More and more I hear not only random people, but my friends as well complain about people who buy pure breeds rather then adopting from a pound.   Now, before I go into why I don’t buy from pounds let me also explain a couple things.

1.  I love animals, all of them, even the muts.

2. If given a valid reason, I have been known to change my beliefs on many things.  I think that’s what makes you a good person, having an open mind.  With that said, you better bring good reasoning if you expect to sway my opinion.

Ok, now that those two things are clear lets get to why I don’t buy from pounds in most cases.

First and most importantly I need to know what my dogs needs are.  I need to know what energy level they are, what their temperament is, what their exercise needs are, etc.  When I buy a dog, I do a lot of research in what will fit in my family.  I spend weeks discussing what we want from our new companion because we aren’t buying some animal to cage up or lock outside, we are buying a member of our family.  Someone who is going to go everywhere with us and live with us in our house.  We can not just pick some mutt from the pound and hope that the breed it looks like the most is how its going to act.  I also can not guess at its history and what it’s needs will be.

Second breeding has saved many breeds of dogs that would now be extinct.  You may think thats a good thing, but I do not.   Breeding has produced some of the most productive members of our society.  From seeing eye dogs to rescue dogs to K9 cops.  This is made possible by breeding a dog for a specific task.

Third good breeders care for their dog and make sure they go to a good home.  They don’t sell to people who aren’t ready and don’t understand what they are getting into.   Pounds make a feeble attempt  to monitor who adopts, but in the end they want them out.  This creates a cycle of bad owners who don’t know what they are getting into.  The owner finally gives up and lets their dog run free and we all know what happens then.  More dogs in the pound.  Did you know a good breeder has in the contract that you must spay or neuter the dog unless you spend a very large amount to gain rights to breed the dog?

These 3 reasons are the top reasons I own 3 pure breed dogs.  Obviously there are more, but these are my top.  So before you bad mouth the next person who has a pure breed think about these things.  Don’t agree with these?  Want to show me the error of my ways?  Post a comment and let me know, I am nothing if not open minded.