Hi I am going in with both feet now,armed to the teeth,You are quite correct,I really want the newspapers classified to take responsibility for the ads they allow,because its those sort of breeders that should be targeted,if there was a scheme where people could only obtain dogs from registered breeders the puppy numbers would go down,and responsible owners would go up.

Here in Wales,we have a lot of trouble with the Ferry to Ireland,and have been on vigils giving out leaflets to all passengers,making them aware if they are going to bring a puppy home,that there are points to look out for,We have now been forbidden anywhere near the ferry, so a lot of sickly puppies are coming back to the UK and I would bet my bottom dollar,eventualy they will breed from that poor stock,but we know that the 1st point of call is the classified,the response we got so far is that they use a disclaimer,that may safeguard them but not the puppy.So we have managed to get a consultive through the assembley,re micro chipping for later this year.Our little band will now start again re the papers as I feel that the registered breeders are not the culprits,as they are already being monitored.crystalgirl

Hi I think we are a bit slow in getting there,Wales is doing there own thing Northern Ireland has a licence and Scotland has also there own law,so we are all trying but not pulling in the same direction ,one day we may get it right we can only hope crystalgirl

We need a change in attitude to dogs in this country IMO. Many good caring breeders out there do take time to find good homes for their puppies but for some it's a job making money.

Many good caring puppy buyers too but some put more thought into their weekly grocery shopping than picking a puppy.

Also need some support for people when circumstances change, illness/disability, job loss or family break up can happen to anyone at any time and the number of dogs given up when it happens is criminal.

Wouldn't take much to offer some kind of help to people to keep their dog within their home. Personally I walk a ladies dog at the moment because she can't, and we go round once a week and clear up the poop from her garden for her. If more people offered a hand to people when they struggle less dogs would need to be rehomed.

You can see details of the UK Animal Welfare Act here

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/contents

Not all breeders breed for money .Good breeders only breed very occasionally, they have a waiting list for their puppies and have an agreement with new owners that if for any reason a dog is unwanted it will be returned .
These kind of breeders are not the people whose dogs are filling the rescue centres.

'The shocking truth' for me is that too many people get a dog without realising the time/money/commitment involved in owning one .

Oh thank you very much, that's interesting

I'll read it later, when I've more time as I'm still working

I totally agree with Bijou. Yes, there are many bad people out there who only have litters to line their pockets and just as many gullible people willing to spend silly money on a pup raised on rubbish with no health testing of the parents done therefore creating a space for the next litter.

The RSPCA antagonised many breeders of pedigree dogs after the debacle at Crufts a few years ago so have lost their support. I know that the local branches have to support themselves but the HO in the south is huge - how is that financed? They also did themselves no favours by killing those GSDs like they did which I find unforgiveable.

Breeding isn't cheap if you do it properly. From my last litter I spent:
£250 on health tests (a one off figure)
£25 on wormers for mum
£50 on CHV vax for mum
£650 stud fee had to pay that upfront
£60 on 4 x vet beds
£35 on scan. 8 pups were seen. Only 1 was born alive
£120 on after hours consult at vets inc 3 hormone jabs
£200 on a large quantity of goat milk powder bought in advance in anticipation of a large litter
£120 on 4 sacks of puppy food, ditto for large litter
£10 on puppy wormers
£ ? God knows how much on heating whelping area for 3 weeks
£ ditto extra electric for extra washing.

I don't need to breed for the money. I dont have a mortgage. I never go on holiday. Up until last year i was driving a 15 year old car. Any money left over from a litter hopefully pays for the upkeep of my other dogs until the next litter.

Please do not tar all breeders with the same brush.

or those dog owners who thinks, that they want to have "only once" "Oh sooo sweet puppies" of their "Oh sooo sweet doggy"
when I hear of something like that, I really could barf!
but that has nothing to do with feeding my dog raw

The plight of many dogs worldwide is horrific and as a dog lover hard to ignore. We each need to do what we can to help in our own areas/breeds etc. In the UK the Blue Cross are currently recruiting volunteer educators, to go into schools and educate young people about pet care responsibilities. It is a volunteer post I would love to do and know I would be good at! But, I already work full time in education, so I cannot take on the role as am always working when they want someone. It is one way though that dog lovers can help.

It is such a sad situation that whilst on one hand dogs are being lost and even stolen and frantic desperate owners are trying to get them back. Whilst on the other many dogs are being abandoned and never claimed. Local dog wardens do a fantastic and often difficult job, but after 7 days unclaimed dogs have to go to a rescue or be PTS (this is the old chestnut of needing to make room for the others coming in) This should give an idea of the scope of the problem of abandoned dogs.

On a personal level, I would love to do more to help canines, but I am also the breadwinner at home so need to paid employment, however I do what I can to help a few favourite, carefully chosen charities - the ones that put the animal first and that have a non-destruction policy. These charities are full to bursting and need your help. Please if you love dogs (you do thats why you're looking at Dogsy!) Support dog charities in any way you can by volunteering, doing sponsored events, donations, walking etc etc. However, educating the masses is the key to helping long term.

In the defense of the RSPCA: this was a daily mail article. So much of it is written in a biased way to shock and get as many readers as possible (to get profit, as it is in this world).

I agree it's horrible that a lot of dogs are put to sleep, it's even worse that they do so if the dogs are healthy. BUT: In my honest opinion... I think sometimes it's better than having a dog live in a kennel for months and sometimes years. Some dogs can't deal with that, so they are put to sleep for no MEDICAL reasons, but for psychological ones. Same with the cats, a post mortem exam might not have revealed any medical reasons to put the cats to sleep, but they might have been almost feral and it might have been that they wouldn't have been suitable for rehoming. So instead of keeping them in a cage (which kennels are, at the end of the day) forever, they were put to sleep.

Also, the article makes it out that it's a BAD thing the RSPCA prosecutes more people for animal cruelty. How can that be a bad thing??? IT'S THE ONLY SOCIETY TO DO SO! Otherwise those people would just be getting a new dog/cat/horse which in the end would end up in a shelter again. Meaning more animals would live in terrible conditions.

So I understand that a lot of people have divided opinions about the RSPCA but at the end of the day you have to understand that the problem is bigger than what one society can handle and it's not the RSPCA's job to take responsibility for all of the thoughtless people who got a pet on a whim and then realised they can't cope/have no money/have no space/ have no bloody idea about anything.
Space and resources are limited and it's difficult to set priorities and I think they are doing a bloody good job.
In a country in the middle of a recession everybody has to pay the price for the economic crisis, perhaps apart from really wealthy people. But it's the poorest it hits hardest and among them are innocent living beings like pets. And the situation isn't nice but the problem comes from somewhere else than what this article makes it out to be and they're just trying to find a scapegoat, because that's the easiest and most profitable thing the daily mail can do in this situation.