The Truth about Dog Breeding

Originally bred for functional purposes, dogs entered the human world as a companion a while ago. Back in the time of early human civilizations, canines were only considered an agile beast used for hunting food, herding livestock, and keeping burglars at bay. But as years went by farmers decided to make dogs their helping hand, which eventually granted the four-legged animals the title of ‘working dogs’.

Once humans started looking at canines as more than a wild species, their entry in human households was incumbent. And soon after, dogs became an integral part of family trees all over the world.

When people began domesticating dogs, it was mostly about having a fluffy companion to play with and pamper. Dog parents weren’t really concerned with their fur child’s race, and the only thing that mattered to them was being with their pet. However, a few decades into the entry of dogs in the human world as a companion, domesticating canines became more about breeds than having a healthy pet.

Initially, people’s desire to raise a purebred would stem from the need to display their wealth as adopting a pureblood dog is inordinately pricey, but now it’s also about preference. Many dog parents want to have canines that look a certain way or behave a certain way; therefore, they spend hundreds and thousands of dollars to adopt a thoroughbred dog. Regardless of the reason behind a person’s obsession with purebred dogs, the practice of breeding dogs is murky, to say the least. In this article, we will discuss all the controversial aspects of dog breeding and why it needs to stop.

In America, 62% of the entire population owns a pet, but still, 7 million homeless canines and felines live in shelter homes. And out of the massive number of dogs available at rescue homes, only 20% are adopted, which means the remaining percentage of pet dogs is taken up by purebred dogs.

The first and foremost problem with people choosing pureblood dogs over rescue dogs is the latter’s ignored misery. Shelter homes are brimming with abandoned dogs and working at full capacity with paltry funds, which makes caring for canines challenging. Therefore, many dogs suffer from health problems and eventually have to be euthanized.

When people go to breeders instead of rescue homes, they are essentially signing a death warrant for many homeless dogs that can have a long healthy life if obdurate people let go of their vendetta against rescue dogs.

Many people have this idea that dogs living in shelters are predisposed to a number of health conditions that a purebred wouldn’t. Moreover, they also believe that pureblood dogs are more likely to certain canine qualities that homeless dogs wouldn’t.

The myth about purebred superiority is ingrained in people’s minds, and they refuse to let it go.

Whether a dog will have a friendly disposition or supreme health depends on the individual dog and not on its breed. Even if a breeder claims that the dogs they breed will have particular traits, there is no way to validate their claims because every dog is different, and nobody can control how a pooch turns out to be.

Aside from costing hundreds of homeless dogs their life, breeding also puts many canines in deplorable facilities and puppy mills. And not just that, breeders put dogs through painful medical procedures to genetically modify their offsprings in order to satisfy the customer. As disturbing as it may sound, many paw-parents pay exorbitant prices to breeders for selective breeding.

Selective breeding is a process by which humans get animals to reproduce offsprings with specific phenotypic traits. In other words, they force animals to mate and reproduce to make huge profits off it.

Every dog parent knows that persuading a dog to do something against its will is quite challenging. If a pooch doesn’t want to move, it won’t move unless you threaten it. Dogs are intelligent and active beings that cannot be forced into doing anything until abused or terrorized. And that is precisely what happens in puppy mills and dog breeding facilities.

Breeders torture canines and pressure them into producing puppies with specific traits in order to please the clients. Most animals in breeding factories are kept in cages, away from their fellows, and aren’t even given proper veterinary services. Moreover, dogs are forced to stay amid their own waste in cramped up spaces because of which many canines develop serious health issues.

Life of a dog in a puppy mill is nothing short of torture, but it’s more miserable for female dogs as they are ceaselessly forced to make babies until their bodies give out. And when that happens, breeders sell, auction off or kill the female canines as they can’t make more babies.

Another rampant issue in breeding facilities is the birth of genetically defected puppies. Since breeding is carried out forcefully and isn’t natural, many puppies can be born with congenital diseases and disabilities. And those are either sold off by breeders or put to sleep as they are not profitable for the business. Some of the most common disabilities caused by inbreeding include blindness, deafness, hip dysplasia, epilepsy, and various skin problems.

Scaring, abusing, and coercing voiceless animals to gain monetary benefits is a repugnant practice that must be stopped, especially in a time when the overpopulation in the dog world is overwhelming.

Wanting a purebred dog isn’t wrong as long as you do not ask a breeder to produce one for you. If you wish to own a pureblood canine, you can easily find one at a shelter home. According to a study conducted by PETA, every one in four dogs in shelter homes is a purebred. Therefore, you can adopt whichever dog breed you want without harming any existing dogs.

If you can’t play a part in putting an end to the practice of dog breeding, the least you can do is not be a part of it. Don’t let your desire to own a thoroughbred canine get the best of you and force you to make a questionable decision.


by Bobby J Davidson || You can’t buy love, but you can rescue it™

Facts About Animal Homelessness:

  1. Only 1 out of every 10 dogs born will find a permanent home.
  2. The main reasons animals are in shelters: owners give them up, or animal control finds them on the street.
  3. Each year, approximately 2.7 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren’t enough adoptive homes. Act as a publicist for your local shelter so pets can find homes. Sign up for Shelter Pet PR.
  4. Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats.
  5. According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP), less than 2% of cats and only 15 to 20% of dogs are returned to their owners.
  6. 25% of dogs that enter local shelters are purebred.
  7. About twice as many animals enter shelters as strays compared to the number that are relinquished by their owners.
  8. It’s impossible to determine how many stray dogs and cats live in the United States. Estimates for cats alone range up to 70 million.
  9. Only 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered. Overpopulation, due to owners letting their pets accidentally or intentionally reproduce, sees millions of these “excess” animals killed annually.
  10. Many strays are lost pets that were not kept properly indoors or provided with identification.
  11. According to The Humane Society, there are about 3,500 brick-and-mortar animal shelters in the US and 10,000 rescue groups and animal sanctuaries in North America.

Here are a some adoptions for consideration:  puccicafe.com/adoptions