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?

Quite a few rescues do have puppies. Id hold out for a young rescue

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong in not liking the look of various breeds. I wanted a short haired non drooly breed with a pointy face, that's fine. Practical care considerations are important, like grooming needs & so on.
OP it seems odd that if you don't like certain traits of both poodles & spaniels, that you would then choose to get a cross of the two?
Pet trims are totally fine for any breed. A poodle with a pet trim is indistinguishable from many poo crosses.
I'd say first off, instead of looking for a puppy, look for a breeder you have full confidence in, then wait till they have a puppy.
I would advise against getting a cockapoo from rescue though, as many end up there due to behavioural problems. In fact any teenage dog in rescue is likely to have a whole lot of problematic baggage & need an experienced home. Many cockapoos have very high needs.
I was lucky to get a puppy via rescue, pre covid, but they are few & far between & he came via a foster home so had been well socialised.
Schnauzers are cool.

There's nothing wrong with not liking the look of a dog, or wanting a particular breed as long as you do your research.

I personally wouldn't get a cockerpoo or any other designer cross, especially with the crazy amount of breeding going on at the moment. But I'm not going to hammer that point home as enough people have made those points.

But I equally would never get a greyhound or a whippet which are the mumsnet "approved" breeds. I just don't like the look of them and wouldn't want a dog with high prey drive.

Another mumsnet thing is that people shouldn't even consider getting a puppy if they work (even from home apparently!) Its just nonsense.

I think possibly people are thinking of pre pandemic when they mention rescues?

We are looking for cats, preferably adults and preferably two. No colour preference.

Can’t find one anywhere! I think dogs are even worse.

"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 only ever have rescue dogs but have several friends who have pedigree dogs bought as puppies. Dog training is essential for any puppy and isn't something you can just assume will be 'easier' with a specific type of dog; moreover, getting a puppy and then leaving it one or two days per week is probably not going to go very well - dogs need to have their 'left alone' time built up gradually and puppies WILL chew if left to their own devices.

A dog walker will walk the dog for a short time but she won't train it for you and most dog walkers won't take on a dog that isn't already trained to walk on a lead. Having a puppy is a massive commitment and can be very stressful for the family concerned until the dog is old enough (and well enough trained) to stop doing a whole range of things that piss you off.

You want a dog that's cute and you like the look of cockerpoos? Wtf. We researched breeds for ages before deciding and didn't get a dog just because she was "cute" though she is. Cockerpoos are hard work as well. And most dogs will chew, tbh you sound like you want something that doesn't exist Get a fish.

Every dog is an individual and it is as much about nurture as nature. Be prepared for the worst - a yappy dog that is hard to train and chews everything! If you are prepared to take on that dog, then hopefully you will be a good dog owner. If you don't want the yappy, untrainable dog that chews your furniture then please don't get a dog as I imagine you are not prepared for the hard work having a puppy entails.

You want a dog that's cute and you like the look of cockerpoos? Wtf.

You've taken one point from the OP and have decided that on that basis she should get a fish...wtf right back at you!

OP I knew before I even opened the thread the kind of responses you would get from the majority. I'm afraid mumsnet hates dogs, hates dog owners, hates anyone who doesn't rescue, hates anyone who doesn't go through the "breed club", hates anyone who wants a dog and works, hates anyone who wants a dog and can't commit to 4 hours of off lead exercise per day (but also hates anyone who doesn't have 100% recall so 99% of mumsnet dogs are never let off lead) and now apparently hates anyone who wants to find their potential dog aesthetically pleasing.

Honestly it's a fucking minefield.

As you want a crossbreed you could contact a few rescue homes and ask them to contact you if any puppies come in and keep looking on their sites.

Everyone I know with cockerpoos are happy with their choice and only on mn are people so anti. We have a working cocker and he’s usually walked an hour and a half max on weekdays but longer on weekends. We did a 2 hour walk on Saturday and yesterday or was 3 hours and the rest of the time in a relative’s garden and ddog didn’t stop. Today he’s joining us for a lazy day. They do like routine but also can go off routine without a disaster. We’re a loud lively family and he fits in perfectly. Rarely barks... the cockerpoos I know are quite “yappy” so that would put me off, plus 6 weekly grooming. Our working cocker moults but not much (less than our cats) and the silky fur means mud dries and comes off without constant baths (sometimes a bath is unavoidable but water is all new needs). He needs a job/brain activity. He’s the right breed for us but then he’s the only dog we’ve had so I don’t have a comparison.

@daffodilsandprimroses what do you mean you can’t find a rescue? Are they not refining pets because it’s a pandemic? I would assume they would be reopening soon.

My advice would be to talk to dog owners you know or meet on walks for recommendations, look on champ dogs and if you find a breaker be prepared to walk away if it doesn’t feel right. We ran from one (not literally) who was pretending to be a lovely family breeder of cockerpoos and after emails and a phone call it felt like a puppy farm. Very very cute pictures but we had to say no. We were lucky. I messaged an old colleague who I knew had cockers and asked if she knew anyone... turned out by chance her girl was pregnant! Clearly it was meant to be.

I love our pup and I don’t think we’d ever do it again. Any future dogs will probably be rescue older dogs because we are now more experienced. (Rescue wouldn’t consider us with dc under 11 anyway)

As usual, comprehension skills on mumsnet leave a lot to be desired 😂

[quote toocold54]@daffodilsandprimroses what do you mean you can’t find a rescue? Are they not refining pets because it’s a pandemic? I would assume they would be reopening soon.[/quote]
I think it’s because so many people are looking for pets.

I’m not a dog owner. A relative has a cockerpoo though and he’s gorgeous.

It’s all very well saying to rescue but if you can’t find a dog then you do have to look at buying a puppy.

Professional walker and day care provider here, and also helps with a local foster based rescue.

The single yappiest dog I work with is a cockerpoo. Of the five we have seen regularly in the past couple of years, four have either health issues or temperament issues. One was so bad we had to terminate our contract with the owners (temperament problem) - and this was after they had consulted and taken the advice of a good local behaviourist. Poor dog had been through so much and we really wanted to support the family who had rescued him, but ultimately we can't care for a dog who snaps unpredictably and cannot face contact with other dogs.

The rescue I work with is still rehoming dogs, and we consider all the circumstances for each dog and potential home individually. There is no blanket ban on young children or other pets or people who sometimes work out of the home and would need to use day care or walking services occasionally although we'd probably not offer a dog to any home that would need that level of support five days a week.

Good day care and walkers are in short supply, particularly day care, we could fill our daycare slots ten times over at present. New businesses are starting up all the time, but since the industry is unregulated, some of them will not be very good at it. Most of our current clients booked us before they even got the dog.

@daffodilsandprimroses

I think possibly people are thinking of pre pandemic when they mention rescues?

We are looking for cats, preferably adults and preferably two. No colour preference.

Can’t find one anywhere! I think dogs are even worse.

Rescues still exist and need more people to adopt, or foster, than ever. Catchat.org has a list of rescues in uk and links for rescues outside of Uk. Also has details of cats waiting for homes

Jam I just looked on that website. Not one cat in my immediate area. Go to the next county and not one cat that can live with children. Maybe trust I have looked for a cat and can’t find one?

@daffodilsandprimroses

Jam I just looked on that website. Not one cat in my immediate area. Go to the next county and not one cat that can live with children. Maybe trust I have looked for a cat and can’t find one?

Maybe trust that I don’t know what county you live in and that I was just trying to help.

In that case I misinterpreted your post however as you can see it isn’t the case that more people are needed to adopt than before.

Whenever someone posts about getting a pet there’s a lot of rescue shaming and people seem unwilling to accept that not everyone can just rock up to their local rescue centre and get a pet.

I don’t actually mind waiting - I’d always rehome a cat rather than buy a kitten, but dogs are different.

Dogs are a lot of work and money. They are essentially shorter term children and require as much consideration. Do your research but think carefully about buying from someone who just happens to have a number of puppies available on your first enquiry. Definitely avoid anyone who has multiple breeds of dogs, these puppies don't come from loving homes - they are a business and although they may make all the right noises, they really do not care about what happens to their dogs. I am a dog owner and love my boy but he is hard work sometimes. Standing in the garden at 4am because he wants a sniff round is never fun!

The cockerpoos I know are both high energy and really yappy. They are really annoying & hard work.

Be careful with getting a fashionable mixed breed that is the ‘best of both’ breeds because you can easily end up with one which is the worst of both breeds.

Sorry that is not very constructive!

It's worth remembering that cockapoo can strongly lean towards either the poodle or the cocker side. Ie you can easily end up with a dog that sheds (cocker side) or is mad (again, cocker side - although poodles aren't always the easiest either). You'll be looking at small puppies and it will be very hard from that to tell exactly what they'll grow into.

Please don't be part of the ridiculous nauseating national craze for live teddy bears. They're dogs not toys. You're directly or indirectly feeding the puppy farm industry amongst other things. You also do seem rather fixated on having a particular dog because it looks cute. Don't be that person.

And to those posters vanity breeding from their family pets "oh I just wanted her to have a litter / I wanted a puppy out of her" - absolute shame on you for adding more puppies into a world that doesn't have enough homes for the ones already in existence.

I have a miniature poodle, and he is the ideal pet for me - not even close to a traditional haircut, I just clipper him all over - but he is amazing! Sweet natured, easy to train, loves exercise, but also perfectly happy with plenty of games at home / a short charge around at the park occasionally. I work from home, but he basically sleeps in his bed next to me most of the day so I don't think he would have an issue if I had to go into the office occasionally as long as he got a good play in the morning and a walker at lunchtime, he would snooze the day away in between until I got home as usual.

[quote Peachypips78]@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! [/quote]
We have a Pepper & Salt mini schnauzer, we don't give her a breed standard cut either, I do love her eye brows though, but we also keep the beard short otherwise you'd be washing it all the time. She's not a fan of strangers, but when she knows you she's totally loving and super cute.

She can manage long walks, and sometimes comes running with me, but she's also happy lazing around the house.