There is a current loose movement in the United States that is deeply interesting to me. A large number of various and unconnected people in the dog world have all identified a similar problem and that is pet owners sourcing healthy, temperamentally sound dogs.
The demand for good pet dogs has only increased over time, and I think this year has really highlighted this issue, as many places around the world are seeing record increases in dog sales from retailers (rescues/shelters, pet stores, breeders, etc.) The interesting thing is, the demand seems to have changed in type. With the rise of dog shelters and the public perception of purebred dog health, consumers seem to be more aware of the issues dogs face and are therefore seeking out dogs that are behaviourally suitable and physically sound.
This is all very interesting to me and I have a big basket of different sources of people who are talking about this and many who are attempting to tackle this issue, and achieve goals like giving more support and education to dog breeders to breed healthy and behaviourally sound dogs, and giving more support to consumers to find those dogs.
Functional Dog Collaborative – a new organisation (and Facebook group) focused on supporting people to breed functional dogs. There is a podcast with lots of really great information, and the website includes a library of resources. Just before this project was launched, Dr Hekman and Trish McMillan were on DogLab discussing the issues they see in acquiring pet dogs, and touched on how they wanted to solve it – this project is that solution.
Good Dog – an organisation focused on connecting dog buyers with dog breeders and shelters to match people and dogs better. There was a great episode on Cog-Dog Radio about this.
Kim Brophey’s book Meet Your Dog: the Game-Changing Guide to Understanding Your Dog’s Behavior tackles this issue by creating a resource for consumers, ideally, before they get their dog. I’ve discussed the book before, it breaks down dogs into types rather than focusing on individual breeds to help people better understand the differences between dogs. This means that people with mixes can better understand their dogs, too, as they can look at many types.
And I think that many people are coming around to the idea that universal spay/neuter is not the answer for rescue/shelter/mixed breed dogs, as it is detrimental not only to the individual dog in many cases, but to the wider population of dogs by rapidly shrinking the gene pool. As outraged as some dog people were (including some on dogblr) about the idea of dog shelters potentially breeding dogs (which turned out to be inaccurately reported), there has been discussion amongst highly experienced and informed shelter workers in the dog world about this exact topic. Disclaimer here, I do not necessarily think that shelters should begin breeding practices, as many shelters in the United States range from extremely questionable to outright unethical, but I think this conversation is important to have because the goal of shelters should be to go out of business. And then what? The focus is back on breeding dogs.
Who is having these conversations? Trish McMillan, for one, who makes some really good observations about shelters and pet dogs on the Functional Dog Breeding podcast. And Sue Sternberg on Michael Shikashio’s podcast The Bitey End of the Dog, who has been in the shelter world since the 80s and has made similar observations and come to similar conclusions.
All of these conversations and resources have made me think strongly about where I see the dog world headed. I do not think that we are headed to an animal rights fantasy future of no pet dogs. The demand for dogs is too high for that to be realistic. So, I think dogs will always be in high demand and therefore we should focus on making sure the dogs that we bring into this world are physically healthy, behaviourally sound and bred for function (whether that function is working on a farm or being a pet in a city). I also realistically believe that what we refer to as “backyard breeders” will always exist, as they have always existed. And organisations like Good Dog and Functional Dog Collaborative are needed to bring education and support to those people. Maybe if they have this education and support, there won’t be a need for shelters (as these are the types of dogs that anecdotally end up in shelters).
Personally I would like to see this movement reach Australia. I would like to see and end to inflammatory social media posts aimed at deepening the perceived divide between people who “rescue” and people who “buy”. I would like to see connections made between government bodies, local councils, veterinarians, dog trainers, dog breeders, kennel clubs and shelters. My utopia is a community hub where people can get access to good dogs (either via a shelter or a breeder), find a good trainer, find a good vet, learn about activities they can do with their dog, and get support if they are interested in breeding. Instead of demonising someone who loves their pet dog and wants to breed them to make more, we would talk to them about their goals and expectations and offer education and access to what they need (vet care, health testing, etc.)
The ongoing relationship between humans and dogs is deeply important to me. We have, in many ways, dug ourselves into many holes (as we have in all things on this planet). I am glad to see there are many clever and compassionate people who are seeking the solutions.
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