In the West coast, shelters are full of pitbull mixes & Chihuahua mixes. Shelters are greedy & keep the pup for 3-7 years. Breeders do a “staging show” for the public, shipping in pups from MI , Ohio, & PA. Only show dog people get a chance of getting a true home raised pup with proper testing. Show people keep their good pups for themselves & friends who will show their pups. AKC now means nothing since many rely on old records of OFA with no ID. Now it’s Gensol DNA tests that can be applied to any dog since they all inbreed their dogs; by 3 Yrs old they usually sell the dog since genetic diseases start arising. Bottom line: unless you know: befriend a breeder or private shelter, your not getting a healthy pup. Just buy it online- they all come from puppy mills anyway due to COVID demand & breeders/shelters have ALL the power to be bias.

I have found the breed-specific rescues to be picky about families with kids. We adopted through Lucky Dog and foster for them now -- they are still seeing a big demand for puppies, but if you put an application in and get pre-approved the process can move quickly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most rescues don't allow adoption if you have kids under a certain age. Most of the posters suggesting adoption don't know this because they have no kids, just pets.

I think you can sometimes find rescues where there are puppies, but again, you may have an issue with your kids age.

Otherwise I would try to find a reputable breeder, go on a wait list and see.

This just isn’t correct.
I have 6 kids. I foster for several organizations (I think I’ve fostered about a dozen now) and have two rescued dogs.
Wolf trap rescue has tons of puppies. You do have to have some patience right now as they are in demand, but it’s doable. Consider doing a foster to adopt to make it a little easier. I’ve adopted out many puppies to families with kids.

My youngest is 2, before you ask. I’ve fostered while having kids in every age range.

Anonymous wrote:Most rescues don't allow adoption if you have kids under a certain age. Most of the posters suggesting adoption don't know this because they have no kids, just pets.

I think you can sometimes find rescues where there are puppies, but again, you may have an issue with your kids age.

Otherwise I would try to find a reputable breeder, go on a wait list and see.

This just isn’t correct.
I have 6 kids. I foster for several organizations (I think I’ve fostered about a dozen now) and have two rescued dogs.
Wolf trap rescue has tons of puppies. You do have to have some patience right now as they are in demand, but it’s doable. Consider doing a foster to adopt to make it a little easier. I’ve adopted out many puppies to families with kids.

We got a dog from Montgomery County animal shelter and it was a great experience!

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who screamed, go to a freaking pound/shelter, have you been to the pound lately? There are no adoptable dogs at the local shelters. Although, you will always find a few pit bulls and large, aggressive dogs.

Agreed: The local shelters/rescue groups do not make it easy to adopt dogs. It's like they don't want the dogs to leave them. It feels judgey and biased, and they people I've dealt with may be good with animals, but they have no idea how to deal with people, business transactions, or the real world.

I've heard great things about Wolftrap Animal Rescue.

You have to get out of the idea that the only options are "local" shelters. Get as far away from possible from the major cities and the eastern seaboard. The posters who said to get as far down as possible into rural/hunting country in the deep south or Appalachia are 100% correct, or to get down to the dog tracks in Florida.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We adopted from the breeder as no rescue puppies were available. Things were closed because of covid then.

You didn’t adopt. You made a purchase.

Yeah, you don't adopt from good breeders.

The exception is if you are an established client of theirs (not some random stranger who wants to "adopt") and they "take back" a dog whose owner no longer can keep him/her or is in a bad situation (good breeders will always "take back" or "repossess" their dogs before letting them go to a shelter or be abused). In those cases, they will reach out private to existing clients who have purchased dogs from them before (and therefore have breed-specific expertise) and taken good care of them and ask them to take the dog. My family shows a specific breed of dog and we got one of our dogs this way from the breeder we purchased two other dogs from.

But the bottom line is, top breeders never let their dogs end up being "adopted" by families who they don't know closely nor do they let them end up at shelters.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Homeward Trails, got my current dog from them about 4 years ago. Also check out shelters in WV, much easier to adopt there. And Petfinder

+1 million. Many people in this area successfully adopt dogs from West Virginia, Southwestern Virginia, and the Carolinas. A lot of coonhounds are abandoned after hunt season down there, including puppies if they don't show good hunting instincts (but they are good pets usually).

If you want a retired racing greyhound, look to Florida (there are volunteer groups that will help bring the dog to you--a family in my neighborhood adopted recently and they drove down to Southern Virginia to meet the rescue group). Florida has more dog tracks than all the other states combined so most people I know who adopted greyhounds had dogs from FL.

We have 2 beagles (both adopted as pups) from local rescues/shelters that pull from West Virginia and North Carolina. Lots of beagles are in those areas too if anyone wants a smaller dog. All hounds are wonderful, and there are an excess of them in rural areas.

To the poster who screamed, go to a freaking pound/shelter, have you been to the pound lately? There are no adoptable dogs at the local shelters. Although, you will always find a few pit bulls and large, aggressive dogs.

Agreed: The local shelters/rescue groups do not make it easy to adopt dogs. It's like they don't want the dogs to leave them. It feels judgey and biased, and they people I've dealt with may be good with animals, but they have no idea how to deal with people, business transactions, or the real world.

I've heard great things about Wolftrap Animal Rescue.

I’ve adopted puppies twice from a rescue, and both times, the rescue had gone down south to pull the puppies from shelters down there. So I’d advise keeping an eye out on the southernmost shelter you’d be willing to drive to. The south seems to be full of adorable, lovely, abandoned puppies.

Anonymous wrote:We adopted from the breeder as no rescue puppies were available. Things were closed because of covid then.

You didn’t adopt. You made a purchase.

We adopted from the breeder as no rescue puppies were available. Things were closed because of covid then.

Anonymous wrote:DD wants a puppy and I’m trying to help her find one. There appears to be a shortage and prices are high. Any advice? Thx

Is there a specific breed you are interested in? You could google the name of the breed with the word rescue and see what comes up. Also puppyfind lists puppies for sale (yes, they are expensive). Puppies are expensive no matter what op. The vet bills will be high too. Our dog is about to turn 9 and the vet bills are expensive for her too. It’s worth the expense, but only if you can afford it.

Anonymous wrote:If you’re willing to drive a little bit head to rural Virginia. We went to orange and walked out with a young (10ish months) dog an hour later.

Sorry, to the animal shelter/pound of that wasn’t clear. Pet harbor lists shelter critters.

If you’re willing to drive a little bit head to rural Virginia. We went to orange and walked out with a young (10ish months) dog an hour later.