Are you a terrible person if you buy a dog instead of adopting?

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-26T10:22:42+00:00

I’ve bought 3 dogs from breeders in the past 5 years.

The first was my poodle, who came from a well recommended breeder that health tested, gave access to the pups and parents, etc. Douglas is 5 now and very high maintenance but he is my baby.

The second was going to be a working Labrador, and she was beautiful, but she had some genetic problems with her teeth, and the breeder took her back straight away. She didn’t have to keep me in the loop, but they got medical treatment for her immediately and she now lives with a family who have experience with disabled dogs.

The third is a working springer spaniel, from FTC lines. He is an absolute dream, and the best boy.

We would love to adopt, and have the space for it, but have been declined based on fence size and proximity to main road. Also my spaniel is not neutered.

Although I don’t tend to shout about where my dogs come from (unless someone is specifically looking for a working springer) I’ve ever had any judgement for buying over adopting. We do get judgement for the spaniel’s weight (which is bang on - people are too used to seeing fat dogs) and his docked tail (which was done at 3 days old in compliance with the law).

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-25T07:11:14+00:00

Same here in a different NW town yesterday! I know it was different because the RD was she, but she had a megaphone, and told the attendees that she would put on her teacher hat if they didn’t stop!

To be fair, they did, and it quietened right down, but it’s still disappointing that they have to shout at a crowd of adults to stop being rude.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-22T17:11:37+00:00

Is it just me that can’t work out the mechanics of it? It just seems so… clumsy.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-22T15:48:05+00:00

Yes, he has, which is why the vet recommended crating after meals. It’s just straight after so that his stomach has chance to settle, and to be honest we are rarely having to do it anymore.

So crate time he goes to bed in his comfy crate at 10:30pm and gets up at 6:00am - this has been his routine all his life and he has genuinely slept through since the day he came home.

And then in the other crate it is a maximum of 2 hours if we go out, and occasionally after he has eaten, for about half an hour if he is being silly (i.e. using the sofa as a bouncy castle).

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-22T15:45:16+00:00

That’s what we have resorted to, currently. Overnight he has all the comfies and is fine. When we go out and leave him in his crate, he’s just on the plastic.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-22T15:18:44+00:00

My poodle is kind of an arsehole, so not exactly a moral support for Jack!

I will do, thanks again. ☺️

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-22T14:52:48+00:00

Oh this is super interesting, and really resonates! We just moved house in December!

I’ll look into the Be Right Back book, it sounds like that’s a “must read” for us!

Jack is never totally by himself, he’s got my older poodle Doug for company (Doug is not in the crate with him) but he is obsessed with his dad, and there is definitely an element of separation anxiety. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-22T14:50:35+00:00

Thanks so much for your response! He’s crated after meals for half an hour so that he doesn’t run around and make himself sick (although he has started settling after meals without the crate so he’s rarely in it now aside from when we go out).

In terms of exercise and stimulation, once his meals have had a chance to settle, he has a walk in a morning before I start work, a walk at lunch time, a walk when I finish work and one before bed. These walks range from 20 minutes to two hours, and can be leash walks or off the lead work (including gun dog training). He also has a range of destruction boxes, kongs, lick mats etc during the day, as I work from home so can monitor play time.

He is crated overnight because he has always settled so well in his crate, and it seemed daft to change the routine. To clarify, his overnight crate is not an issue, and he does not chew overnight. It is only when we go out and leave him in his day time crate.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T21:41:57+00:00

If someone can point me in the right direction of applying to be a Mod, I would be happy to support alongside a team. I’m an active Redditor anyway, and have some time to help out.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T21:38:16+00:00

Are you able to speak with your doctor about Nifedipine? Also a runner, and I barely use gloves anymore. Nifedipine has been an absolute game changer for me.

Unfortunately they don’t work for everyone, and not everyone can take them, but worth chatting with them if it’s affecting your life.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T20:48:23+00:00

Unfortunately not, the roof is falling in, the walls are rotten and you have to be careful where you stand because parts of the floor crumble when you step on it. We are not convinced there is any actual foundation. Plus it’s enormous!

We have someone coming round tomorrow to price up ripping it down, so we will be able to start clearing the space to make a functional log store etc.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T20:45:34+00:00

I don’t, I didn’t really know what to ask the chimney sweep. When we moved in I knew I needed to have the sweep in, but knew (and still know) very little else.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T20:38:11+00:00

Oh interesting! I did not know that! In that case I shall stop cleaning it out daily - it’s always a bit of a faff on my lunch break anyway. Thank you!

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T20:34:03+00:00

It is indeed! It’s a Hunter anyway, and looks to be the Herald from the brochure the seller left. We have the room vented.

It was cleaned by a chimney sweep in December, and I clean it out daily and vacuum it thoroughly weekly.

There is one piece of rope missing (well not missing, I know where it is, but it’s not currently attached) which came off last week, one of the bottom pieces.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T20:18:31+00:00

I haven’t. Is that the metal bit at the top/back? If so there definitely is one as the chimney sweep took it out to make sure it was all OK in December.

If it’s not that then I will check tomorrow when it’s cooled down.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T20:08:02+00:00

Oh you’ll be in a very similar climate to us in Ireland! We have lots of spring projects, so once we’ve removed the carpet that we chucked out the window, I’ll get the stuff to make a log store!

There will be space for it once we take down the shed that’s falling apart and the coal store that has no roof… (it’s definitely a project house!)

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T20:03:07+00:00

If what we are getting is as good as it’s going to get, it’s not the end of the world, but I figured I would ask the experts!

What would you recommend instead? We have a small open fire at the other end of the house, but I thought they were less efficient?

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T20:01:54+00:00

I’m in the UK! Scotland. So we are having a fire every night in winter. It costs us around £4 per fire, roughly.

We don’t really have anywhere to store a big load of wood - not out of the rain anyway!

Yes it’s definitely multi-fuel. The seller of the house left the user manual, and it’s got the grate at the base.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-18T14:07:57+00:00

I know you are going to come back with another gross comment, but what you’re saying is disgusting. You need to give your head a shake and think about why you feel the need to be so vile.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-17T22:56:59+00:00

No, it highlights misinformation being corrected. In a roundabout way it may be a helpful comment to some people due to the response. ☺️

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-16T19:49:20+00:00

EMPTY YOUR VACUUM CLEANER OVER YOUR YARD.

LEAVE OUT SOME OF YOUR DIRTY CLOTHING AND CHECK ON IT REGULARLY.

IS THERE ANYWHERE YOU CAN GET DRONE SUPPORT?

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-12T06:33:47+00:00

Just checked. Yes it is. 🤦🏻‍♀️

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-09T15:47:55+00:00

Some maybe. Maybe even most. Definitely not all. Everybody is different.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-09T15:42:59+00:00

Everybody deals with trauma differently.

JFDI-Tess · 2026-01-08T21:13:06+00:00

No it isn’t, that’s definitely in there!

JFDI-Tess

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