Designer Dogs

ORIGINAL: Xebby

You also have to ask yourself "what breed is the right one for me?"  Yes, that sounds selfish but it's more selfish to get a dog only to find out that it's not the right match. 

I want a herding dog because I just love what these breeds can do, I want a breed that not well known so I'm not caught up in the politics of owning a popular breed.  I want a dog who is very Velcro, family friendly, not aggressive, needs attention...  Ok, so these are "I want..."   Selfish...maybe but it's also better for me to choose a breed who I feel comfortable about so that the dog gets its needs filled as well.  I am prepared to take in a pure breed dog and prove that it is worthy to be alive.  To keep a dog that will uphold the health and temperament that it was bred to have.

At the same time I will gladly any day support a dog that is in need of a home, when I have the room I will foster, I will give back what I can.

I echo this sentiment.  We do not have a dog yet, we are soon to be in the process of buying our own home with some land and then we will seek out a dog.  We've been taking this decision very seriously.  I'm strongly against "designer dogs".  In my humblest opinion 99% of them are out for money, not to create a legit new breed.  I leave that 1% open for the possiblity there are persons out there legitimately trying to create a solid and stable new breed.  However, even then I really want to know some strong reasons why it's needed...as I personally feel we have enough breeds out there already that need our attention.

My SO and I debated on whether or not to adopt or go with a breeder.  In the end we are mostly sure we are going to go the breeder route.  We want some assurance that the dog that comes into our home will be friendly to all, wants to be a full member of the family (whole family not just bonding with one of us), go hiking, swimming, and we are even considering bringing the dog skiing (skijouring and the like).  I fell in love with the flat-coated retriever the first moment I groomed one of them some years ago.  We are open however to adopting a flat/lab mix as we've found some of them on petfinder.  I figure a flat/lab mix will have some guarentee of being an active happy/friendly dog considering I am familiar with the temperments of both.  We'll also consider a flat-coat rescue.

So I think there are times when adopting may not be the best, when you have specific qualities you are looking for in a dog, that may be a gamble if you adopt.  That said, I've always had a soft spot for shelter pups.  My Mom's shih tzu was adopted from a shelter. 

Finding a young pup from a shelter is not impossible. My Deva came from a shelter when she was 6 weeks old. This way you get to raise the dog from a puppy and still help a homeless dog. Deva is almost 11 now and I have never had any problem with her. I mean none. She was housebroken much faster than the poodles are. She has never gotten into any mischief in the house and she has never been sick.
 
As a breeder I would never mix breeds for two reasons. One, I know what I'll get when I breed poodles and that's what I want to get. I am dedicated to poodles. Two, I think that mixed breeds are being promoted in a way that misleads people into thinking they will have qualities that they very well  may not have.  If I were getting a mixed breed dog I'd wait until my local shelter had some pups or find an adult that I connected with right away.

ORIGINAL: Luvntzus

ORIGINAL: gaylemarie


this is an honest question, not meant to be snide or argumentative in any way. because i honestly do not know. to me pride or love of the breed is not a factual reason, it is self serving. so..

why do breeds need to be preserved? should the ones known to have major health issue's be altered? what if altering required cross-breeding, would it be ok?

You're absolutely right. I'm sure most people don't want to admit it or believe it, but breeding ANY dog is selfish. Each breed fills a different purpose for people. A retriever retrieves for people, a protection dog protects people, a lapdog is a companion for a person, and so on... I'm not saying that the dogs are being mistreated in anyway, but to deny that dogs are bred for selfish reasons (filling a need for people) is just naive.

Well, if you want to look at it that way, OWNING any dog is selfish.  We don't own dogs because we dislike them, we own them, and other pets because we like having them around.  The very existance of companion animals and livestock is selfish.

However, at some point ethics have to come into play.  If you are breeding to rake in the cash, with little regard for the health or future prospects of the lives you are bringing into this world, then you are an unethical breeder, IMHO.  This is true whether you are breeding dogs, horses, birds, or any companion animal.

Sally, our first dog, was a rescue, and Jack, our younger dog is from a reputable breeder.  I'm sure there were people who thought we should have gotten our second dog from a rescue, but we had our reasons for getting Jack and I don't regret it for a second.