Tell me I am doing the right thing........

[Blair]

Ok some one told me about a lady who is giving 2 Afghan Hounds free to the right home. She is a show breeder and these 2 males dont fit into her showing or breeding so she wants to find them good homes. But here is the catch, she says its very hard to find a good home for an Afghan cause most people dont understand this breed and if she doesnt find them good homes soon they will be PTS Me being a total dumb butt emailed her and talked to her and she agreed to me getting one, which I never thought she would. Afghan Hounds are my total dream breed, I love this breed and have been researching them for so long!!! I have always wanted one since I could remember!!! My problem is that would give me 4 dogs and me and Ben [he said yes by the way which makes it even worse] dont think Grey will accept him into the house. So I am leaning towards not getting him cause I dont think its fair to Grey and the Afghan Hound. But then in the back of my head I think if I dont get him he will be PTS, and that is what killing me the most about it all. If she would of never told me they would be PTS if she didnt find homes very soon this wouldnt be a problem at all, I wouldnt get him. So i come here for you all to tell me I am doing right by saying no to getting him cause there is a good chance Grey will not accept him into the family even though this is my dream breed and I have always wanted one. Keep strong and say no and dont look or even think back to this. Can you all tell me that...please!!! I know its not right to get him but I cant come to tell the breeder this and she wants me to go and meet them both tomorrow!!! Tell me NO....I tried to get my husband to but he said he isnt, he said its all on me!

[horsepoor21]

Ok , what's up with this "breeder" that breeds these dogs , and then wants to put them to sleep if the "perfect" home isn't found ASAP ?  How sad ......

If it was me ,I'd take the dog , and if it didn't work out , then *I* would find THE perfect home for him !! 

[kathryn]

I'm not sure what to tell you, Blair.  Perhaps talk with the breeder and do a trial basis where you can see if Grey will accept him or not.  I'm pretty sure I saw the ad for that breeder last week but she doesn't say that she will euthanize them if they don't have a home soon.  If she wants to get rid of them that badly maybe you can talk her into a fostering situation for one or both boys.  I'm sure someone else would be willing to foster one of the guys.  I could probably even foster one of them for a short while if they are good with cats and other dogs.  Those are my best options for you.  Not sure that it helps you very much with your decision.  Good Luck!  

[schelmischekitty]

personally, and i'm not trying to be mean, i wouldn't do it simply because of this.  it's males.  you just had to rehome your GSP (that's the right breed right?) because your other two boys were attacking him.  i would think really hard and long about having another, larger, male in the house.  she's a breeder so chances are they are either not fixed or just got fixed, but regardless you'll have more testosterone in the house, and they'll still "smell" like unneutered males.  what happens if something happens to that dog, and it gets seriously hurt by your two boys, or worst yet, what happens if your boys get seriously hurt.  then, you also have a daughter (i'm sorry, i don't know how many kids you have) that will be in the middle of all of this.  what happens if she gets bit b/c she accidentally gets in the middle of them.  can you separate the dogs 100% if need be?  while, yes, it would be very nice of you to save these animals, maybe you could tell her you'll be a last resort?  this way other people who would be a better fit to have them permanently in their house would have a chance to get them, but you could get them if it was 100% for sure that they'd be PTS.  hope you don't think i'm being rude, but that's my opinion.

[schelmischekitty]

trust me, i know exactly how you feel!  while out and about this past month i've had someone try to give me a great dane and an akita, on two separate occasions.  i LOVE both breeds, actually i'm infatuated with them, they're great!  BUT, right now isn't the time for us either.  with me being *surprisingly* pregnant, not to mention diesel starving himself when we had scout, we had to refuse.  so hard, but i know i have to take care of what i have before i take on more 

[Brownis15]

what a hard decision to make. But I think you would be doing the right thing by saying no. Your current dogs come first, and if Grey would be miserabl with another male in the house you have to say no. For your sanity and for your dogs. You can always get an afghan hound later in life, and a girl puppy at that!

[GoldenPyrs]

Boy, this is a tough one!  I know (and hate) that breeders PTS the dogs that don't fit show criteria.  I was told by a Pyr Rescue person on the East coast that there was only 1 pyr breeder in her two state area that she would ever recommend b/c all of the rest dumped unsold pet quality pups on her rescue saying that they'd either put them to sleep or just stop feeding them and let them starve to death.  What the heck?  So much for those "dog lovers"      I can't tell you how angry this makes me!!!  Can you contact Afgan Rescue or the local head of the Afgan Club to see if there is anything that they can do?  Even if they can't help, it might make them less inclined to recommend this breeder to buyers and slow down her sales.    

BTW, I'm not against the good breeders out there.  Our first 2 pyrs came from well known show breeders with long lines of champions in their background.  I became less trusting though when Halley (who we PTS last year and I will always love) developed bone cancer at just under 3 yrs old and I called her breeder in tears asking for a recommendation for a vet that could give us some hope.  All she could say (over and over) was that it "wasn't in her blood lines" and "who have you spoken to so far".  Yep, she only wanted to cover her butt.  Oh and BTW, she didn't even know who Halley or I were until I identified Halley by her sire/dam and birthdate despite long conversations that we'd had in the past re: food, etc.  Nice, huh?  Needless to say, I haven't spoken with that woman again.

So my point is that I would not trust this woman to NOT put these poor dogs to sleep.  If you cannot take one (and I can certainly see the dilemma and I commend you for being cautious), then can you help them to find homes or foster homes?  You are wonderful for caring and trying to do the best thing for the dogs.  Sorry this is so long, you can see why it's such a hot spot for me.

[mama23+pyrs2]

I think you're doing the right thing too. I can't imagine how horrible it could be bringing another male in when you know the situation would be bad anyway- it could have such a awful outcome. I agree about putting your current family first and having to say no. There's always going to be animals out there needing homes and facing being put down and one person can only do so much! You can't save them all.

Like the others, I think that woman has got some issues and can't be any kind of good breeder. Good breeders are supposed to have lifetime guarantees and take their puppies back at any time!! Not put down their own dogs. That whole thing confuses me. Obviously, she's whacked.

[GoldenPyrs]

Like the others, I think that woman has got some issues and can't be any kind of good breeder. Good breeders are supposed to have lifetime guarantees and take their puppies back at any time!! Not put down their own dogs. That whole thing confuses me. Obviously, she's whacked.
[/quote]

I agree, only I think that she deserves to be whacked! IMHO      This was what shocked me.  Until my experience, I thought that if a breeder was a member of their breed club, showed their dogs to championships, etc. that they were a reputable breeder.  Now I check with the breed club's rescue first.  They know first hand who is and who isn't "whacked", sad to say.

[mama23+pyrs2]

Like the others, I think that woman has got some issues and can't be any kind of good breeder. Good breeders are supposed to have lifetime guarantees and take their puppies back at any time!! Not put down their own dogs. That whole thing confuses me. Obviously, she's whacked.

I agree, only I think that she deserves to be whacked! IMHO      This was what shocked me.  Until my experience, I thought that if a breeder was a member of their breed club, showed their dogs to championships, etc. that they were a reputable breeder.  Now I check with the breed club's rescue first.  They know first hand who is and who isn't "whacked", sad to say.
[/quote]

Yeah I thought so too. I don't know anything about my breeder since I couldn't find out much about her, so I just went on my gut feeling. Though her dogs weren't shown or anything like that and one female isn't AKC. She is a wealth of information about the breed, and asked me all the right questions,  answered all of mine to my satisfaction, so maybe I got lucky.

[GoldenPyrs]

A Pyr Rescue person that I know, that is also a well-known breeder, says that no one should breed unless they are willing to do rescue, too.  I thought that made a lot of sense.

Sorry to hijack your thread Blair. I think that it's wonderful that you care and I hope that a rescue organization can help these dogs.  This woman shouldn't be allowed to breed cockroaches. IMHO

[schelmischekitty]

Yeah I thought so too. I don't know anything about my breeder since I couldn't find out much about her, so I just went on my gut feeling. Though her dogs weren't shown or anything like that and one female isn't AKC. She is a wealth of information about the breed, and asked me all the right questions,  answered all of mine to my satisfaction, so maybe I got lucky.

no news is better than bad news.  bad news travels faster than the wind, but good news is slower to go since how people who are satisfied don't say anything unless asked.  make somebody mad though, PHEW!

[Anakalia]

Wow, Blair I'm so sorry you were put in this position to have to decide such a thing!  That's gotta be hard, knowing that's a breed you really want, and yet I do think you're doing the right thing by deciding not to bring another male dog into the household, it'll be best for your whole family fur and skin kids.  Hopefully those two dogs can get into a rescue and have a chance at finding a forever home, they're gorgeous dogs it makes NO sense at all having them PTS.

[Saint and Mal mom]

Blair, when does she plan to put them to sleep? I might have someone I could convince to take them, even if it is temporarily. Do you know anything about their personalities or how they are with other dogs? Would she wait just 1 or 2 more days if a home could be lined up?

[Blair]

I have no idea...I havent heard one word from her since I told her I couldnt take one of the males.