<p>Yes, of course cockerpoos and golden doodles are mutts. As I said before, this was my first dog ever and I was familiar with this mix and liked it. So I got one.</p>
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<p>Can if I want.</p>
<p>The topic of my post is: How Do Purebred Dogs Get Into Breed Rescue?</p>
<p>Simple – their families cannot keep them, for all of the usual reasons. Many times, a reputable breeder will take back a dog they bred and place them in a new home. The rescue organization might assist in placing that dog also. A pet store purebred doesn’t have a breeder to assist, so breed rescue might pick it up for rehoming. Many times breed rescues are called by shelters if they have an obvious purebred dog that has come into the shelter.</p>
<p>I once rescued a purebred Sheltie from the Humane Society – but she had not been there long enough for them to call Sheltie Rescue – she was in the shelter less than 24 hours. The family had brought her in – filthy, starved, dirty, matted – along with two purebred Collies in the same condition because they were “moving.”</p>
<p>Another source of purebred dogs in breed rescue is a commercial breeding operation shutting their doors or culling their breed stock.</p>
<p>Most (if not all) rescue organizations will require the dogs to be spayed or neutered, and will not pass on registration papers if they have them.</p>
<p>EPTR, if you go to someone who is deliberately breeding mutts, and that person can show you health testing for the relevant issues going back several generations, and requires you to sign a spay/neuter contract, and requires you to return the puppy for rehoming if you can’t keep it, and microchips the puppy with their contact info (which can be switched to yours), then by all means buy a puppy from them.</p>
<p>If they don’t do those things, unfortunately the reality is that a significant proportion of the puppies they produce will end up in shelters. Possibly even the majority. (There are some horrible stats out there.) And by giving them your money, you are enabling them to continue.</p>
<p>Just the same way that anyone who buys a puppy from a pet store or a broker is enabling puppy mils. </p>
<p>It is sad, but true. And yes, you can if you want.</p>
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<p>Excellent plan! Dogs love parties and adore finger food. ;)</p>
<p>My dogs will only watch horse racing on TV, for some reason, though they are terriffied of the two horses who live two houses over and will only approach up to a certain point.</p>
<p>I love that dog show. We do watch it in the background of what we are doing. </p>
<p>Did anyone ever see the movie “Best in Show” ? Very hillarious.</p>
<p>Sabadog and I will be enjoying the dog show together; he also loves finger food but we are on a diet at our house. Well, one of us is. </p>
<p>poetgrl, Sabadog’s first realization of television was the Kentucky Derby. He was fascinated by the horses. He’s never seen one up close, but I suspect he wouldn’t be quite as interested.</p>
<p>I know a few people who have tried to adopt dogs from breed rescues & the rescue group that comes monthly to the local PetSmart but have been turned down for a variety of reasons including lack of fenced yard, both adult work full-time out of the house, etc. The rescues also required them to provide reference checks from local vets. These are why people turn to puppy mills and get dogs from pet stores. </p>
<p>re: Westminster. I love seeing all the dogs getting walked around Madison Square Garden when I’m heading in/out of Penn Station.</p>
<p>When my dogs have encountered horses, they bark like hell. </p>
<p>My question: How do they know a horse is not just a big dog?</p>
<p>And can dogs tell the difference between horses and, say, cows? How?</p>
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<p>My dog, a border collie/aussie mix (I did get her from the shelter) barks at all things walking equally—on two legs or four. I read in a book about herding dogs that their mind set is always: “it MIGHT be a BEAR!” </p>
<p>She works very hard to protect us from all those potential bears, and I love her for it. Well, maybe not in the middle of the night…</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>I don’t want to derail the thread but I am also frustrated with breed rescues.</p>
<p>I have run into the same problems that njmom describes. </p>
<p>What finally turned me totally off is the rescue telling me “we will pick out the dog we think is best for you”</p>
<p>Really? I can’t pick out my own dog.</p>
<p>We lost our two beloved retriever mutts this last year and we have been actively seeking two new dogs . We have been to SPCA a number of times but most dogs are a pit bull mix and we are not interested in that breed.</p>
<p>Pennsylvania is a hotbed of puppy mills. I am at the point where I am ready to go rescue my own puppys straight from the rotten mill owners just to save two lives. Even the puppy mills want 500 bucks for a mutt. </p>
<p>I am beyond frustrated in this search. </p>
<p>Anyway, the dog show is a hoot.</p>
<p>Commercials seem to be the start of the destruction of good breeds. Seems like the Bernese mt dog is the next to be overbred. The commercial with the Irish wolfhound will be the start of a new popular breed too.</p>
<p>So really… where can I find two mutts that need a good home without a security clearance?</p>
<p>Sax, what are of the country are you in?</p>
<p>Bide-a-Wee has loacations in Long Island/NYC and are very good. Some animal control facilities have adoption available, and even Petsmart has adoption in some areas.</p>
<p>My daughter’s friend, who is finishing veterinary school next year, worked all through high school and college at PetSmart and says that they do a very good job with adoptions and take good care of their animals.</p>
<p><a href=“http://pets.petsmart.com/adoptions/#2[/url]”>http://pets.petsmart.com/adoptions/#2</a></p>
<p>“Many times breed rescues are called by shelters if they have an obvious purebred dog that has come into the shelter.”</p>
<p>That is how I got pekechin and my chin. The Chin rescue group gets called (even for a mix.) The pekechin (my bad dog) was in a kill shelter in Florida. The chin was a breeder at a puppy mill and every once in awhile someone who works there sneaks several dogs out in the middle of the night and calls the shelter to meet them behind a Walmart or somewhere like that, then the shelter calls the breed rescue groups. </p>
<p>Even though I helped transport her to foster mom, I had to go through the adoption process - including a home visit! But it’s no big deal and worth it.</p>
<p>Sabaray, your dog is welcome to come over and watch the horse racing with my dogs any time. </p>
<p>Sax, my oldest daughter was trying to adopt a dog for about four months, and every time she would get attached to the one “they” picked for her, they would give it to someone else and suggest a new one.</p>
<p>She finally told them it was too heartbreaking for her and that she grew up in a house with three dogs and this was just ridiculous. She called us and she and her dad went to our breeder and got her a golden puppy. </p>
<p>She really wanted to do the “right” thing, but you can’t keep telling a girl in her twenties that it’s her dog and taking it away from her. They called a couple of months later and she said, sure, she would take another dog, but only to call if she could pick it up and not to “talk about it,” anymore.</p>
<p>No more calls. I “understand” the underlying premise, but the practice has gotten a bit too controlling, imho.</p>
<p>I admit that I am concerned about the difficulty of adopting from breed rescue, too. I have three acres and don’t have a fenced yard. I’m not going to HAVE a fenced yard. No dog of mine goes outside except on a leash unless or until I can trust them to come when called. No dog of mine is left outside alone, ever, no matter what. My mature dog can now be let out briefly to relieve herself and she comes right back to the door, but most of the time I either go with her or am actively watching her through the window anyway. She is completely trustworthy in terms of not going into the street. She comes when called. A puppy or a new dog would be leashed, period. I think our dogs are much better off than dogs who are left outside alone in that proverbial fenced yard!</p>
<p>When we got our current dog from breed rescue, it was run by the breeders of our other dog, who knew us well. (Our other dog was a show dog that technically I co-owned with them.) They never said anything about fenced yards. I was looking at the online info for the golden rescue in our area, and they are pretty adamant about fenced areas. They do say that it is possible that one might get a waiver if the vet was willing to vouch for you and so on. I am in all other ways an ideal home: I work at home or on my own schedule so the dog would never be alone for long periods, we don’t have allergies, we’ve never given a dog up, we’re experienced dog owners who train, etc, etc. I am worried that they would deny us a dog because of the fence thing, though.</p>
<p>I understand why rescue organizations are hesitant to let dogs go to apartment dwellers, especially young ones, to families with very young children, to people with allergies, to people who have given up a dog, and so on. I even understand why rescues want to pick the dog for you. (It’s for the same reason that breeders usually want to pick the dog for you.) But one would hope that they would be able to distinguish good homes from iffy or bad ones.</p>
<p>Poetgrl, that’s bizarre. Why on earth tell her about a dog if they aren’t going to let her have it?</p>
<p>I watch the dog shows just for the dalmatians. I want dalmatians really, really bad. We were waiting until we had a fenced yard and until I am working less, but hopefully in the next year or two we’ll be able to make that happen. I worked at the humane society for years and never laid eyes on a single one… we will have to go to a breeder, quite possibly out of state. Oh well. I have to have them!</p>
<p>I think my shelter had a good system. You took a quick 10 or 12 question quiz when you walk in that assigns you to one of three or four colors. The colors signify the amount of exercise you are willing/able to give the dog and your level of experience. The dog’s cages have color coded cards on them which correspond with the adopter cards. It’s strongly encouraged that you stick to dogs in your color card or below, but not outright forbidden to go up-- it depends and those decisions are made with an adoption counselor, only in very extreme circumstances would you not be allowed to pick the dog you want-- you have no experience with animals and work 70 hours a week and want a pitbull puppy, or you live in a small apartment and arent very active and want a husky, etc. Sometimes a dog might be a typically docile breed but we knew its history and that it was going to need an experienced handler, we could color code him accordingly to help filter his potential adopters. With this system you really have the maximum amount of freedom in choosing, but you also have a guideline going in to help you determine what is reasonable. Most people do stick within the range they’re given without needing anybody to twist their arm.</p>
<p>I was thinking about getting Sabadog a friend from one of the Lab rescue organizations. I just looked at their application,and while it asks about a fenced yard, it doesn’t say it’s required. I then noticed buried within their FAQ section, a suggestion to make sure your yard has a lock, is totally safe and secure, and there are no slats missing on your fencing. Like you, Consolation, we have a large yard and it is unlikely it will ever be fenced. Sabadog is walked on his lead and is only off lead in our yard with me because I am the only one he will come to when called consistently. The fence thing would be iffy for us as well - which is unfortunate because I work part-time, am experienced with dogs, would make their care and training a priority. </p>
<p>The breeder picked Sabadog for us. At the time I was a bit disappointed, as he was small and somewhat standoffish initially, but he has turned out to be the perfect dog for us.</p>
<p>I totally understand why Sheltie rescue wants fenced yards. Shelties in a new home can get spooked and not go to <em>anyone</em> – the fenced yard is for their protection. The breeder that I work with wanted a fenced yard – but she came to visit and found – at that time – that I was a SAHM and our yard was large, bounded by stone walls, a pond, and a long steep driveway. And I was an experienced Sheltie owner. I now have a fenced run off the basement door, as I am no longer a SAHM!</p>
<p>I love terriers, just can’t handle them. I’m a pushover. We had a wonderful Kerry Blue but she drove us crazy with her will of iron. We never really got to a peaceful coexistence, but she was a beauty and we loved her. We just had to always be alert to control her. She kept all the critters out of the yard – moles, deer, turkeys, racoons, all kept their distance. She passed away, and we decided to select a more docile doggie – now we have a golden doodle who is a cream puff. </p>
<p>I still find all terriers so darn cute. Here’s a video of a “Scottie Pinwheel” that made me smile.</p>
<p>[THIS</a> JUST IN: Scottie Pinwheel ? Cute Overload](<a href=“http://cuteoverload.com/2013/01/24/this-just-in-scottie-pinwheel/]THIS”>http://cuteoverload.com/2013/01/24/this-just-in-scottie-pinwheel/)</p>
<p>So here’s a question. If one wanted to adopt a dog from a shelter, how does one know how to pick one out? One of the reasons that I went with the cockerpoo was because I had spent significant time with them at friend’s houses and liked their temperament and the fact that they are (for most people) not an allergy issue. I felt confident that she would be a good fit for our family.</p>
<p>If I ever get another dog I would like that same comfort level. I know there are no guarantees. How do you go about adopting a shelter dog?</p>
<p>Lol, mycroft. That’s why they call them “terrors”! :)</p>
<p>EPTR: that is one of the main reasons it makes sense to get a puppy from a <em>responsible</em> breeder: predictability of breed traits. Other than that, some shelters are better than others regarding the characterization of the dogs they take in. I related earlier how the Bangor shelter completely (IMHO) mis-characterized the needs of my rescue girl.</p>
<p>I am torn when I watch dog shows, I love dogs, and the various varieties, and think of the ones I have known, each with their own personality (every time I see an irish wolfhound, all I can think of is the dog Clancy in the Dr. Herriot stories, who is always ‘womiting’ from eating something it shouldn’t <em>lol</em>)…</p>
<p>My problem with dog shows is that the selective breeding that creates the attributes the AKC and the judges want tends to lead to other problems, notable genetic disease or traits like hip dysplasia (sp?), bad legs, and so forth, because they obviously tend to breed show winners with other show winners. I was upset a couple of years ago when Border Collies became an AKC breed, because instead of the wonderful variety and sizes you see with these amazing dogs, you now will have them becoming standardized on looks. Border collies are working dogs, and if you ever get the chance to go to a sheepdog trial, do it, it is an amazing experience. The scots who use them don’t do selective breeding, they instead bring out what is in the animal, and to me that is how it should be…</p>
<p>And of course, knowing how many poor animals are in shelters, I have a hard time myself thinking about buying a dog, when so many need homes…not criticizing those who buy from breeders or want pure breeds, just talking about myself.</p>
<p>The reason pure breeds end up in shelters is the reason other animals like rabbits and exotic birds end up there, people buy the animals because they think they are cute and don’t realize the reality. Parrots are beautiful birds, they are fun and members of the family literally, but they are also intelligent, headstrong, messy (reseeding the rainforest don’t ya know), and can be moody and angry at times, and will bite, and hard…and people don’t understand that. Same way with dogs, working dogs like border collies are marvelous animals, but they also get bored and want to have things to do, and you may not like their version of work, other breeds have traits , like being single person dogs (chow chows come to mind), or strong, and people find out they are work, and get upset, and give them up.</p>