Should you get a dog just to do a hobby with?
What happens if the dog grows up unable to do the hobby? Is it OK to pass them on to someone else?
Does it matter what the hobby is?
Should dogs be bred just to do a hobby? - pedigree dogs? crossbreeds?

Well, IMO
1. I can't see why not, as it is not detrimental to the dog.
2. I personally couldn't part with a dog for that reason, but they are part of my family. If the dog was going to get a better life elsewhere, then yes.
3. ? Not sure what you mean. Again, speaking personally, as a vegetarian, I am against a few "sports", but not because it in any way harms the dog. What sort of hobbies were you thinking about?
4. No problem with that. There of obviously far too many dogs being bred, but I don't think the over supply of dogs is necessarily the fault of people breeding for hobbies.

I have one rescue GSD and one bought GSD who I do Schutzhund with. My rescue doesn't have what it takes for Sch but I wouldn't part with him because of it, we do something else instead.

In the future I will no doubt buy a working line GSD again to do Sch with but if ended up being not cut out for it then I would try a different sport.

The dogs would always come first and I would never pass on a dog because he didn't fit my hobby.

mine are pets first, but they were bought with the intention of doing doggy sports with, in truth, if i wasnt dog sport minded, i probably wouldnt have them

When i bought my first dog, i bought her as a pet, but hoped to do WT with her, I did a bit but it turned out she doesnt have the right temperament/attitude for it so i diverted to agility, ive had great fun with her but she is never gonna set the agility world alight!
So when it came to my next dog, i very much had the agility bug and wanted a dog that i could be competitive with. Naturally, that lead me to border collies, and so i purchased ripley in the hope of her being a decent agility dog. Im most certain i wouldnt have gone for collies if i had not been involved in agility.
Then last year i purchased mav, again with agility in mind.

I have high hopes for both dogs, but, if either has to stop doing agility for any reason then so be it, they will be much loved pets or i will divert their career to another sport!

I will add though, that although i did buy my collies for agility, i have the sort of life that suits them as pets, i dont agree with buying a breed/dog just for sport if you cant give them the life they need in between.

As for breeding for different hobbies/sports, as i said above, i dont have a problem with this, as long as everything is done right (health tests etc)and eventually I hope my next agility/pet dog will be a pup out of ripley.

I think it can be a good thing to buy a dog for a hobby as at least it means the dog has a "purpose" and will be trained and socialised and have a job to do. Depends what you do if the dog doesn't excel at the purpose you bought it for though.
Personally I couldn't then rehome it to a pet home but would want to keep it.

I think it more of a shame when people buy working breed dogs and don't have a hobby they intend to use the dog in.
I would have thought good Border Collie breeders (for example) would much rather sell their pups to homes where the dogs would be used in something such as agility or obedience than a home where they would just be a pet don't you think?

There is a breeder of Kerry Blues I would love to have a pup from as there are agility champions in this line but they are in Canada so out of the question!

Any future dogs I have will be purchased with a sport or discipline in mind. I have dogs now who dont have what it takes to do well in competitions. Although Jed is good at his obedience and agility, he just doesnt have that extra something which will win prizes and certainly wouldnt stand out in competitions. Jessie doesnt have the temperament to even do classes let alone compete in anything so she gets off Scott free and does nothing. So far with Flynn i've concentrated my efforts on gundog stuff only to find being a crossbreed is a major hindrance, he's too excitable for agility so we havent quite found his niche yet.

So for me, I have things i'd like to get serious about but no dogs suitable for the job. I wouldnt dream of giving my dogs up because they provide me with much more than a possible rosette so I will have to wait until they depart this Earth. In the future however before I purchase a dog I will have made a firm decision on what I want to do with that dog and then do my research.

I dont have a problem with dogs being bred for the hobby market whether they be pedigrees or crossbreeds.

All our collies work sheep for a living, but in the future I would hope to be able to compete in local sheepdog trials (ie a hobby). However, work will always come first and the fact the dog can do the job at home is far more important than whether they can perform on three sheep on a trial field, so in that respect I wouldn't buy a collie with simply trials in mind.

I did agility training with both my GSDs at different times, but I had the dogs before giving it a go. I also did a bit of WT training (well mainly tracking and searching) but, again, I started that hobby with my youngest GSD in mind, as I wanted to do "something" with him (and hubby got a bit nervous when I mentioned sheep herding ).

Personally I don't see a problem with people buying a specific breed or going for a specific line to do a hobby with, so long as the dog will still be treated well and have a life outside the hobby etc. As has been pointed out, I would prefer a working type, active dog to go to a home where it would have something to do.

I wouldn't pass a dog on myself if it didn't make the grade, but again don't really have an issue with it if it meant the dog would have a better home elsewhere.

Not sure about dogs being specifically bred for a hobby, but I guess as long as it is done responsibly then I don't have a huge issue with it.

Yep, I have a few too but I feel I have answered as well as I can given my viewpoint at the moment.

Also, just for info - if people stopped breeding dobes tomorrow simply as we are not all tax collectors and training them in PP then I would be gutted
I would hate to lose my 'chosen breed' and all their qualities just because no one was working or showing them anymore. more info just in case it is of any interest to you BenMc - I have a dog who has a pedigree of working and show lines, just because I do not work my dog dosnt mean that I think dogs should be bred without certain breed traits, if you know what I mean?

All my dogs have been bought for my hobby, agility.Most of my life is spent training and competing, sad but true! I very carefully source my dogs as I don't have the time, money or space to have lots of dogs so will try to find a dog that best fits my lifestyle. However if they aren't suited to agility they go no where and remain in the family as much loved pets. I couldn't imagine parting with them for something that isn't their fault.

Dogs should be part of the family and treated as such, not just as a hobby. If you want a hobby collect stamps!!