advice on getting puppy

[PoohBearsHole]

we currently have a lovely lab who we'd like to get a friend for as lab is neutered.

we have found some puppies, liked the mother, semi chose one then were told the "price" a couple of days later.

i would point out was expecting to pay so not wanting a free puppy, it will be chipped and vacc'd to 8 weeks so expecting to be paying for all of that BUT although mother has a "good" pedigree she did the dirty stop out thang, ran off and got pregnant. no clue who or what the father is!

I have no issue with this and am prepared to give this puppy a loving home :)
But what is a decent contribution? for not a "designer" breed but a who the hell knows what?
TIA

[Vajazzler]

What price were you told?
Puppies are expensive to raise, there's vet checks, worming and flea treatment, food for the pups, food for the mother, healthcare for the mother, usually pups have their first vaccination and now must be microchipped before they leave the mother. That stuff doesn't come cheap.

[Vajazzler]

Oh and our last dog, a lab x german shepherd cost us £250.

[PoohBearsHole]

cool, was just wondering, well aware that they aren't cheap to raise until rehoming but the owner is carrying on like they are a designer breed when actually she hadn't a clue 😡 you'd have thought they were related to the queens corgi.....

[TrionicLettuce]

If you're happy to have an unknown cross then I'd look for puppies in rescues rather than line the pockets of a BYB.

[Vajazzler]

A lot of people do just see puppies as cash machines. You've only got to take a look at pets4homes.co.uk to see how many over priced cross breeds there are. They seem to forget that actually cross breed = mongrel!

[PoohBearsHole]

I have met mum and she's lovely just feel that the unfortunate incident is going to line the pockets of someone

[Vajazzler]

Can you find similar pups for sale and compare prices?

[Vajazzler]

Also if they have no idea who dad is then he won't have had any health checks. The pups could have all sorts of genetic issues waiting to pop up. Has the mum been health checked? Hips/eyes/elbows etc?

[PoohBearsHole]

This is my concern for spending £150 less than a puppy who is health checked and both parents are known etc and full history.

I have unfortunately had a v poor experience with small child and rescue which has put me off 😢 Child got bitten on face and it has scared my thoughts on them as much loved family dog had to be pts.

It's the unknown dad and the price that makes me wary. Don't know what breed so puppy could end up being monster huge which wouldn't suit us currently. I should walk away shouldn't I?

[TrionicLettuce]

If you're worried about a puppy from a rescue having a dodgy temperament why on earth are you looking at puppies from a dodgy breeder where one parent is a complete unknown?! Funding shitty breeders (and potential health concerns) aside, there's no real difference as far as the puppies go other than a good rescue being more likely to bring them up appropriately.

If you want to buy a puppy then pick a breed and find a decent breeder who does all appropriate health tests and prioritises health, temperament and conformation. This guide is really worth a read.

[PoohBearsHole]

to clarify, this isn't a breeder, it is someone I "know" and know their dog. wasn't intending in breeding from the dog at the time but she got out when in season. In many respects I thought that I'd be giving an "unwanted" puppy a home. as mother was known (and first litter to be clear) it was a 50:50 bet as they thought they had seen the shagger, turns out it couldn't have been the one they saw as it was female .

In my spirit of "helping" out a friend I was interested as we have done our research, had been discussing the type of dog we wanted, our lifestyle has changed/will be changing and it was the right time (been discussing for at least 18 months) this came along a couple of months before we were intending BUT the attitude of the owner appears to now be based on greed. oh and the fact that owner appears to be covering the cost of an entire chicken/rib of beef and caviar being fed to the mother . I am not doubting the owner cares very much for these accidental arrivals Although I do think now the opportunity has arisen that she is wanting to make a fast buck too.

[TrionicLettuce]

They've bred a litter, they are indeed a breeder.

The mating may have been accidental (although it's amazing how often these "accidental" matings seem to occur) but if they knew she was in season when she got out then they've actively decided to do nothing and let any potential pregnancy continue. They would have had ample time to either opt for the mismate jab (the canine equivalent of the morning after pill which can be given up to day 45 of pregnancy) or to go ahead and get her spayed.

If you want to buy rather than rescue I'd recommend getting in touch with the breed club for whatever breed it is you're interested in. They'll be able to help put you in touch with decent breeders who are planning litters.

[PoohBearsHole]

Post long conversation with DH and lots of pressurising from the "breeder" we have decided against going with this one. We felt we'd be helping out but in truth this now seems to be a money spinner.

TBH the pups are quite large and not what we'd ultimately be aiming for (already have a bigger dog so wanted something a bit smaller not bigger :) )
and so have made steps towards finding the particular "breed" that we had been interested in (and one that we have previously owned). There happen to be some good friends with some availability within their litter. They aren't local which is why we hadn't thought of it, but know they fit the bill and have cracking parents. Otherwise we will keep ear to the ground and hope we hear of appropriate pups and not be in so much of a rush and to make the puppy fit in with our original timeline.

Probably better for us as a family, and glad I came to double check on here rather than having my heartstrings pulled at, followed up with the hard sell of "well we have lots of people who want them so you'd better choose quickly" that bit along with how much they wanted raised my own hackles!

[BagelGoesWalking]

You made absolutely the right decision, glad your hackles were raised!

Although you are wary of rescues because of previous experience, it's worth pointing out that puppies do become available in rescues. Often, born in rescues and usually in foster homes, so they actually have a very good start in life, well cared for, well socialised etc.

If you want a look, join some rescue FB groups - as usually puppies would be snapped up and never even get to be featured on a website - including breed rescues for the particular breed you're interested in.

[PoohBearsHole]

will do that, thanks :)