Disposable Puppies ... How Do We Change People's Thinking?

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Phoebe's blog "I need to vent" got me started thinking about this topic again this morning, so I wanted to start a discussion to just brainstorm some ideas.  In the part of Ohio where I live there is a huge problem with not spaying or neutering ...... everyone thinks dogs should have puppies ..... they think nothing of dumping liters of puppies in a box on the side of the road or dropping them off at the kill shelter.  How many more lab/coondog/beagle/shephard/pitt mix puppies do we need.   It is enough to make a sane person crazy!  I've tried thinking of ways to attempt to educate people, but I think that I've decided we have to just start with the next generation.  We need to start in pre-schools and grade schools.  We need to teach them early.   In our County you have to purchase a dog tag .... It costs $10 per dog in January of each year.  Do most people buy them ..... NO, is there enforcement, NOT REALLY!  If your dog gets picked up by the dog catcher or someone complains about you you might get a fine, but they don't go door to door checking!  This is one of the main forms of support for the local Dog Shelter (and I use the term shelter loosely).  So I thought what if it costs more if your dog isn't spayed or neutered .... well, those stupid enough not to spay or neuter probably don't buy a tag anyway so that wasn't a good thought!  When I was reading Phoebe's blog I was thinking maybe dogs should be like guns, there is a 3 day wait to buy a gun!  or a database that if you have ever turned in a dog to a shelter you can never own another dog, or maybe you need to attend a 4 hour training class to purchase a puppy!  Would any of these ideas help, or would it only lead to more homeless puppies?  What is the answer, how do we train the next generation that puppies/dogs are not disposable items?  That you have to be a responsible owner, spay/neuter, train, groom, provide medical care .... you don't just get tired of them and turn them lose or take them to be killed!

 

So, are there any programs in your area or does anyone have any ideas about how you get people to responsibly spay/neuter?  What incentives could be offered?

 

What educational type programs have you seen in your areas that might work or what ideas do you have that might work to get the message across that we must stop having litter after litter of puppies?

 

What other thoughts or ideas do you have on this subject? 

[Frances Pendrous (Horan)]

You are so right and, of course, people like us would not dream of just allowing our dogs to breed and breed without a second thought. That is the problem....these people who own these sad dogs do not even have a "second thought" It just does not enter their minds and, as you so eloquently put it, will probably go on for generations if we do not do something to education the younger generation. Sadly, not having your animal spayed or neutered is only half the problem with these dog owners and I am sure the way they are raising their animals is none-to-wholesome either. So many pet owners are just plain and simply "ignorant" Blows me away, but sadly this is a fact. I come from a country where dogs are inside and cats are outside (with their claws) My transition to a country where dogs are not only left outside but also the consequences for abusing them is  minimal. Let's face it, famous sports people who torture dogs, still get adored by their  fans and a "slap on the wrist" for punishment. In England, that man would have been outed forever, no matter how good he could play football.....America certainly has a long way to go with regard to being responsible animal owners but with people like us, who adorn this website, I think we are on our way to a more animals friendly country.

[Jennifer Tramell]

Unfortunately I think it comes down to one of my major pet peeves: personal responsibility.  People don't take responsibility for their actions, they don't think before they act, don't consider the consequences, and don't care as long as they get immediate satisfaction. 

Growing up, spaying and neutering was not as popular but it wasn't as big of a deal.  I knew lots of people whose dogs weren't "fixed" and yet never contributed to litters of puppies.  They took responsibility for their animals.  Now it seems people don't take responsibility for their kids much less their animals.  They act out of fear of retribution or hope of reward, not because it is the right thing to do. 

In my area I see lots of encouragement for spaying/neutering.  The ASPCA has a mobile spay/neuter van, they have great discounts for low income people, there a local vets who spay/neuter at a discount, I've seen billboards and TV commercials with pitiful looking dogs begging people to spay/neuter, etc.  All of this outside stimulation should serve to remind an individual of their responsibility as a pet owner; unfortunately, outside encouragement can only do so much, it's the inside conviction which effects an action.

Sorry for preaching, like I said, it's a major pet peeve of mine.............

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I so agree with your comments on personal responsibility.  I also think some of it is a lack of education coupled with some very difficult economic times.  My DD is a teacher is a very poor area of a neighboring town, and she sees firsthand many very sad cases of neglect and abuse of children.  There are also lots of dogs in this neighborhood....I see them chained outside in the yards.  If these families aren't able to take proper care of the kids, one can only surmise how their animals are treated and cared for.  Many of these families are very good people, they have just fallen on difficult times.  Many others are just plain irresponsible (and sometimes uneducated).  As a society we haven't done a great job with addressing the plight of kids that are growing up in these conditions...the task of changing the lives of pets who are abused, neglected, and "thrown away" is also very daunting.  I don't have any good answers, but the more we can raise our own consciousness and that of those we meet to this challenge the better.  Baby steps.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Oh, boy--you are so right--I must say that the problem is much less pronounced up here in the Northeast. Many people spay or neuter the pups before they sell them or the contract to buy the puppy includes stiff penalties if you don't provide proof of Spay/neuter by 7 months. Poeple do not balk at that because the feeling here is that it is the right thing to do.

I happen to have two breeding dogs that my breeder uses for her program. They are very nice dogs who have the right temperaments, are thoroughly health-tested but it is not easy to tell people that they are not "fixed"--it is the opposite of the south, where I hear that unspayed/neutered animals are a rampant issue--as a matter of fact, a lot of the humane societies up here get puppies from the south so that they have some puppies for adoption, since many people want a younger dog. That is a HUGE controversy, because other Humane societies feel that we should be finding homes for our own local dogs first. But I can see why the pups would bring people into the shelter and then maybe they would end up with an older dog they liked once they saw him.

So, it is very hard to find a "pound puppy" around here--and when people go to buy a puppy, they expect them to cost less than $200 --if the dog is much higher than that, they are shocked. It is not easy to sell labradoodles or other breeds for what they are worth to the locals--they simply can't afford it. Most of our pups are purchased by people from cities and suburbs 2 or 3 hours away. The good news is that the situation makes it easier HERE to place an adult dog. 

But I have strayed from the original point and I don't know how to make the rest of the country do what we do--so many people use the phrase "It's just a dog" and they don't care if it wanders off, gets killed, etc.Others feel it is CRUEL to prevent the dog from having all of their parts and the experience of reproducing...ugh!

I had a horrific experience just around the corner from my house a few years ago. I have a local farm nearby that always has cats and dogs breeding and roaming (an exception to the rule around here!) I have had many stray cats from that farm come to me--I feed them, get them looking good and they get adopted from the local shelter once they are in good health. So, I do care about the farm "strays" and want to keep them safe. One day, I had one of the young pups run right under the wheel of my car. I got out of the car and started apologizing to the farmer (whom I know well) and felt just terrible--I was crying and looking very upset. He picked the pup off the road (it was still alive but obviously badly injured) and--brace yourself--threw him to the side of the road--the pup instantly got quiet--and the farmer kept walking--after all, "it is just a dog." I only tell this story, the details of which are indelibly etched in my brain--to illustrate just how far we have to go to get people to feel differently.

I was biology teacher for 34 years and I tried to make all of my students aware of how precious and special each living thing is-how even the tiny ant has a purpose on the planet. Many already felt the way I did and the ones that didn't rarely changed their opinion. You are right in that the change has to happen at home or in the early years of school--the same way we have given kids more awareness of recycling, etc.

Well, I have certainly gone on long enough! Hope we can see this problem solved someday...

 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Ginny .... if any of your Humane Society folks would like some "pound puppies" from Ohio let me know.  I have a friend here that works 24/7 getting all of the dogs out of our local kill shelter.  She has rescues all over the Country that she works with to get them out .... they have their equivalent of "doodletrains" that get these dogs from Ohio to Minnesota and everywhere else, so I'm sure they could work with the Northeast as well.

[Lorraine Bromley]

OMG I think I would have assaulted him right there and then! Even it the job had to be done that was not a humane way of doing it.

[Leslie J]

Here in Los Angeles it is quite expensive to spay or neuter a pet.  Of course, one should not get a pet if one cannot afford one... but since many don't worry about the details when they pick out their puppy we need to provide inexpensive places to spay and neuter and enough publicity to make it easy to find.  I think perhaps if donations threw in a free "puppy kit" (with a leash, a brush, a bed?) that would also help entice people to bring their pets in. Pet lovers would need to find a way to collectively fund this.

Pet shops (I hate them but they're here and selling puppies) could be required to collect a spay/neuter deposit that is redeemed with proof of spay/neuter.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Ok, here is a thought.  If a State allows Pet Shops, which I obviously don't think they should, I think they should be regulated to require all puppies be spayed/neutered prior to sale, and that puppy education including proper care be part of the required sale process.    Obviously Pet Shops are one of the main places where people make rush decisions to purchase puppies ...... so this is a great place for the education to begin.  Obviously it might hurt their sales, but then again, I don't really care that it hurts their sales.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

You know that before I got educated to Pet Stores, PMs and BYBs, I got Samantha from a pet store. Yes, I know - the guilt will never go away. I did get a discount voucher for a spay for her which I did use when she was old enough.

Charli came from a PM via a rescue in Ohio. I was told she was 9.5 weeks when I got her but I believe she was much younger, closer to 5 weeks. She was already spayed when I got her. That was much too young and I pray that she will not suffer physically when she is older from her too early spay.

It's a damned if you do and damned if you don't - spay early to be sure they won't be used for breeding or have the possibility of physical problems later in life if they are.

I wish I had THE answer.

 

[Camilla and Darwin]

Where I live, there is not much by way of public education. Just a few things. Like shelters giving you coupons for 50% off a spay/neuter. Also doggy daycare and training classes only allow spayed/neutered dogs. I honestly think that the irresponsible dog owners aren't going to be taking their dogs to daycare or training though... :-(

 

There have been 2 people I know that have gotten dogs this past year. Dogs they know absolutely nothing about, and both breeds were "Not for novice owners" breeds. One of them got rid of their dog quickly, when they realized they had to go back to school. (duh) The second just had a baby and the dog is gone because it was out of control. I was SO frustrated with this, and tried to provide advice as I could but of course, they didn't listen. I wish I knew some good way to make this stop happening!

 

Another story that made me SO angry. I was reading a discussion on a public forum. The girl's "outdoor only dog" had gotten pregnant, by some unknown dog. She said "We wanted to fix her... we just never got around to it". Well, now she had puppies and she was asking how much she could charge people for her lab mixed with who knows what puppies. She was hoping for more than 500 each. The part that REALLY got me? She literally said this. "I've heard that puppies can be really messy so my question is this. Will the mom keep them warm outside in her kennel or do I really have to bring them inside? One puppy has already died but I'm not sure it was from the cold" This discussion was in January, and in the picture she provided, there was snow on the ground!!!

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

In Iowa we have a 4H dog program for the youth.  Our local 4H kids have demonstrated with their dogs at a couple of the schools and talked about the program.  Also at the county fairs.

4H Dog Program - here's a link for your area.

http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~prec/4h/dog/

There is a trainer sponsored by SNAP spay/neuter assistance program in NE Iowa - here's a link to an educational event at a library. 

http://www.cresco.lib.ia.us/archive/2011calendar/Feb2011/dogprog1

I found this link while doing a search for one of our programs, it's a spay/neuter event in missouri.

http://preventalitter.blogspot.com/2011/02/special-incentives-durin...

The anti-cruelty program in Chicago has several programs.  I wish Iowa had some of these programs available for your kids.    

IMO some rescues should have educational requirements.  It seems lately there have been way to many sad story about animal abuse/cruelty in the news that involve so called rescues. 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Tina -- Thanks for the links I'm going to go check them all out.