Does anyone else think it's not on...

Mrs_P_Pincher

...to pay £1,000 for a pedigree dog?

My dog came from the RSPCA, cost me £60 and was the best family dog we could have had for 14 years. She did everything that my friend's £1,000 dog does and in fact she did more because she looked after my children like they were her own.

Are we ever going to get the numbers of rescue dogs down while people continue to be prepared to pay this sort of sum?

Anyone else got views on this?

Mrs P P (having a bit of a rant on a Wednesday afternoon!)

Barneysmom

HI mrsPP, we have 2 rescue dogs.
They both cost £50 each, they're chipped, insured, vaccinated every year and I'd be lost without them, they're my babbies
If we go out, they come with us, and if they aren't welcome, then we're not either. That goes for family, friends whatever.

But a thousand pounds! Wow, that's a lot of money. Instead of spending that much why don't people pay £50 or £60 and donate the rest to the dog's home.
The love you get from a rescue dog is priceless.

Bean_Counter

When we tried to get rescue when we had youngish children, all the dogs they had were only suitable for people with older kids. When we eventually did find dogs that were supposed to be suitable, they ended up attacking the kids and had to be returned (the dogs not the kids.)

In the end we researched exactly the type of dog we wanted. Since they very very rarely turn up at rescue centres, we ended up getting pedigree puppies. You then have a better idea of what animal you are getting as you have them from puppies.

So I think that pedigree dogs have their place. I expect to be in a minority of one in this thread.

marshmallow79

I'm with you Bean.:beer:
I got a golden retriever because I couldn't get a dog from a rescue centre that was good with children and other animals (I have 2 cats).

minihay

I agree with Bean Counter - we tried 2 rescue centres and the RSPCA wouldn't let any dog go to a home with children under 3 and the other home was similar, and you never know what the poor dog's been through before so I do understand this.

Have now decided to buy a puppy and have researched breed etc thoroughly but the differences in prices have been shocking. We have ended up paying £260 (still a lot) for a non KC registered pup which doesn't bother us as are not planning on showing but some people wanted £600+

tbain

I also agree with Bean on this one. Although we have a 12 and 13 year old, we also have a two year old and wanted to make sure we got an appropriate breed. We eventually decided on buying a Shih Tzu puppy as so many traits about that dog fitted our criteria ( for example good with all children, we wanted a small breed of dog, they do not shed their coats etc). We paid £500.00 for Molly who is KC registered , which is pretty steep. But we have no regrets and she has settled in so well.

Mrs_P_Pincher

Things have obviously changed since I got my dog from the RSPCA. We had a child of 6, one of 18 months, a cat AND we were first time dog owners. After a garden check they let us have an adolescent dog with an unknown history and I guess we must have been very very lucky, although it took 6 months for everyone to settle.

A couple of years later we had another dog from the Dogs Trust and that was a disaster, but not because of the dog. He died of parvo a month after
we got him - although they said he had been vaccinated. Horrible experience.

I never said that pedigree dogs don't have their place, but I do have concerns about the price of pedigree dogs, indiscriminate breeding and the number of dogs in rescue.

Mrs P P

Jellicat

As far as I see it, if you want to pay a grand for a pet dog that will do exactly the same as a mongrel from the RSPCA, that's your choice. I am dying to own a purebred Arabian horse so I cant really talk. I have vowed to buy no more reptiles from breeders and take on some rescues, but at the end of the day if you are a good person you will love your pet no matter where it comes from. People are ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS going to want to buy cute puppies/kittens/small fluffers from breeders and pet shops and nothing is going to change that, unless we have a radical change in thinking about animals being friends and not commodities...I mean when people do things like this... http://www.maggieslaw.co.uk/ to animals and each other, no less, we cant expect miracles when it comes to abandoned and needy dogs. The fact that owners are at risk of having horses, parrots and pedigree dogs and cats stolen proves that animals are like property or objects to a lot of people.

Personally, when I want a dog, I'll probably buy a puppy, and it will likely be either a boxer or a border collie or a Finnish Lapphund (or all of them knowing me :rolleyes:). As far as I see it is my money and I can do as I choose with it, I dont see anything intrinsically immoral in buying a pedigree pup if thats what you want...after all I usually rehome small animals rather than buying from pet shops. Once my first pup gets a bit older I'd like to take on a rescue dog however...I'd love a greyhound but I dont think my small animals would feel quite the same way :rotfl: .

elsien

Mine came from a rescue centre, partly because there are so many dogs looking for good homes, and partly because I wanted an older dog not a puppy. (Thought she wouldn't wee or chew as much - boy was I wrong about that - she just had stronger jaws to chew with and got through the furniture so much quicker!)
I agree with the not needing to pay bit. I also can't ever see me paying £1000 for a dog. But I love bull terriers to bits, so if I couldn't track one down at a rescue centre, I might consider paying for one if there was no other way - have to be around the £300 mark, no more (which may not be possible once the dodgy puppy farms are ruled out), and I'd have to be really really desperate.

pulliptears

Im with bean also. I knew the breed I wanted. I knew its temperament, I knew what ailments the breed suffers from, I knew on average how long it lived, how adept it was to training etc

As soon as my £600 Scottish Terrier was old enough he had the snip, he is a pet not an income.

Of course this is nothing against the good old Heinz 57, but I wanted a Scottie

roguebrogue

Unfortunately it's a never ending circle. As long as there's demand for puppies people will keep breeding them. Plus what would happen to the puppies if they weren't bought?

I can see the advantages of getting a puppy as you can train them from the early age and they get used to you/your children/other pets etc.

But then I also support rescuing dogs where possible.

I don't currently have a dog as am in rented so not allowed, but my parents have had dogs ever since I was born. The first 2 were got from puppies. The 2nd and 3rd were both rescue in their own way (One we got from a paper ad - couple splitting up and neither wanted or could keep the dog. The second I think was from the RSPCA, she was rescued from a gypsy site.)
The 5th my mum got as a puppy.

All the dogs have been amazing. I don't think that the fact they're bought from puppies/rescue dogs really affect their character. It's all down to their owners. Example, the dog from the rspca was scared of horses, and we suspect it's because she might've been kicked by one when she was on the gypsy site. Even horses on the TV used to scare her.