What Dog Owners Should Understand About Animal Rights

What Dog Owners Should Understand About Animal Rights

Consumer awareness is one of the most powerful tools to shift the behaviours in the market; a new pup parent’s choices determine what practices in the breeding world will persist and thrive. Ideally, deeper consumer awareness disrupts the financial lifeline of puppy mills while promoting ethical alternatives. By making informed choices, consumers play a direct role in protecting dogs, encouraging responsible breeding, and ensuring higher standards of care throughout the pet industry. 

As a dog owner, you serve as an important example to your entire network and there’s an opportunity to inspire others to treat animals ethically by embodying the values promoted by animal rights movements. Never underestimate how your choices influence friends, family, and the community. By reducing demand for the unethical sale of dogs, consumer awareness directly contributes to minimizing the suffering of these animals on a population level.

Paction has previously published a detailed article explaining the difference between Animal Welfare and Animal Rights Movements, and what these movements have brought to the forefront of the minds of prospective pup parents. Read more about how Choosing a Responsible Breeder Impacts More Than Just Your Pup: How & Why 

If you’re looking to get a dog, there are some important considerations to ensure you’re doing your best to navigate this decision-making process:

1. Be Informed About Breed-Specific Traits

Before searching for a breeder who runs a responsible and intentional breeding program, understand what breed you are looking for and make sure that breed's characteristics and needs match your lifestyle. Paction has created a Dog Breed Matchmaker that can help you with this process.  Certain breeds may be prone to health issues due to unethical breeding practices, such as extreme physical traints that compromise a dog's quality of life.  Understanding these concerns ensures that you're not inadvertently supporting practices that prioritize appearance over health. Common examples that you can read about here are Flat-Faced Dog Breeds and Their Health Issues.

2. Consider Your Lifestyle & Ability to Provide Lifelong Care

Advocates for animal welfare urge potential dog owners to consider whether they have the time, energy, and resources to meet a dog’s needs. Each breed has unique requirements for exercise, grooming, and socialization, so it’s important to choose a dog that fits your lifestyle. Animal rights movements emphasize the responsibility of pet owners to provide lifelong care, which includes proper nutrition, regular veterinary visits, training, and emotional enrichment. Dogs are sentient beings that require a stable and loving environment to thrive. Paction has created a Pup Time Estimator and the Ultimate Dog Cost Calculator to help you get a realistic idea of the commitment required.

3. Fight for Transparency and Be on the Lookout for Red Flags

Educated consumers are more likely to adopt from shelters, work with responsible breeders, or choose organizations that prioritize animal welfare. Awareness helps consumers recognize common tactics used by puppy mills or puppy brokers, such as misleading advertising or selling puppies in poor health. Paction has created a list of the Top 10 Questions to Ask Breeders  By addressing these concerns head-on, buyers can prevent themselves from unknowingly supporting unethical or irresponsible practices. As more consumers demand transparency and ethical standards, breeders and pet sellers are incentivized to adhere to higher welfare standards. This creates a culture of accountability within the pet industry.