Thinking of Purchasing a Dog...Tips?

bean

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Mar 10, 2006
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Yes, I certainly know the benefits of adopting a shelter dog..just weighing our options. We currently have a rescue that we've spent a good deal of time/money rehabbing. Frankly, some of the process of adopting from rescue organizations is off putting. Searching for a dog that is appropriate for your family, multiple applications on dogs, home interviews, etc. So after considering breeds (we currently have a lab) we've talked about gettting either another lab or golden retriever. Any tips in researching breeders? Prices seem to be in the $750-1500 range. Just wondering what experiences have been in purchasing a pet.
 
Yes, I certainly know the benefits of adopting a shelter dog..just weighing our options. We currently have a rescue that we've spent a good deal of time/money rehabbing. Frankly, some of the process of adopting from rescue organizations is off putting. Searching for a dog that is appropriate for your family, multiple applications on dogs, home interviews, etc. So after considering breeds (we currently have a lab) we've talked about gettting either another lab or golden retriever. Any tips in researching breeders? Prices seem to be in the $750-1500 range. Just wondering what experiences have been in purchasing a pet.

Your best bet is to go to your national breed club (you can find them listed at the akc website) and then call them to be referred to breeders in your area.

Be advised though, that getting a quality dog, that is healthy and has had all the health screenings done will also involve home visits, applications, etc.

But it is so worth it to get a dog from a person that has put a lot of thought into the breeding.

Unlike a backyard breeder that probably couldn't tell you what the OFA scores are on their dogs or who the grandparents are or whether their line of dogs are carriers of any of the multiple genetic diseases that are common with each breed.

Stay away from newpaper ads and many of the websites. Most of these are back yard breeders or puppy mills.
 
get a whole dog, not just the tips.

Mikeeee

sorry to hear about your rescue problems. You can still get a rescue golden, just hold out for a puppy so you can train him/her right.
 
Rescue! Rescue! why not, there are sooooo many dogs that need homes, what good reason it there not to rescue??

if you must have a pure bred dog of some sort, why not look into a rescue league for that particular breed?
 

Rescue! Rescue! why not, there are sooooo many dogs that need homes, what good reason it there not to rescue??

if you must have a pure bred dog of some sort, why not look into a rescue league for that particular breed?

Some of the rescue orgainzations are crazy, it would be easier to adopt a child then a dog with some of them.
 
Rescue! Rescue! why not, there are sooooo many dogs that need homes, what good reason it there not to rescue??

if you must have a pure bred dog of some sort, why not look into a rescue league for that particular breed?


Okay have my flame suit on. We rescued a dog only to have my Dh come downstairs and be physically attacked by this dog. At the time we had a baby in the house so we were thankful it was my Dh attacked and not the baby. Never again will we "rescue" a dog. Nothing was told to us negative about this dogs temperment. Only how great it was:scared1:
We are in looking to add another dog to our family and it will be purchased as a pup and raised in our home.
 
Some of the rescue orgainzations are crazy, it would be easier to adopt a child then a dog with some of them.

Yes, I agree, we are going to adopt a beagle, and are looking at a rescue organization, but they won't let us adopt because of the age of my youngest:confused3
which is crazy, because we had a beagle in the past and they are the most lovey dovey lovable dogs,
but anyway, we are checking local shelters periodically.
 
Okay have my flame suit on. We rescued a dog only to have my Dh come downstairs and be physically attacked by this dog. At the time we had a baby in the house so we were thankful it was my Dh attacked and not the baby. Never again will we "rescue" a dog. Nothing was told to us negative about this dogs temperment. Only how great it was:scared1:
We are in looking to add another dog to our family and it will be purchased as a pup and raised in our home.

well that is entirely the fault of the rescue organization. any reputable rescue group will make sure of the temperment of the dog, and the family, and make sure its a good fit.
all of our pets have been rescues. 5 dogs 5 cats so far,
the beagle was the worst behaved, he needed lots of training, which i was willing to do, but he was the best dog, and was with us 11 years :love: til he passed away.
 
oh and I have to add, just because you purchase a pup from a breeder does not mean it will not have any issues.
 
http://infodog.com/showinfo/state.htm

Here is a listing of AKC dog shows. Clinck on your State and scroll through to find one close to you.

Go watch and talk to the people there. One thing, right before the date of the show you can click on a link that says judges program. That will give you the time the breed you want to see is on. Because.....
Tomorrow morning at 8am is when Collies are being judged at our local show. If you show up at 2pm, chances are most of the collie people are long gone!!

One thing to remember, these people are showing their dogs and it can get stressful right before going into the ring. If you see a bunch of say (goldens) with their owners standing ringside wait until they come out of the ring before talking to them!! Don't try to talk to them if they look like they are waiting to go in.

Also buy the catalog, in the back lists the owners name and addresses. If you see a dog, or talk to someone you like you can always write to them and ask more questions.

Also, many breeders have young adults which they place into pet homes. These are dogs that the breeder may have kept for showing and for some reason they didn't work out to be a show dog. They are then sold as *pets* unlike rescue dogs, like the one you have which required *rehabbing* these young adults don't have that kind of baggage. It could be something like the dog was not flashy enough to make it as a show dog. The bite could be off, there are a number of reasons why at 8 weeks old this pup looked like a great *winner* and by 8 months old the breeder realizes it will not make the show dog they thought it would be. So the breeder will then look for a good home. If it was brought up as a show dog it will have some manners. tolerate grooming and be used to a lot of different people.

Good luck!!
 
oh and I have to add, just because you purchase a pup from a breeder does not mean it will not have any issues.

no it doesn't. BUT if you buy for a breeder who has a vested interest in their dogs chances are you will find someone who will be there to answer any question you have about the dog. The breeder will work with you to help you out.
 
We have a purebred, registered Lab and a border collie. I actually began by searching on the Internet. I knew that I wanted a field-type Lab because they have a different conformation (leaner, longer legs) and are less prone to some of the health problems that the stockier Labs get. (They are also higher energy, but that's another story...) I looked at the pictures on the websites and found the type I was looking for at a breeder about a 3-hour drive from my house. We had some phone conversations and I was reassured that his dogs all had hips and eyes certified as free of the genetic diseases that can be a problem for Labs. We then drove up to see the dogs and the facilities, which were excellent - the dogs had lots of room, clean and comfortable buildings, etc., and the breeder was able to show us all the information about the dogs, their health certificates, breeding, competition records, etc.

Toby is a beautiful dog, very healthy, and yes, still high energy at nearly six years old.

Teresa
 
no it doesn't. BUT if you buy for a breeder who has a vested interest in their dogs chances are you will find someone who will be there to answer any question you have about the dog. The breeder will work with you to help you out.


Thats how it worked out for us. After the crazy dog for the shelter we bought a registered golden retriever and later also bought a registered pomeranian and they are GREAT dogs. And this is the route we will go again when it's time.
 
Thats how it worked out for us. After the crazy dog for the shelter we bought a registered golden retriever and later also bought a registered pomeranian and they are GREAT dogs. And this is the route we will go again when it's time.

Registered does not mean a non-mill dog. I bought am AKC registered dog from a puppy store - definitely puppy mill (didn't know at the time).
 
Just an FYI for the OP, you CAN get puppies from the Humane Society--rescue organizations turn me off, too, with their sometimes outrageous demands. I found our local Humane Society to be very easy to work with and, knowing I was looking for a puppy, they called me when some came in.

The dog in my signature picture is a golden retriever that we got as a puppy from the Humane Society.

By all means, if you want to go to a reputable breeder, go right ahead. I just wanted to let you know that puppies are available sometimes at the Humane Society.
 
Thanks so much for all of your responses. A couple of rescue organizations in our area won't place dogs in homes with small children (we have a 6 and 3 year old). Another told us that we were to be the owners of a dog and at the last mintute chose another family with an application which left my children devestated. One of the reasons? I have a Weimeraner who is 12. She lives with my parents now because when my DD was born she tried to bite her. No way she could continue to live with us. I listed her in my previous pet history. They said "you might decide to give another pet away if it tries to bite." Well, yes, if an animal was a danger to my family I would find another home. My Weimeraner is happy and healthy at my mom's, we didn't abandon her. My current dog, a rescue lab, is a bit dominant. He needs a very young dog so that he can continue to be the top dog with no question. We've been trying to locate specific breeds so that we could know things such as breed temperment. Never full proof I know but a Golden I think would often be much more family friendly than say a Chow. Thanks for your help ya'll!
 

As posted above, this is the Moss-Bow superintendent website for dog shows that they run. There are other dog show superintendents -- I haven't shown down south in a few years, but I think maybe Jim Rau is more popular? At any rate, if you google Dog Show Superintendents you should find several of them and be able to track dog shows in your area.

I would be extra careful of goldens and labs, temperament wise -- the fact that they are generally good family dogs has led a lot of fly by night breeders to produce them WITHOUT regard to temperament, and there's nothing sadder than a nasty lab or golden, and there are more and more nasty ones showing up every day. A good breeder will not tolerate anything but great temperaments in their dogs. In some breeds, a tougher dog is to be expected, and sometimes a "good" temperament of that breed might be more than a young family wants to live with, but for a dog like a golden or lab, the standards should be impeccable for family living.

My current dog, a rescue lab, is a bit dominant. He needs a very young dog so that he can continue to be the top dog with no question.

You can't really control for dominance except by picking a submissive puppy (all the more reason to work with a good breeder to select a pup that appears to be destined to not be particularly dominant). Your best bet is a dog of the opposite sex, though even that isn't fool proof. But simply being older is no guarantee that the older dog will be dominant -- upon sexual maturity if the younger dog decides to take over, the older dog will submit or there will be problems as they work it out. But it's something they need to work out and you need to respect the conclusion they come to. A lot of people run into problems when they try to support the older dog as dominant (feed it first, etc) despite the fact that the younger dog has taken over. That sort of thing makes the younger dog think that he needs to keep proving who's REALLY the boss, so it's best to just watch and let them work it out (unless somebody's getting hurt).

That's more of an issue with working dogs than field dogs, but it depends on what you mean by your older dog being "a bit dominant." Dogs who are really dominant don't really get into too many scraps -- they're above it, and other dogs accept their superiority without their having to assert it. Insecure dogs and dogs trying to move up the totem pole tend to provoke incidents and sometimes get labeled as dominant when they really are not.
 
the beagle was the worst behaved, he needed lots of training, which i was willing to do, but he was the best dog, and was with us 11 years :love: til he passed away.

Our neighbor has a pure beagle and a mix beagle/basset. They got them at the same time as they were rescued as a pair. Stubborness comes with the breed. They put a lot of work into those dogs and they are the best I have see. They even use an invisible fence. The dogs aren't let out alone. When I'm outside they know they are going to get a belly rub, but they don't cross the fence.
 
Also, no matter where you get a dog from, make sure they know you are the pack leader. That is more than half the battle!!!
 


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