where is the best place to buy a puppy?

[SarfEasticated]

I have grown up with dogs all my life, and my daughter is now 6 and ready for a pet. We have traditionally had terriers and DD would love a Norwich Terrier (we have had lovely sweet cairns previously). I am nervous of buying an older rescue dog as DD is very good with animals but I would prefer she and the puppy got used to each other from scratch. I would rather get a small home raised cross-breed rather than a pedigree, but no idea where the best place is to get one. We're in London.
Thanks in advance....

Rescues have puppies, quite often raised in foster homes.

The problem with crossbreeds is that it's very hard to find a breeder that does all the health tests that are needed and isn't just throwing together two dogs that they happen to own as cheaply as possible.

It's hard to find a good breeder for pedigree puppies, it's even harder for crossbreeds.

I'd say downright impossible for a cross breed. They aren't bred to improve the breed - they're either money spinners or mistakes. Health tests won't have been done, nor will the breeder have a clue how the puppies will turn out.

Either rescue, or find a decent, pedigree breeder.

By cross-breed I mean mongrel really, but mongrel with knowledge of both parents iyswim, just to get general idea of size/nature, but rescue sounds good - Battersea maybe...

We got our Patterdale x from Battersea as a 15 ish week old pup ,he is a lovely family pet ,the problem with Battersea is you have to be in the right place at the right time it's all down to luck . We got lucky !

You really can find decent dogs in a rescue. Lots have puppies, or older dogs who have come to the rescue because of divorce, family illness, bereavement and so on. You can find a rescue who has dogs in foster homes, that way you'll receive a good assessment of how dog is with children/other dogs/humans, what training the dog's had, whether it's housetrained or not.

Look at Pro Dogs Direct for example, there's also Lea Valley. Many Tears are based in Wales but have dogs in foster homes all over the UK.

Thanks everyone, will wait til after christmas and see what we can find. So you think that if puppies are taken into rescue they will be put out to foster families? that sounds ideal. I will contact Battersea and Lea Valley and rescue my interest. Sad to see those ex breeding bitches on Many Tears - poor things.

Sadly, by February you'll see a rise in the number of puppies on rescue websites. Personally, I'd use the next couple of months to think about how much time you've got for a dog... if you're the one who'll be providing sole, adult care, you're giving yourself a lot of extra work, especially if you take on a puppy.

You could look at a slightly older dog 1-3 yrs old, who is housetrained, has been fostered, is used to being left alone sometimes - much easier! Also, they're past the manic puppy biting, jumping, peeing and pooing phase and much more enjoyable (in my humble opinion). Good luck

I love the idea of a dog that is already house trained, but I guess my worry is that an older dog might have been a bit traumatised by its time in the dog home, and may therefore be a bit snappy.
I work from home most of the week, and my mother stays the other days so dog won't be on it's own. I envisage a brisk walk round the block before school and a decent walk in the park afterwards. Longer walks in nearby woods at weekends. I am hoping for a small low energy gentle dog who enjoys a snuggle.

This may not be a popular view but since getting a dog is always a gamble I think you need to do one of two things to maximise the chances of getting a well adjusted one:

• either go to a reputable rescue, one that has home checks, allows you time to get to know the dog before committing, has back-up behaviourists, and ideally fosters dogs with families (so that they can be better assessed) and go for a young dog but not puppy, so at least 18 months old, but ideally around 2yo. By that age any problems will be apparent and you will know what you are getting.

• or go to a decent breeder, someone who has a small number of litters per year, with a clear breeding policy for temperament as family pets, who keeps the litter in the family home, who does all health screening for the breed and has a return policy, and get a puppy around 8-10 weeks old so you can spend the crucial first weeks socialising until the socialisation window closes around 14-16 weeks old and at least the first two years training so that you get a well trained, well adjusted dog.

Getting a puppy with an unknown background, between 16 weeks and 18 months old is the riskiest option. And before people reply with how lovely their similar rescue puppy is, I did say 'riskier', it doesn't mean that you can't get it right, just that you are much less likely to. These puppies may have unsuitable parents who pass on their problems, lack of dog socialisation before 8wks old and lack of people socialisation before 16wks old, all of which tends to lead to problems which are not necessarily obvious really early on (there is a reason that many rescue dogs are 18mo to 2yo, that's when all the problems peak and people give up).

Anyway sorry for the long post!

Thanks for going to so much effort to post Booboostoo - excellent advice. I was especially interested in your comments about puppy socialisation, and will bear all of this in mind.

I really don't mean to hassle you but I've just thought of a few dogs who may be suitable for you - here's the link

If you go to that link, look at Sabina, Rem, Terry and Rasta. They look like they'd be ready for a cuddle on the sofa!

All have been living with other dogs, have lots of human interaction in a small shelter - it's not like they're straight off the street! Most will be already spayed/neutered thus saving you about £200 from the get-go, as well as up to date with all necessary vaccinations, as well as pet passport.

They're with a charity called Action Aid for Animals and need either foster/permanent homes. They are between 9 months and 2 years old, so past bitey puppy stage that your daughter might find difficult. Most importantly, they've been assessed by experienced dog rescuers and, although they can have "issues", if you ask loads of questions you'll get honest answers.

I'm fostering a dog through them at the moment and it's been really good! You could offer to foster one of the dogs - they'll be so grateful for your help and it's kind of "try before you buy" for you. The charity provides backup, advice, will reimburse expenses and even food costs if you're fostering... hope this helps.

Please hassle away LadyTurmoil. I will have a look at them and revert forthwith!

Great!

They look lovely, awful to see how people abuse dogs in this world. My DH is having a operation at the beginning of December and will be on crutches until January, so we won't be looking for a dog to move in until then. I will keep this link until them. Will also link to them on my facebook in case anyone else is interested.

How would dd handle a very bouncy, whippet/collie/saluki x? We have a foster atm, who is good with kids, good with other dogs, a bit hit and miss with cats (as in she's fine, so long as the cat doesn't run and she is supervised) and has been in a foster home for around 3 months, so there shouldn't be much I can't tell you about her. She is around 18 months old.

Toilet training is not too bad, but she can have accidents if she is left unsupervised. This is something we are working on and she is improving. If she's still here by Jan, then I can't see that still being an issue.

She loves a good snuggle and appears to believe she is the size of a lapdog, she normally does find a way to fit on your lap, although it takes a while. She lays across DH's lap on her back, legs akimbo waiting to be tummy rubbed and is currently looking all cute squashed into an iggy sized bed (think dog shaped cat) with whippy.

Aww she sounds adorable DMC DD is a bit of a wuss and I think she would be happier with a small dog, as may find the bounciness overwhelming, and we live in a smallish flat so she may be too big for us. So saying she sounds perfect on the snuggly front! Will come back to you in Jan and see where we are.

Follow Pro Dogs Direct on Facebook and you will see lots of fantastic young dogs, all properly assessed through foster homes, many pups. We got our dog from there and he has been fantastic with our DS. I think the foster home (level of assessment) makes all the difference if you are rehoming a slightly older pup. I wouldn't do it any other way now.

As a rule of thumb a puppy that has been taken away from its mum before 6-8 weeks is likely to have problems with other dogs (from aggression, to stress, to timidity, to inappropriately boisterous behaviour), and a puppy that has not been exposed to the world before 14-16 weeks is likely to be fearful of things it has not seen. There seems to be a window for socialisation with humans and the world which closes around 14-16 weeks, so it's a good idea to get a puppy at about 8 weeks and then devote the next 2 months just taking it out everywhere and seeing everything (obviously you need to get vaccinations done and be aware of the risks of exposing an unvaccinated puppy to other dogs and areas where there is fox poo).

Of course this is a rule of thumb and some puppies may not have the best early experiences and still be fine, but if you want to stack the odds in your favour you want to try and do the above.

Tell me to mind my own business and I don't wish to be rude to the poster who suggested the foreign rescue, but be particularly weary.

First, of all there are ethical questions with why you would wish to import a dog to the UK when there are already a lot of unwanted dogs there, as well as problems with whether such policies of rehoming abroad merely perpetuate the problem in the home country.

Secondly, there are fewer to no opportunities to meet the dog before making your mind up, so you are really relying on the charity to correctly assess the dog's temperament as well as do health checks.

Thirdly, make absolutely sure the charity has a backup plan if things go wrong. They should have access to behaviourists in the UK to help you if you need it, and foster families in the UK available to take the dog back if things don't work out.

Any decent rescue should include details about the dog's assessment, i.e. is it good on the lead, is it good with other dogs/cats, is it good with children/young children, is it toilet trained, any separation anxiety issues, any chewing or barking issues, does it know any basic commands, etc. Any rescue that focuses too much on a terrible background is pulling at your heart strings - does my heart bleed when I read these stories? Yes, but I don't think it does the dogs any great service to place them in a family that may not be able to cope with them.

Anyway rant over.

I'm fostering with Action Aid for Animals at the moment. I completely understand your reservations, Booboo. I asked a lot of questions via FB of the Croation rescuer before I agree to foster the particular dog I was interested in. In fact, I was about to ask Pro Dogs which Neeps mentioned as I'm in their area and may do in the future.

She certainly was absolutely correct in her assessment/info about the dog, who is absolutely great and very easy. I also felt I had the backup of the charity, particular via their FB group and being able to message directly to the people running the charity.

I had a complete anxiety attack about the responsibility of it all a few days after I'd picked the dog up and they were understanding and willing to find another fosterer (I calmed down and she stayed and it's all fine!). I also understand there is access to behaviourists if you need them, and the support/expertise of all the other dog owners on their FB group who've got rescue dogs themselves and can usually help or point people in the direction of help.

I know other people have rescued dogs from Eastern Europe and have found them to have "issues" that made life very difficult, but I made it clear that I wasn't an experienced owner and would need an "easy" dog, which they understood. So my experience has been a positive one

SarfEasticated (great name!) thanks for your FB share, good luck to your DH with his operation

Many Tears just turned us down on a puppy we were interested in due to the age of my youngest dd (6) and the size (tiny) of the puppy. The fosterer spent ages on the phone talking through our requirements. She was so helpful and could point us in the direction of dogs and types of dogs that she thought were a better choice. Her recommendation for a very child-friendly and laid back dog was a cavalier king Charles spaniel. There are several locally needing a new home so that's what I am going to look at now.

Here's a lovely Cavalier girl - might have already been snapped up - but she's seems ideal for almost anyone www.prodogsdirect.org.uk/#/maddie/4580912170