well said !
also many dogs in rescue develop behavioral problems in there due to the kennel environment - particularly staffies etc as get very kennel stressed

The people who provide foster homes to those dogs to keep them from staying too long in kennels do an incredibly valuable job - all credit to them.

yes they do indeed, and all rescues are always on the hunt for more foster homes too.

God I wish I could foster! If it wasn't for my miserable Dad we'd probably

have a house full here.

Can't really help with transport a great deal either cos being a student I'm

skint.

Feeling a bit sh*t about the whole thing really. But then my two are both

rescues so I take a bit of consolence from that I guess.

I think from my point of view I'll always have rescues, but will also have

puppies from breeders for my own reasons.

Why breed/buy while others die is a bit of a rose tinted ideal I think. I have

rescues because I have the time and we'd had enough of pups for the time

being. My sister went to Bichon rescue but they won't let her have one cos

her youngest daughter is not of school age. It's this sort of

generalisations that do not help some rescue centres/organisations. Fair

enough some young children wouldn't be ideal for a dog to be homed with,

but some poor pooch has missed out on a home purely because of this rule.

I was going to get another rescue as my next dog, but with my recent health

problems I realised life is too short and wanted to get a pup from a kennel

I've had my eye on for many years so I can get involved in working and

possibly showing. Something I would've done eventually admittedly.

What I'm trying to say is everyone has different reasons for getting a rescue

or pup and freedom of choice should allow this to continue. Imagine stopping

all breeders from breeding just to alleviate the rescue situation. What would

happen to some rare pure breeds, or those that show and work their dogs?

Should these practices die out simply to relieve the rescue situation? And

who would dictate when and when not to breed?

To me it is simply not possible to enforce and unfair in many respects.

I think the best we can do is continue to work hard to educate people and

do the best we can to help those unlucky enough not to have a home. And

hope that more is done to stop puppy farming.

Remember not all dogs are PTS, some live out very happy lives.


At least that's what I keep telling myself.

And just to add fuel to the fire, why oh why don't people spey and neuter their dogs? Think of the 2 that were rescued by one of our own dogwebbers recently complete with litters of very young pups. Even if you don't have the money yourself or are on benefit, the PDSA will help. I don't get it

All good points. I personally don't have a problem with people breeding top quality dogs of breeds that are in demand and easy to find homes for, or people who want a dog of a particular type for a special reason buying a suitable pup. I don't think it's really realistic to try to stop that sort of breeding (at least not for long), and one day I'd like to see all dogs come from responsible breeders and go to homes that chose them.

I also agree that rescues can sometimes be a bit prescriptive about the homes they will home to (though if you look round a bit, you can usually find ones that will take all circumstances into account - and the ones that have restrictions often have good reasons for them).

I would like to see breeders taking responsibility for their dogs throughout their lives though - specially the large breeds where it can be really hard to find a new home for an adult dog if it is made homeless.

I *do* have a problem with the breeding of huge numbers of staffies by backyard breeders purely for money, with the people who breed then dispose of lurchers that will not chase, and *particularly* with the breeding of thousands of greyhounds - far more than can be homed responsibly once they retire, and, of course, with puppy farmers.

The problem is not only with farming for pet dogs (though that's awful!) : it's also with all the people who decide they will have 'just one litter' without being prepared to take responsibility for the dogs they have created throughout their lives, and with the people who want a dog for a specific reason (eg, to race) but then expect to be able to get rid of that dog as soon as it can't do what they bought it for.

That's a good point, I wonder what percentage of rescues are accidents?
A lot of people (I think) think their dog will get fat if they neuter. This is the most common reason I've heard anyway.

Cycas I think one of the major changes we need to see is the legaslation surrounding dog breeding, puppy farms etc. Not something that is likely to happen though.
Many people in the "professional" dog world want fast results so just dispose of those that don't make the grade. Sadly I don't think we'll ever see an end to people like this, so the rescue situation continues.

I've often thought it would be a good move if they brought back the dog licence, but made it something you could only get if you'd passed a test, like the driving licence. Then maybe an advanced test for breeders: I am sure that you are right: a lot of them are accidents.

I think twice this year I've encountered someone walking a bitch in season off the lead: I knew she was in season because they came rushing up going 'is yours a boy? is yours a boy?' !!!

I was so taken aback I didn't know what to say, but next time I have a response prepared "If she was, you'd have puppies on the way by now!"

The problem with the PDSA is that I have heard that they will only help people in their immediate postcode area and if your town hasn't got a PDSA then you can't get any help at all with vets fees Although some vets do the Dogs trust thing where you can have your pet neutered for £25 if you are on benefit but not all do it only a few.

Maybe i'm harsh, but I don't think people should get a dog if they can't afford something like a neutering operation.
You never know what problems your dog may get, and if you can't afford a neuter, then you can't afford other vet treatments.

Teagan was spayed on the Dogs Trust £25 scheme....it just happened at the time that I was on benefits, and lived in the post code area.
I only knew about this because I got a leaflet through my door...if I hadn't...then I would havbe taken her to my vets and paid full price. I have no objections.