Dogs As A Commodity

Kindly reproduced. Originally published in the GoDT Newsletter Spring 2011. I read with interest both the contributions of Barbara Sykes and Ross McCarthy in the January issue, on the subject of unsocialised puppies and dogs coming into rescue in the current economic climate. I admire Barbara's optimism in believing that most owners are caring and in for the long haul but I have to say,  that in my twenty years of working both privately and latterly professionally in the field of rescue, I cannot be so positive.

I can of course recall many wonderful people who have worked tirelessly in trying to understand and cope with some of the damaged dogs that come into rescue, but sadly, they are not in the majority in my experience. I have for twenty years rescued, fostered and rehomed bull breeds. I began with SBTs, progressed to EBTs then American Bulldogs and currently have in my care nine of the above including various mixtures. Due to the nature of some individuals who are attracted to  these breeds, one might expect a slightly jaundiced view of dog owners from me, but I am also the resident  behaviour practitioner responsible for the dogs in my local rescue centre in Devon and this work has not changed my views. In fact, despite the current economic climate which as Ross points out and I am sure he is right, highlights the plight of unwanted puppies, I believe that dog breeding has been going in the wrong direction for quite some time. Someone in rescue recently made the point to me that if we bred no more dogs in the UK for ten years, we would have the numbers about right. I dont know if this is even close to accurate, but one thing I do know, there are too many dogs of almost all breeds in the UK and until legislation is produced to control who breeds what, how often they breed and a fee is levied on all breeders, this will all just get worse.

The prices that are currently charged for puppies is extortionate. Anything from £150 for a mongrel to £1800 for certain breeds, seems to me to be just the right incentive for certain sections of society to see dog breeding as a money spinner. Add to this, the fact the fact that owners often seem to, as Barbara puts it so well “go shopping for a dog” often choosing it because it looks cute or is a nice colour, regardless of breed or temperament, the future does not look rosy for companion dogs. Those same owners, having put in no training will then abandon that same cute puppy to rescue when it grows into an unruly adult dog. Many times the dogs we take into rescue are there because “it wont come back when I call it” and various other inappropriate behaviours that the dog apparently should have innate knowledge of.

I of course recognise, that there are some wonderful, caring breeders out there who are only interested in improving the gene pool of companion dogs and ensuring that they all go to responsible owners. However, the sheer number of dogs of many breeds that are flooding the market currently, makes a mockery of any breeding right now. It is obvious that the breeding of SBT's has become completely out of control in recent years, not helped by the DDA1991, outlawing pitbulls and so encouraging interbreeding of legal breeds, but it doesnt stop there. In my area we are overwhelmed by farm bred collies, sold into domestic homes that are entirely inappropriate for that life. In recent years governments have encouraged farmers to diversify and one such area has been in sharp, working strain dogs bred for sale as pets. In the last twelve months I have seen more collies with behavioural issues than any other breed, usually for aggression to their owners. In most cases both the dogs and their caring owners have been miserable sharing a domestic environment and the problems stemmed from inappropriate breeding.

Also in Devon  currently we have a fad for breeding wolf hybrids for domestic ownership. Most of these dogs are ending up in small homes in urban seaside towns.  Unsurprisingly I am also seeing these dogs and their owners. The attraction for the owners is apparently the similarity in appearance to the wolf, they do not however, cope well with the experience of living with one.

 Whenever I mention my views on breeding to those nice caring owners who do a wonderful job with their dogs, they are entirely oblivious and equally horrified that so many dogs are bred and sold with scant regard for where they end up and whether there is a need for them. It seems to me a simple equation, if we do not restrict the numbers of puppies sold, we cannot possibly begin to control the hugely escalating numbers of dogs of all breeds coming into rescue. Currently at our centre we have a huge spectrum of breeds, from Labs through Retrievers to Spaniels, Collies, JRT's and of course as many SBT's as we will take - you name it, we have it, plus a good sixty dogs on the waiting list at any one time  - and we are a small charity.

My apologies to members who are breeders and I am sure responsible, but it must be said that unless something is done about restricting numbers of dogs bred and a considerable licence fee levied on anyone wishing to breed, we will not eliminate the money makers and naïve owners who wish to “let their bitch have one litter!”  Good breeders who do a good responsible job should not be tarred with the same brush as the rest. Until the endless flow of puppies is controlled, those of us who are rescue workers will not stop tearing our hair out every time we open the local paper and see pages and pages of pups for sale every single week. 

Ruth Owen