Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Of course considering how quickly they go from puppies to regular size, I don't see what the big deal is...
I see both sides of this. All puppies are cute, fun, friendly, and playful. Who doesn't like puppies? Dogs a bit older may not be quite so entertaining, but they have the advantage of having developed a bit of their individual personality.
The Piedmont Kennel Club will host the "Meet the Breeds" event on December 3. Link to the PKC web site: Piedmont Kennel Club: Classes
If you attend this event you can see many breeds of dogs and meet quality breeders who can put you in contact with reputable breeders of puppies. Since you are not specifying a certain breed, it seems you do not know what breed of dog you are wanting. This event is a good place to start. The breeders and show people at this event will tell you the good and bad points of their breeds. They can also give you and your parents the lengthy list of genetic testing that the pup's parents should be tested for to help insure the puppy you get will be as healthy as possible. Know that the breeders that you will be placed in contact with will have waiting lists for puppies and you may be waiting a year or longer in order to get your puppy. It is worth a wait so that you can get a healthy, good tempered puppy that will be a wonderful companion.
Puppies that you will find through want ads, internet sites, etc. will typically not be from health-tested parents and may have health problems that cost huge amounts of money, or cause bad temperaments (a biting dog is a legal nightmare for your parents). Rescue groups will vet the puppies and make sure they are in good health and of sound temper before adopting them out. Shelters and rescues have both mixed breeds and pure breed dogs. Good luck with your search.
Another point on a slightly older dog (ours was two years old when we adopted her): they are usually already house broken, so no dealing with letting a puppy out at all hours of the night.
For the people who are saying if you a dog get from a breeder you are "selfish", really?
I disagree. For one, I didn't want a rescue mutt because I had a specific breed requirements for what I wanted my dog for (yes, I know I am selfish). We wanted a long distance female running dog of medium build that is good with young children. That limits you right there to only a few breeds. We also wanted a puppy because I have had very good success training my dogs and wanted to make sure we got one without bad habits already instilled in them.
That gave me two options. Breeder or breed-specific rescue. We choose breeder because after months of looking at the semi-local boxer rescue list, we didn't find a match. After contacting about 20 different breeders throughout NC/SC, I finally found the breeder I was looking for and made the 90 minute trip to see the pups.
Two years later, I have a beautiful full bred boxer that easily can run 9 miles with me and is my 5 year old daughters best friend (and is healthy as can be).
In a related story. Our friends loved our dog's size, personality, and how she interacted with young kids so they decieded to rescue a "boxer-mix" puppy. The dog has turned out to be a total nightmare so far and at their last visit, vet said "there is no boxer in the that mix". Now they have a dog that at 6 months is bigger that my full grown dog and has none of the behavior traits of the dog they thought they would get.
Getting the "wrong" type of dog is the main reason many of these dogs ARE in rescue/pounds. So many people go get a cute lab puppy without any experience and end up having the dog turn out to be a nightmare because they weren't prepared for an energetic dog.
So bottom line, tirelessly research what kind of dog suits your lifestyle. THEN go about finding the a dog for you. For some, it will be the pound. Some, it will be a rescue. And for others like myself, a breeder.
For the people who are saying if you a dog get from a breeder you are "selfish", really?
In a related story. Our friends loved our dog's size, personality, and how she interacted with young kids so they decieded to rescue a "boxer-mix" puppy. The dog has turned out to be a total nightmare so far and at their last visit, vet said "there is no boxer in the that mix". Now they have a dog that at 6 months is bigger that my full grown dog and has none of the behavior traits of the dog they thought they would get.
Getting the "wrong" type of dog is the main reason many of these dogs ARE in rescue/pounds. So many people go get a cute lab puppy without any experience and end up having the dog turn out to be a nightmare because they weren't prepared for an energetic dog.
The rescues do their best to predict the breed based on what they are told, what they find when rescuing the dog or what they see. Just like in people, combinations of dogs can be deceiving. Genes are a fun thing.
As for the wrong 'type' of dog ending up in shelters because people are unprepared...whose fault is that? Any dog that ends up at a shelter is the fault of the person who obtained it. Not because they were deceived by a rescue. Because they were ill informed, lazy, stupid, or all of the above.
For the people who are saying if you a dog get from a breeder you are "selfish", really?
I disagree. For one, I didn't want a rescue mutt because I had a specific breed requirements for what I wanted my dog for (yes, I know I am selfish). We wanted a long distance female running dog of medium build that is good with young children. That limits you right there to only a few breeds. We also wanted a puppy because I have had very good success training my dogs and wanted to make sure we got one without bad habits already instilled in them.
That gave me two options. Breeder or breed-specific rescue. We choose breeder because after months of looking at the semi-local boxer rescue list, we didn't find a match. After contacting about 20 different breeders throughout NC/SC, I finally found the breeder I was looking for and made the 90 minute trip to see the pups.
Two years later, I have a beautiful full bred boxer that easily can run 9 miles with me and is my 5 year old daughters best friend (and is healthy as can be).
In a related story. Our friends loved our dog's size, personality, and how she interacted with young kids so they decieded to rescue a "boxer-mix" puppy. The dog has turned out to be a total nightmare so far and at their last visit, vet said "there is no boxer in the that mix". Now they have a dog that at 6 months is bigger that my full grown dog and has none of the behavior traits of the dog they thought they would get.
Getting the "wrong" type of dog is the main reason many of these dogs ARE in rescue/pounds. So many people go get a cute lab puppy without any experience and end up having the dog turn out to be a nightmare because they weren't prepared for an energetic dog.
So bottom line, tirelessly research what kind of dog suits your lifestyle. THEN go about finding the a dog for you. For some, it will be the pound. Some, it will be a rescue. And for others like myself, a breeder.
That's ridiculous. There are plenty of Boxers at animal shelters and through rescues, including puppies. You're just coming up with an excuse for yourself to buy a dog from a puppy mill.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
