Our favorite breed is in trouble

[antonymworld]

I came across the post about the german shepherd in Fort Worth this morning, and I was a little shocked to see how many people were shocked at euthanasia being a possible outcome for this pup.

Texas, and the south in general, is absolutely overflowing with german shepherds and dogs. I believe I’ve seen it floating around that, after pit bull-types, GSDs are the most euthanized breed—at least in my area in DFW.

“Kill shelters” are typically the ones that cannot refuse any pet on the basis of reason for surrender/breed/temperament. These are your shelters run by local governmental organizations. They must treat every dog that comes into their care in the way the law prescribes. They absolutely do NOT want to euthanize good, healthy, friendly, adoptable pets.

Shelters that are “no-kill” shelters are typically run by non profits- these shelters can turn down dogs & refuse dogs for any reason they see fit.

My local “kill shelter” has over 350 kennels, and every single one is full. Many are doubled-up, with puts the animals in those kennels more at risk for poor outcomes due to the chance for fighting, etc. Remember….there are worse fates than death, and many of these pups were saved from those fates (slowly starving on the streets, stuck on a chain in a backyard with no shelter on a 120 degree heat index day).
To quote one of my favorite shelter advocates, we cannot adopt or foster our way out of this. Change must happen at the societal level.

What can you do?
-Spay or neuter your German shepherd. Right now. You do not need to breed your dog. There are hundreds or responsible, and irresponsible GSD breeders. You are not contributing to maintenance or betterment of the breed. Tell everyone you know!
-If you want a puppy from a breeder, do your research on what a responsible breeder looks like- I can link resources, if anyone wants.
-Adopt! If adoption is right for your family, come take a road trip to Texas. I could send you ten GSDs on the EU list at my local shelter.
-If you do adopt, educate yourself on how to successful integrate your shelter pup into your home and lifestyle- it is NOT easy, and NOT for everyone.

To give you an idea, here are SOME pets JUST in the DFW metroplex (and I mean literally just a handful of shelters in our massive metroplex):
*Dallas Animal Services - note, the city recently suffered a ransomware attack so this list could be incomplete/outdated.
*Forth Worth Animal Care & Control
*Garland Animal Services
*Irving Animal Services
*Collin County Animal Services

 

[oldtimereligion]

@antonymworld Very much agree with your post. Do your research of GSD traits and what to expect and either adopt or find a reputable breeder to buy your puppy/dog from.

Do NOT support backyard breeders. They do not care about the betterment of their dogs and they don’t care about the dogs once they leave their property. Backyard breeders also do not care who buys their dogs.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@oldtimereligion To add to this, a reputable breeder will give you a genetic health guarantee. I get all my money back and a new dog if mine ever have a genetic health condition

 

[oldtimereligion]

@imagebeastmarkbeast Yup, exactly. And they should make sure elbows and hips are good/clear at least 3 generations. They also can guarantee the pup’s lineage.

If for any reason I have to give up my dog, my breeder will take them back no questions asked. It’s a breech of contract if my dog ever ends up in a shelter or pet store or whatever. All reputable breeders do this as well.

 

[godsman82]

@antonymworld I'm so sick of people posting puppies on social media. Like yeah they're adorable, but stop bringing more dogs into this world. It's so selfish and irresponsible and the unwanted dogs will continue to suffer. I'll go far as to say that the majority of people in this world are not responsible enough to have pets at all.

 

[erniedavid]

@godsman82 You are correct. And there are quite a few people on this sub recently with litters, a few with the off-colours. Irresponsible people really grind my gears, especially when it impacts my beloved breed.

 

[jcvd]

@antonymworld There are a lot of backyard breeders not breeding German Shepherds for stable temperament. Even some that seem more reputable on the surface.

I was shopping around, split between another German Shepherd or a Border Collie puppy and was appalled at how many breeders of GSDs I kept coming across claiming to be creating “guard dogs” especially in Texas. And the behaviors they were capturing were dangerous, such as noting resource guarding behavior over food or children, and acting like it meant their dogs were tough. They were gloating that their dogs showed natural signs of instinctual aggression - you don’t want a dog to decide for itself what could be a risk. You are asking to be liable for a dog attack. None of these breeders were even involved in Shutzhund.

The results are unstable dogs the regular family home cannot handle, and these poor German Shepherds ending up at the shelter.

I love German Shepherds and I have been worrying about the direction of the breeding for years. They have far more to offer than just being “scary guard dogs”, they’re still one of the most versatile dog breeds in existence. I wish more breeders (especially the “hobby” ones) began to focus on their other skills and utilities that are more family friendly, such as: search and rescue, therapy work, agility, flyball, service dog work, herding, and heck - just regular family quality dogs that are just friendly. And if there are breeders that enjoy protection work, they need to demonstrate their dogs in Shutzhund to show a level temperament before breeding.