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?

@ShurelyNot

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 think it’s ok to get a dog in part because it’s cute, as long as you do research and know that dogs aren’t teddy bears and ensure you can meet it’s needs as an animal. I think it’s possible (but very unusual/difficult ) to get an ethically bred poodle cross. I think if someone’s family pet has a known pedigree (to check for genetic health problems) and is hip scored/ eye and dna tested and is bred with a health tested male poodle with sound temperament and known background then this is ok. The female dogs owner should make sure they can afford thousands of pounds of vet fees should anything go wrong and that they do a LOT of research on socialising puppies and they should be around pretty much 24/7 for 8 weeks to raise the puppies. They should ideally have the support of an experienced breeder too and should use the puppy contract and be willing to take back dogs they’ve bred, and keep any dogs born with health problems. If this set up exists, then I think it’s just as acceptable to breed health tested poodle crosses as any other breed. Sometimes I think it’s more ethical than breeding dogs with a small gene pool and health problems due to their anatomy (long backs, flat faces) I don’t think breeding for show is any more “responsible” than breeding to supply families with much loved pets. There is demand for these cross breeds, and people who want these crosses either can’t or don’t want to rescue dogs so there should be an option to get these dogs from a responsible breeder. Otherwise people will just go to puppy farms.

That said I do hate vanity breeding where people breed their family pet with no health testing or funds to cover complications in pregnancy and with no knowledge of socialisation. It’s especially disgusting when these people make loads of money from their irresponsible actions. So be INCREDIBLY careful when buying a poodle cross and demand to see real proof of health tests and parents pedigrees and quiz the breeder on their plan to socialise puppies.