Reply to Dog - where to get one?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]a.) Avoid pet stores, puppy mills and backyard breeders at all costs. You can wind up with huge medical bills and heartache. There is a critical window for socialization that these dogs miss so you'll have to be very good at training to overcome these problems.

b.) I wouldn't recommend a rescue dog if you haven't trained a dog before and are at all nervous about a dog around your kids. Its one thing to understand that a puppy is going to nip you but you'll train him not to do it and having an adult dog lunge or snap at your kids. Its not the adult dog's fault because he's scared and didn't get the training he needed but the stress and worry about how to deal with this shouldn't be under estimated. I don't think rescues do a good job of explaining food aggression, or how a dog can change depending on the circumstance. Adult rescues require a lot of work too. Puppy rescues often come from backyard breeders or puppy mill situations. [/quote]

While I agree that you should avoid pet stores and puppy mills (mostly because it is inhumane and I think you should avoid feeding the demand for such puppies), I don't know that all "backyard breeders" are always so problematic.  Occasionally there is some dope who for whatever reason decides not to get their dog fixed and they have a litter (for some reason fixing your dog is not as popular in a lot of rural areas/exurbs).  The puppies are not necessarily abused or poorly socialized, and often it results in some accidental but wonderful crosses (for example, my childhood dog was a lab/Aussie cross who happened when the Aussie in heat escaped the yard and met an intact lab, and he was great).  I also disagree that a dog with unknown pedigree as a young puppy is always problematic--even if they come from a puppy mill or backyard breeder.  You can get dogs with wonderful personalities from a puppy mill and dogs who are nasty from a reputable breeder.  Health issues also happen in all pure breeds, even if you have health clearance, and often mixes tend to be healthier.

As far as rescues go, a responsible rescue will only give an adult dog to a family with kids who has been observed with kids and has a pretty steady temperament.  Not all rescues have been abused, or will lunge at people.  Some rescues come from families who just can't take care of their dog anymore for some reason (health, moving, overwhelmed with a new baby, change in finances).  Dogs can change depending on environment, that's true.  But a three year old golden retriever who has always been observed to be great with children (even strange children) is unlikely to freak out and become a psychopath unless you are a really terrible dog owner.[/quote]

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