Some one said the wrong thing to me........

[kcsdogs]

The other day I had a phone call from a lady who has done volunteer work for the shelter I am on the board of. She wanted to know how much one of my foster Cairns is to adopt. She thinks her 1 year old female needs a "friend". Well I gave her the rundown on adoption proceedures. Now you need to know that her Cairn has the NASTIEST temperment I have seen on a Cairn EVER. You cannot approach it at all it lunges and attempts to bite. Apparently she does this with anyone other than the family. At a year old this dog is this way. Not due to lack of socialization she takes her a lot of places. I think the problem is bad breeding.

Anyway she told me she wouldn't want to pay money for Montrose (my foster) because he is neutered!!!! Yes folks she was looking into a rescued Cairn for breeding to her nasty unstable female . She wanted to keep a puppy from this female.

Well as you can imagine it took all of my will power not to verbally shred her into bits over the phone. I did pretty well keeping in mind that the idea here is education . I asked her why she would want to breed a dog that has that kind of temperment issue that would likely pass to the puppies. Which would give her two unstable Cairns in her home with her 5 year old daughter, but she would also likely have between 3-5 other puppies to then place in peoples homes. I asked her how she felt after buying the Cairn that she has and finding out that it is a very unstable dog. Did you feel a little ripped off? I asked. Yes she said. You would be doing the exact same thing then if you were to breed your dog.

Well to make this long story a bit shorter she said after all the conversation on why this is a bad idea she said "I will take this into consideration"..........yes that is what she said. To me there is a pretty obvious answer here that is nothing more than common sense. My last comment to her was that if she cared about this breed as she says she does she would make an appointment and have that dog spayed tomorrow. I didn't lose my temper once!!! Lets all hope I did okay and she does go get her dog spayed...........

[Amber and the zoo]

Sometimes I think the joy of the 'thought' of puppies outweighs the thoughts of the actual benefit of the dogs. Why would someone want to WILLINGLY breed a mean dog?? Good job staying calm!!

[AngusMacDoggal]

First just let me say how wonderful I think you are for fostering and doing rescue! Our Angus is a rescue pup and his foster momma did such an incredible job with him that he was nearly "perfect" by the time we got him. Having done rescue for many years myself, I can appreciate all the hard work that goes into fostering, and the love and devotion. Yeah for you! For also taking time to try and educate potential new homes for your rescue kidz.

You did a good thing setting this gal straight! I would not hold out any hope that she actually "listened" to your words, but maybe something seeped into her brain. She sounds like someone looking to make a buck off breeding Cairns. Lordy, I hope this Cairn girl gets spayed and not bred! When will people figure out that temperment is bred, just like conformation? If she hasn't figured that out, she has no business breeding.

[Scully'sMom]

I think you did an outstanding job! If it were me I'd want to jump through the phone and choke her. Everything you said was right on the money.

[kcsdogs]

For someone who is such and "animal advocate" in our area I was so shocked that she wanted to go this route. She fostered for our shelter (no more I can guarantee that) and helped a lot with our volunteer program. I thought she would have a fairly good notion of the pet overpopulation thing but I guess no matter how dedicated some people are to their cause, the almighty dollar can speak louder than their convictions. All too common I suppose................

Good training for me though in not throttling people for being dumb (which is my natural tendency) I figure you catch more flies with honey..........or whatever. Hopefuly the message resinated. I don't want to see a bunch of baby Cairns at the shelter to be euthanised because they are nasty.

[goforette]

Sometimes people's rational amazes me - the world is just filled with all kinds. The odd reasons people breed dogs, the odd reasons they come up with have human children even - it's so sad because there are so many people who think nothing of casual breeding - I used do volunteer work for a no-kill shelter in Lyons and it's amazing the things you hear from people - and I find most times they're so stuck in their own belief systems they can't really see a valid point you're pointing out. Some people just see dogs more as money than an actual important life.

[Scruffys Mom]

It is people like that that make me understnad why we have "Hit Men".......

[Amber and the zoo]

ha ha ha...sorry, but that was hilarious!!! Just had to lol on here

[SARpartner]

kcsdogs,

You get an extra treat today for keeping cool. I know how frustrating people like that can be and I seem to have the same natural tendency you refered to as well. I had a lady bring me a German Shepard that was biting unprovoked. The dog jumped up and tried to latch onto my face. When I restrained the dog and corrected her (keeping her teeth out of my face) the stupid owner got bent because I, the handler she begged for help, corrected her dog! I didn't get any treats that day because I kenneled her dog and read her the riot act. The dog was not so far gone that she couldn't be rehabilitated but the owner was a lost cause. Unfortunatelly, if the dog bites the dog will be the one that pays.

Dusty sends Cairn Kisses for trying to educate people that will hurt his breed.

[Mollyrocker]

I am impressed that you kept your cool. I bet that made all the difference in how she responded. I wish more animal advocates would take the same route (I know how hard it is to not lose your cool).

[Greg P]

Thank you for your post. It's posts like these that help educate us all on the critera for breeding, which in my opinion should be at best to try to better the breed in some way and at the minimum to breed a correct cairn with good temperment.

[kcsdogs]

Well thanks for all the support guys I live in a pretty rural area and unfortunately there is a lot of rednecks out there when it comes to dogs. I am trying my darndest to fix this situation. Educating dog owners is huge to me especially when it is on breeds that are so dear to my heart. I really really hope she took what I said to heart, I guess only time will tell.

I think our breed is becoming more popular, when I first got my Cairn almost 5 years ago he was the ONLY one I knew of in my area. As of last year I have met 3 and now 4 people who have Cairns that they want to breed, and none of them know anything about them as far as grooming, health issues, conformation none of it. One lady brought her dogs over to my house to "learn how to strip them" all she wanted to know is what I thought of breeding her. I said "look she is a nice dog and I am sure you love her but she is not going to be and asset to anyone's stock and she is not a breeding quality bitch. You would do more for the breed if you had her spayed and enjoyed her as a pet" She still hasn't groomed that dog......... poor thing can't even see where she is going. On a good note one of the puppies she sold and brought to my house that day is getting neutered! So at least one of them listened.

[kcsdogs]

New update on this lady with the bad nasty Cairn. A friend of mine who is needing to rehome her 11 month old Cairn was contacted by her about her male this week. She is still looking for a dog to breed to hers! Unbeliveable I guess she decided $$$ over ethics after all. She also mentioned to my friend that she would like to breed her Cairn to a Yorkie too, now won't that be fun I think my temper may be wearing thin...................

[toomanypaws]

Oh my! Let's all send "infertile vibes" to this Cairn. We can also pray that this lady has a change of heart. Someone needs to list the expense of breeding and show her that it's really not a big profit. I too am impressed w/ how you handled her.

[Eliz222]

News like this just makes my blood boil! I think you handled the first meeting with grace......I don't know if I could have been this calm, especially after she is still at it!

[AngusMacDoggal]

Well thanks for all the support guys I live in a pretty rural area and unfortunately there is a lot of rednecks out there when it comes to dogs. I am trying my darndest to fix this situation. Educating dog owners is huge to me especially when it is on breeds that are so dear to my heart. I really really hope she took what I said to heart, I guess only time will tell.

I think our breed is becoming more popular, when I first got my Cairn almost 5 years ago he was the ONLY one I knew of in my area. As of last year I have met 3 and now 4 people who have Cairns that they want to breed, and none of them know anything about them as far as grooming, health issues, conformation none of it. One lady brought her dogs over to my house to "learn how to strip them" all she wanted to know is what I thought of breeding her. I said "look she is a nice dog and I am sure you love her but she is not going to be and asset to anyone's stock and she is not a breeding quality bitch. You would do more for the breed if you had her spayed and enjoyed her as a pet" She still hasn't groomed that dog......... poor thing can't even see where she is going. On a good note one of the puppies she sold and brought to my house that day is getting neutered! So at least one of them listened.

Oh my, I was really afraid of this! It just makes my heart sink.

[Jess]

Can't believe that this woman has not heeded any of your excellent advise!

I rescued two wonderful old cairns a few years ago and missed them so much when they died that I now have two puppies. These two are great fun and have friendly temperaments, but are still difficult on occasion - imaging having a puppies with in-bred problems. I would not be happy with anyone who sold me a dangerous dog.

This woman just proves that you should only buy puppies from registered and experienced breeders.

[kcsdogs]

It is incredibly sad that this is happening. I found myself laying in bed this morning thinking about it and how no matter what there is really NOTHING I can do to stop it (control freak) When dealing with people like that it comes down to they don't care about their dog or other people all they see are dollar signs.

On a good note this woman has been blacklisted from any involvement at our shelter, which is good considering I think she is a conflict of interest at this point........that is what gets me after all she has done for the shelter she should just know better plain and simple............

[Scoo's Mom]

You know we'll all someday be hearing from her puppy owners as they frantically look for help for their crazed snapping Cairn puppies. Yikes, I pray noone gets injured and the poor things don't become abandoned or killed. People are so sue happy these days having a dog with a bad temperment is a huge liability.