I told a friend recently that I was thinking of getting a dog for our family. We didn't mind a puppy or a younger dog. She happened to know somebody selling a beautiful 6 month old poodle cross as she hadn't managed to sell the last 2 pups of the litter and had hung on to them. A big reason for this is that the person adores dogs and had struggled to part with them- having met her I can see that this is true.
However, on visiting the pups I was informed that the smaller one hasn't always been smaller and that the smallest (also there) has actually overtaken the size of the other one. She wants to sell the smallest but keep the other one. This made me wary as I began wondering why the one she wants me to have hasn't continued to grow bigger than the one which was smaller? And then I wondered if she was trying to sell me the runt? She seemed very genuine (friend of a friend) but the one she wants me to have looked underweight. I asked her about this and she said that because she has so many dogs she can't monitor food intake. Is is a worry that this dog doesn't appear to be thriving as much as the pup which was smaller at birth? I just worry about health issues and my children would be devastated if we had it and something happened.
Another thing is price.
She is asking for £900 which I know is a good price for a puppy, but this dog will be 6 months old so it seems a little steep for a dog which is now older. She justifies the price by saying that we won't need to toilet train him and I know she has a point. I have offered her less money (600) for the dog but she won't accept it. Part of me feels a little guilty as I want to rescue it and help it gain weight, he would have such a loving home with us, but I also don't want to inherit a dog with potential issues. Is it a concern that the smaller pup at birth has overtaken this one in terms of size? I also can't justify spending 900 on a 6 month old dog, but he does need rehoming. He's not thriving where he is. What do I do?,