... Or is the price of puppies absolutely insane??

[Tootletum]

I've been looking to get a dog for about a year, and now that I know I'll be at home for good, had started looking at prices for a spaniel or a viszla. The average asking price for a non KC registered purebred seems to be £2500, and even the lady advertising some accidental mongrel whippets wanted over £1000!!! Who is paying these insane prices???

I recommend Many tears charity. They have many puppies with photos and videos

Many tears does a fab job, although you could argue that they also contribute to the puppy farm issue by picking up the used/abused/dumped stock from several big puppy farms, saving them a big job.

Many tears also often has the stipulation of a resident dog, as many are breeding stock that need teaching how to “dog” and how to live in a house after living all their lives in a small breeding pen.

I bloody love the dog people on MN. You are a monster if you buy a puppy, you should always ADOPT DON'T Shop. ALWAYS! If you even Look at a puppy you don't deserve one.

Unless you rescue a dog from abroad, according to another thread I'm on. Thats maybe worse than buying a puppy from a puppy farmer.

I have had a fantastic experience adopting a lovely little dog from Cyprus. Worth a look

@XingMing, my pug is 16.5 and hasn’t had any health issues. I got him when he was five.

The Frenchie is bigger than the average—about thirty pounds—and she doesn’t have a seriously smooshed face, so copes fine in the heat. She looks more like a bulldog from 100+ years ago. Anyway, neither breed would be my first choice, but I was a sucker for their sweet personalities.

The terrier mix is a terror, as they always are, but I got him when he was nine weeks. Lovely little guy, very smart, and the poor guy has a bb pellet wedged behind his ear. He and his litter mates came from a drug den.

@SlatternIsMyMiddleName

A minimum 5k walk daily! My boy would tell me to get stuffed if I tried that with him. He is a lab cross German Shepard and very much enjoys his walks and his snoozes. But no way would he want 5k a day walk.

Seriously? Our Jack Russell needs at least 5km, she’s still bouncing about after that.

People immediately jump on people looking for puppies and say 'rescue, rescue, rescue'. Do they not read the hundreds of comments on the multiple other threads saying that almost all of the dogs in these places are deemed not suitable for homes with small children? We found this when my sons were 3 and 5 even though we have a huge enclosed garden and are home 24/7. Not that there was a single small dog near us under 10 anyway. The trouble is that statistically in shelters these dogs are more likely to be there because of socialisation problems. The law should cap the prices of puppies so that the puppy farms are less of a lucrative business.

Sorry I knew there was one I missed off my list...

Many Tears - tend to only rehome if you already have another dog at home.

All the restrictions and things are completely understandable. But I do wish people would stop just saying ‘get a rescue’. Some of us have been trying for some time!

@Fallulah

Sorry I knew there was one I missed off my list...

Many Tears - tend to only rehome if you already have another dog at home.

All the restrictions and things are completely understandable. But I do wish people would stop just saying ‘get a rescue’. Some of us have been trying for some time!

Absolutely! Someone went as far as say “I don’t have much respect for people who bought a puppy instead of going to rescue” Really?! So you’re gonna look down at me only because I got a puppy?! How do you know if I did not try lots of rescue centers and been turned down? First time dog owners, (well, both my OH and I had dogs growing up but we consider ourselves as new dog owners) , young child, we both work full time - it’s was always a “no” for us! Possibly, somewhere in other places in country we’d be lucky but we were not ready to drive for over 3 hours to see if we were a possible match for a rescue dog. Also, we were particular about the breed, we live in a small house so only we’re looking at small sized dogs. I am a good human being, doing a lot of good deeds and I don’t need you to judge me only on a fact that I have a puppy - who we all adore. My child who is only child now seems much happier now that has a “sibling”. So I can live without your respect, you know.

ok, so a home with kids etc isn't suitable for a rescue dog. But it is perfectly legal to go and buy a puppy if you have the cash. A puppy (I believe) can need loads of attention.

a home is either suitable for a dog or it isn't. We need some kind of authority enforcing this. As a bonus that would knock the stuffing out of the puppy farming business as most people would not be able to buy them. And rehome the rescues; who hopefully are all neutered so the dog population starts to drop.

That isn’t true at all mcken, again, many parents on here would be turned down for adoption.

I do think rescues should be a little more flexible in their stance regarding rehoming.

Looking more closely at the family and work hours/doggy daycare and how certain dogs are with children.

I can understand that a big excitable dog who with one swoop of their tail can send a child flying or if there is a nervous dog who has been subject to abuse or there is an oldie who needs peace and quiet might not be suitable but I have seen dogs that should be perfect for a young family. Family dogs who have lived with young children but the family have had to move because of house repossession and they sadly can’t take the dog with them. With a not suitable for young children label.
When they have come directly from a loving home with young children.

Obviously with young children you have to be extra careful and rehoming centres have to get it right but every dog is different and every child is different.
If you have a sensible young child who is going to respect the dog when it is sleeping and knows to let the dog come to them to play I think it is very different to one that launches themselves onto a dog to give them a hug when the dog is eating or sleeping.

@stopgap, I didn't mention pugs.... must have been someone else! I don't know any so couldn't comment.

Or could it be that they don't want to lay themselves open to legal action if a dog bit a child?

Have a look at dogsblog.an online Rehoming site that has all sorts of rescue puppies and dogs of all breeds.

We were looking to rehome a puppy since March. I've had a jrt rescue dog and a jrt puppy. Dh and dd would like to choose a pup and watch it grow. More than happy to have a rescue puppy, cant find one.
Dh would love a bulldog, theyve gone from £3000 to £10000!
I'm not a fan of bulldogs as a breed and as I cant convince dh into another jrt, I think weve settled on a staffie. They were ten a penny two years ago, now they're non existent.

Checked on a few rescue sites. We both work full time but opposite shifts with an hours gap in between with no one around. Wont touch us with a barge pole as we both tick the full time box .

We're going to leave it for now.

My Dsis paid a lot more for her 3breed cross ( mongrel) than we did for our pure bred, with pedigree as old as the hills. Not one of the litter mates is remotely similar.
She wanted a placid lap dog that didn’t shed. What she got was a batshit crazy hyperactive nutter who sheds hair. We got a bog standard totally predictable lab.

@Angrymum22, I think that is the main advantage of buying a pure breed, well-bred dog as a pup. At the moment, DDog is a rather thick black lab bitch, now 7 yo. She is stupid in the house, terrified of the vacuum cleaner and the dishwasher but affectionate. Outdoors, she's fast, active and fearless. There's no thicket of brambles that scares her, she'll swim in fast water and she kills rats and squirrels without mercy. She would have been a fabulous dog for anyone who enjoyed rough shooting.

But she's nervous with people, especially children, and clingy if there are two dogs together. She's trained for recall and to obey hand signals if we're walking on a road. She was bred from working dogs to work and honestly, we don't give her enough work. She is so not a breed club champion Labrador.

OP, I scanned the thread so not sure if it’s already been mentioned but there is an amazing group on FB called Vizslamenes.com, who are a UK charity rescuing Hungarian Vislas and finding them new homes in U.K. From their photos, lots of families have adopted adorable Visla puppies. Might be worth putting in an application (though I’m not sure if they’re taking new ones just now as they might have a backlog since borders were closed for a while)

To be truthful, she's not really a pet. She would be happier in an outdoor kennel in a pack. But we love her, and she loves us, so we manage. She is placid at home and loves being fussed. But I'd hope next time around to choose better. DH likes the idea of a JRT, but I would prefer something less talkative. Any ideas? We are five years away from our next dog so have time for the research.
.

Vizlas are beautiful dogs. But anyone adopting one needs to have the time to exercise it; they need a lot of exercise, at least 8-9km daily, or two hours, not around a city park. They are country dogs.

After just reading an article about Katie Price and her family killing the puppy they'd been "gifted" by some fucking bellend instagram breeder when they'd had it for 2 weeks, I think owning dogs should be strictly licensed and you should have to pay for a vet inspection of your home, family and lifestyle before you are allowed to buy, and then a vet has to certify yearly that your dog is vaccinated, chipped, wormed and insured to continue that license.

Too many idiots get puppies and then realise what hard work it is. There is thread after thread on here of people rehoming dogs the second they get a positive pregnancy test or a baby comes along. A dog is a lifelong commitment and deserves to be loved and looked after.

Sorry, posted too soon. This would then take the profits away from grabby breeders because a puppy wouldn't be an impulse decision.

Please look into adopting from a shelter. They have puppies as well as older dogs who desperately need a home and a loving owner or will have to be put to sleep.

Adopt don't shop.

Most families would be better to adopt an orphaned/bereaved dog previously owned by an elderly person unless they had small children.

My nan and grandad managed to get a dog from the RSPCA even though they don't own their home or have an enclosed garden (live in flats, communal garden area with sheds etc). Never owned dogs as adults. Got a border collie. Still with them now. She fit right in with them. Is now very old... They had a friend who vouched for them who knew the RSPCA centre in question very well.

Have a look at Rommie Rescue type groups that take dogs from the public shelters of Romania and have them sponsored, then neutered etc, go to Foster, find home here.