To ask honestly where you got your dog from

[wowowwow]

Ours came from an ad on Pets4homes. Had no idea this wasn’t good. Dog has been fine though.

Can you not get puppies in rescue centres where you are?

you might, but we knew the breeds we wanted, researched the breeder and the holiday kennel option and it worked for us.

We even got one of the puppies straight after Christmas , which they normally don't do but it was the best time for us!

From a kennel club registered breeder, DH wanted a specific breed. Lots of visits, lots of training (of us) by the breeder. We picked her up at 8 weeks, five years ago. She rocks my world

Re: rescue centres if you have small children or care for small children they are really not suitable. RSPCA and Battersea agree. Many other rescue centres follow the same policy. by the time you tick the boxes you are not suitable.

www.battersea.org.uk/dogs/dog-rehoming-gallery

In reverse order

Rescue (as a 16 week old pup - now 6 and we still love our leggy idiot)
Rescue
Rescue
Inherited EX partners as he couldn't be bothered with them any more and was going to put them down.
Rescue
Friends litter (accidental litter)
Breeder (runt sent for the bucket - so took him home)
Rescue
Rescue

1. A friend who was going into care and had to get rid of him.

1. A friend of a friend’s accidental litter.

1. Greyhound rescue kennel.

Rescued from next door neighbour who was going to give her away for snake food when she was a puppy (she’s a tiny jackchi), she bought her from another neighbour but her kids threw her off of top bunk beds and kicked her around if she got under their feet. She’s a lovely little thing

My previous dog was a beautiful English Springer Spaniel and I got her after seeing an add on Pets4Homes 14 years ago.

Luckily it didn't turn out to be a puppy farm, and she was KC registered and from a registered breeder. I had to have a phone interview then we went to view her with mum and dad. She was running about in the large grounds with her brothers and sisters and the only reason she wasn't being trained as a working dog was because she was quite small compared to the rest of the litter and did nothing but cry to come inside of a night (they slept in a barn with heating that had been converted). We got a demonstration of dads recall and fetch abilities and a guide on how to care for her ears and eyes etc. The seller also proudly showed us all of the competition medals that mum and dad had won.

I am now better informed about illegal puppy farm activities and am thankful that luckily I didn't inadvertently contribute to this awful industry.

When our lovely girl unexpectedly died 3 years ago it took a nearly 2.5 years before I felt ready to get another dog. We got our current girl 6 months ago from a local rescue. She was in a very sorry state and had been starved and beaten, she had also lost nearly all of her hind fur due to an untreated flea infestation. We think she is a Shih tzu / terrier cross she is such a lovely character but unless she trusts you she is very nervous and can nip if you try to suddenly stroke her. My youngest DC is 17 and I know I couldn't have got her if my children were younger.

It took about 3 months until she fully settled and she is an ongoing work in progress regards her behaviour but she has become very loving and much mellower over time.

@grinchly my PPBC is lying at my feet snoring away! I have to stay off the FB group incase I end up with another mad collie

Husband's colleague's daughter who had a toddler and found out she was pregnant again and didn't think she could cope with a 6 month old Rottie....

9 years on and he's THE BEST dog ever, so gentle and obidient and clever!

He gets on my last nerve with the slobber/licking and shedding and farting and sneaking upstairs in the middle of the night then nearly falling down the stairs again (he's a clumsy fucker), but we've been incredibly lucky and there'll be no other dog like him

The local dog shelter. I volunteer there and saw my dog when he was brought in from a cruelty investigation by the police. Love at first sight. I sat with him in his kennel and he plonked his paw in my lap. That was it. Signed up to take him the same day, and a month later he was well enough to come home with me.

Rehomed via Dalmatian trust.

A breeder. I worked at the school the breeders grandchildren attended and new they were genuine, we were also able to see the mother who was lovely natured and obviously very well loved and cared for.

From a local animal foster carer.

She'd been abandoned at 12 weeks old and tied to a lamp post all day (the puppy, not the foster carer).

Golden Retriever from a registered breeder - he’s now 8. Labrador via Pets4home. He was 10 months old and living with a family who had another dog, young children and the lab had got too much for them to cope with. They visited our home first for the dogs to meet and we then rehomed him a week or so later.
He had a few behavioural issues ( mainly begging for and stealing food - typical lab behaviour I guess!) but 7 years on he is a darling, best buddies with our other dog and we wouldn’t be without him.

We also found an advert on Pets4homes. We visited the (toy poodle) litter several times from two weeks old until we took him home at 8 weeks. It was really clear that mum was a cherished family pet, and that the pups were having a fantastic start in life. (and had appropriate breed-specific health checks/ certificates). We wouldn't taken him had we not been fully satisfied with what we saw.

Since we are all supposed to feel ashamed for buying a puppy, I will add that our previous two dogs were retired greyhounds so I feel like I've done my bit.

My sister bought a Staffie out of the small ads in the local family. The sellers were a family who had bought her as a puppy "for the children" and then realised a year on that an 8 year old is not going to be able to walk Staffie. I suppose it was a bit of a risky way to aquire a dog, but she turned out to be the best dog ever and lived happily until she was 18.

*local paper not family!

Pets 4 homes. Never regretted it

Current dog, 11yo, came from a breeder of border collies who had had an accidental mating with her bitch and her mums poodle! She was a friend of someone I know, so I know it was genuine, and she had me sign the same contract as all her pedigree pups go with.

Dog before that was off a car boot sale (!!!) at 4 weeks old. There were 2 left out of a litter of 8, and I took them both, but one died The surviving one lived for 14 years and was a great dog. Not the type of dog I would have chosen really, but she was sweet and had no malice in her ever.

One before that was from my grandma when she became too ill to care for her. She lived for 19 years.

Dog before that was a mongrel from the rspca.

Gumtree , dog in a million I miss him a lot .
Spain x2 . A lot of rescues won’t let you rehome if you work . Both lovely dogs although one totally ignores me as soon as we leave the house . Still working in his training .

Make sure the breeder will take dog back if a problem , unfortunately I know someone who thought they had done everything right , visited puppies , saw with mother etc etc . The puppy was very ill within days and their insurance was not valid for 14 days so had a huge bill . Then despite training and several behaviourist visits they had to admit defeat as the dog had really awful aggression problems . They asked the breeder to take the dog back ( it had badly bitten someone ) and the breeder refused as they could not risk the dog with their children , that speaks volumes .

Dogs trust and sspca

My mothers neighbour was abusing her, my mum had stepped in on multiple occasions getting the dog emergency medical treatment, stopping abuse etc. I heard commotion in his front garden and he was chasing her round the garden and trying to hit her with a stick , she was hiding in a bush. I had enough of the ongoing situation and went and took his dog away before he could beat her again. He didn't fight me for her and I took her home that day with the intention of finding her a home. Fell in love with her and six years later she's my best friend still.

One came from a farm (not a puppy farm) they were kennel club registered and the parents had hip scores and whatnot. She was the best natured dog you would ever meet she was the best.

One came from a reputable breeder of a certain breed who had an accidental litter and produced a cross breed (not a sought after cross) No idea what was going on there. He's a little fucker but love him to bits.

An add on a local Facebook selling site

Dogs Trust and for them I’m eternally grateful (and I hope he is too)