Looking to buy a puppy after Xmas. Never done it before. Where do you start looking?

[Untang13d]

Dd 16 has been v poorly the past year and in hospital a fair bit. She has researched a lot as have we and think the time is right. Where do we start looking? Want to find one from a reputable breeder and not to be ripped off. It will be our first dog and thinking of a Cockapoo.

Untang13d

Don’t want a dog with history as we have enough to cope with

If you have enough to cope with why are you getting a puppy.

Ddog we got as a puppy from Dogs Trust. She was the sweetest girl you could meet but as a puppy it was on a level with having a baby who just about slept through the night.

Dogs in rescue centres do have a history.
They could have been well loved family pets who had an owner who had died or fell on hard times or pups who were bought to entertain during lockdown and have outgrown their cuteness and purpose or people had realised that the cuddly ball of fluff needed to be fed and walked and their shit picked up and trained and played with and loved and owners didn’t have the time or interest anymore

Every dog or pup is looking for someone to love them. To give them a home and instead people don’t want them because they have history I.e. they aren’t shiny new puppies anymore. Even when they are people dismiss them just because they were born into a rescue centre

Have you really never heard the term puppy farm before?

As a first time puppy owner it can be a nightmare trying to work out who is reputable or not - if you know other people with the same breed you've decided to get it could well be worth speaking to them about who bred their puppies (even if the breeders aren't having another litter soon they may well know someone trustworthy). Another option could be too contact reputable dog training schools and see if they know anyone. They might not but the dog world tends to be a bit of a community and its always better to get some kind of personal reference to avoid puppy farms.

Me and my husband got a puppy in 2019 neither of us having had dogs before. We spent a lot of time researching the breed like yourself and seeing what worked best for us.

Once we'd found a breed, we used homes4pets to find a breeder. We spoke to her several times before going to visit, we met the mum and dad (but always at least meet the mum) and then went again to visit a few weeks later.

Just make sure you can visit, had a proper conversation with the breeder.

Yes they're hard work but I am a children's nurse and have seen so many children helped by having puppies and I don't think you should be put off by people. You know your own limits and in sure you'll make excellent dog parents.

My main piece of advice once you have the puppy would be to find a reputable dog training school and go for at least a few months from when the puppy first has its jabs. It's 100% easier to get it right the first time than to untrain bad habits that are so easy to accidentally teach and especially as its your first puppy advice on the Internet can be overwhelming and it's better to have someone to help you who will meet you and the puppy in person. (Imo puppy classes are also fun, great for bonding and socialising your puppy)

OP is getting an unnecessarily hard time; she came for advice! personally we got a puppy this year because we just couldn’t seem to get one from a rescue - they have a lot of applications. we also didn’t need a dog with issues; my son has adhd and Pda and we really could not have handled any more challenging behaviours.
pup has been a breath of fresh air; we were prepared for challenges but really there were none. we looked at KC litters but actually in the end found him on pets for homes. checked the house, visited lots of times, met pups and mum etc and checked all the tests. so it can be possible!

dog has been incredibly good therapy for my ds btw.

I don't agree that rescue centres always find a great match for people. A very well-known rescue matched our 81 year old neighbour with a 1 year old very excitable lurcher earlier this year. Our neighbour was overwhelmed by her, couldn't cope send she ended up going back to the rescue after 3 weeks. Apart from anything else, there was every chance the dog would outlive the owner. I was very taken aback that a reputable rescue centre would do that.

I don't blame anyone for getting a puppy rather than a rescue. I have seen positive and negatives outcomes from rescues with the worst was rehoming a reactive dog to an elderly person who had no idea what reactivity was and the outcome ended badly.

For your choice of breed I have a cocker. I would recommend you look up all the negatives of cockers and poodles and see if you can cope with all of them as you may get that as genetics can result in anything. I love my dog but the hunting drive has to be managed all the time and he is a shit on the lead for pulling.

My friend has a nightmare cockerpoo. She is clingy, hyperactive and aggressive. She takes up huge amounts of their time and they could never trust her off lead.

Op your attitude comes across very clearly in your posts and so clearly you don’t want to hear anyone dissuading you but hand in heart, whilst I adore our dog (had from a puppy), I wouldn’t have agreed to have him with hindsight.

I’ve been up since five since he needs letting out for a wee or he will pee everywhere. Similarly if he doesn’t get a wee at eleven he will pee in the night which means we can’t go to bed before then. He can’t be left for a day out for example which is restrictive (when he was little we couldn’t for example go to the cinema as a family), he needs a couple of hours of waking every day which we just don’t have all the time, particularly during the week. The teen DC need serious arm twisting to help out since the novelty wears off very quickly in the dark and rain, the house is always dirty for 8 months of the year due to mud, he’s expensive (insurance, food, leads, boarding if we go on holiday, regular grooming - we don’t use day care or a dog Walker but if you do these are not cheap). He costs us a good few hundred pounds a month. Poop picking is not a fun activity and neither is nail clipping, teeth brushing and bathing (particularly around the bum area). Plus he destroyed our kitchen as a puppy.

All in all, if you don’t work and have lots of time to dedicate with no other pressures in your life and plenty of spare cash then a dog is probably a nice plan. But it’s not a toughness test (having had three babies close in age and a sick child are reasons not to add further pressure into your life rather than an indicator that you can cope with anything).

But anyway good luck with your cockerpoo which I have no doubt you’ll get.

Thanks for all the great advice. Yes will be signing up for dog training. Good idea to contact them re reputable contacts.

Fleetheart what breed did you go for?

Don’t want a large dog. Ds is allergic to cats so ideally one that doesn’t shed too much. Labradoodle keeps coming up and what we come back to but still looking at breeds. Not rushing into it. Dd doing masses of research.

I echo what others have said about puppies being damned hard work. I've got a puppy and he's not my first puppy but he's definitely the worst n terms of high maintenance. I am some days at breaking point (a bit like I was when my 13 year old was a toddler!). It's full on chaos. We love him don't get me wrong but I didn't anticipate having had other puppies in the past that this one would be this hard.

Re puppy farms please do your homework, people are very cunning.

Good luck.

Labradoodle another total nightmare. And can get pretty big. And be v fizzy.

Probably the best dog I've ever had, and the best for behaviour when I encounter others on a walk, is a Welsh sheep dog - a border collie. The Australian shepherd is also great.

Cute and smaller - the sheltie.

A well-researched Labrador of a smaller build is also very good.

The worst dogs I see on walks are labradoodles and cockapoos.

If you thought of even smaller, I've met a lot of lovely miniature daschunds.

Some spaniels are great.

I like beagles, too. People say they can bark and have bad recall, though who knows.

If I was getting a new one now, I'd get some type of collie. Their intelligence makes them more focused and better able to judge when not to cause a fuss. They are truly impressive.

You don't want something careering around and being v needy.

I have a lab at the mo who is super duper - perfect recall, v connected to me, v affectionate, great with others. I feel like a researched smaller lab might fit the bill. Red fox labs tend to be smaller/lighter.

Advice:

Put your puppy to sleep on its own in the kitchen or utility from Day 1.

Under no circs go down to it or bring it upstairs in the night. You will have a few nights of feeling mean but later will be much happier.

And never let it put even one paw on the stairs or, God forbid, go upstairs.

Then it will never cause you barking trouble at night.

We have a collie (rough collie like Lassie). Leaving aside all the hassles of dog ownership listed above he is the sweetest tempered dog I’ve ever known. He is so extremely calm and is amazing around kids.

The reasons behind thinking about what you have to offer a dog is that it can help you with your decision making. And any decent breeder would ask the same.
If you have a child with an allergy avoid the cross breeds. You have no idea what you will get. Look at pedigrees and spend as MUCH time as you can with dogs of that breed. Have allergies but I’m not allergic to my dogs.

Get a Golden Retriever puppy. Find some breeders, Google is your friend, visit the breeders and choose one that asks you lots of questions. Ideally you want a puppy from a dog that lives indoors with the family.

The breeder we bought our cockapoo from warned us that no cockapoo could be guaranteed not to shed or cause allergies. Ours doesn't shed, but does trigger son's girlfriends asthma.

It's interesting that some people are suggesting collies for a first dog. I think they are amazing but we ruled them out because they need so much stimulation. A friend has a collie who is lovely but completely reactive to cars/vehicles to the extent she can't walk him on roads. Luckily they back onto fields but they can only ever walk two circular routes, they can't go anywhere near a road as the dog is a nightmare.

Collies are not suitable family dogs especially not for a first dog. They are highly intelligent, need a ton of exercise and a job to do - working sheep, flyball, agility.

Reading aphrodite advice to leave the puppy alone all night on its first night I think its safe to disregard advice about suitable breeds too

Maybe consider an easier breed

We've recently got a cavapoochon and he's so easy. No trouble at all

@Untang13d, we were lucky and got a beaglier 3/4 cavalier and 1/4 beagle. I had researched beagles as they are nice and calm, but then decided against it as I also found out they have no recall and can be difficult to train. He suits us as Is very calm and friendly

Fab thank you. Anymore book recommendations re caring for puppies/ dogs ?

Yes I’ve not had good experiences with collies. Wouldn’t be my first choice if I’m honest.

Of course a puppy is perfectly doable. Some people treat it like something only the incredibly well-heeled and totally unemployed/ no caring responsibilities should ever have. If you've had a child with very serious illness you'll be well used to gruelling and I agree it is rather patronising and dismissive of your life experience.

Personally I would not get a cockapoo. They are too much of an unknown quantity, same for all poo crosses. You could get a lovely one but I will say that all the ones I know bar one have issues that are not to do with training: resource guarding, barky, dietary and digestive problems; allergies; reactivity to other dogs. And incredibly high energy. Go for a tried and trusted breed like a lab or golden, but pls allergy test your son beforehand. It's not the hair that causes allergies usually but the dander and even poo crosses can cause allergies.

Obviously all the above, non-health issues can be addressed by training to various degrees but there is clearly a natural proclivity toward some of these issues in the dogs I know.

Sorry @Untang13d, reported post as link was messed up but the book is The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read and is a great start to understanding a dog’s needs.