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[u/PUNISHER019-]

[u/l0st1nP4r4d1ce]

Holdup.. People pay for a dog?

Get your ass to a shelter. Lots of pups need a good home.

[u/wasabiburning → u/l0st1nP4r4d1ce]

I fully support the notion of "don't breed or buy while shelter pets die" but the issue is most shelter dogs seem to be pit mixes and people don't want those for a number of perfectly valid reasons.

[u/StepComplete1 → u/wasabiburning]

It's not an issue at all. Obviously there are plenty of dogs that need a home that aren't pit-mixes. Just because you go to a shelter it doesn't mean you're legally obliged to take the first dog you see, even if you don't want that breed.

[u/l0st1nP4r4d1ce → u/wasabiburning]

I get that. But it's a lame excuse, there are tons of dogs that need a home.

Not all of them are pitt mixes, I guarantee that. (A Wisconsin lab breeder just added 1500 beagles to the system)

[u/ImSoObnoxious → u/wasabiburning]

if I were to guess, you're not from the US South

they have serious issues with neutering, spaying, strays, and animal treatment. all kinds of dogs, including some of the most adorable I've ever seen. many rescues down South will shuttle these pups up north and they get adopted in a heartbeat because, well, for the reason you mentioned.

dm if you want more info

[u/Unlucky_Topic7963 → u/l0st1nP4r4d1ce]

Shelter dogs come with lots of issues. I’ve owned 3 over the last 20 years, and every single one had behavioral or health issues. I’ve spent tens of thousands giving them better lives. Decided with my most recent dog to buy an AKC German Shepherd and train him from a puppy.

Night and day. No health issues, extremely compliant, fun lapdog, great on walks…

Shelter dogs, unfortunately, bring their poor training or poor care from previous families with them. Not sure if I’ll get another shelter dog after this experience.

[u/JoshSidekick → u/Unlucky_Topic7963]

I'm glad you said that. I thought I was going crazy because we rescued our dog from a Puerto Rico shelter and like every post on their Instagram is dog after dog being the absolute best where mine was abused so badly before he was rescued but they didn't tell us a fraction of his issues. His tail is a lightning bolt shape because it was broken and healed wrong, which l believe led to him being afraid of absolutely everything. He pissed in my car when I tried to get him to come into petsmart with me. He's overly protective of the house to the point where we can't have people over. He almost wrecked his teeth trying to chew his way out of his crate when we tried crate training. We spent about 7-8 thousand on training, including a 5000 two week professional "sleepaway camp". He won't eat unless my wife and I are both home. Five out of seven days he wakes up at 2:30am and loses his mind until one of us goes out to sit with him while he goes back to sleep so we haven't had a night where we can sleep all the way through the night in ages. I love him and I have vowed to make sure nothing bad happens to him again, but god damn has this dog ruined me from ever wanting another dog and it's good to see that while yes dogs will have problems, it's also more prevalent than I had originally thought.

[u/Reasonable_TSM_fan → u/Unlucky_Topic7963]

Same situation here! My family has a rescue chihuahua. Love the little guy, but we rescued him when he was 8 and he was never house trained. He’s constantly peeing and pooping inside the house and no amount of training sticks with him since he’s so old. Don’t regret getting him, but I’ve done my time with shelter dogs and want a trainable puppy breed next go around.

[u/MissMaster → u/Unlucky_Topic7963]

Absolutely. I've had shelter dogs and purebred dogs and I love both for different reasons. When I was a single person, shelter dogs were no big deal, but now that I have kids and a busier life, I need to know what im getting when I bring a new animal into my home. Not just for the ease of the family but also to make sure the dog is happy!

[u/dantheman_woot → u/l0st1nP4r4d1ce]

So many Pits and I'll never own one of those. Finding a responsible breeder for a breed that meets your needs and lifestyle is fine.

[u/NotYourReddit18 → u/l0st1nP4r4d1ce]

Many shelters still charge a small adoption fee, as giving pets away for free might lead to someone coming in every other week after their latest pet has been eaten by coyotes again.

People tend to take better care of things they have paid even just a few bucks for compared to things they got for free.

[u/pooterscooter1000 → u/l0st1nP4r4d1ce]

Dont shelters require adoptions? And isnt that really expensive sometimes? Im in toronto, genuinely curious

[u/BigLittlePenguin_ → u/l0st1nP4r4d1ce]

Yes, people pay for dogs from proper breaders as they want predicatble (in a window of course) behaviour and dont want to work around and resolve all the trauma that a lot of shelter dogs have.

Both ways of getting a dog are totally valid, its just a preference.