[toyojo]

hello all my niece and her family recently moved to las vegas as well and i wanted to get her a pup for christmas. i was thinking either golden retriever, husky, rottweiler, or a lab. anyone know of any good places that breed these dogs and sell them ? preferably a pup so the dog can grow up along with her as it is sometimes hard to give a person a dog with some age in its bag for various reasons.

thanks in advance !

[jfkIII]

Nahhh...go for the real surprise gift....a pig from RC Farms!

Nothing says 'I love you' better than a slab of walking bacon! Besides, you could consider it a rescue mission!

[Matt121779]

Please check out Lied animal shelter or the NV SPCA. They have pups there too.

[guinnessjim]

Originally Posted by Matt121779

Please check out Lied animal shelter or the NV SPCA. They have pups there too.

or any of the rescue groups, if you feel the need to have a specific breed.

[shroom]

toyojo -
Your idea of giving a dog as a gift for your niece & her family is a warm one, but it's not a good idea. There's so much activity going on during the holidays that a new puppy or dog will often be freaked out even more so than they typically experience just going to a new home. That's NOT a good way to start a life long relationship and it's cruel to the puppy/dog. If you want to give them a puppy/dog, do it in the form of an IOU to be redeemed AFTER the holidays and AFTER they do some research & make some critical decisions.

Bringing a new pet into one's home involves many personal decisions. Your niece & her family should be the ones to decide which breed will best fit into their family, lifestyle, and level of dog experience. Some people want short-coated dogs that do not shed a lot, while others don't mind high maintenance coats and grooming. Some want small dogs, some want big dogs, and some want huge dogs. Some people prefer the laid back temperament & easy trainability of a Lab or a Golden, so a high energy and independant dog like a Husky would be a huge mismatch. As a general rule, working dogs like Rotties and Huskies need humans able and willing to establish and maintain solid leadership, while sporting dogs like Labs & Goldens are much easier going and just want to please their humans. Also, your niece & her family should research the breeds they are interested in to learn about health issues common to each breed, and decide whether they are willing and able to care for the dog *if* such health issues arise down the road.

After they decide which breed would be a good match for their family, DEFINITELY seek out breed rescues, the NVSPCA, and Heaven Can Wait. Rescue groups, and to a somewhat lesser extent NVSPCA, are the best places for locating dogs that have been tested for temperament, training, sociability, etc, kept in foster homes, and have been vetted. Those orgs can also refer you to reputable breeders. OTOH, Lied does not do any of the above testing or fostering, their veterinary care is questionable at best, many animals are sick, and it is *still* (again??) having many of the same problems that resulted in their shutdown and mass euthanasias earlier this year.

PS) NEVER BUY A DOG/CAT FROM A PUPPY STORE OR PET SHOP. The animals there are either dregs from low-quality BYBs or from puppy mills. Most, if not all, have current and future health issues, their lineage (and therefore, genetics) is suspect regardless of what their so-called registration papers say, and you will pay dearly initially and throughout the animal's life.

[MomMom]

Also, be very careful about breeders...some of them are what you call "Backyard Breeders" and are not producing healthy dogs....

If you have a particular breed in mind, search the internet for breeders in town...go to a local vet's office and ask if they know of reputable breeders for the type of dog you are looking for.

The best place would be to adopt a dog from Lied Animal Shelter, they have purebreds there too, most are not papered however.

Giving an animal at Christmas, while it's a nice gesture, is better off saved for another time. I agree with the previous poster who stated Christmas is too busy a time to give a puppy or new dog as a gift.

Hold off, get info about breeds of dogs and which one would be a right fit for the family. Wait until a quieter time, when the family can devote their full attention to the new member of the family...

The folks at Lied can tell you a little bit about the temperments of adult dogs they have for adoption, which will be quite useful in picking the right dog for the family.

The dog is going to be a MEMBER of the family...the right timing and the right dog/puppy matched to the family will be key to a successful union and a lifetime of happiness!

[nicolepsy]

dont forget to check all the shelters and craigslist for unwanted pups. theres TONS of unwanted pups out there for free or little money.

[RecentlyRetired]

If you do get a new puppy, I suggest you crate train him from the very beginning. Here is how I handled my two labs when they were pups. I got them when they were six weeks old.

I bought a large wire crate that had a movable divider that allowed me to change the size of the crate as the dogs grew. The crate I got had three possible doors: one on each end, and another in the middle. I also got a doggie door, the kind the fits into the patio door. I placed my crate near the patio door.

During the first month, I made sure that I got up every three or four hours to let the dogs out. They were too small to go out the doggie door on their own, so I would pick them up and lift them through the doggie door. I would then open the patio door, and lift them back through the doggie door to place them back into their crate.

As the dogs got bigger, I was able to remove the divider section to allow the use of the entire crate. I opened one end of the crate slid the crate up against the doggie door so they could have constant access to the outside, but could not go get to the rest of the house since I kept that end of the crate closed.

During the day they stayed in the crate. In the evenings and weekends when I was home, I would open up the other end of the crate so that they could gain supervised access to the rest of the house. If they wanted to go out, they just went through the crate and through the doggie door to get to the outside. At night and when I was not home, I simply closed the one end of the crate preventing them access to the house, but still allowing access to the outside through the doggie door.

In a few months, the dogs got too large to both fit into the same crate, so I bought another identical crate. I took the removable dividers and used those to create a passage way between the two crates, making one long large crate out of two smaller ones and the dividers. Since the crates had a side opening, I was able to position them parallel to the patio door and still allow the side opening of one to be placed against the doggie door allowing continued access to the outside.

Again I chose when the dogs could have access to the rest of the house simply by opening and closing the door at the opposite end of the crate.

My dogs were kept in their crates for at least six months. Many times, they would choose to go into their crates even though I had opened the end allowing access to the rest of the house. Of course they always had to go through the crate to get to the doggie door and outside.

During their crate training period, the dogs never once had an accident in the house. They would always go through the crate and then through the doggie door to relive themselves.

Eventually, I was able to leave the crates open even when I was not at home allowing the dogs total access to the house. Again, they never made a mess in the house. And they would voluntarily spend most of their time in their crates even though they had free access to the rest of the house. It got to the point when all I would have to do is say “kennel”, and the dogs would automatically go into their crates.

Finally, the day came when I was able remove the crates altogether. At first they were lost, they missed their crates, but eventually they got used to not having them.

Using this method, I never came home to a mess in the house. The dogs were easily housebroken and to this day, almost three years later, they have never had an accident in the house.

[satori253]

I agree with the advice on waiting until at least after Christmas day. We got a beautiful little German Shepherd off of Puppyfind.com from outside of LA. DON'T buy a puppy from a store (they are a horrible business), try to find a breeder for whichever breed you want locally or on the site.

[toyojo]

as for the breed of the dog, i already discussed it with the parents. and theyve narrowed it down to a rottweiler since they love ours and have seen how its gentle around children. but as for the christmas tip, good point. im glad i asked first. i think ill hold off until after new years when things settle down a bit. not to mention, i will also be going into surgery during december into january. thanks for the tips !