I volunteer at our local shelter and through the summer the shelter gets 100+ animals in each day. Some are voluntarily surrendered, some are picked up by animal control, etc. Sadly the vast majority of those animals will never make it to the adoption floor. People show up with litters of puppies from their female dog that they brought in a litter of puppies from 6 months ago. Can't be bothered to spay her, they just surrender the babies.

We offer a free spay/neuter program to the community that has helped but it's not the responsible dog owners you have to worry about. It's the uneducated owners that want their female to have puppies because it's natural, or so the kids can see the "miracle of life", or because it takes money away from their Lexus payment to take care of the dog.

Dogs of any breed should not be bred unless they prove that they will add positive qualities to the gene pool of that breed. The qualities are different for each breed and that should be taken to mind. For example, border collies should not be bred for conformation, they are working dogs and should only be bred for their working ability, not what they look like.

Please spay and neuter your pets. There are too many accidents from well meaning owners that don't realize just how far their intact dogs will go to mate. Doggie panties or male wraps won't stop them, and they can breed through crates and I've seen dogs chew through doors to get to females in heat.

__________________