To ask what is the right way to get a puppy?

[Shoppingwithmother]

I’m often seeing on here people commenting on disreputable breeders, people buying puppies at the wrong time of year when there shouldn’t be puppies ready, etc,

As there are a lot of people who know about dogs on MN, could people advise me as to what the correct way to get one is?

I’ve never had a dog before, but have really come round to the idea. My children (age 14 and 11) are very keen to get a cockapoo-type dog, and that is what I would like too. I would like to get a puppy, as I would prefer to have the dog from the start. I have looked on the rescue pages locally, but the dogs there are very far from what we would want, just mainly loads of Staffordshire Bull Terrier-types or Alsatians.

I know with cockapoos that they are not actually a breed and understand a bit how they are bred. As they are not recognised by the Kennel Club (am I right about this?) then how do I know who is a reputable person to get a puppy from?

What is it about cockapoos that you like? I would suggest looking at miniature or toy poodles instead as cockapoos are common for puppy farming practices. The looks are very similar.

I have had dogs all my life and have always either had a mongrel from friends where l knew both parents of the puppies and they were not bred more than once.
Or in recent years l have gone to the kennel club and found a list of breeders, called them and waited for a puppy.

Why are you set on a cockapoo ? as they are often bred by unscrupulous internet breeders who are essentially puppy farmers.
Choose a poodle if the issue is shedding, or a cocker spaniel if you want a high energy dog, then you can go the right route through a registered breeder.
If you want a rescue you have to be patient.
It may be irritating to wait for a reputable breeder's litter but as it is a massive decision this is no bad thing.

As a minimum, you want a breeder that is registered with the council, and you want to be able to meet the puppies with their mother, and preferably meet the father as well (although sometimes there is a legitimate reason that this isn't possible). Different breeds tend to have medical issues they are prone to and so you want evidence that the parents have been screened for these. I'm not sure exactly what you'd be looking for for a mixed breed but I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along.
You also want to ensure the dogs have not been inbred so would ask to see family tree several generations back. For kennel club registered you would want to see their registration docs but I guess that wouldnt be relevant here.
More generally you want to have a good chat with the breeder - find out how many litters they breed from their bitches and how frequently. A responsible breeder would be ensuring that they have adequate breaks between litters and not too many litters overall. How many dogs and bitches do they have? Again, I'd stay away with anyone who seems to have loads as unlikely they can care for them all as they should. A good breeder should have lots of questions for you too and wont want their puppies homed with just anyone. They should also be willing to provide advice etc after you have taken the dog.
If you are also interested in rescues, there are breed specific rescues. I'm not sure about cocker poos but their will be spaniel rescues who might have some or other spaniels crosses

Why do you want a cockerpoo rather than a cocker spaniel or poodle? If you can narrow down what appeals to you about a crossbreed then we might be able to make recommendations to help you choose a dog.

just to add - I meant there may be a legitimate reason you cant meet the father. I dont think there is ever a legitimate reason for not seeing the mother and littermates

Mainly we like the look of cockerpoos. I much prefer the look of them to pure poodles. I do think spaniels are beautiful dogs, but have been led to believe from a bit of reading that they are very very high energy dogs, more so than cockerpoos.

If I had to say what attributes we would like in a dog, I would say- nice and cute looking, but not anything really tiny. Not yappy. Happy with children (although it wouldn’t be with any v young children anyway). Not too hard to train. I don’t really want it to chew up all our furniture! (Probably things most people would want in a dog). The ideal dog would be flexible in the amount of exercise required/ able to do. Obviously we would be walking it every day, but in an ideal world it would be good to have a dog for which about an hour an a half of walking per day would suffice. However, we also spend quite a lot of time in the countryside, so when there we would like it to be happy to go on longer walks for a few hours, including up hills etc.
I am giving it a lot of thought, and the main drawback in my mind is that I work out of home for 1 or 2 days per week. So I would think I would have to look into some day care/walker service just for those days, which I know is not ideal.
I know it’s a massive decision, so am thinking very carefully.

Cockapoo owner here. Like you we knew what what we wanted to avoid re breeder but not what to look for. Yes you are right about not being registered with the kennel club as they are cross breads, however if a breeder of Cockapoos also breeds cocker spaniels or poodles too they may be registered for their breeding of those dogs. Also the Cockapoo club of Great Britain website may be useful. We did a ring around of breeders and did our research. Some great looking Cockapoo breeders online gave a different picture when you google their name followed by the words “puppy farm”. You then get more than just the official blurb. A reputable breeder should be concerned about where their pups are going. They should find out about your situation and expectations. Our breeder would not allow pups to go to full time workers. She gave training on how to meet the pups needs, she gave us an agreement to sign to say we wouldn’t use pups for breeding and if we needed to rehome it would be back to her and not sold on. She knew her stuff and gave us access via WhatsApp to other puppy parents of that litter for ongoing support and guidance.

Cockapoos are lovely. Ours is very sociable and good around children. He doesn’t like being left alone though and chews/eats everything in his path.

Good luck with your search.

Ps check out the Puppy Love Campaign website. Graphic descriptions re puppy farming - the personal stories name some breeders, including Cockapoo breeders that have resulted in puppy’s dying/experiencing significant health issues

If you really like a cookerpoo, have a look at the real thing: a Tibetan Terrier ( not a Terrier!), but has many attributes that people seem to be looking for in a PooX.

As for reputable breeding, I think go with the basics of health tested parents- that is DNA plus hip/ elbow scores. What tests are available depends on the breed but the kennel club will guide you there.

I'd go for a KC registered puppy, health tests are recorded as well as the level of inbreeding. There is also some good advice and links to local dog clubs/ puppy classes. That is all that the Kennel Club has to offer, use it as a data base, everything else is BS!
Otherwise go with what sits well with you.

Dogs living in kennels v the family home, 1-2 girls v 4-5 girls or more... breeding for show, work or just pets...
The breeder should be happy to show you their dogs and talk about them - non stop, their dogs should be their life and passion!!

To Be honest and a bit brutal , if you only want to walk your dog for half a hour once per day you really should not be getting a dog at all .

Even the most laid back dogs need two walks a day .
my dog (s) got a 15 min walk in the morning around 5 . 6 am , 45 mins to a hour when I got home from work and another walk late in the evening , that could be anything between 15 and 30 mins

Puppies need lots of short but frequent walks 5 or 6 a day ideally until there bones and muscles have built up then the frequency can be reduced and length increased

I can’t imagine many dogs that will be happy with 1 half hour walk a day.
My neighbour has 2 cockapoos and they Yap a lot.
I am not saying don’t get a cockapoo but you could end up with a very high energy yappy dog. Poodles can be yappy and cockers can be hyper so worst case scenario is your dog is both.
Cross breeds can exhibit the worst traits of both breeds rather than the best
It sounds like you are thinking carefully about it though so that’s good.

If you don't really want to train a dog, or walk a dog why are you getting one? They are adorable companions but they have needs, and you don't sound particularly committed to them.

OP says she wants to walk it for an hour and a half, not half an hour

@Shoppingwithmother

Mainly we like the look of cockerpoos. I much prefer the look of them to pure poodles. I do think spaniels are beautiful dogs, but have been led to believe from a bit of reading that they are very very high energy dogs, more so than cockerpoos.

If I had to say what attributes we would like in a dog, I would say- nice and cute looking, but not anything really tiny. Not yappy. Happy with children (although it wouldn’t be with any v young children anyway). Not too hard to train. I don’t really want it to chew up all our furniture! (Probably things most people would want in a dog). The ideal dog would be flexible in the amount of exercise required/ able to do. Obviously we would be walking it every day, but in an ideal world it would be good to have a dog for which about an hour an a half of walking per day would suffice. However, we also spend quite a lot of time in the countryside, so when there we would like it to be happy to go on longer walks for a few hours, including up hills etc.
I am giving it a lot of thought, and the main drawback in my mind is that I work out of home for 1 or 2 days per week. So I would think I would have to look into some day care/walker service just for those days, which I know is not ideal.
I know it’s a massive decision, so am thinking very carefully.

I cannot comment on your first comment over where to find a dog, mine are pure breed and whilst I don’t think KC registration is infallible, it is something. Additionally I visited my breeders at home to make sure the dogs and puppies were brought up as part of a family (and not in a shed in the garden)

A wanted to comment on a couple of things you mention. First one is about training and not chewing furniture. My dogs are not particularly easy to train breeds, being only of average intelligence, but I have never heard of training to stop furniture chewing. I thought this was more about the dogs disposition / anxiety / stress / boredom levels rather than training. I have never needed to train mine to not chew furniture as they have never been that way inclined.

The other thing was about the walking. Not all dogs can manage a few hours uphill, obviously many can, but then I am not sure you can easily flit between days of excessive exercise and days of not very much.

@AlCalavicci

To Be honest and a bit brutal , if you only want to walk your dog for half a hour once per day you really should not be getting a dog at all .

Even the most laid back dogs need two walks a day .
my dog (s) got a 15 min walk in the morning around 5 . 6 am , 45 mins to a hour when I got home from work and another walk late in the evening , that could be anything between 15 and 30 mins

Puppies need lots of short but frequent walks 5 or 6 a day ideally until there bones and muscles have built up then the frequency can be reduced and length increased

She typed an hour and a half not half an hour.

*first question.

If you don’t want a high drive dog dog get a cockapoo. It’s 100% from high activity, intelligent breeds who need stimulation or will find their own way to fill their time.

You also can’t expect a dog that is happy with a short walk some days and then to climb hills when it suits you. That’s not how it works, some dogs might be ok with that but unless you get an adult dog where that is known, you have to take pot luck.

Puppies chew, it helps them with teething. If you don’t want a chewer then you need to provide things they can have to gnaw on and supervise ALL the time.

If you are sure you want a dog perhaps an older puppy who is through the hard work stage would be an option. If you contact the breed club for a specific breed they will put you in touch with reputable breeders who health check pups, these pups never reach the Gumtree type ads because the breeders have waiting lists. They also may have kept on a couple of pups as show prospects and then at 6/7 months decide which to keep so worth asking about an older pup. This would be a pedigree dog only though, all the “registry’s” for mixed breeds are just nonsense and put together to support the extortionate prices for a mongrel. True pedigree dog breeders have not inflated prices through Covid.

Argh - should say DONT get a cockapoo

Not to piss on your parade but all the cockapoos I know are nuttier than my spaniel .

They are insanely cute so I can see the attraction but I cant imagine a cocker spaniel or a poodle being happy with only 30 mins walking per day, they are both high energy breeds after all so likely not enough for a cockapoo.

My friend has a shitzu who is happy with around half hour, frankly she would prefer not even to have that .

Ooh just seen an hour and a half not half an hour! Ignore stupid me.

I have a working cocker spaniel and a standard cocker spaniel and their levels of energy are drastically different. If you don't want a high energy dog, don't get a cockerpoo. Some spaniels are go go go and some are more subdued, and you won't be able to guarantee which you'll get so you would need to be prepared to work your dog a lot if they needed it.

I'm also not keen on the idea of getting a puppy based on how they look, their attitudes and how they'll fit with your life is far more important.

@SummaLuvin

If you don't really want to train a dog, or walk a dog why are you getting one? They are adorable companions but they have needs, and you don't sound particularly committed to them.

Did you actually read what I said? I said I could definitely walk a dog for an hour and a half every day, and often a lot longer. I said I wanted a dog that is “not too difficult to train.” As I’ve never had a dog before, I would think it’s not a great idea for me to get something that is very difficult to deal with and would require a lot of experience. The whole point is that I take it as a very serious commitment, which is why I’m asking for advice.

Thank you very much to everyone who has given advice so far - it’s very useful and gives me more things to think about.

Yikes. Half an hour walk a day? And if that is what you think you can spare for it, it will be less in practice - comes rain, snow, gale force winds, you won't want to walk at all; and there will always be something that you want to do that isn't walking the dog. And you'd prefer to have a dog from the start, but don't want it to be hard to train? Good luck with that - dogs require consistent and regular training, no matter the breed, from the second they walk in the door. In fact, perversely, it is often true that the easier they are to train, the more training (and time and attention) they need. Think Border Collie - massively easy to train (mostly) but a bored Border Collie that has nothing to do...? Disaster.

Given your description of what you want from a dog, then you ideally really need... a cat. Or to massively revise your idea of what you are expected to give to a dog.

That said, if, like many, you have decided to do what you want to do regardless of how wise it is, can I point out that both poodles and cockers are working breeds - they and their cross breed may look lovely and cute, but they are often hard work, and hyperactive. Many of the alternatives being suggested of similar temperament (such as the Tibetan Terrier ) are the same - designed as working dogs and quite high energy.

If you really want a low maintenance, lazy dog that wants little walking or training, a greyhound would be ideal - you may think of them as racers, but at heart they are couch potatoes. Other couch potatoes (considering the lack of wish to train much and needing to be child / home friendly) are Cavalier King Charles, Bichon Frise, and Havanese.

But do some more research - look for low energy, low maintenance dogs. And honestly... think about a cat. It sounds much more suitable.

Did you actually read what I said? I said I could definitely walk a dog for an hour and a half every day, and often a lot longer.

I also misread that as half an hour. But I would still stick with the suggestions. A high energy dog does not sound like it is for you.

I’d agree with previous posters, cockapoos are very high energy, almost as high as a cocker spaniel. Also in my experience (I work with animals) some can be snappy if not well socialised, and many of them suffer with skin allergies. So if you get one, insure it to the hilt with lifetime cover.

As for the other advice, find a breeder and develop a relationship prior to the litter even being planned, get your name on a waiting list. Google breeders, talk to them and visit, meet the dogs and make sure you always see pups with mum, never agree to the dog being delivered to you.