My Goal In Life

[bekah1001]

When my dog Riley, had her first litter puppies I didn't think about all the dogs that were in pounds and neading a good home. Then My family was going through a ruff (PUN CITY!) time in ours lives and Riley was in heat so we decided to have a litter of puppies to cheer us up. Then we decided to get Riley spayed, she went into heat three days before her surgery. We had an accident and one thing led to another... another litter of puppies. In total she had 24 puppies. (not counting stillborns and Marley, one of the puppies who was distressed at birth, and unfortuantly died at four weeks) I really feel bad for all the dogs in the pound looking for loving familys and to live a new life.

So my goal in life is to adopt/foster 24 dogs. Yup that's alot of dogs. I really bad and we didnt know the consequences that would happen for breeding our dog. I never want to breed any of my dogs again.

 

[tigerlily46514]

Well, Bekah, we all live and learn. I so so support your urge to help rescue homeless dogs, but wow, 24? Surely you don't mean all at same time, right? that'd be expensive, and, since you DO love dog training, you might not have time for each individual dog if you had tons of dogs all at same time. PLus, you'd probably have to live out in the country, as i do think almost all towns have a limit on how many pets a home can have...
you must mean, over the course of your lifetime, maybe a few at a time. Is a good plan, Bekah.

but, don't beat yourself up, all of us have learned things we wish could have known more about. I really do wish though, that more and more and more ppl, would become aware of dog overpopulation, the way you are aware. I wish breeding was left to those who are breeding to improve the breed's health, not for looks. I wish breeding was left to those few who do thorough health testing, of the entire family tree of both dogs, prior to cranking out more dogs into this world, who all have to compete with each other for available humans, and the rest are often killed, or forced to live in cages til someone gives them a chance to show how much love they have to offer.

But, we do the best we can with what we know at the time. I hope you do not feel bad, all of us, every single one of us, can look back, and think of things we wish we could have done differently if we'd known more, but, we just learn and do better next time. You have a good heart, Bekah.

 

[bekah1001]

All at once would be crazy. Well I hope to at least to help find them homes, that's why I would love to foster them. Maybe volunteer at a shelter. My heart aches everytime I go on petfinder. I need to stop that At my local humane shelter you have to be 18 to volunteer there. But I've been volunteering at other organizations, usually at events they organized to raise money. I would love to breed dogs when I'm older. But learning from mistakes, make sure thedogs are properly tested.

I was going through youtube and found this video:

 

[southerngirl]

My dog also had two litters one 6 and the other 8 a total of 14 puppies. Both were accidental, but I hated knowing that for every on of my puppies that got a home a dog could have been adopted from the pound. After three years of saving money I was able to get her fixed so no more puppies I also want to help with the over population of dogs I plan on opening a dog shelter to rehabilitate and re home once I move out and finish with school. I will never buy a dog I will only adopt.

 

[bekah1001]

That woud be something awesome to do!

 

[sara]

My parents taught me early the benefit of adoption. We've never bought a dog, only ever rescued. We have had 7 dogs in my lifetime (5 are still with us) and I have rescued and fostered and tons. I have never believed in breeding dogs for the sake of it... because of my awesome animal loving parents. And I have had 7 amazing dogs in my life, all with awesome stories. and invaluable lessons to teach.

 

[tigerlily46514]

//"I would love to breed dogs when I'm older. But learning from mistakes, make sure thedogs are properly tested."//

I'd hope your goal, or anyone's goal, if they chose to deliberately add more dogs to the severe dog overpopulation crisis---------------with 6 million extra dogs are being killed each year for loack of enough homes for them all-------------------that your goal would be, to breed OUT one or more of the tons of known inherited disorders that are so rampant in purebred dogs. Doing it this way, (which IS a worthy goal, to improve the breed)
takes tons of money
and quite a bit of knowledge on genetics,
as well as extensive testing of BOTH dog's entire family tree.

I myself think this type of breeding should be left to expert breeders,
of which there are very few.

Even learning what "properly tested" should involve is an education in itself, once you become aware of disorders which are recessive, or those that skip a generation, etc etc. To breed responsibly, you truly do have to study up both parents entire family tree.
http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forums/threads/the-plight-of-the-purebred.3527/
Less than 10% of breeders are involved in THAT level of breeding.
but,
who knows, Bekah, maybe you will become one of those experts, who is working to eradicate diseases in dogs!

MOst ppl who test for one or two things, such as hips or eyes, now feel they have "properly tested" the dogs to crank out some puppies, but, it's not nearly enough testing.
and over 80% of dogs come from backyard breeders, and BYB don't even test the bare minimum of one or two things!!! Just, "oh, these dogs are cute, let's make more!! I want puppies....for about a month, anyway.." unaware of how each
and
every puppy they add to the world,
can, in turn,
create 100s of more dogs and dogs and dogs
in only a few generations.
and statistically,
ONE DOG from each litter ends up homeless.
http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forums/threads/the-reality-of-breeding.3772/

 

[bekah1001]

It was hard giving away the puppies. But each litter we kept one. The first litter we kept Brody, the second Manny, who unfortuantly we had to give away. But the last litter Marley went to emergency at four weeks old when she wasnt eating and having diarrhea. She started getting better and my mom said if she made it through we would keep her. She didnt make it. It was really hard to go through. My brother who is 25 bawled his eyes out. It really had going through Riley's litter without knowing the risks that we could have lost her and her puppies.

 

[tigerlily46514]

oh, Bekah, i'm so sorry to hear of those sad events, that would have been really hard.

 

[southerngirl]

Bekah i so understand that it is very hard to give the puppies to new owners. Me and my family became very attached to the first litter and kept one Domino, but we wanted do badly to keep all of them and 4 years later I still miss all of them like crazy. There was one girl in the first litter that no one wanted she stayed with us for a year than a coulple months at a SPCA until she was adopted it was very hard to give her up but we could not give her the attintion she needed. The second litter wasn't as hard. Missy the mother had a very hard time she loved being a mom. Just my luck Domino at two years old was put to sleep by a stupid veterinarian. Domino was only suppose to be being held to make sure he didn't have rabies because of an accident. It upsets me greatly he was suppose to come home. It was really hard on the whole family expectually on my youngest brother and Domino's mom Missy.

 

[James Mann]

It sucks that so many animals end up finding their way to the SPCA. That's why we are so proud of our son. He could have found a litter of pups around here I'm sure but he chose the SPCA. And then, as if that didn't make us proud enough, he picked a pup that had been abused.

I think I would have a hard time giving away puppies, so for us it's better not to have puppies.

 

[charmedwolf]

Bekah- That's a lofty goal! It might take some time but I have faith in you! I have a relatively similar goal of training 100 aggressive dogs.

Puppies are hard to give away regardless of if they are fosters or your own. The only time I feel good about giving away puppies is when you know in your gut that it is the perfect family for them. My kennel and my aunt's both have contracts when we sell our pups and we make sure that no matter what happens we can and will take a puppy back if it comes to get.

 

[laramie]

I have very opposing feelings about breeders. Some breeds need to up their numbers because there aren't many of the breed and the breed shouldn't be allowed to disappear. Also, genetic problems need to be exterminated with proper breeding. But on the other hand, there are WAY too many dogs without homes.

I got both of my dogs from breeders, but only after extensive searching of shelters and rescues around me. I urge everyone to get a dog from a shelter instead of a breeder, but I knew what breeds I wanted and I knew I wanted to experience their personalities while I could. I feel awful that I couldn't rescue, but my dogs are always spayed at 6 months so I don't contribute to the overpopulation.

I was ringing up a customer at the grocery store where I work and I asked him what kind of puppy he had because he was buying puppy food. He told me that he had two pit bulls and he was planning on breeding them. I couldn't help but be disgusted.

I don't have the money or the space right now, but I would love to have a herding dog rescue. It seems like people get these dogs and expect for them to be like any other dog. They nip and chase because they aren't trained, so are dropped off at an animal shelter. This is the exact reason I want to be a dog trainer. I feel like if I do all I can to help people train their dogs, they won't be dropped off at a shelter because they chewed someone's shoe.

Bekah, whatever happens, don't be discouraged. You can do this and I do believe you can do it right.

 

[tigerlily46514]

//"I got both of my dogs from breeders, but only after extensive searching of shelters and rescues around me."//

What rare breed were you looking for, and what state are you in?????????
http://www.petfinder.com/index.html

 

[tigerlily46514]

//"Some breeds need to up their numbers because there aren't many of the breed and the breed shouldn't be allowed to disappear."//
the chance of a dog breed going extinct is almost virtually impossible. rofl. The odd human, who can only love some rare breed only, are not that plentiful either. Humans have created all the various breeds, and still continue to create new breeds each year. Currently, many types of 'doodles' are being created, cranked out, and being bred in large enough numbers that they are now rampant in the dog pounds, too.

//" Also, genetic problems need to be exterminated with proper breeding. "//
I so agree, completely, but, worth keeping in mind, the vast bulk of litters in the USA, come from BYBs, not responsible breeders.
The numbers of breeders who do ANY genetic testing at all, i mean the bare minimum, is less than 20% of breeders. Of that 20% who DO "some" testing, it is less than 10% who do a full testing of both parents entire family tree for inheritable diseases.
The vast bulk of purebred dogs come from an exceedingly small gene pool, which is exactly why they have problems.

The breeder who IS breeding specifically to reduce disease is rare. This level of breeding requires an extensive knowledge of genetics, and isn't that common.

 

[bekah1001]

There are Labrador Huskies (pure bred) that are rare/not a lot left. It would be awesome if they were able to "make" more, but like tigerlily they would be from a small gene pool.

 

[tigerlily46514]

Never heard of them, apparently, these dogs are bred in a fairly isolated area of Canada, and i'm not entirely 100% certain, after reading their description, these wolf-like sled dogs would make great pets for many average dog owners. But, for those who need sled dogs, it seems a great choice in that area.

//"Due to largely uncontrolled breeding in some isolated communities, many Labrador Huskies and Labrador Husky mixes are homeless. Often these street dogs are malnourished and in poor physical condition."//

Certainly, if you scrap around, you probably can find some super rare breed that is not overly populated, but, do keep in mind, humans created all these breeds, all of them. Dogs are NOT like panda bears, dogs DO procreate in marvelous numbers, very easily and prolifically!!!

Even one (1) litter of puppies,
can
within a few years
add 100s of extra dogs
to the dog-overpopulation crisis.

New breeds are being added all the time, is not hard to do. It's sort of a strawman argument, locating a breed that is not spread to your area and assuming, since it isn't in your area, the breed is endangered.

Breeding should be left to those expert breeders who are working to eradicate the multiple diseases
and disorders
that are so so rampant in most purebred dogs.

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF DOGS.
period.
WE HAVE A DOG OVERPOPULATION CRISIS, in the USA, and most other countries, as well, with millions and millions of dog being killed each year, for lack of homes, as these homeless dogs compete against "dogs with papers" for the available humans.

it's sad.

 

[tigerlily46514]

anyway, there's better goals in life, than to crank out more dogs into the dog overpopulation crisis we face today.
If anyone really loves dogs,
if anyone is really aware of the situation that MILLIONS of homeless dogs are facing, year after year-------------------
SPAY AND NEUTER, do the right thing.

 

[laramie]

Tigerlily, I live in Virginia and when I got my dogs, I lived in the mountains where I was in the middle of nowhere. I wanted an Aussie and later on a Border Collie. There is a Border Collie Rescue closer to where I live now, but I already have have a BC. I knew I wanted a female puppy of each breed so I could have the chance to raise completely on my own, and there were none. I looked for months, constantly checking shelters, but found absolutely nothing. Since then, I've seen only two Aussies that were in a shelter where I used to live and still no BC's. And yes, I used Petfinder.

Also, when I said that some breeds need help with their numbers, I meant breeds like the Shiloh Shepherd, Karelian Bear Dog, and the Swedish Vallhund. Even though we created breeds, there will always be someone who loves a particular breed and wouldn't want their numbers to wane. And, although it's not an ideal situation, wouldn't you rather have breeders do SOME testing rather than NONE?

 

[sara]

`I have 5 rescue dogs, but want with my whole heart, an Irish Terrier. I believe Ollie is half IT, but not sure. I looked on Petfinder and in the whole US (there are none in Canada) there are less that 20 that even look like an IT. there are 43 that say IT in their mix, but I counted only 19 that actually look like they've got IT in them.

So that means the breeders are doing a good job with the breed, not over breeding for the market, not that they'd ever be popular as they are extremely difficult dogs, and not for the average pet home. Yes, I certainly have a thing for difficult dogs LOL... even if I were to buy a puppy, it wouldn't be normal

It also means, that for me to get one, I would have to buy one from a breeder, besides, I'd like to get a puppy one day... I've never had one from a baby. they youngest was 5.5 months old. But that's one dog out of the dozens of adult dogs I'll likely rescue in my lifetime... I think that's good odds for the homeless dogs.