My wife and I are buying a purebred dog...why is there a stigma

It's purely because of propaganda from the animal shelter organizations - "adopt, don't shop." Their arguement (or sales pitch) is that buying from breeders is so unethical because of the amount of dogs that are in shelters, of which breeders are to blame. When in reality, it's irresponsible owners, backyard breeders/puppy mills that are to blame for the abundance of shelter dogs, not RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS. If everybody did what you are doing, which is making the necessary financial sacrifice to ensure you're getting a healthy, well-bred dog we wouldn't need to have so many animal shelters. In fact, if the breeder is a half-decent human being they should have a return policy so that their dogs don't end up in shelters which is common (but not common enough).

Dog culture has been incredibly warped and corrupted by the idea that you can, and should, get a dog for the price of a nice pair of shoes, which has lowered our expectations of breeders. After you add up the costs of all the necessary health tests, shots, food, and profit needed to keep the breeder's business going, a dog should run AT LEAST $1,000 (and more if the dogs are in high demand); any less and the breeder is being greedy. Plus, the higher price weeds out irresponsible buyers and if people were required to make more of an investment to get their dog, they would be less likely to dump it in a shelter the minute the dog becomes an inconvenience.

OP, thank you for doing the right thing and buying from a responsible breeder. Don't feel bad for making a sacrifice to ensure that you have a happy and healthy dog.

I realize that this is an ancient thread, but I want to answer the border collie question. Why bring one into your home? Because, if you are a border collie person, no other dog quite measures up. If you are going to spend fifteen years with a dog, it should be the dog you want. I got my first border collie 40 years ago, and there is one right next to me now. None of them have worked on a farm. Yes, they need a job. That job can be as simple as being your friend, as long as that involves a lot of interaction. Do your research and then get the dog that suits you.

How good is genetic testing for dogs? I believe they can screen for monogenic issues relatively easily but aren't most purebreds from long, long lines of inbreeding? No way we have good polygenic scores for the countless issues an inbred dog can have.

Perhaps lineages have been repaired recently with careful breeding? No clue. I think concerns with purebreds are valid tho.

Harambe wrote:

How good is genetic testing for dogs? I believe they can screen for monogenic issues relatively easily but aren't most purebreds from long, long lines of inbreeding? No way we have good polygenic scores for the countless issues an inbred dog can have.

Perhaps lineages have been repaired recently with careful breeding? No clue. I think concerns with purebreds are valid tho.

I don't know enough about the quality of genetic testing, so I can't give a definitive answer there, but I know that reputable breeders will do them, which accounts for the increase in price for their dogs. I will say, however, that the misconception is that health-related issues in dogs are just a product of inbreeding, rather than irresponsible breeders who don't health test and don't carefully select which dogs get to mate. Good breeders will also import dogs in order to deepen the gene pool of the dogs they're producing.

This is especially the problem in the US where the laws are very lax on breeding compared to Europe, where dogs need to meet certain criteria in order to be 'titled' by their country's kennel clubs to be bred. In the US, anybody with a license can breed any dogs they want just as long as they aren't found to be guilty of animal cruelty, and even that gets abused.

I hate mutts, rescued 1 and the other two were strays. They have so many emotional issues and bad habits, it's like totally chaotic the whole thing. The strays had medical issues, image giving a dog medicine every day.. when they finally pass it's super emotional, because of the transformation. You change, they change, it's crazy, it's beautiful, it's nuts.

Went two years no dog, then for dog #4, finally purchased a boxer, she was about a grand. Best decision ever! I'd you want a no BS experience, get the pure bred. If you want an deep experience, rescue a pup.

Nike Marketing Team wrote:

My wife and I are purchasing our first dog and have decided to purchase a purebred Golden Retriever. It is from a reputable breeder that conducts genetic testing and provides a 2 year warranty on the dog. We have two cats at home and have read that GRs are one of the best dogs for interacting with cats.

I don't think the genetic testing that they do is enough to ensure purebred dogs don't have genetic defects. The whole problem with inbreeding is that rare variants become common. They're genotyping the dogs but they aren't sequencing the full genome, so they're not seeing the rare variants. And even if they were, we still aren't super great at predicting the deleteriousness of alleles. Inbreeding is inherently unhealthy.

We have had three Golden Retrievers. The first two lasted until they were 14 years old. Our current one is 10. We love the breed and will get another one when its time. They are the best family dogs and very easy to train. They are well worth the $$$ you spend.

Pdx 1967 wrote:

We have had three Golden Retrievers. The first two lasted until they were 14 years old. Our current one is 10. We love the breed and will get another one when its time. They are the best family dogs and very easy to train. They are well worth the $$$ you spend.

Golden retrievers are the sweetest, most gentle creatures on this earth. Mine died of cancer at five years of age. It was horrible to watch. Any potential owner should know that the breed has about a 60% chance of actually getting cancer. You have been very fortunate to keep your furry friends into old age.

not a purebred issue wrote:

I don't think anyone has an issue with purebreds. My dogs have all been purebred greyhounds (most have been retired racers). No one has ever given me a hard time about that.

Having a dog bred specifically for you when you could adopt an existing dog that needs a home (and that may be euthanized if it does not find one) is probably the thing that people object to.

________________

You're probably right, but that doesn't mean that the "adopt, don't shop" directive is best for everybody. I've had some great mixed breed dogs, but their temperaments are less predictable than purebreds. Poor mismatch between dog temperament and owner characteristics can lead to dogs ending up in shelters.

One of the great things about greyhound adoption is the ability to get a purebred dog via rescue. I've had two, and they turned me into a sighthound lover. Before that, I had no breed preferences (aside from preferring big dogs to small ones)

Dog owner2 wrote:

Not all pure breed dogs have health problems. Goldens are prone to hip, elbow issues and certain cancers.

If you want a pure bread that doesn't have too many health issues look at a poodle. If you go medium sized (20-35 lbs) they can easily live 14-16 years and are excellent family companions. They do need a lot of exercise though.

I love me some pure bread.

Disgusted wrote:

Pdx 1967 wrote:

We have had three Golden Retrievers. The first two lasted until they were 14 years old. Our current one is 10. We love the breed and will get another one when its time. They are the best family dogs and very easy to train. They are well worth the $$$ you spend.

Golden retrievers are the sweetest, most gentle creatures on this earth. Mine died of cancer at five years of age. It was horrible to watch. Any potential owner should know that the breed has about a 60% chance of actually getting cancer. You have been very fortunate to keep your furry friends into old age.

I'm surprised it took three years for someone to mention that GRs seem to have a problem with cancer. Not knocking them though. Great dogs.

The five dogs I've owned were all mutts from the pound, but I got them as puppies. All of them were fantastic dogs.

Enjoy your money!

No shame.

Don't think about all the sad homeless pups and abandoned doggies in cages waiting for cold holes in ground.

Goldens are so dumb. Just dumb, excitable, and bland. Not really good at anything, and people get them as "family dogs" then think that they don't require training. So many generations of inbreeding. If you're going to get a purebred, at least get a better breed.

Nike Marketing Team wrote:

My wife and I are purchasing our first dog and have decided to purchase a purebred Golden Retriever. It is from a reputable breeder that conducts genetic testing and provides a 2 year warranty on the dog. We have two cats at home and have read that GRs are one of the best dogs for interacting with cats.

I was interacting with some people at a social gathering and informed that we were paying $1500.00 dollars for the dog. Each of them looked at me as if I were crazy. One said "I would never pay that much for a dog, the humane society has them for a hundred bucks."

We wanted a purebred to avoid issues with our other pets and love golden retrievers.

Why do so many people look down on family's that buy purebred dogs? It's my money.

I have a purebred Yellow Lab, and we got him from a rescue. He's not even 2 years old yet. He was a failed hunting dog because he was too friendly and wanted to play. He's the greatest dog ever. You can find purebreds at rescues if you just look, and the don't all have issues either. Every purebred has a rescue.

I don't care if you get a dog from a breeder. Just know that you don't have to. Many "rescue" dogs are fostered first, and you can get reports about whether they get along with other animals, kids, hate men, etc.

You WILL continue to get hate from most dog owners though for going to a breeder. Most of them want to save animals that are already here, not pay to have them created, and you will be judged.

The "pound" doesn't just take $100 for a dog either...depends on where you are. Ours was in the $350 range.

That dog looks like a baked bean, why would you want a dog that has been bred to have no hair?

Vet here. Golden retrievers are the best.

I say that as an owner of two shelter dogs (pitbull and a shepherd mix). If I wanted a dog that was as close to guaranteed as possible NOT to bite my kids id pick either a golden retriever or a cavalier king charles spaniel.

What you get with a purebred golden is the comfort knowing it will probably not bite your kids. Shelter dogs are great but can be a bit of a wild card with respect to personality.

As long as it's not a weird "white golden retriever"...as with any dog inbred for it's color they tend to get some weird behavioral traits.

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I guess this is a ‘buy breeder vs adopt from a shelter’ question. Quiet simply I don’t understand why anybody should look down on anybody else who has their own right to decide where to acquire a dog to join their family comes from.
I have, when needed, always bought from a breeder because it’s very very rare to find one of my breed in a Shelter. And then there’s the fact that when/if I needed to buy in, I need to buy something to enhance my bloodlines - yes I bred but ONLY for my next generation. Hopefully improving with each litter. We’d only take two litters also - and perhaps only one!
And then there are ‘breeders’ and ‘breeders’ - BYBs vs reputable breeders who care about their breed and don’t breed for MONEY.

But you won't be able to virtue signal with the overuse of the word "rescue". No rescue bumper sticker, no use in every sentence about your dog. Now I'm seeing "rescue" parakeets.

I'd get a mutt just so I could insert rescue every chance I got.