In how many rehoming ads have you read …’Great dog for sale. Needs a farm or large property to run.’? Its so common to see this statement in rehoming advertisements. Unless the dog is in fact a working/guarding breed of livestock such as an Anatolian Shepard or Great Pyrenees and instinctually would probably be happier outside in a large space doing its job, most dogs don’t need a farm or large property.
Its more probable that the dog in the advertisement needs their guardian to spend more quality time with them.
They need more off leash ‘free to run’ time and more mental stimulation. Or someone to take the time and teach them how to ‘be’ in a human world (training). But either the advertiser doesn’t know this or is just using ‘needs a farm’ to justify rehoming a dog they don’t want. Maybe.
Chances are that dog will go out to do his or her business and then come back to where their guardian is so no amount of land will change this.
From my experience in dogs through owning a dog day care and as a professional dog trainer, I’ve learned that most people are not prepared for a dog and what a dog needs to stay mentally and physically fulfilled. A fulfilled dog won’t be bored. They won’t perform behavior that is destructive or obsessive or annoying to their guardian.
People purchase dogs of a specific type for a myriad of reasons but many do not choose a dog breed based on what really matters: life style and experience.
The ‘for sale’ advertisements are full of dogs in the wrong home with guardians who, for one reason or another, have decided the best, the easiest and cheapest option is to get rid of the dog. Some people care enough to get training/behavior help and see the value but others don’t. Problem solved by selling or surrendering at the pound or to a rescue.
Dogs’ never do wrong. They are innocent. It is the human element that makes their environment and dogs just respond to it. Ultimately thousands of them, pay the price. Thousands pay with their life.