Why do owners who retire their show dog rehome them???

ORIGINAL: TylerToo

People that dump dogs at shelters 1.) are usually not doing it in the best interests of the dog - they are doing it because they don't want the inconvenience of a dog anymore, there is a new baby, they are moving, etc.;

This is exactly what the breeder is doing they do not want the dog anymore because they can not use it for dog shows.  Maybe it is a little worse since it is not like something unexpected happened.  They knew it would be to old to show in the first place. 

But as I understand it, breeders rehome because they realize that they cannot give the dog everything that he/she needs, not because the dog is an inconvenience.

Also see point #2 - I doubt breeders (and certainly no responsible breeder) dump their dogs at a shelter with no regard as to whether the dog finds a home or is PTS.

This is exactly what the breeder is doing they do not want the dog anymore because they can not use it for dog shows. Maybe it is a little worse since it is not like something unexpected happened. They knew it would be to old to show in the first place.

First off, I've seen 12 and 14 yr old dogs shown in Veterans classes.  A dog is never too old to show.  Some of those retired show dogs absolutely light up in the ring, even when not much else gets them going.

Secondly, not every breeder/dog hobbyist is dumping dogs because "do not want the dog anymore because they can not use it for dog shows."  Or because the dog has worn out it's "usefulness."   Yes there are some that do that.  I've met a few.  But by far they are outnumbered by those that do put the dog's welfare above all else.  When a dog is considered for re-homing, a breeder evaluates the dog based on the dog's behavior and personality. 

I encourage all of you to attend dog shows and speak with breeder/owner/handlers.  Rarely do you hear conversations between those people that are concerned with anything other than the dogs.  I've had two hour conversations with people before we even stopped to introduce ourselves.  I have seen a lady stop eating her dinner to go out and look for a lost dog that wasn't even hers, or her breed. 

Don't paint everyone with a broad brush.  Just as everyone of us has our own motivations, so do the show breeder/handler/owners. 

Actually dogs are not too old to show.  At a specialties (shows for only one breed), veterans classes are wonderful.  The classes are divided into three groups usually.  It is a delight to see these senior representatives get out and strut their stuff.  The joy you see in their eyes is apparent to all, and tears in the spectators are quite common.

Rehoming is not about getting "Rid" of a dog.  It is about getting a dog a loving home.  I fail to see how that can be considered a heinous act.

ORIGINAL: TylerToo

People that dump dogs at shelters 1.) are usually not doing it in the best interests of the dog - they are doing it because they don't want the inconvenience of a dog anymore, there is a new baby, they are moving, etc.;

This is exactly what the breeder is doing they do not want the dog anymore because they can not use it for dog shows.  Maybe it is a little worse since it is not like something unexpected happened.  They knew it would be to old to show in the first place. 

Noooo. The breeder is not dumping the responsibility for finding a new home on some overworked burned-out rescue volunteer. The breeder is the one finding the home for the dog, and the dog is living with the breeder, not is foster care or in some scary shelter until an appropriate placement is made. There are people like me who actually seek out and want these dogs because we like knowing the background of the dog, like knowing that the dog was responsibly bred from health screened parents with sound temperaments and traits that we are specifically seeking in our dogs, and don't necessarily want a puppy. The two dogs I adopted this way were living in circumstances that are better than what probably 90 % of the dogs in this country experience - they were house companions who received daily individual attention, got to go to lots of fun places, were well trained and impeccably socialized. Then one day, they got to go to a new home with me where they get even more attention and training.

I understand that it is difficult for people who have dogs exclusively as pets to comprehend how someone could love and care for a dog, give it an excellent life, and then let it go live somewhere else. But to equate this with dumping the dog in a shelter where either someone else will have to find a home for the dog or the dog will be executed ignores the fact that the dog is not being abandoned, and it is not being foisted on someone else who would really rather not take in another dog. It is being placed by the breeder in a home with someone who wants a well bred adult dog from known parents where it will be a loved companion, just as the breeder places her puppies in homes where they will be loved companions.

Also, breeders will rehome a dog because someone is looking for a specific dog, not necessarily a dog that they were trying to "get rid of" or even considering rehoming beforehand.  It's true, it happened to me.  Someone e-mails them inquiring about a dog of a specific age, temperament, and training level and they think "wow, X-doggy fits the bill and would probably be happier with this family.  Since I care more about my dog's well-being than my own feelings, I will consider an adoption."

ORIGINAL: mrv

In breeds in which I participate, rehoming is an honored pursuit.  Dogs returned to breeders, dogs who have finished competition in any venue, dogs who were considered for breeding but just didnt quite cut it.  These dogs are cared for while an active search goes on to find them a home....Some of these dogs need rehab, some dont,  some are young, some are old. 

I suggest that rehome dogs, especially those with social skills associated with the world of dog sport,  are wonderful companions.  For families with young children who may not have the resources of time and attention to devote to a puppy in the desired breed;  for older people who just dont want to go through all the puppy stuff and want a dog that can just jump in the motor home and start traveling.

Rehomes are just as valid as rescue,,, in fact more so economically,,, because they allow rescue dollars to be spent on dogs who have no other resources or support.

A nice little niche in the world of dogs that have used up their usefullness.  Of course there are good reasons for rehoming but I will never give credance because of man's ego or a hobby interest.  As I said I don't make a distinction of Respy breeders.  How do you account for all the retired Grey's rescue groups?  It is not honored and not on par with rehoming rescues.  IMO, it is interference with the honorable work of the volunteer.

quote:

This is exactly what the breeder is doing they do not want the dog anymore because they can not use it for dog shows. Maybe it is a little worse since it is not like something unexpected happened. They knew it would be to old to show in the first place.

 
Brando's dad Kirby won the best in show at Westminster at age eight and continued to show and be a service dog until he was 13yrs old

This is my old Veteran and I.  Ranger is his name.  This is our last show together with him at age 8.5 years.
 
This is a dog I took out and showed because he was SO unhappy at home.  He came to Brian at a year of age after washing out of a narcotics program (Not because he couldn't do it, but because he was bitten by a snake and couldn't continue in the work...they DO consider him retired and not a true washout).
 
Ranger wasn't happy doing nothing...he's a working dog.  It's what he was bred for.  I couldn't afford a dog of my own, so I signed on to Ranger, and I showed him and trained him in several venues.
 
Ranger did agility, and liked agility, but he LOVED conformation (no, he's not dead, I use past tense because he is now completely retired).  You wouldn't have thought him the same dog watching him in that ring.  His face would absolutely light up every time he stepped into it.  He never had to be doubled, he free stacked like a dream, he loved going around, and he loved the pre show grooming.  He baited like no other GSD I've seen.
 
This dog who was old and a bit lethargic would step into that ring and put on a show EVERY single time.  Solemn and quiet outside that show ring, took command of the veterans class when he was in it.  He is no longer shown now for the simple reason that finding a veterans class that allows alters is difficult around here (He was neutered due to an enlarged prostate).
 
That said, dogs like him can be hard to come by.  Bitten by a snake and thus, sold.  Should the trainers have kept this dog who was of no use to them?  What would be the point?
 
Fine DPU, they've served their purpose to the breeder, and are no longer "useful".  It is still far better that they sell the dog to a home where it can be a happy, healthy, retired pet (that may or may not compete in something else), than to languish away in the kennels or on the floor because that breeder isn't showing them or breeding them anymore.
 
Suck it up and quit looking down your nose at people simply because they don't do things they way YOU want them to be doing it.  You're no more honorable than anybody else.
 
I'll say it like it is...when I have my kennel, I'm going to have dogs that are working dogs, and if at 2.5 years of age a pup I kept back isn't turning out for the work, I'm going to sell it, because I'm not going to breed it.  I want dogs I can sell for law enforcement or SAR work, and a wash out dog is not conducive to furthering my breeding program, so in the best interest of my breeding program and the dog, the dog will be sold and rehomed.
 
There are lots of people who'd LOVE a dog like that.  Grown, housebroken, has manners, and simply didn't turn out to have the desired drive for the job it was supposed to perform.

ORIGINAL: DPU

  How do you account for all the retired Grey's rescue groups?  It is not honored and not on par with rehoming rescues.  IMO, it is interference with the honorable work of the volunteer.

Well, I've never seen anyone in this forum ever claim that dumping retired greyhounds in rescue is "honored" nor has anyone ever claimed that those dumping the dogs are "on par" with those rehoming the dogs. The greyhound breeders/owners are dumping their dogs on someone else to find homes for them with the clear understanding that these greyhound owners will execute the dogs if someone else doesn't take care of their mess for them.

But, once again.... that's not what is going on with breeders rehoming their retired dogs. These breeders are not dumping their dogs on someone else to find homes for them, nor are they executing the dogs if there isn't a new home conveniently and immediatly available. They are keeping their well bred, well socialized, well trained dogs themselves until the opportunity presents itself to place the dog with someone seeking a well bred, well socialized, well trained adult dog. Then, if the match-up looks like it will work, the breeder makes their well bred, well socialized, well trained dog available to the person who wants it, with the proviso that the dog will be returned to the breeder if for any reason the match up doesn't work.

Reasonable people can reasonably disagree about whether it is ever ok rehome a dog for the sake of convience. But it is misleading to characterize someone taking responsibility for rehoming their own dogs with people who are seeking out this type of dog as being equivalent to abandoning the dog.

As I said I don't make a distinction of Respy breeders.

This repeated statement leaves the impression that there is no such thing as a responsible breeder, in your opinion.  Can you clarify, because I don't think that's what you mean to say, but perhaps it is? 

I'll say it like it is...when I have my kennel, I'm going to have dogs that are working dogs, and if at 2.5 years of age a pup I kept back isn't turning out for the work, I'm going to sell it, because I'm not going to breed it. I want dogs I can sell for law enforcement or SAR work, and a wash out dog is not conducive to furthering my breeding program, so in the best interest of my breeding program and the dog, the dog will be sold and rehomed.

There are lots of people who'd LOVE a dog like that. Grown, housebroken, has manners, and simply didn't turn out to have the desired drive for the job it was supposed to perform.

I'm not a pupy person, nor am I into serious working dogs with a working drive.  I would gladly purchase such a dog from you.  [] []  I guess we're both horrible, irresponsible, dishonorable people.  Damn us wanting to better the breed and find the best possible homes for dogs.  [8|]

By the by, before anybody jumps on me for the word "kennel" I mean in the generic way of having an established breeding program.
 
Will I have kennel runs?  Yup.  Will my dogs be "kennel dogs"?  Nope.

I need my dogs with me (that's why I HAVE dogs), and I want to do more with them than just SchH, but I always need to keep in mind where I want to GO with my program, and keeping a dog that isn't suitable to be bred is foolish IMO.
 
Any dogs that are bred by me and that I choose to keep for the work and turn out?  They'll be STAYING with me until they die unless the situation calls for something different (and I don't mean after I "can't" compete with them any more, or use them for breeding).

ORIGINAL: buster the show dog

Reasonable people can reasonably disagree about whether it is ever ok rehome a dog for the sake of convience. But it is misleading to characterize someone taking responsibility for rehoming their own dogs with people who are seeking out this type of dog as being equivalent to abandoning the dog.

 
For the 10th time, the fact of the matter is the dog has used up its usefullness to the owner and is therefore rehomed.  Whether rehoming is done right or done wrong, I still say it is not a valid reason to rehome.  From this thread, I have no reason to believe that this is not the common practice.  So sad.

ORIGINAL: Liesje

I'm not a pupy person, nor am I into serious working dogs with a working drive.  I would gladly purchase such a dog from you.  [] []  I guess we're both horrible, irresponsible, dishonorable people.  Damn us wanting to better the breed and find the best possible homes for dogs.  [8|]

 
What is wrong with taking one of the fosters in my home, instead.  Please explain this desire to have that one of kind unique breed.  I used to feel that way with the Great Dane but after have the large breed mixed fosters, I have changed. 

OK not a breeder and this little gal hadn't used up her usefulness, but we had a situation with a foster pup and once she matured Sheba decided that she hated her.  Sheba wanted to be the Queen Bee and wasn't about to have any competition.  That meant that this little gal (Sadie, now Trinity) couldn't be all she could be.  When an idogger expressed interest in one of the younger fosters, we talked and she ended up taking Sadie as well.....the little escape artist who never even SAW her new home before she bolted.  Trinity is happy, healthy and the Queen of her home now....something she would never have been able to be in MY home.  I adored that girl, wanted to keep her, but gosh darn it, Sheba wasn't having it.  I rehomed her for HER best interest, not mine.