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?

I get it that greyhounds are hard to fall in love with.....until you do! I went from wanting a small pure breed, to getting a greyhound after spending a few weeks looking at greyhound insta 😅.
Then there is the choice of beautiful collars, winter coats and couch blankets. Their ears are the softest things on earth, fact.
I get that it feels like the boring, sensible, 'get a rescue' blather, but they really, really are just such lovely souls.
Also, they come fully past ALL the shitty puppy stage.

@Bubbletiers

What about a wired hair mini or standard dachshund?

Dachshunds enjoy days of short walks and also days of country walks. Don’t like being left alone (so daycare on those days). Very good family dogs.

My second standard dachshund is now 15 so he's past his treks up Lake District hills. But he would look at you as though you were mad if you wanted him to walk on a rainy day, and happy with dashing round the house and garden.

The OP specified 'not yappy' ... well, no.... full scale hound bark, probably the most bark per kilo of dog.

Anyone who may be thinking of getting a dachshund at the moment should be extremely cautious. They've rocketed in popularity in the last few years, unfortunately I don't believe all those cute pups can possibly be coming from reputable breeders.

[quote k1233]One of the breeds I'd never heard of was a Coton de Tulear - just as an example
dogtime.com/dog-breeds/coton-de-tulear#/slide/1[/quote]
I hesitate to say it, as I’ve been told off already for using this word, but they are really cute! It’s a really good point - there are a lot of pure breed dogs that I have no idea they exist, which could be the ideal dog for me.

Dogs Trust/RSPCA/Blue Cross?

Ring the rescue centres and ask about puppies. There are a lot of puppies being seized at our borders due to being shipped in illegally and not having the correct paperwork.
The rescue centres don’t advertise them as after putting on their website they had pedigree pups our local one had all the puppies stolen to be sold on.
My friend got a yorkie puppy from there, they are selling now for £3000. She paid £160 in rehoming fees.

I bought a puppy in lockdown. My breeder was IV registered. She had limited litters per year. I saw both mum and dad via video link at her home and I saw my puppy being born. I got video chats and updates every week. When I went to pick him up he had been chipped and worked. I was given 2 weeks worth of food and a load of puppy pads. He also came with a blanket that had been in his den with his family so he had a familiar smell with it.

What’s wrong with a greyhound? Let me guess...not cute enough

I grew up with sight hounds. I love dogs but would never own one! Their prey drive is insane, not something I am looking for in a family pet.
They are large dogs by most standards and yep not cute by current dog fashion.

From past experience, a well behaved small/ medium dog is more welcome in certain places than a large well behaved dog. If taking your dog with you is important, than you need to consider this.

For those who are against pooX, most dog breeds were established through cross breeding, thats how we selected particular traits. That's how I can see new dog breeds being developed that are fit for our urban lifestyle.

But poodle crosses aren't being done in a way to create new breeds. Outcrossing for particular traits, to create breeds, is not what's happening.

“For those who are against pooX, most dog breeds were established through cross breeding, thats how we selected particular traits. That's how I can see new dog breeds being developed that are fit for our urban lifestyle.”

Crossing any random dog with a poodle so people can own poodly dogs with all the traits of poodles but that they can say isn’t a poodle isn’t that though.

Also one of the reasons people don’t establish new breeds is that without having truly horrendous practices that are a massive welfare issue - it’s pretty much impossible to create something that breeds true within a human lifetime.

That’s interesting @Crayfishforyou

My sister has cockapoos, the breeder is a close friend of hers and the mum their family pet. Outside of that sort of situation I'm not sure how you could be sure. Cockapoos definitely don't have lower energy than a spaniel on the whole though. Obviously there are variations based on individual temperaments of all pure and cross breeds but ime cockapoos inherit the energy requirements of a spaniel but add in the slightly neurotic nature of a poodle

@Shoppingwithmother we don't trim our schnauzer to breed standard- we have a shorter rounder beard as it is cleaner when he eats. I don't know anyone with a mini who has had difficulties but I'm sure there will be stories on here. They are so characterful and happy. Don't shed either. Ours is black and wonderful!

Have you considered a labrador OP? There are working labradors and show labradors. Working Labradors are generally a bit more high energy than show ones on average. Both types can make great family dogs and should be relatively easy to source from reputable breeders.

I feel they'd fit most of your other requirements too.

@percypetulant ... and you know that because...

There are actually breeders who are busy trying to establish a breed, getting their dogs health tested as recommended for each breed. They carefully select the breeding stock.
The art is in finding these people if you want a PoodleX.

@Peachypips78

He’s beautiful!

Before anyone thinks about getting a designer cross breed, look at the parent breeds.

If there is literally anything about say, poodles, or cocker spaniels that you do not like - do not get a crossbreed of the two.

Crossbreeding is NOT like mixing paint, whilst some may turn out a nice even mix of the two appearance wise or behaviour wise, its rare that they actually are and frequently pups will turn out much more like one or the other.

There are no guarantees on behaviour or coat type either.. and no solid way to tell at 8 weeks old!

Cockers are busy, active, clever dogs that are nose down, bum up a nd whizzing all over the place.

Poodles of all shapes are clever, active, busy dogs as well, slightly less inclined to whizz around than the spaniel.

The crosses produce very attractive dogs for the most part, I have seen some odd long bodied short legged less attractive versions occasionally but I am sure their owners love them.

They are also very active busy dogs that want a LOT of training and entertainment - walks are the bare minimum, lots and lots of fun training, brain exercising games, puzzle solving, every single day.

They are also not remotely good at being left home alone, this will take work from day one in building confidence, building security (ie, not leaving them alone to deal with it) until they show you they are brave enough to make independent choices - this may mean not leaving your dog for 6 months or more (I would recommend no one leave a dog unsupervised, before that, and no one should leave a dog longer than that dog can cope with either and it takes a while to figure out how long that is).

Currently 90% of my clients are cockerpoos, for seperation related issues.

Look at a cavalier.
Perfect loving lap dog , but will walk 5+ km at a time , or 15 mins if it’s raining 😂
Bit dim but not hard to train.
Small ish but not fragile looking. Mine is 9-10kg.
Not a bad habit or bad bone in his body.

Heath testing is vital though

Dog groomer here.
Cockapoos are not a breed. They are mixed breeds and due to this you can't possibly know breed characteristics before you get them. Poodles rank very highly on intelligence so need LOTS of work from an early age.
What I would say is make sure that you want the dog and I'm not saying that from a place of judgement. Your kids may love the idea of a dog now but the responsibility may grow old quickly so make sure you're ready for this. When they are off to school, uni, work etc. they could be leaving you with an ageing dog and you need to make sure you're ready for a potentially ten plus year commitment.
With regards to getting the dog - if you choose to go down the breeder route, make sure you can see both mum and dad. Ask how long they've been breeding for and wait to see what they say. They should be sending you away with what you need for the first few days at home. With the likes of Cockapoos you do risk supporting puppy farmer or irresponsible breeders because like I said earlier, it's not a breed so they can't register them with the Kennel Club. Not they they are perfect but they are one of the tools we have for responsible breeding right now. With the likes of Cockapoos you could genuinely have two people breeding the absolute sh*t out of two poor dogs as dogs are selling for unprecedented amounts right now.
If I was you I would research a few different breeds and see what fits into your lifestyle.
I absolutely love my dogs, have had dogs all my life, and wouldn't be without doggos around me but they really are a very serious commitment.

@ylvamoon Cockerpoos are not from people wanting to outcross to improve either breed, or to create a new breed. What traits does this cross add to the poodle? Nothing. Cockerpoos are worse poodles. There's no "deficit" a poodle has that genes from a cocker outcross would help with. It's just daft. It's not the parentage that gives owners permission to choose how they cut their dog.

Breeds are created by crossing, outcrossing, back crossing etc, with basic genetic knowledge. Most cockapoo breeders and owners are pretty clueless about why they would want to cross these breeds.

Other than they sell for a lot, often look cute, and aren't KC registered, so bitches can be used for more litters than KC allow. These breeders aren't "creating a breed", because what traits does a cockapoo have that poodles don't, and that people would want?!

[quote Ylvamoon]@percypetulant ... and you know that because...

There are actually breeders who are busy trying to establish a breed, getting their dogs health tested as recommended for each breed. They carefully select the breeding stock.
The art is in finding these people if you want a PoodleX.[/quote]
How is it possible to establish/improve a breed if you are breeding first generation crosses which I think a lot of cockerpoos are? How can a breeder have a line of dogs and breed from the best ones of each generation as is needed to create a breed? Surely breeders are just crossing a cocker with a poodle each time and getting a random mix of each type in the litters. I’m not such if f2,f3 cockerpoos exist much-do they? All the ones I’ve met have been cocker x poodle.

@Shoppingwithmother I don't think calling dogs cute is bad - you need to like the dog you get and that includes appearance.

Personally I wouldn't get a greyhound as they are too big for me. My elderly 20kg staffy was big enough for me to get in and out of the car, greyhounds are way bigger. Also I like a square, solid head and chunky build. Not a fan of pointed faces. That's personal preference and there are plenty of dogs that don't have pointed faces.

A breed that looks like a poodle cross, but isn't is a Laggotto Romagnolo.

A friend has one and it's a sweet dog. She looks like the first pic here.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagotto_Romagnolo

I also think a mini schnauzer sounds like it fits your criteria. Very flexible as a breed. Easy to train, easygoing but lots of fun.

getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk/

This is a very useful article.

Up you can Google your requirements and the type of dog will come up most suited to you.there are very stubborn dogs,high energy dogs,protective dogs,etc you obviously need a child friendly dog .
A puppy is seriously hard work and many people go through the puppy blues.
Have a look at Dogsblog where you can specify an age/breed to a point in rescue dogs.they are not in rescues because of anything they have done,it's what life has handed them.rescues are the most loving dogs.
But do go for a breeder who is registered with the local authority of you want a puppy and ask their vet for a reference that they are genuine and responsible dog owners.I say this as puppy farmers do pay unscrupulous people to pretend the puppies are born at home "but my husband is just walking mum and dad so they are not here".
I hope you find the right dog for your family and have many happy years.🐕

Don’t waste your money on a cockapoo or whatever two mixed breeds are called. It’s a mongrel not a recognised breed. You are paying for a look and a lifestyle.