How many people here actually?

Question

Looked into their dogs pedigree or for rescue dogs their background before buying or adopting?

There is a lot of inbreeding happening with pedigree dogs, so bad in fact that many are now being born with severe health problems and it's naive only to blame the breeders when if people weren't buying them there would be no problem.

Answer 1

How many people get a dog because they love them, not because of some stupid paper?

Answer 2

I didn't, I just fell in love with the little abandoned Puppy.

Who grew up to be a massive, boisterous Rottweiler.

Answer 3

The dogs I have rescued usually have come right off the streets.  So there is no way I would know anything about their past.  The ones that I have gotten from rescue places are usually just given to me.  Twice I have taken in a Great Dane just because they did not have a place for such a large dog.  I have fostered dogs that were in desperate need of a home.  I will keep him as mine.  Him I know his back ground.

I have never bought a dog in any way shape or form.  They all have been rescues.  No adoption fees, no quality pure breed dogs.  I have had pet quality pure breeds but they too were rescues.

It does make a difference if you know the back ground but sometimes you just have to roll by the seat of your pants & hope things work out OK.

Being a canine behaviorist I haven't had a dog I could not handle.

Answer 4

Well, first of off, you generally can't find out too much information on the background of a rescue dog or shelter dog.  Second, I did use to breed and show Dobes, so yes, I pretty much knew the American bred Dobermans pedigrees like the back of my hand.  Yes, I did all health testing with my breed of choice before breeding.  Yes, I looked at the pedigree very closely of any Dobe that I purchased.  I have no problem with line breeding, depending on what exactly that pedigree or a certain breeder is willing to share.  Inbreeding can be a disaster, or once in a blue moon, be beneficial.  Out crossing can be the same.  You have to know what you are doing, realize what you want to accomplish, both in health, temperment, and conformation, and make an educated decision on why you want to breed to a certain dog.

Answer 5

i never have the opportunity. they simply appear.

surrendered, dumped and most recently, last week i found one in my yard (so emaciated i thought she was dead)

i guess i'm an emergency rescuer?

rescued breeds are usually given up for a reason and i would hope anyone adopting such a dog would be given all the info without asking. i think it's the responsibility of the rescue, when re-homing, to volunteer all info.

but those dogs deserve loving homes as much as any.

Answer 6

It shouldn't matter what breeding a rescue dog had its more important that they get the good life they deserve.

But yes I do agree with you that the people buying the pedigree puppies should do more research and refuse to buy from breeders with genetic problems (or breeding programs that can cause genetic problems). That would simply stop breeders from inappropriately breeding in the first place.

Answer 7

I wanted a particular breed did a lot of research and thought could i get a rescued one but after all the research i decided that the breed was not right for me and as i did not want any other dog i didn't bother.

Answer 8

i buy my pups from working farms as they come with no papers and are not breed to look good but for work i have had 4 very healthy happy dogs. the thing i love about collies is how differant they all are all this interbreeding to me just makes clones why is it so important for them to comform to what someone says is perfect for a breed we love them no matter how they look, dont we ?  

Answer 9

i did

Answer 10

The same thing happened with cocker spaniels and poodles in the 50's and 60's.

Answer 11

You need to do some research on how champion bloodlines form. Breeding for positive traits involves linebreeding which is often confused with inbreeding. Responsible breeders who line breed for positive traits have actually been successful in breeding *out* many health problems. It's the back yard breeders with AKC dogs who are breeding irresponsibly and degrading the gene pool of many breeds.

Answer 12

nope, we just got our dog because he was cute, he's a cross between a german shepard and a golden retriever!

Answer 13

i looked at my dogs pedigrees very thoroughly,and also made sure they came from reputable breeders. i dont agree with inbreeding.. but i agree with linebreeding, if done by someone who knows alot about breeding and genetics, that actually helps cancel out health problems in a line.

Answer 14

Yes I do  explore pedigrees before buying a puppy, however its almost impossible to explore the history of rescues and often breeders are not absolutely honest about their dogs history and the puppies which they sell.

I know that we have some honest and reliable breeders on this forum, however they are often hard to find.

If people stopped buying dogs on a whim, the dishonest breeders would have fewer customers and fewer dogs would be dumped. Breeder would be forced to take more care with their breeding, they should be monitored.

There are people on this forum who boast that they leave very young puppies all day. One young "asker" wanted to leave her four month old puppy alone for sixteen hours and numerous people supported this.

If there were more restrictions on breeding and if buyers had to prove their capabilities before they were allowed to buy a puppy. The breeders would be compiled to be more caring. The vast majority of dogs have a rotted life and some of them are owned by people on this forum.  

Answer 15

I looked into family history with my labrador. My breeder has also provided my with family tree of both sides of his parentage which include hip and eye scores for all generations.

Answer 16

I never looked into the background of any of my dogs. I just saw them and just knew that they would be a perfect addition to my family.  

Answer 17

When  you look for a pedigree dog, the important thing is to determine the RESPONSIBLE breeders from the BYB's.

I have adopted 2 AmStaffs, with no know background or history. I don't care about their background-- I wanted a pet quality dog, and if they have medical problems, I will treat them as we go along. The same goes for ALL dogs, purebred or mongrels.

This video, although 10 minutes, actually supports your idea that pedigree dogs have health problems, but if you will listen to the very end, the UKC is actually trying to stop breeders from breeding dogs with health problems. http://vets.tv/video.php?vid=115&cid=10

ADD--

Hi!!! I miss Duke!!! Where is Angry Nerd Meaghan gone to?

Answer 18

i did some very long and hard research before i got my puppy i got a english springer spaniel ive seen the mother and father and they are both healthy. I know some springer spaniels can have problems later in life but so far so good with my puppy.

apart from the fact he likes eating money and he likes to play with my socks and underwear he is perfectly happy and healthy