I dont get why someone would pay big bugs for a "hybrid" or "designer" dog.
They are mutts. And while mutts are wonderful animals & in a lot of pet cases, just as good as a pure breed, I could never see spending the money some of these "breeders" are asking for a mutt.
My pure breed dogs did not cost as much as some of these "hybrid designer" dogs.
Not every dog has to be a champion. Not every dog has to cost thousands of dollars.
Most breeders will charge a difference between a show quality pup & a pet quality pup. Like I said earlier, both of my breeders did. I had no interest in showing, so I did not need breeding rights. So we bought the pet only rights.
Since my dogs are pets, I dont care about the AKC registration, but both of my breeders gave me the paperwork once the dogs were spayed/neutred. Ok, my Dane does not have her paperwork yet, but she is not spayed yet since she is only 9 weeks old. But when she is 6 months old, she will be.
There are lots of great places to get pups from. There is NOTHING wrong with finding a breeder online. But do your research & make sure they are actually a BREEDER, not broker or puppy mill.
Know what you are getting. Getting a dog from a puppy mill or backyard breeder is not only BAD for the dogs involved, it continues the cycle. More and more abused animals. More and more females breed to death. More and more animals living in horrible conditions. And more and more people buying these dogs.
Plus getting a dog from these places, you are spending big bucks & know NOTHING of the health of the animals or their lines.
You are spending SO much money on these animals. Why would you not want to make sure you are getting the most healthy pet you can?
All the parents of our purchased dogs, have parents that have health records. I know their hips, I know how their eyes, etc etc.
You can buy that cute pup in the window of the pet store, or the picture you see online. Sure they are cute & loveable. But what are the chances when the dog turns 3, they wont need massive hip surgery or other health problems? These things add up & cost money.
Ok, ok, any dog can have health problems. But the chances of serious health problems from a puppy mill dog vastly out number the chances of a good bred animal.