We want to adopt a dog but buying seems to be so much easier…please help!
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Anonymous
| Lately I'm kind of questioning the "breeders lead to overpopulation" argument. Purebred dogs from good breeders aren't what you'll find very often at all in shelters. They're honestly hard to find, if you don't want to buy a puppy. I'm much less judgmental of people for buying purebred dogs than I used to be. I don't actually view it as a problem, but admittedly used to. |
Anonymous
Hmm, interesting. How does one find a “good breeder”? |
Anonymous
Start with the AKC breed club's breeder referral service for the breed you're interested in. Talk to some of those breeders about what they think you should know about the breed, what they look for in puppy owners, how they raise their pups. Consider it an informational interview and don't start by asking the price for a puppy. If dog shows are happening near you, go to one to meet breeders and dogs. Talk to other people who have dogs from that breeder. Look for breeders who do not breed too frequently, who test all of their dogs for the diseases and malformations known in their breed, which they should be very up front about with you. Look for breeders who raise the puppies in a home environment and give them plenty of age-appropriate socialization in their early weeks. Be wary of breeders who let puppies go home younger than 8 weeks and be prepared for them to require the pup be a little older than that. |
Anonymous
| Also in my opinion, breeders will always take back their dogs, at any point in the lifespan, no questions asked - they don't want their dogs landing in bad homes they haven't vetted, or in shelters, and have buyers sign a contract that if they need to rehome, the dog goes back to the breeder. |
Anonymous
| PP with a correction to the above, make that *good breeders will always... |
Anonymous
| Just buy a puppy. Get a Golden retriever. |