>

It depends a lot on the region, but I think it’s a bit of a self-perpetuating issue. Pitts get a reputation as the tough guy dog, then irresponsible people get them, don’t spay them or take care of them, and end up with puppies and/or losing the dog because they don’t take care of them. The dog also learns no manners because the person wasn’t good at teaching them, so when someone considers adopting them from the shelter later one they find they’re unsocialized and jumpy and that lines up with the Pitt narrative so they’re worried about adopting them and the reputation/cycle continues. I know pitts/Pitt mixes with good owners and they are real sweethearts (they’re not for me but I especially love a fluffy dog). I also have run into pitts I don’t want to be anywhere near, so I really think the owner is a big part of it
It’s also crazy how different things are in different regions here. I live in Texas now and the shelters are bursting at the seams, but when I lived in Boston I considered getting a dog and the vast majority I saw online were being brought up from the south. My parents live in the Midwest and it’s somewhere in between - some dogs are brought up from the south and some are just local strays. There are times when the shelter reaches capacity, but it’s not as frequent as down here and the shelter capacity is a small fraction of what they have down here
Rescues and shelters are different, shelters are usually subjected to keeping up with laws and inspections, some "rescues" are just businesses started by ordinary people. I would trust shelters over rescues. 
Sad part is that "ethical breeders" are few and far between. Most don't even get licensed and go under the radar. It is very, very difficult to find a good breeder. I'm a vet tech and I've seen even AKC registered breeders continue to inbreed and sell puppies that need to be euthanized before 1 year old due to congenital problems. >

Ya and even if you find that magical ethical breeder that health tests, dna testing, spay and neuter contract, pedigree papers, vaccines and only breeds a litter or 2 a year. They're also likely to not just sell any pup to you because you got money they'll likely not let you have a puppy unless they know you've done your research on the breed and everything. They also would charge a hell of a lot more then the $600 Op is whining about. >

1300 cad for my shetland..totally worth it btw >

1600 USD for my English lab >

I don’t know about better, but some rescues are so overzealous with their requirements it’s ridiculous. We rescued one of our dogs and the rescue threw a fit that they couldn’t get a vet reference from my husband’s previous vet for a dog he had years ago because the vet had passed away. We already had one dog at the time and they could contact our current vet, but that wasn’t good enough. We ended up getting approved in the end, but they treated us like we’re were criminals and everything we said was met with suspicion. >

When I've looked to adopt dogs in the past, it was really challenging. A lot had really stringent requirements about backyards, work hours, etc. I saw plenty that essentially wouldn't adopt out if someone wasn't at home all day with the dog. Plenty more that won't adopt out if you don't have a backyard. Having a backyard doesn't guarantee a quality of life for the dog... >

Exactly. They got on us about not having a fenced yard too. We lived in a little townhome complex with a fenced area, but it wasn’t around our backyard specifically. It’s like they forget people can walk dogs on a leash. >

How much are rescues going for these days? >

I was talking about this with a friend and apperently near us almost 600$ and they require 2 home visits. >

What area are you in if you don’t mind me asking? >

Southern Texas is as comfortable as I feel sharing. >

Everything I’m seeing in your area averages around $100 for shelter dog adoptions and usually includes first shots, a vet visit, and a spay and neuter or certificate towards spay and neuter if the dog is too young to have it done prior to adoption. These shelters are filled with dogs from backyard breeders as well as professional breeders, who are often no better than backyard breeders. It seems your opinion is missing this inclusion of a lot of valid information. >

I’ve noticed shelter adoptions are a lot cheaper and affordable than adoptions from independent rescues. I’m in California and there are some rescues that absolutely gouge prices for their rescue pets. >

Independent rescues usually have foster homes which make their cost higher. Shelter dogs don’t always have that option besides the cage in shelters. 
A good rescue don’t let their dogs leave the foster homes until they are sure the dogs are ready. They also have a lot more requirements because the foster families want to see the dog goes to a good family plus they aren’t pressed by limited space. 
The problem with shelters is the dogs are in cages all day long until volunteers bring them out or play with them. So their temperament is kind of up in the air. A good foster family can say a lot more about a dog. >

Ya we got all of our dogs from rescues knowing temperament was important to my mom and step dad as me and my brother were kids. Some dogs are flagged not good with kids but a rescue will often try to match you with the right dog even if it's not the "cutest" dog to you. >

As a dog trainer who helps folks with rescues all the time it all comes down to one thing imo; what purpose do you want your dog to have in your lifestyle. 
If you need a dog for a certain task whatever it may be (working, guarding, dog shows etc)a reputable breeder is likely the way to go
If you just want a family pet with no particular job in mind a rescue will probably be suitable for you and your wallet. 
It really just boils down to- what will your dogs purpose be (even if it’s just companionship), can you afford them as well as vet care, food, grooming etc, and will the dog match your lifestyle (are you a couch potato and want a lazy dog or are you super fit and want a dog to join on the 5k), and how much time are you willing/able to spend with the dog on training 
Ask yourself those 4 things and from there you can determine if a breeder or a rescue suits you the best. >

I completely agree. I always had a similar opinion that specific dog breeds are for a specific job or simply working dogs. So it really pisses me off when people buy high energy working dogs from breeders just because they look nicer than muts in the shelters. I've seen people keeping shepherd breeds or huskies in one room flats and like what's the point of that? When I'm gonna have a huge farm with livestock I will buy a dog from a good breeder. Until then, shelter muts are just as smart, sweet and loving as any other breed. 
But I really think your comment is on point! >

Oh absolutely agree with that sentiment. My favorite is always “I got a Belgian Malinois  because I thought it’d be like my old German Shepherd”
No sir you adopted a furry crack head >

I think it depends on what you want. If your going for a specific breed you should probably go to a breeder, if you don’t really care what the breed is a mix from a shelter is probably better. >

Breed specific rescues also exist! :) >

I’m referring to specialty breeds or rare breeds.  Like my dream dog you would never find in a shelter. You would have to get from a breeder. >

Friends dog escaped his yard... finally find him at a shelter. They say "it's been past ten days (or 7 or whatever the cut off is, but it was two days off that cut off), he's our property now but you can apply to adopt him"
Cops say they're within their rights. So he applies to adopt his dog back - that was SO EXCITED to see him again cuz the poor dude had been lost - they deny his application because he was a mostly outdoor dog. Friend didn't know to lie and say he'd always be indoors. 
So they stole his fucking dog. Fuck them and fuck the endless amount of people involved in these kind of stories that aren't uncommon. >

I mean, to be fair, they didn't exactly steal the dog.  He let the dog get loose and he lost his dog.  For over a week.  That doesn't set a real strong case for getting the dog back.  I'm sure you see things differently because he's your friend and you're around him a lot, but from a non-biased outside viewpoint looking in, he kind of doesn't need to be owning an animal... >

Well they got him the night he went missing - some tiny little shelter no one knew existed... so he wasn't running around town for a week lol I imagine had he been left to his own devices he'd have wandered home by end of day as most dogs that get loose seem to do. 
If I found a dog and brought him home and decided to keep him but the owner shows up later after finding out I have the dog I am not denying the owner their dog or the dog their owner because they slipped a fence once and couldn't find me right away 🤷🏻‍♀️
ETA - not shaming the person who did take him to the shelter, just an observation on escapees. >

I don't know about your friend, but if my animal went missing I would be calling every rescue, pound, and shelter in my area (big or small) and then surrounding counties. The next question would be why wasn't the dog microchipped? Seems like they failed as an owner and that's technically, all bias set aside, his fault for not doing his part as a pet owner. >

Well, if you don't know they exist.. it's not as if they just saw them on the list and said "well I'm going everyone but them !" 
I don't know why he wasn't microchipped. >

meh, kind of bias as I've only ever had one dog and she's been pretty great and the report on her was pretty accurate. got her at 1.5 years from a shelter for 300$ which included vaccines, spay and chipped. 
i didn't want a puppy as i didn't have time to potty train and all the destruction ect. 
overall their guess was wrong she apparently was a golden x husky which makes sense she looks like a golden with blue eyes.
i did get her dna tested, turns out shes; Labrador, German Shepard, and boarder colie.
i see shelters as necessary as the alternative is people just killing or abandoning their dog.
there was another dog i liked there, Doberman mix but much less training and had been transferred from another shelter in hopes of finding a home, just they didn't recommend him as a first dog because of the behavior issues. so i took my nala home instead who has been a great dog. >

Does she stomp though? >

Damm I don’t know where you’re at but I got my rescue pitbull from the shelter spayed and all for around $30 and she has been the most protective dog I’ve had even before taking her to a school to be trained I don’t know where people are paying so much the most I’ve seen is like $250 >

Op was talking about likely purebred/fancy rescue for $600. Well duh it's a purebred/fancy rescue also a well bred purebred dog from an ethical breeder would be double. Every dog I adopted was around $250 but that's fair vet work isn't cheap hell it'd be far more spendy for me to pay for it myself. >

I agree it would be even double for a pure breed but I also don’t think OP knows that not all shelters are bad and not all “Ethical breeders” are good puppy mills aren’t considered shelter and are considered breeders but more often than not it’s just a facility where hundreds of dogs are kept in confinement until adopted or sold to pet stores not free range on a couple of acres. I think OP is feels that dogs are better when they come from breeders over shelter but I’m on my 13th dog in my lifetime and I found out it doesn’t matter where you get them from or how much they cost, it depends on the owner and how much time they want to invest on training their dog. So I’ll stick with my $250 and under dogs and train them >

They need money for the dogs there that aren’t adopted. Of course they charge money. The fee is also so evil people don’t get dogs to mistreat or resell. 
Maybe some of your shelters where you live are trash. There definitely are shady ones. 
We got our dog for about 250€ which was basically to cover her medical bills she amassed before. >

People get mad about having to pay for a shelter dog, but don't realize that they are going to have to pay to care for that animal for the rest of it's life. Food, vet bills, etc. all adds up. The cost of a visit for all vaccines, bloodwork, and a spay/neuter would be way more than what most adoption fees are. 
Yeah, some adoption fees are pretty expensive, but owning a pet is expensive. >

Exactly. I think people need to stop seeing pets as toys or accessories and the rest would fix itself >

Just like breeders there ethical and non-ethical shelters. When it comes to dogs there are both good and bad actors, no need to sh*t on shelters when many of them are trying to provide care, treatment and shelter to animals who have been discarded. >

And the money collected goes towards their operating costs. We have 3 shelter dogs. All were spayed before we brought them home. I have zero problem with people having purebreds, there are plenty of situations where it makes sense, but breeders create a product to sell where as shelter dogs are just dogs that are already out there and in a need of a home, and personally we prefer to provide a home to those dogs. >

Totally agree. I have 3 shelter pets myself and although I was not super impressed by the staff at one of the shelters I also had the grace to realize most them were unpaid volunteers and the rest were underpaid overworked employees just trying to do their best. >

I worked at a shelter it's grueling work for only a couple bucks above min wage. We only know what the previous  owners have said about it and what we experience ourselves with the dog or cat. So sometimes even if we think it's a good fit we might be wrong. So in the case of "dog is good with cats" but is bad with them when you bring it home we were likely told us by the previous owner but never tested ourselves as it's hard to do that safely. >

Absolutely. The only issue I had with this rescue was that I was volunteering with them and recommended my boss check them out because she was looking for a dog.
She found a dog she liked, adopted it, took it to the vet and found it had a ton of various and serious health issues, several of which the vet who worked for the shelter should have informed her of, since the vet was the one my boss directly adopted the dog from, and the issues (rotten teeth, intense heart murmur) should have been noted on the dog's intake chart. When my boss returned the dog with a heavy heart because she wasn't prepared for a dog with such intense medical needs, the vet tried to throw me under the bus saying I knew more about the dog than she did. I'd never met the dog, only recommended the shelter to my boss. I cut ties with them after that. >

i have one from an ethical breeder and a rescue. i also used to foster dogs. honestly, in my experience, both organizations were truly amazing. 
ETHICAL breeders don’t all deserve the rap they get but animal shelters are not the horrible places you’re lumping them all together as. 
another part of the issue is that it takes a LOT of work to find and verify that your breeder is truly ethical, so many people think their pet was from someone that it wasn’t. 
the truth is that it doesn’t really matter what exact type of person you get your dog from. there are great and horrible breeders, and great and horrible shelters. it matters that you do your research to make sure that the specific organization you’re dealing with is honest and ethical. >

MALIMWA?!?! I think you mean a Belgian Malinois. >

All the rescues and shelters around here are loaded down with pitbulls and pit mixes.  If that's you're thing, fine.  I'm not saying anything one way or the other about them or trying to turn this into a pitbull argument thread.  But that doesn't leave a lot of variety to find a breed that you might want.  And there is something to be said about raising an animal from when it is young.  A lot of what you're getting in shelters is unknown, even when the shelter really does do its due diligence and try to get a concise history.
This is not a rip on shelters and it is not a rip on breeders.  It's just saying that while both have dogs available, they often serve a different purpose. >

I cannot understand why there are many homeless pitts? If the breed is not popular and gets rehomed, why there are more and more of them? Usually the dogs that are good ones are breed and not rehomed. Shouldn't this problem solve it self if every resque is spayed?
I am Scandinavian so we don't have shelter dogs at all, the resques that some adopt come from Spain and Russia. Puppymill pups come from abroad and are warned about. Some doggies are rehomed from owner to a new owner without inbetweeners.
We have official breeders and people who just want to have a few litters. Mix poodles are popular in that scene.
You see pitts every now and then, but not as much as bichon frisees or other popular breeds. All the breeders are very careful of choosing the right home for pup, no matter what breed. You might have to prove yourself very well for forexample a jackrussel or bordercollie.
So where did the pits come from? I get that many are mixed, but still. Was there a pit boom at some point?