Posted on 02/01/2014 9:24:06 AM PST by Innovative
The Labrador retriever was the most popular dog breed in the U.S. last year for a 23rd year in a row, the American Kennel Club announced Friday.
That's the longest any breed has been top dog since the organization's 1884 founding.
German shepherds, golden retrievers, beagles and bulldogs are holding steady in the top-five pack, with Yorkshire terriers, boxers, poodles, Rottweilers and dachshunds continuing to round out the leading 10, which mirrors last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
I think some people consider it a status symbol to own a pure breed dog — but I think they should show their status some other way and save an orphaned or abandoned pet instead.
What a sweetie! A big, warm (((hug))) for her!
“It’s too bad for the pups but pet adoption agencies are their own worst enemy.”
Sad, but true — in their intent to assure a good home, they are going way overboard and push away people who would take good care of the animal.
Please don’t misunderstand some of the comments — if you want a pure bred dog, that’s what you want and nobody should hold it against you. And as someone else pointed out, it’s good to keep good blood lines going.
But, there are people who just do it, so they can say they have a pure bred dog, not that they really care about the pet per se.
You can go right or wrong with either — dogs (and cats) each have their own personalities, just like people.
I am glad you are happy with your Corgi — that’s all that really counts. :)
Especially if they habitually rip on people with purebreds.
It’s like a kind of gloating humility.
For the last 30+ years, I’ve been rescuing 3 particular purebreeds.
Isn’t that just a thorny ideological conundrum?
Had a heinz once
57 different varieties in one dog
She was a very good dog.
I always think of it as a type of canine affirmative action. hahaha!
I am all for shelter adoption and the purchase of pure breeds.
The way I see it the mutt and the purebred are already here and so why must the mutt be chosen over the purebred? aa?
The mutt is not necessarily a better dog (though I admit my smartest dog was a mutt—BOXER mix mutt! :p ).
I don’t want purebreds to disappear, so the purchase of them is necessary in order to keep the breed going. This doesn’t take away from mutts, there is room for both.
Boxers are the breed that I love and adore, if I am going to take an animal into my home and into my family for its lifetime— I want the dog that is the best fit for me and for my family.
I don’t exclude mutts but I can only keep a limited number of dogs so I mostly stick to my favored breed. Rescue, fate, bought...whatever.
I think the best thing we can do is to push spay and neuter.
If one can’t afford a vet there are many places that do it cheaply www.snapus.org for instance.
Many times there are even mobile clinics and there programs that will help out with costs.
There are many options out there and little room for excuse nowadays.
I love all dogs but my personal favorite is the boxer and they like me pretty good, too! Go boxers!
My point is that most dogs are in rescue for a reason. It would seem you have been very fortunate.
If I were to buy a dog it would without a doubt be a Lab or a King Charles. Never had a King Charles...but they intrigue me.
As it is..I’ll just wait for whatever the good Lord decides to send wagging to the front yard. And hope my now inside feral kitty will allow me to keep it. :) She’s pretty bossy these days!!
I’m sorry I was snippy. Everyone on this thread, whether they purchase a purebred pup or adopt from a shelter, they love their dog of choice.
Dogs do end up in shelters for many reasons, and most would break your heart. Our first rescue, a golden/Brittany mix, had been tied to a tree for a couple of years because her owners decided they wanted a smaller house dog. She was terrified of thunderstorms, squeaky toys and loved sleeping on the couch.
Our second was an English Shepherd who was given up by her owner because the ~boyfriend~ didn’t like dogs. He had abused her as I found when I brushed out cowboy boot tip scabs from her fur. She had had “the bark” beaten out of her and was terrified of flyswatters. On those occasions when we had to use a flyswatter we would have to remove her from the room first. She loved her squeaky toys and would carefully pick out one to take outside.
Our third was given up when the elderly owner went into a nursing home; and the fourth, adopted the same day, so I look at them as a package deal, was a stray pulled out from under a trailer with her pups. The big old guy is a Buddha dog and loves everybody while the young one is a good girl who takes the old guy’s lead in how to react in any given situation.
Families give up dogs when a divorce occurs, when they move to a new apartment and can’t keep their pet, when they’ve chosen poorly and the dog gets too big or has too much energy for their lifestyle, and, in this economy, when they can no longer afford to feed it. Sometimes they take the dog to a shelter, sometimes they dump it on the side of the road, and other times they just move and leave the dog.
This is not to say that all dogs in shelters are great, wonderful dogs, because that’s not true. The reason does not have to be, however, unfixable behavioral problems.
Yes they do. I can hear my two Norwiches downstairs right now barking at the Lab because he has a toy that they want but cannot get to because they’re in their play pen—they’re still puppies and only one is house trained. Both of these little guys represent my first foray into small dogs. We have always had Setters or Labs, but as we found out last year when one of our Labs became disabled due to a blood clot, they are hard to haul around when they can’t walk properly, so we decided to downsize. I can haul around the Norwiches under my arm like a football. LOL
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