Looking for a good place to get a puppy

[darockwilder]

Came in looking for a "puppy district" post, left unsatisfied....

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by J-Rhombus

So I know there are humane societies and shelters, but it seems hard to get a puppy there, especially if you're looking for any more specific type of breed.

At the same time, breeders are scary as it's hard to tell what kind of conditions they keep their puppies in until you're there, and even then it may be hard to tell as you only see what they let you see.

Does anyone have a reliable way to find a puppy if you're looking for a specific breed in a place that allows you to do some due diligence? My sister found hers on Kijiji, but seemed to luck out a bit with the transparency with which the seller conducted herself.

Any ideas? Looking for the brain trust to weigh in.

You can definitely get a puppy from a rescue, if you are interested. The one thing about rescue puppies is that you likely won't know the breed (you will have an idea based on looks and the mom) or the final size. AARCS is a great rescue and they will definitely have puppies over the summer.

If you are looking for a small breed puppy from a rescue, that will be harder. Smaller dogs are less common as strays, so small breed dogs tend to come from rescues who bring in dogs from other shelters (Little Mutts gets many dogs from LA). It is much harder to bring puppies (versus adult dogs) over the border, so they are much rarer. You can get some small breed puppies from rescues which get them from puppy mills, but the one I know that does that doesn't have the best reputation, so I wouldn't recommend them.

For a small breed puppy, you may want to look at a responsible breeder. A good breeder will do health and genetic testing, vaccinations, deworming. They will ask you a lot of questions (and won't have a problem with you asking a lot of questions either). They likely will also require you to sign a non-breeding agreement. If they do not do these things or they offer to meet you in a parking lot somewhere, those are big red flags that they are not a good breeder.

Definitely avoid a store that sells puppies. They don't come with papers, but charge more than most reputable breeders, there are allegations that their dogs come from puppy mills, and their puppies spend their formative days living in cages / glass boxes, surrounded by strangers. Puppies go through fear periods and to spend that time living in a pet store could lead to behavioural issues in the future.

Good luck with your search!

[metallicat]

No, I actually meant ban all breeders. What are they needed for? I can see exceptions being made for working dogs, like service animals, police dogs..etc. But I'm sorry,we don't need uneducated people breeding Cocker spaniels because they want to make a quick buck.

Check the geniology of dogs at breeders. There is so much inbreeding, and they breed dogs for looks, not for health of the animal.

You want a puggle? No, sorry. Here's a border collie mix from the humane society.

I used to work with a guy who bred Weimaraners​. I wouldn't have trusted him to breed ants.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

No, I actually meant ban all breeders. What are they needed for? I can see exceptions being made for working dogs, like service animals, police dogs..etc. But I'm sorry,we don't need uneducated people breeding Cocker spaniels because they want to make a quick buck.

Check the geniology of dogs at breeders. There is so much inbreeding, and they breed dogs for looks, not for health of the animal.

You want a puggle? No, sorry. Here's a border collie mix from the humane society.

I used to work with a guy who bred Weimaraners​. I wouldn't have trusted him to breed ants.

We have a rescue and a breeder dog. Our breeder only breeds females twice and then gives them to families. You can even get a discount and a female as a pet if you allow 1 breeding.

They also do the service dogs for blind people and donate 1 a year .

The dogs love in a massive barn with couches and outside running areas all together.

Truely terrible people

[scotty2hotty]

People that buy from breeders are accessory lovers - not dog lovers.

Just my opinion.

[Jason14h]

Or you want a specific dog breed? I wanted a Lab because I had a lab as a child. What if you have one breeder and one rescue? Does that make you a world saver and an accessorizer!

[TheSutterDynasty]

Just a "warning" about rescuing/adopting a dog:

Make sure you go through processes to really meet and scout your pup. Meeting at the shelter, then a home visit, and ideally a trial period. Dogs (especially rescues) tend not to show their "real" behavior until at least a few weeks of knowing you / being owned. So a dog in the first week can be very different a few weeks later.

This is one thing shelters don't tell you that leads to a LOT of re-homing / failed adoptions.

[metallicat]

Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty

Just a "warning" about rescuing/adopting a dog:

Make sure you go through processes to really meet and scout your pup. Meeting at the shelter, then a home visit, and ideally a trial period. Dogs (especially rescues) tend not to show their "real" behavior until at least a few weeks of knowing you / being owned. So a dog in the first week can be very different a few weeks later.

This is one thing shelters don't tell you that leads to a LOT of re-homing / failed adoptions.

You don't think that happens from breeders?

Plus, mutts are, generally speaking, healthier than pure breed dogs. And mutts aren't bred to have stupid features (I'm looking at you Bulldogs) that affect things like their breathing.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by scotty2hotty

People that buy from breeders are accessory lovers - not dog lovers.

Just my opinion.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by scotty2hotty

People that buy from breeders are accessory lovers - not dog lovers.

Just my opinion.

Inform yourself Scotty.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

You don't think that happens from breeders?

Plus, mutts are, generally speaking, healthier than pure breed dogs. And mutts aren't bred to have stupid features (I'm looking at you Bulldogs) that affect things like their breathing.

I'm sure it happens from the bad ones who don't socialize their puppies properly. But generally you'll be getting a very young puppy from a breeder compared to older dogs and puppies from adoption. They'll have an unknown, potentially bad past as well as you lose some training and socializing that they have when they're young.

I'm not trying to discourage adoption but you need to be aware of the dog you're getting.

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by scotty2hotty

People that buy from breeders are accessory lovers - not dog lovers.

Just my opinion.

and in my opinion that's a pretty ignorant statement.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Originally Posted by scotty2hotty

People that buy from breeders are accessory lovers - not dog lovers.

Just my opinion.

You seem confused as to where dogs come from.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty

. Dogs (especially rescues) tend not to show their "real" behavior until at least a few weeks of knowing you / being owned. So a dog in the first week can be very different a few weeks later.

What? Where did you hear this from and why do they think it is more applicable to rescue dogs? They just that bit more streetwise and know how to play the system better?

Seriously, I'd love to read any literature that supports your claim.

[scotty2hotty]

Just my opinion.

[Amethyst]

The other thing to consider, is do you really want a puppy? Yes, puppies are cute, but they are A LOT of work! They have small bladders and can only go a few hours without a bathroom break (rule of thumb, 1 hour per month of age), baby teeth are sharp and then they chew up your furniture when they are teething. They are a blank slate but you are starting from scratch. And puppies are crazy.

For many families who just want a pet, I find that 1-3 year olds are the golden age. They don't need to go to the bathroom as much, even if their training isn't perfect, they often have some and it's not that hard to teach them more.

I've raised puppies and fostered adults (and puppies) and the easiest puppy was still harder than the hardest adult. If you do go the breeder route, you could also look at a slightly older puppy (great option for families where everyone works during the day) who they may have kept, originally planning to breed, but decided not to.

One other red flag, whether you go with breeder or rescue, if it's a puppy that's under 8 weeks, stay away! They may be eating on their own, but they need that time with mom to learn important social skills.

[flamesrule_kipper34]

I have to say, I'm surprised to see so many ignorant statements here from people on their opinions on a breeder's function, breeder's intelligence and mistaking a breeder for a puppy mill.

Seriously people, go educate yourself before classifying all breeders as one thing and also going off of purely anecdotal evidence to support your opinion.

[iggyformayor]

Seriously, the ignorance The breeder we got our puppy from required us to fill out an application and made us come visit her before she would even consider selling us a puppy. She also does a ton of genetic testing as well as temperament testing to make sure that the dogs will be as healthy as possible and that they're going to the right home with the right owners where that puppy's specific personality will fit with the owners lifestyle. She shows her dogs, and only breeds when she wants another puppy for her to show herself, and only charged us the cost of breeding the dogs (insemination, vaccinations, etc.) and never makes any money off of her dogs. If we ever decide that we can't keep her any longer (which will NEVER happen) we are REQUIRED by the contract to return her to the breeder.

And to say that people who buy from breeders don't love dogs? We waited for 18 months (!!!) to get our puppy when the first insemination failed. This wasn't a spur of the moment decision. Give your head a shake.

To say that all breeders are bad and should be banned is mind blowingly stupid. I just can't even.

I also need to say that I have known multiple people who told us "Adopt, don't shop!" return their dogs to shelters or had them put down when they couldn't handle them or they didn't fit their lifestyle anymore. So please, tell me who the true dog lover is.

And this is the type of dog you get from a REPUTABLE breeder, the sweetest, most mild mannered dog I've even met, and that says something for a beagle...

[afc wimbledon]

I used Petfinder to find my 3 year old Jack Russel cross, best tempered Dog I've ever seen in a jacky, good ratter to boot.

Petfinder just scans every pound or rescue by breed and area, working out from your location across the US if you want, took me a year to find my dog, went to about 4 other pounds for similar animals but they weren't as calm (I run a foster home so a calm dog is a must).

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by iggyformayor

Seriously, the ignorance The breeder we got our puppy from required us to fill out an application and made us come visit her before she would even consider selling us a puppy. She also does a ton of genetic testing as well as temperament testing to make sure that the dogs will be as healthy as possible and that they're going to the right home with the right owners where that puppy's specific personality will fit with the owners lifestyle. She shows her dogs, and only breeds when she wants another puppy for her to show herself, and only charged us the cost of breeding the dogs (insemination, vaccinations, etc.) and never makes any money off of her dogs. If we ever decide that we can't keep her any longer (which will NEVER happen) we are REQUIRED by the contract to return her to the breeder.

And to say that people who buy from breeders don't love dogs? We waited for 18 months (!!!) to get our puppy when the first insemination failed. This wasn't a spur of the moment decision. Give your head a shake.

To say that all breeders are bad and should be banned is mind blowingly stupid. I just can't even.

I also need to say that I have known multiple people who told us "Adopt, don't shop!" return their dogs to shelters or had them put down when they couldn't handle them or they didn't fit their lifestyle anymore. So please, tell me who the true dog lover is.

And this is the type of dog you get from a REPUTABLE breeder, the sweetest, most mild mannered dog I've even met, and that says something for a beagle...

All purebred dogs are, by definition, in bred, it is what makes them 'pure'.
40 years ago purebreds where only really the concern of a small number of dog show types, all the rest of us had muts that looked 'mostly' like a Lab or 'mostly' like a Shepherd, this was a healthy dog population, what we are doing now is normalising genetic abnormality and it makes no difference how much genetic testing you do, if you just turn out Beagles, no matter how you do it, you are inbreeding and eventually you will produce unhealthy traits.