To Breed or Not to Breed?

[bumplett]

To Breed or Not to Breed?
Written By: Sherry Woodard

Here are some reasons that people give
for breeding their pets, and some things to
consider:

"We just want one litter, and then
we will have her spayed.

Though much progress has been made
toward solving the pet overpopulation
problem, millions of wonderful animals are
homeless, waiting in shelters for families
to adopt them. Breed rescue groups have
too many animals to place as well. Over 4 million pets are still put down each year in the
United States for want of a home.
Without realizing it, many people contribute to the pet overpopulation problem by having
“just one litter. By not breeding your pet, you become part of the solution.

"We will find good homes for all the babies."

Every day, shelters take in pets who were in good homes, but their people moved,
married, divorced or had a baby – and decided they had to give up their pets. Don’t let
them be pets that you have created.

"We want our children to watch the miracle of birth"

They can watch a litter being born on video.
It’s much less messy and doesn’t add to the pet overpopulation problem.

"We want a kitten from our cat (or a puppy from our dog)"

There are no guarantees that your pet’s offspring will be just like your pet. There are
many wonderful, unique animals available from your local shelter or rescue group. You
can love and cherish an adopted animal just as much as the offspring of your beloved
pet. Shelter staff can help you find a pet with just the right personality for your family.
And, think about how satisfying it is to save a life.

"We heard that having a litter has health benefits."

Actually, the opposite is true. Pregnancy does not confer any health benefits, but spay/
neuter has both health and behavior benefits. Spaying or neutering greatly reduces the
risk of your pet developing mammary tumors in females and reproductive organ tumors
in both sexes. Neutering reduces the urge to roam, urine marking, and aggression.
There are risks associated with pregnancy and delivery. Animals sometimes have a
difficult pregnancy, miscarry, or have stillborn babies or babies with defects. Your pet
may need help with a surgical delivery (a Cesarean section), which could be expensive.


"We want to get our money back on our investment."

Buying and breeding a purebred dog with the intention of raising money is not a realistic
expectation. There is a large investment of money and time involved in breeding a dog
and raising puppies responsibly until they are ready for sale.
If you’d like a purebred dog or cat, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get one.
There are rescue groups for almost any breed and 25% of dogs at shelters are purebred.
To locate a purebred rescue group near you, simply search the internet.

If you’re thinking about breeding your pet, please think twice – for the benefit of your pet,
your family and the homeless pets across the country.

[freyadog]

Absolutely do not believe in breeding animals. All our animals except for the kittens(too young yet) have been spayed or neutered. Just too many animals in shelters or thrown out of cars in rural areas. All of our babies were unwanted except by us. If we had the acreage and money there wouldnt be any homeless babies.

Barbara

[bumplett]

Absolutely do not believe in breeding animals. All our animals except for the kittens(too young yet) have been spayed or neutered. Just too many animals in shelters or thrown out of cars in rural areas. All of our babies were unwanted except by us. If we had the acreage and money there wouldnt be any homeless babies.

Barbara

I agree Barbara ~ there are far too many overflowing shelters & rescues ~ yet some people don't see it -

[tbs727]

thank you for posting this. DH and I are both advocates of shelter pets. We have never, and will never, purchase or breed an animal. All of ours have been long since fixed and every other pet that comes into our home will be two.

We have two sweet dogs from an animal shelter, a dog and a cat from friends who didn't have their pets fixed, and one cat that MIL dropped off. They're all spoiled rotten but I don't know what we would do without them!

[Neeley]

Thanks for the post. I totally agree with everything said. None of our dogs or cats were purchased from a breeder and all have been "fixed". They are all so spoiled and very much loved.
~Our Jack Russell, Frannie (the apple of my eye) was a shelter rescue. The shelter said she was 6 weeks old, but the vet said no way - she was younger.
~Hunter, our Weimerraner (sp?) was found at the ballfield full of ticks, very hungry, and a leather belt BOLTED around his neck.
~Jack Daniels, our psycho siamese mix was found under a shed at church. He was approximately 2 weeks old, weighed 6 ounces and had been bitten on the butt by something.
~Mocha, our beautiful blue eyed white cat just took up residence here two years ago. She must have been someone's pet. She had been spayed already and is very friendly.

Now to my one confession....our rabbit was bought from a rabbit breeder. I look at Budweiser as a rescue though. We rescued him from a life outside in Alabama heat only having rabbit food to eat - no treats. He now lives inside with a/c, has his own little room, gets bananas, apples, yougut chips, hay, raisins and fresh water daily.

[bumplett]

aww, Neeley, thanks for the smile

sounds like you have a house full of wonderful family members

[wanderlusting]

Thank you for posting this. The military community in England is infamously known to not fix their animals and giving kittens/puppies out to anyone who want them. Then the animals get passed on to different familys or to the fields when they leave. A lot of local shelter won't (rightly so) allow military members to adopt shelter pets because the pet usually always ends up back at the shelter.