Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/72915/

My aunt breeds dogs, and frankly I'd be wary about getting a dog from a breeder. Not only is it a lot more expensive, but health and/or temperament issues are so much more likely when breeding for certain traits or simply just to keep the bloodline pure. I'd agree that shelters are a little depressing, but those animals need good homes and the idea that none of them will properly bond is bunk. Like MST said, it depends more on the breed and the temperament of the specific dog. (As a side note, I recently recognized a breed at a dog show partly because I knew a bit about markings and size but mostly because they all acted exactly the same way my brother's dog does - Klee Kais are adorable, but being skittish is one if their main traits!)

I don't think I could buy from a breeder and create more demand for dogs to be bred when there are so many dogs without a home who have to be put down. Also, if anyone wants to get a dog, now is the time. The animal shelter up in Salt Lake is full so they're waiving the adoption fee right now.

I wouldn't get a dog from a breeder, either, for ethical reasons. We got our puppy from a friend who didn't have time to care for him, but if that opportunity hadn't come up we would have gone to a shelter. In our area, at least, shelter dogs are neutered, vaccinated, and micro-chipped before they're adopted out.

I got my dog from a breeder. I know shelters have tons of dogs, and I do feel bad about that... but I had never owned a dog before and I wanted to raise her from a puppy and know her whole history, since I figured that might be easier. Now that I have raised a puppy, I definitely think buying an adult dog from a shelter would be the easier way to go, but it was something I wanted to try out.

We got really lucky. We wanted another boxer when our Sadie died last year. My dad followed the fb page of a rescue group for boxers. He posted a family photo that included Sadie sitting across our laps as a memorial for her. Next thing we know, he got an email from the rescue coordinator. Apparently, they'd rescued a few dogs recently and, after getting them to foster homes, discovered there were three incoming litters.

So we get to raise a rescue puppy. And one of his sisters lives 20 minutes away and comes for play days sometimes. And we have meet ups with puppies from all three litters. We call them cousins. It's so fun! And we rescued a dog who was being born into the world completely unwanted.

How fun!

Yeah, it's a blast. And I loved working through the rescue rather than the shelter. They fostered the dogs in homes instead of keeping them in crates at a building. That way, we knew more of the personality going into it. Well, as much as you can for a puppy.