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.

(I don't know why I'm bothering saying this LOL) Again, people are saying 'collies' here like they're all the same.

'Working Sheepdog'/ISDS registered dogs are not for the novice home for sure, need a working home or a job to do (agility/obedience). Working Bearded Collies the same.

Show type Border Collies much less so, but still need their brains used. Would put show type Bearded Collies in the same category.

Rough Collies and Smooth Collies are excellent family dogs, which with sensible training and moderate exercise will not be climbing the walls in the slightest.

Conversely, people often recommend Australian Shepherds, which are very full on and far higher maintenance than Roughs or Smooths.

Immaterial really LOL, not what the OP wants, but she won't be the only one who reads this.

I never thought I would buy a dog and yet here I am with a one year old cockapoo. We have a cat and smallish children so a rescue was looking like it was never going to happen. I got her as a puppy from a local family so I would ask around.

It's been great having my gorgeous dog. It's not that hard! She doesn't shed, she is beautiful and fun and filthy and gets us out. She does need plenty of exercise or she gets bored and she can bark quite a bit but I love her to bits. She's also quite expensive compared to the cat but she does enjoy the best of things

Get a rescue dog. We had our first dog from a sanctuary and she was perfect. House trained, good recall, affectionate, calm, could be left alone happily. She didn’t have a “history” at all, just a previous home that didn’t quite work out for her as their other dog was a bugger so they kept the difficult one as it would’ve been harder to rehome.

Explain what you want to the staff and get loads of support from them as they are the experts. Make sure you have a trial period where you can return the dog if it’s not right too. Don’t use a sanctuary that don’t offer after care!

Puppy farms are vile, and back yard breeders are not much better IMO. An acquaintance of ours has just put her bitch through its third litter of puppies in a year and charges £1500 a puppy. Her adult dog is knackered. This is for the same breed as we got from the sanctuary for 10% of the price, spayed, fully vaxxed, house trained, walks to heel, has good recall etc.

The OP might have decided on a puppy but anyone else reading this thread for info: please please research sanctuaries. They are not full of ‘problem’ dogs. Perfectly responsible owners die, move away and have changes in circumstances. I will bang this drum for as long as there are animals in shelters and people wanting new pets.

Morning. I have read all your posts OP and as soon as you mentioned 1st puppy cockapoo I knew the responses you'd get.

I will say I have had puppies - whippets, terriers and a beagle. Like others I unknowingly bought one from a puppy farm. They are clever fuckers. I ended up with a nightmare pup. It was awful. I couldn't cope. This was pre internet.

The best dogs I've had have been older ones rehomed through no fault of their own. Also one from overseas. Now have the cliche rescue ex racing greyhounds and couldn't be happier.

I've learned a lot along the way. I am so skeptical of most breeders now but I believe the good ones hold a waiting list and you have to prove to them you're a good owner

It's worth looking on here for posters who have bred puppies. There was an interesting one recently where the poster had done a load of graft and work to breed her bitch who all had homes lined up still got a kicking on here for breeding though

Try not to get puppy fever where you feel pressured into making an instant decision 'because it's suddenly become available with someone else lined up'.

I know 3 people who got pups last year. One actually died (flat faced breed). The others are questionable crosses collected from service stations . Lockdown had much to answer for with this!

I get that people want puppies rather than rescues for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they want a specific breed that isn't available in rescues, or they have young DC so a rescue won't rehome to them, or whatever. Fine.

But to say that you don't want a rescue because it has 'history' and you have enough to cope with is just nonsense. As many people have pointed out, many rescues turn out to be dream dogs and many puppies turn out to be nightmares. If you can cope with a puppy, you can cope with a rescue.

You say you're doing research - if you're serious about dog ownership, I would suggest that visiting a rescue should form part of that research. Maybe you won't click with any of the dogs, and that's fine, but if you rule it out automatically because you don't want somebody else's 'second-hand' dog then I would question whether dog ownership is right for you.

Btw we rescued. 1yo dog and she is wonderful.

Friends of ours did their research and bought a puppy after endless meetings with the breeder and meeting the 'mother'. It turned out to be a well concealed puppy farm and the dog is horribly damaged and anxious, and they have spent a fortune on behaviorists etc.

My NDNs are breeding their (pedigree) dogs. If you met them, you'd think they were lovely and well above board. The reality is that the breeding dogs spend all their time in the small back garden, never walked, never played with. They got a litter out of her just in time for Christmas and I assume those puppies have already been sold (bar the dead ones obvs) as I've never seen them and the mum is now back outside all day, sometimes in sub zero temperatures.

My lovely rescue, who we clicked with as soon as we saw her (and vice versa)

@Untang13d as a vet, I owned my first dog at 14, have had rescues, a cockerpoo and now a standard poodle I have seen a lot and been through it myself.
The first 15 months of ownership of getting a puppy are relentless hell baby, potty training, toddler and teen twat all in that time. I am currently 10 months in with my latest pup so just in the middle of teen twat. As with everything in life you get out what you put in so I always wait till I have plenty of time in my life to get a pup.

My cockerpoo is 11 now, I bought him as an agility dog. He is what every one thinks is the perfect cockerpoo nice mannered, 11kg non- shedding. His faults is the moment that cocker nose hits the floor your fucked and there is no way he is coming back till he's ready and he revels in lying down in mud rubbing it into his belly.

Professionally I see cockerpoo ranging for 5 to 17kgs, full poodle coats through to full cocker coat and everything in between. Sadly nearly all my behaviour cases are cockerpoos and most are resource guarding they range from slightly tricky to absolutely terrifyingly nasty. A large number are on long term medication to deal with this.
By comparison standard poodle he has had amazing recall from day dot and even as a teenage twat it is still rock solid and he is nowhere near as jumpy or thuggish as the labradoodles I see.
Even though the poodle is a bigger dog he has been easier than the cockerpoo. I was able to find a cockerpoo breeder who did all the relevant health checks, but this was much easier for the poodle.
In a cockerpoo breeder I would be looking for someone who. Is working with others to tighten type ( there are those looking to create breed standard) they should talk about F2 and F2bs regarding their lines some are now even on F3 and F3b.
they should be getting optigen eye tests done and at least one parent should be a homozygote non-carrier. Whilst The Kennel Club will not hip score cross breeds it is possible to get relatable hip scores done by the vet emailing (and paying) the Australian Kennel Club.

Ideally they should have calculated their inbreeding coefficient as well and this should be as low as possible.

I don’t think it is nonsense as its surely more likely to have issues brought about from poor care on top of the pot luck challenges of having any dog.

Op you sound very sensible, ignore all the messages from those who feel they are the only ones who could ever possibly know how to care for a puppy! It's not that hard. I current have a 12 week old Puppy and 3 year old bitch and they are both a joy, it's never been a chore to care for them they've slotted straight into family life. All those that tell of the hardship are probably not suited to having dogs if they need to make such a big woo-haa about the trials of puppy care and make such a big fuss.

I've always found local word of mouth recommendations a good way of buying a puppy. Do you know any others locally that have the type of dog you are interested in? Dog owners are usually happy to chat at length about their dogs.

Avoid Pets4Homes it's full of stolen, puppy farmed and generally dodgy sellers. Champ Dogs and Kennel Club are a better place to look. Notice boards at saddleries/feed barns/country stores tend to have litters advertised. With all viewings be prepared to grill the seller and walk away if you are not 100% happy.

The most sought after breeders tend to have a long waiting list for their litters so you may have to be patient.

@Untang13d

I don’t think it is nonsense as its surely more likely to have issues brought about from poor care on top of the pot luck challenges of having any dog.

I'm assuming you mean not wanting a rescue dog is not nonsense, because it's going to have history?

Why do you assume that all dogs in rescues have issues brought about from poor care?

My dog is 10 years old and I've had her since she was a small puppy. She's healthy, happy, well trained around other dogs and people, has great recall and she's very calm.

Since having her I've developed a heart condition. If that heart condition should suddenly result in my death my beautiful dog would end up in a rescue centre and would, hopefully, be put up for adoption.

There are hundreds of dogs in rescues because of similar circumstances. They're not all coming from abusive and/or neglectful homes.

You're far more likely to end up with a puppy with massive health and/or behaviour issues if you buy from and a puppy farm or a less than ideal breeder.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

Also would you consider a retired greyhound.? No history as such and very easy dogs to own , chilled and calm and don't need loads of walks

This is my plan when we have room in our life for a dog.

We adopted an ex-racer greyhound nearly a year ago and she's been amazing. Sleeps all day and is so loving. I'd recommend them over and over again. Such easy dogs and so over-looked.

@Untang13d

I don’t think it is nonsense as its surely more likely to have issues brought about from poor care on top of the pot luck challenges of having any dog.

By your own admission, you don't really know anything about dogs. That's fine, because none of us did at first.

However, you have many experienced people on here telling you that it's NOT as straightforward as 'all rescues are fuck ups and all puppies grow into lovely well adjusted dogs'. If you do speak to a rescue (
which as I've said you should, if you're serious about 'doing research) they will tell you everything they know about their dogs' history, ttemperament
I know there are many posts on here that you don't like, but don't make the mistake of ignoring the ones that don't fit with what you've already decided. You've had tons of helpful advice, aniyouarere more likely to end up with the right dog for you if you take everything on board and put the hard work in.

Autocorrect was in a real mission to fuck up everything I wrote in the above post for some reason, but hopefully the gist is clear.

OP - ignore the crazy self-riotous posters on here. Apparently no one is allowed to own a puppy ever and apart from the posters on Mn, no one on Earth could cope with one 🙄

We bought a puppy earlier this year through word of mouth (my daughter's teacher had numerous dogs from a particular breeder and recommended her). We got a pug (again - MN usually explodes over this!) but that was the breed she was breeding and we didn't know any other reputable breeders.

Honestly, he has been a dream! So easy to toilet train, very loving, adores kids, sleeps most of the day, loves car rides, can be left alone etc etc. I would definitely recommend the breed if it comes from a reputable breeder who health-tests.

As for the puppy stage - be prepared for the worst (like we were) and it won't seem so bad at all

I am just saying that she should speak to a rescue as part of doing her research (and avoid brachycephalic breeds for that matter...) not that she HAS to get a rescue. She may find that the perfect dog is there waiting for her, as so many of us did. Or they may have nothing suitable, in which case she can tick that off the list.

self-righteous*

Apologies for all the typos

Bottom line OP - if you manage to buy a puppy within the next few months from a breeder you've only just found, the chances are pretty high that they will be dodgy. As I understand it, reputable breeders generally have a waiting list and vet buyers very thoroughly.

By the way, miniature poodles are often recommended as the perfect dog on here and having had one from puppyhood until he died at 16, I have to disagree. He was SUCH hard work! Insane amounts of energy, could not be left alone, and definitely not a dog that could be taken anywhere, plus needed brushing and grooming which he hated. I wouldn't recommend

We got a cockerpoo from a local breeder. She's lovely. As are her cousins and siblings. She is 2.

They do need groomed every 6 weeks and also you need to brush them every day. Properly down to the skin.

We also have a lab in the family who is a lovely family dog and a retriever who is also a fab family dog.

We were first time dog owners, read the happy puppy book prior to her arrival which was really really good and joined the FB group dog training advice and support.

Puppies are harder work than I imagined but by 6 months that is all behind you.

She gets 2 off lead interesting walks a day, beach and glen. and a sniffy walk round the block in the evening. She's OK being left on her own.

We have an 18 month old Shiba Inu, he’s great, well trained, obedient, completed the good citizen gold award.

I had narrowed down a few breeds that would suit our lifestyle, some I hadn’t seen in real life so I went to crufts and I attended some breed specific shows and contacted the breed clubs for each breed I was looking at. That helped me narrow it down further to a Shiba Inu.

Once I’d decided I contacted three breeders (all only producing registered pups), eventually two decided they would be happy for me to take one of their puppies on. I clicked more with one so I asked to be put on their waiting list, around 15 months later our puppy came home.

@Untang13d

I don’t think it is nonsense as its surely more likely to have issues brought about from poor care on top of the pot luck challenges of having any dog.

To answer your question (which I probably didn't initially) some dogs in rescue do have serious issues, due to abuse or neglect. Those dogs would never be rehomed with an inexperienced owner.

It depends what issues you mean really, because even the best owner can't bomb-proof a puppy. If another dog attacks them, or a firework goes off nearby and scares them, or they're alone in the house and something spooks them... sometimes that's all it takes for your perfect little puppy to develop lifelong issues, especially if you're inexperienced.

E.g our rescue wasn't reactive when we got her, but somehow we managed to cock that up. And that's not because of her history; it's all on us.

as whitney said above, not all collies are the same. Rough collies are very much family friendly dogs. I’ve just told my rough collie he’s manic and not a family pet. He opened one eye from his comfy spot near the range cooker where he’s been lounging for the past two hours with a cat practically on top of him, then went back to his snooze.

So one more point - there are puppy farms and amateur breeders - friend of mine bred from her Jack Russell bitch - but not KC or anything like that. Our dogs have certificates from 20 odd years back - working dogs and Crufts champions - I trust the breeder because she once said I will not give you this puppy because he has a condition.

Puppies are expensive if they come from a reputable breeder.

I think the main thing is to work out the best breed for family. ( not just how they look ) Also WFH home - need to know little puppy may be bouncing around and trying to chew cables etc. If you are on proper work calls - quite hard to keep little pup not harming himself or anything else.

That said wish you well

Have you considered havanese as a breed? Not too big, none shedding, sweet natured. They have long coats naturally but our family always kept ours short in a puppy cut which was easier to manage

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

My lovely rescue, who we clicked with as soon as we saw her (and vice versa)

Aww is he a lurcher we also rescued one the most gorgeous dog we live him so Much