I am not a breeder but do work at a no-kill animal rescue. From your questions it seems you had a bad experience with a rescue. I apologize on their behalf but beg you not to lump all rescues together. Just like finding a good breeder I would research the agency in which you plan on adopting from and if you don't agree with their process go elsewhere.
1. Ideally a good breeder is mentored by an experienced breeder or vet. It depends what position you hold at a rescue. I am a adoption counselor and have had 6+ years working with dogs and am a licensed veterinary technician but most people come in with little or no experience and are taught by the more experienced workers.
3. I don't think anything is required to breed. I have seen many people with no background or training put to dogs together and make puppies. For rescue to work for a qualified rescue I would think you would have some sort of background or training but a lot of it is trial and error- I know where I work there are a lot of 'grey' areas.
4. We try and do what is best for the animal. If someone works 10 hours a day we try and discourage them from a young puppy or if they have a low fence we try and steer them towards breeds less likely to try and escape. The hope is to find a forever home for the dog, not for it to be bounced around time and time again so we have to try and use our knowledge of the dog as well as what the person is looking for and try and make the best match possible. Sometimes people think they want a certain dog because its picture is cute but then when we meet them we mind out that dog is totally opposite of the personality or energy level the person wants, this is not a good match.
5. I only try and educate. If I see an obviously unaltered animal I will suggest low cost spay and neuter just incase cost was the reason they were avoiding it. Approximately 200 animals a week are turned in by owners or as strays to just the Dallas city shelter alone. 200! This is because people do not spay and neuter their pets then have unwanted litters or their pet breaks out of their yard to go mate. Innocent puppies die every day because people let their dog have unwanted babies. It happens every day, so yes we are passionate about it. As animal rescuers we see these dogs that were once supposedly loved then discarded.
6. You can do what you want, it is a free country. But those dogs in store windows are from puppy mills and buying them is supporting the continued profit these mills make. Yes they need homes too, but what they need more is to not be bred any longer.
7. Usually it is a vet along with a few medical staff that makes the call to euthanize. If anyone disagrees they are welcome to bring an argument to the vet. It is not something taken lightly and where I work we try everything else first. I am glad the animals don't have to suffer like some humans do. If you saw a puppy beaten with obvious broken bones, then it was lit on fire so it had 3rd degree burns all over its body you would rather see it slowly and agonizingly fade away rather than peacefully being put to sleep? The animals we put to sleep are in pain, and have no hope of making a recovery.
8. Personally I think almost any home is better than the shelter. We do not do home checks but like to hear how the pet is doing. Personally I think home checks are a little invasive especially if you already own happy healthy pets but each organization has their rules and if I wanted a dog from a place that required home visits then that is the price I would have to pay for adopting that particular animal. No one forces you to adopt an animal that would require such invasive screenings. Most city shelters only ask for a valid drivers license and NOTHING more.
9. I am not sure if ALL rescues have a vet overseeing them. I would assume they would need a vet associated with them as animals need vet care.
10. Again not all rescues require this. If you do not agree with a rescues policy on home visits then you should look into other rescues. I would assume it does stop the adoption of some animals but I am sure the rescue is just trying to do what it thinks is best.
As for what you plan to do with your dog, again it is a free country and you can do what you want but understand no reputable rescue would give a dog to someone that planned to breed. These rescue dogs have been through enough, pregnancy is hard on the dog, it could even kill them. If everyone would stop letting their dog have 'just one litter' we might not have the 3-4 million animals euthanized every year in this country that we do.
Just my 2 cents. Hope it works out for you.
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