How long did you wait to get your puppy?

[CannyAnnie]

Have been thinking of getting our first family dog for quite some time now - kids are old enough, between me and DH someone is almost always at home. I've seen lists of breeders on the KC site and looked at some breed websites/clubs. I'm thinking this could all take six months to a year to actually bring a puppy home. On the kennel club website there are no puppies advertised and I assume puppies due now or soonish will be reserved. Just wondering what your experiences were and the best way to approach this in general? I'm nervous about buying from any unscrupulous breeders etc. Any top tips to get the ball rolling would be appreciated (already reading in here tips for puppy training, crating etc). Kids are aware this could be a long process.....

We thought about it for ages, did loads of research into suitable breeds for us, read lots of books etc. Then we approached a local breeder who was recommended to us by people we knew who had Labrador's. She gave us quite a grilling about why we wanted a dog, what we had to offer it, what our family circumstances were in regards to us working and outside space etc. She then told us she hadn't any pups planned but put us in touch with another breeder that she recommended locally whose bitch was just pregnant. We meant and met this lady, everyone was happy, we met the Mum and had a look round her house etc, she asked us lots of questions. Everyone was happy so we reserved a puppy. She arrived 3 months later and came home with us at 8 weeks but we went to visit her regularly until she was old enough to come home.

So sorry for ramble but my main advice would be:
Try and get recommendations for well known good local breeder rather than going online.
Meet the breeder and if you can visit the environment where he pups will be born
Meet the bitch (Mum)
Ask lots of questions and expect to be asked lots of questions.

What breed and how far you are willing to travel can make a huge difference in how long you'll wait. A very popular breed (like cockers or labs) and a willingness to travel you could potentially get a puppy in a few weeks. Whereas rare breeds could take 2-3years, to find a good breeder and the pups to be ready.

The absolute best and easiest way to find a good breeder is via the breed club (some breeds have multiple breed clubs). They will know who is good and who is going to have well bred pups. Obviously you still need to research to double check and ask them lots of questions but I think it's definitely the best route.

Also, you've just missed Crufts, but there is a Discover Dogs event in London in October. If you do your research on breeds beforehand, then go with your shortlist, you can meet them all and see how you feel. The different stands are manned by representatives of the breed club(s), so although they are not allowed to give out any breeder details, they can tell you who to get in touch with to find out who is on their breeder list. Be prepared to have your plans challenged - we were 95% set on one breed from research, didn't really care for the dogs when we met them, and 2 years on have 2 of a breed we'd never even heard of! Some of the small breeds can be fab and might suit your family better than the more obvious choices.

Hi - thanks for the advice and experience. We are after something smaller than a lab. I'll contact breeder sites and see where we go from there. I think we'd travel up to 90 mins away.

Up to 90mins will likely mean a longer wait. Good breeders don't breed often.

Any idea of the kind of breeds you were thinking of?

We knew we wanted a dog for about 5 years but once we were actually in a position to get one it was quite quick - maybe 3 months from deciding it was the right time to paying a deposit to the breeder (the litter was 2 days old and he was one of the last unreserved ones, we were insanely lucky).

I think the 90 minute limit will cause you the most trouble. We live in South London and drove to Glasgow for ours. The breeder was exceptional and we'd do it again in a heartbeat.

It was about 8 months. We found the breeder we wanted, got in touch, went to see them and their dogs. We were mutually happy so were put on the puppy list. The next mating was successful and resulted in four pups, so we went again and were chosen by our pup, then he came home once he was old enough.

Perhaps up to two hours. I was just conscious of a round trip with the kids and then puppy in the car for such a long time? We're thinking of a small terrier, like a Scottish or west highland. Live in the north west, so hopefully that gives us quite a wide radius of a search area. I've looked on KC and champ dogs. I assume those who are not breeding, or have no imminent plans don't mind lots of emails or they would remove their details ?

We found ours on Champdogs and looked half heartedly for 3 months and then seriously for another 3 before a suitable litter came up. We drove 3.5 hours to ours though as they don’t come up often. Kids come with us on the first visit at 4 weeks old and then dh and I only for the final pick up as we knew he’d spend most of the time whining or vomiting. We were right.

I've registered on the puppy waiting list on there so see if that shows any results. We're happy to wait for the right one.

I waited 7 months from starting to look until pick up and got one from about 200 miles away. I wanted a fairly common breed, though (springer - show type) so that helped increase my options.

I will just add I also got lucky in that he slept 90% of the journey home...