by Karon Brandt

Created on: August 07, 2011   Last Updated: August 08, 2011

Should you adopt or purchase a dog as a pet?

If you plan to breed a dog or use it as a show dog, you must buy a papered dog with valid credentials. (As the exception to the rule, some groups will allow mixed breeds to participate in classes like agility or obedience for prizes.)

If you pay a good amount of money for a purebred dog – which you should expect to do, and know that good breeders are checking you out, too - always check out the breeder’s reputation with your vet and local humane society. Also, try to meet both parents of the dog you want and validate the paperwork behind a purebred.

Dog purchased for show live a different kind of life from most pets. They are groomed for show competitions. They cannot be spayed or neutered (which can prevent many forms of cancer and create a calmer, less-likely-to-roam pet). They must rehearse – walking, standing, and posing - for shows. They must learn to accept being handled by strangers. They must adapt to frequent bathing, grooming, and nail clipping. They must frequently travel to new show destinations. Their lives are show-dog-mindset controlled. They rarely run free to mess up their hair, get into roughneck playing with other dogs, or roll in the dirt. They may be the dogs “with silver spoons” in their mouths, but they never get to play the role of “the common dog next door.”  

Many purchased-without-papers dogs come from distrustful sources. When you buy a dog from a back yard breeder or a greedy puppy-miller that hopes to lure you in with pitiful dogs you want to save, or you buy from a pet shop that uses unscrupulous breeders as their suppliers, you are feeding into the pockets of money-hungry, heartless humans that “breed for greed.”

The SPCA estimates 4-6 million unwanted animals are euthanized each year. Rather than buy a dog and pay someone to continue breeding dogs for disposable income, you could give a wonderful dog a second chance for a new home and family.

Within open shelters, rescues, and humane societies that accept dogs relinquished by the public, about 25% of the dogs are purebreds. Many were given up for reasons totally unrelated to the dog. Reasons for relinquishment include moving to apartments that don’t allow animals, inability to physically care for the dog, and the inability to afford ongoing expenses for vet care and necessary grooming.

There are also pure breed rescues in which volunteers of non-profit, 501(c)3 organizations

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