Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How young are your kids?

Op - kids are 2, 6 and 8

Too young, honestly. Wait several years.

Anonymous wrote:If you aren’t ok with any percentage pit bull you need to buy a dog from a breeder. Nearly all rescues have some amount of pit in them and you have no way to tell that without running a dna test.

+1. We just got the DNA test back from our rescue and she is 20% pit.

Anonymous wrote:https://kninerescue.com/pets/

Try this local rescue—great people and lots of pups.

+1

I'd buy one. We went through a breeder, no regrets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How young are your kids?

Op - kids are 2, 6 and 8

PP who suggested Wolftrap and we adopted (peak pandemic) when kids were 7 and 9.

The toddler may be what’s making this harder.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be wary of adopting a dog that is a former breeder dog. We adopted a 5 yr old male Lab who was given up by a breeder when he was done breeding. The dog turned out to hate men and gradually started snapping and lunging at my husband and son. He wasn't like that around me (mom) and my daughter. We had to give him back when he lunged at my husband one day and was close to biting him. He would also become very defensive of me and my daughter if any men came near us on walks. I guess he was mistreated by his breeder owner who was Amish. Anyway, just because they are known as a friendly, laidback breed like a Lab doesn't mean they don't have trauma in their background. I would probably wait until all of your kids are older.

Why on earth did you get a dog from an Amish breeder? That's tantamount to a puppy mill. The Amish do not consider animals the same way modern societies do.

We were told the dog had been a family dog and the family moved. When we called the rescue to tell them about his behavior, we spoke to the intake person who told us the truth. She had been out of town when we adopted the dog and another volunteer had been in charge. They either lied to us or got this dog mixed up with another dog.

Anonymous wrote:Be wary of adopting a dog that is a former breeder dog. We adopted a 5 yr old male Lab who was given up by a breeder when he was done breeding. The dog turned out to hate men and gradually started snapping and lunging at my husband and son. He wasn't like that around me (mom) and my daughter. We had to give him back when he lunged at my husband one day and was close to biting him. He would also become very defensive of me and my daughter if any men came near us on walks. I guess he was mistreated by his breeder owner who was Amish. Anyway, just because they are known as a friendly, laidback breed like a Lab doesn't mean they don't have trauma in their background. I would probably wait until all of your kids are older.

Why on earth did you get a dog from an Amish breeder? That's tantamount to a puppy mill. The Amish do not consider animals the same way modern societies do.

Agree that it is easiest to find a good rescue, get approved, and then work with them to find a dog. But I’ll be honest, many rescues will not adopt to you because of the age of your kids. We adopted when our kids were older than yours (4 and 7) and it was HARD. Finally got a great dog because the first choice dropped out and we were really committed to training. But it was a long road.

Don’t get a golden if you go the puppy route… they are very hard to train and get big and rowdy FAST. I wouldn’t take that on with a 2 yo.

Be wary of adopting a dog that is a former breeder dog. We adopted a 5 yr old male Lab who was given up by a breeder when he was done breeding. The dog turned out to hate men and gradually started snapping and lunging at my husband and son. He wasn't like that around me (mom) and my daughter. We had to give him back when he lunged at my husband one day and was close to biting him. He would also become very defensive of me and my daughter if any men came near us on walks. I guess he was mistreated by his breeder owner who was Amish. Anyway, just because they are known as a friendly, laidback breed like a Lab doesn't mean they don't have trauma in their background. I would probably wait until all of your kids are older.

I’d add Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue (DVGRR) to the list. It’s a bit of a drive but we had a good experience with them and they seem fairly reasonable, as far as rescue organizations go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our pit is the sweetest dog with our kids. If you’re looking to adopt you may want to reconsider your breed restrictions.

Big mistake

Please spare us your ignorance.

Stop with the sweet little pittie nonsense. Anything bred to fight has unpredictable genetics. If you feel lucky-fine. Others don't & that's fine.

Look for dogs at the PG county shelter or exurb counties. Less competition for the more popular breeds/mixes.

A lot of rescues will put up ridiculous roadblocks on adoption, OP. If you own your home and have a fenced yard, they'll likely focus on the ages of your children - too young for some rescue interviewers.

On the other hand, you REALLY want to seriously evaluate the origin of your breeder puppy. Most of the breeders with fancy websites are puppy mills, no more, no less. In addition to being kept in cruel and unhealthy conditions, the dog might end up with inbred genetic disorders and a poorly socialized reactive personality. Finding responsible breeders that don't breed their dogs too often, and only have as many dogs as they can keep in their own family home (instead of placing them in kennels) requires some research. Please do not support puppy mills, and do that research: if the breeder allows you to visit, that's a good sign.

The price tag is not the issue here. You'll spend way more than that on food, let alone vet bills. But you want to know your hands are clean, so to speak.

I would work with a breed specific rescue - Lu’s Labs or Lab Rescue of the Potomac will approve a general application for you to adopt and then will work with you to find the right dog fit for your family. There’s no guarantee that you’ll get a purebred, but they do look specifically for labs and will make sure you get a dog that is approved for kids your childrens ages.

Anonymous wrote:How young are your kids?

Op - kids are 2, 6 and 8