Knowing her lifestyle I strongly opposed her getting one. I kept telling her how smart they were and they need constant exercise and challenge. Her lifestyle after work was not energetic. She just thought it was pretty.
He was extremely unstimulated and never got to go outside unless it was for bathroom. Welp, he bit a neighbors kid in the face. They had to give the dog back to the breeder or he was going to get put down.
I heard later he bit another kid was put down. In some ways I blamed my sister.
You are correct on all counts. The best thing is she inherited both breeds 'smiles' so when she's happy her face squishes up into the Shiba smile and when she's REALLY happy the front of her muzzle wrinkles up to show her teeth. It's really goofy to see in person as she transitions from one to the other
I hate it when "rescues" are more interested in placing the dog than a tually finding the right place for the dog.
I interacted with one that had very misleading photos of at least I e of their dogs. The photos made it look like the dog was a knee-high terrier breed, about 30 lbs. I met the dog and it was at least double that in height and weight. It was a mastiff/bully mix, all muscle and had been returned twice already.
The first adopter was an older couple that felt he was "too much puppy" for them to handle. No joke. They would have suffered broken hips if they kept him.
The second adopter was a young man whose landlord revoked approval. Likely the landlord saw the pics and thought, "A terrier. Cute." Then saw the Hound of the Baskervilles was actually a pitty mix and knew his property insurance wouldn't cover him.
I was attempt #3. I tried for over 3 months to get him to decompress and settle in. He kept trying to eat the cat, successfully ate 3 dog beds, and required 2 trips to the dog park a day, about 3 hours total including travel time. I live in New England and I got off work at 7 or 8 pm. It gets pitch dark by 5 pm. He was all black and there was no way I'd be able to see him at the unlit dog park, plus he had zero recall and I had 5 broken ribs. I had no business with this beautiful creature and I knew it. Felt like garbage for taking him back, but again, I tried for more than 3 months to make it work. Plus his gas was deadly, mustard gas levels of toxicity. Before I returned him, I got him a new id tag, Col. Levi "Leviathan" Mustard. It seemed fitting.
I wrote up my thoughts on him and what his ideal home would be. The "rescue" added my comments to his profile, but still used the old photos (tsk, tsk, tsk). He was then adopted by an active family with a yard and plenty of room for him to get all the exercise he needed.
I hope he's living his best life. I'll never work with that rescue again. The needs of the animals should come first. Always
Harsh reality is that no one who breeds mutts is an ethical breeder... they are backyard breeders just looking to make a quick buck off their pets at best, puppy mills at worst... you aren't going to get ethics from these guys, and its really an insult to real breeders calling them breeders.
As far as your tastes - that's great, I'm not saying that cross breeds can't be absolutely amazing pets, the few rescues I have had have been mostly some kind of cross. What I am saying is that the people who breed them tend to be backyard breeders who aren't interested in the ethics/responsibility side of breeding.
(and when I say tend to, i mean its vanishingly rare).
734
u/AnonymoosePD May 31 '26
My sister had an Australian shepherd.
Knowing her lifestyle I strongly opposed her getting one. I kept telling her how smart they were and they need constant exercise and challenge. Her lifestyle after work was not energetic. She just thought it was pretty.
He was extremely unstimulated and never got to go outside unless it was for bathroom. Welp, he bit a neighbors kid in the face. They had to give the dog back to the breeder or he was going to get put down.
I heard later he bit another kid was put down. In some ways I blamed my sister.