What Are the Harms of Dog Pounds?

Animal shelters and dog pounds are designed to eliminate some of the cruelty and neglect many animals experience everyday. However, not all dog pounds are created equal. According to PETA, some animal shelters may do more harm than good, due to poor living conditions and neglect at the shelter. Before bringing an animal to a dog pound, check that the facility provides the necessary care the animal needs.

  1. Kill Pounds

    • Some dog pounds still kill dogs that have been at the shelter for a certain amount of time. These shelters typically kill the dogs due to overcrowding and budgeting. Most shelters cannot afford to keep an indefinite number of dogs on-hand forever, and must choose whether to kill the dogs or to send them to another shelter if no one adopts the dogs. If a dog pound is a killing facility, sending an unwanted dog to that facility may cause more harm that good.

    Limited Space

    • Most animal shelters and dog pounds have very limited space. Overcrowding is nearly always a problem, which can lead to unhealthy conditions for the animals. The dogs may not receive the care, food or exercise they need. This can lead to illnesses, poor overall health, depression and aggression in dogs, which can make it difficult to adopt the dogs later, as most people do not want aggressive or problem animals in their homes.

    Difficult Adoptions

    • Many dog pounds and animal shelters want the new owners of each pet to be a good match for the animal and provide the proper care the animal needs. While this goal is admirable, it can make the application process difficult, complicated or impossible for some families to adopt pets from shelters. Some animals are killed even when a willing adopter is available because of the lengthy adoption process, according to The Original Dog Bible.

    Training Problems

    • Dogs cooped up inside small cages, perhaps even with other dogs, can become moody, depressed or angry. These changes in conditions may make it difficult to train the dog in the future. The dogs may become unwilling to learn, resentful of people and aggressive toward trainers. This can be a serious drawback for people who wish to adopt new animals from a dog pound or animal shelter.