Thanks Laurelin.
Also, comparing that to adopting kids is kind of bizarre, because...a kid is able to recognize the details of how they came to be a part of their family, and they are able to understand social and cultural stigmas about adoption and a hundred other things....also, most people I know who have adopted children in this day and age DO tell people their children are adopted, partially because, like with dog rescue, it helps to dissolve misconceptions about the process.
1. If you have a really really awesome dog that you rescued, and people meet the dog, telling them that you've rescued it will make people (particularly people who might think all dogs in rescue are "messed up" or mixed breeds or something) consider that you can find a great dog in rescue.
2. If you have a dog that DOES have some behavioral issues, or say is really underweight or scarred up or shy or whatever, saying they're from rescue can sometimes explain why the dog is like that. Especially if you're talking to a trainer or "dog person". When I meet people's dogs and they act "off" I can determine some things by knowing the dog's history....if the person is a capable handler, and the dog still acts like a nut, I know it's just how the dog is wired, and that can be a lot harder to fix. If a dog comes to me a little timid or whatever, and they say it's a rescue, I know chances are the dog had some bad experience or was traumatized by it's shelter experience, and will likely be pretty easy to "fix" with some training and stability.
If I ever get a breeder dog, I likely wouldn't say so unless I was talking to someone really interested in the breed or who was looking for a dog or whatever. Because most people who aren't super active in the dog world really aren't going to benefit from a good breeder VS rescue, at least not IME. If I got a rescue, I'd probably tell people, because if they or someone they know is looking for a dog, they're probably looking for just an average pet, a decent, mild mannered, friendly dog...and they can find one at the shelter, and a LOT of people don't consider that.
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I have another question for people with breeder dogs, who say the reason they choose a breeder was because they had specific wants/needs and wanted better odds on health...I know many breeder dogs on Chaz have turned out...not the way they were expected to. Not sure about those in this thread - but I KNOW many chazzers got breeder puppies who unexpectedly turned out reactive, or with a much higher prey drive than expected, or who have developed serious health problems (or a minor enough health problem that they couldn't participate in planned sports)....would you all go to a breeder again? And do you still think going to a breeder turned out better than a rescue would have?
I can definitely see that side of the argument (breeder puppies are more predictable, etc.)....but IME I don't really see it pan out. Most of the puppies/dogs I see come through rescue are exceptionally healthy and end up with comparably hit or miss behavior patterns to breeder puppies.