Nothing wrong with buying pedigree dogs
to the letter “Reasons you should adopt, not shop” by Subbashnee Muniswaran (NST, Dec 10).
While I agree with the letter writer that irresponsible puppy millers should be reported to animal control authorities and the police, I don’t see any reason why we can’t shop for pedigree or purebred dogs. It’s like saying, don’t buy a Toyota, but instead get a locally made car. You are asking a person not to spend his own money to get things he likes.
Breeding pets for sale is not illegal. There are plenty of them being bred. They are not wild animals. These days, dog owners love their dogs like their own children, and they sometimes get better perks.
The pet industry has contributed billions of ringgit each year to the country’s economy.
Domestically bred dogs and cats existed from as early as the 1800s. People tried to improve the breed over the years and there will be flaws, such as those mentioned by the writer about pedigree and purebred dogs being vulnerable to diseases. They are called genetic disorders.
All dogs are, in the first place, bred to help humans in doing their jobs — collies and Shepherds for herding, Labradors for retrieving, terriers for catching rodents or rats while the mastiffs were used during the war. The only problem with these dogs is that there are those who do selective breeding for shows, thus affecting the breed’s capability of what it is meant to do in the first place.
I feel the situation in Malaysia is still okay. Puppies mostly come from home and serious breeders. There may be a handful of puppy millers which the authorities should investigate, but overall it is not as serious as in the developed countries.
The problem of strays is not as simple as shutting down breeders or not buying from breeders. In order to adopt strays, you need to at least have some experience in handling dogs. Most animal rescue personnel are trained to do that or have worked for years in the field.
Speaking from the point of view of a dog trainer, not all adopted strays will make good companions. Most strays sent to us for training have behavioural issues. When strays are rescued, one thing we have to remember is that we do not know their history or the history of their sire and dam. Some of them could be fear biters (extremely scared dogs) while some could be shy or reactive.
I’m not saying to forget adopting strays, but there are pros and cons.
In a nutshell, a dog sold by a breeder doesn’t mean another stray roaming by the roadside. It’s all in the mindset of the people. Change the mindset, then there will be fewer strays to be adopted!