work too, but it's not about "fixing" the dog or learning how to adapt to his "past trauma". This work is more joyful, because it's not about cleaning up after someone else's irresponsible neglect.

And you know another thing? We live in a culture that separates dogs from human life. Dogs are not allowed in stores and restaurants and sometimes it's hard to find an apartment that allows a dog, etc. And I think that this idea that good dog people get more messed up dogs is one small part of the strange way we think about dogs.

Traveling in Europe, I was astounded at how well-integrated dogs are into the rest of city life. The expectation is that you are going to have this well-trained companion that will go where you go and do what you do, and so of course your dog can lay under your table while you eat in a restaurant. I want that kind of life with my dog. And I am patient and I know a lot about dog training, and have been owning dogs my whole life, and only one of the shelter dogs I had would be ready to handle that much stimulation.

(He was an amazing dog)

I don't have a problem with responsible breeders who are only breeding their dogs to enhance their breed. They aren't breeding to make a quick buck or selling to pet shops or the first person to show them the money. They care about the dogs and their offsprings.
Personally I can't afford the price of such dogs so rescue will always be for me and since I foster rescue cats I feel hypocritical purchasing a pup from a breeder.
If  I could afford the cost of a well bred pup from a reputable breeder I would probably go that way. Of course if I had I wouldn't have my Molly

I can well understand someone who has rescued for years and years getting weary of cleaning up someone elses messes.
 
We had one member who did that for years, and her beautiful white shepherd has such severe HD that it was diagnosed at 4 months.  Sadie had tons and tons of health problems too, and she just went through the wringer with that poor girl.  It was BECAUSE of her dedication to Sadie that I thot she'd be an excellent home for one of my foster pups.  But, she had said NEXT time she wanted a well bred shepherd.  It wasn't until she posted that she and DH were going to start scouting the shelters that I pm'd her and offered the pup who became Molly.  And, it was a crap shoot for her....sight unseen (my son transported Molly when he was home for Thanksgiving), no real history on the parents at that point.
 
When we bred, we did it properly with all the genetic testing and it was satisfying to see families thrilled with their new pups.  But, I've found that same satisfaction with fostering and placing pups that way.

Come to Texas, where Lab is king. You can't turn around without seeing one.

I hear you. However I have not had the experience you have had with shelter dogs and I've been rescuing (as well as my dad/mother) my whole life. I  think it really depends on the dog and you have to interact with the dog yourself, bring your other dogs to interact with the dog (if you have other dogs) as well, and you can really get a feel about how the dog would be. I have had from both breeder and shelter and while yes, the one from a breeder was fantastic and came from great blood lines, my others were just as beautiful and smart. We have one who was badly abused (yes other's mistakes) but she turned around to be such a fantastic and loving dog and these two shelter dogs I have now, are oure joys. They roam the neighborhoods, the kids come play with them, they are so intelligent that we have to change the door knobs because they open doors, they have NEVER growled or bitten anyone, and I totally trust them.

I really think it depends on the dog. There are many puppies out there who need to be adopted as well. Not only older dogs. If you adopt a puppy, you can definitely raise it along your standards.

I just feel like saying that you don't want to deal with someone else's mistakes sounds harsh. I AGREE with your point/view, don't get me wrong, but it does sound harsh. I love the fact that I helped a life that was so sad and depressed and didn't know anything other than getting beaten. I love knowing she changed and is now a happy dog. While your experience with shelter dogs was unfortunate (the aggression you experiences), they aren't all like that. Even if you know the temperament of your breeder dog, you NEVER know what may happen. In my opinion, a lot of these shelter dogs are more loving because they know you saved them.

I am not against either, that's for sure. And, I couldn't agree with you more (what is society in general doing about the population of strays..?)

When you have a heart breaking experience, that answers it all. It could really traumatize you. I am not against breeding at all - as long as you know what you're doing and don't breed too often and also, I think breeders should try to help with rescue or educate people about rescuing as well. I know all the breeders I've talked to have had some involvement in this and I thought it was fantastic.

Although I was really pissed at the AKC when I brought back that dog from Greece and I needed a little help and because she wasn't PURE Whippet, they wouldn't help me. I was appaulled.

ORIGINAL: fisher6000

There are lots of reasons to get a dog from a breeder. I have always adopted dogs from shelters and currently have the first puppy I have "bought". I made this decision because:

1. Had a really heartbreaking experience with last dog, needed to put her down because she was dangerously aggressive (after working with her for one year with trainer and behaviorist)
2. Heard a handful of stories about other people getting aggressive dogs from a shelter in my area, even though the shelter knew they were aggressive and lied when these people asked questions about the dog's potential for aggression.
3. Thought about the fact that every dog I have gotten from a shelter had some real issues (most requiring work but handle-able). Decided that I didn't want to take responsibility for someone else's dog mistakes again.
4. Started going to dog shows and talking to people and meeting dogs, and saw that if I was patient and met lots of siblings and parents of dogs and talked well with breeders, I could get a puppy that really matched what I wanted.
5. Realized that this is the way I want to make a twelve- to fifteen-year decision. That I feel like it's insane to roll the dice when bringing an animal that is supposed to be a part of the family for two decades into the house.

Honestly, I have thought about this a lot and while I understand that rescue is necessary, I think the shelter system is really flawed and am curious about what it does to relieve overpopulation. It gives amoral people a place to dump their puppies guilt-free once they become a drag, and then guilts moral people into taking a dog that someone else didn't socialize, didn't train, and probably bought impulsively at a pet store (so add to that shelter pup the potential for impossible to housetrain with myriad health problems).

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to be a part of this system of other people's mistakes. The most important, most responsible thing you can do is get the dog you want. The dog you are going to keep until it dies.

Edited to add:

Having a dog is supposed to be a joy. What I distrust about shelter groups is the way they want to make it okay that sometimes having a shelter dog is not joyful. It's a lot of work. Having a dog with serious separation anxiety is a ton of work. A really reactive dog is not a joy to walk--it's a lot of work. A dog that bites is scary and not a joy.

The difference between my gigantic handful of a vizsla puppy and the shelter dogs I have owned is, to varying degrees, this joy factor. Having a puppy is a lot of work too, but it's not about "fixing" the dog or learning how to adapt to his "past trauma". This work is more joyful, because it's not about cleaning up after someone else's irresponsible neglect.

And you know another thing? We live in a culture that separates dogs from human life. Dogs are not allowed in stores and restaurants and sometimes it's hard to find an apartment that allows a dog, etc. And I think that this idea that good dog people get more messed up dogs is one small part of the strange way we think about dogs.

Traveling in Europe, I was astounded at how well-integrated dogs are into the rest of city life. The expectation is that you are going to have this well-trained companion that will go where you go and do what you do, and so of course your dog can lay under your table while you eat in a restaurant. I want that kind of life with my dog. And I am patient and I know a lot about dog training, and have been owning dogs my whole life, and only one of the shelter dogs I had would be ready to handle that much stimulation.

(He was an amazing dog)