So, where CAN I get a dog?

[hedgehog]

Lassie walked up one day and stayed (after a brief stay with the town animal control officer to make sure no one was looking for her). She was a black long hair collie mix of some kind, and spent her first few years living on the porch because it was too warm for her inside. When she was older, she moved inside. She was a wonderful dog with a wicked sense of humor.

Jack was dropped off as a puppy on the front seat of my car. He was a large mixed hound and always was a little anxious. I was always a little anxious too, after he ran past me at the door one time and nipped the mail carrier! He was a good dog, but we always had to be careful with him around strangers until we could see he accepted them.

I drove 60 miles to buy Guinness as a puppy after Lassie died. he was supposed to be a beagle/lab mix but everyone thinks he is a beagle/German Shepherd mix. I think the fellow I bought him from collected unwanted accidental litters from people and resold the puppies. He had about 20 dogs and he was scrupulous in their care. Guinness is a bit of a goof.

Jack died suddenly from an embolism, and we'd like to get another dog. There are some lovely adult dogs at the pound, but we're stuck with a Catch-22. Guinness was the underdog. Without Jack to protect him and boss him around, he's afraid of other adult dogs and growls at them. Everyone has suggested that we introduce a puppy.

So, where can I get a puppy?

It seems that all the pure breeds are over bred, which is the polite term for inbreeding to bring out extreme features. (Just compare 19th century breed drawings to current photographs to see what we've done to dogs.)

The puppies I see at the local pounds seem to be mostly some version of pit bulls. I don't want to get into an argument about nature vs nurture, but I've already had a dog I couldn't trust around strangers. (By the way, how come the pure bred people tell me a dog's temperament is a matter of breeding, and the pit bull people tell me it's all about the owner?) I know my limits, I am not a person who is in absolute voice control of my beasts.

Responsible dog owners spay or neuter which kind of takes them out of the puppy market.

Puppy mills? Don't even go there!

So, where can I get a puppy?

[Mojorabbit]

1. I usually have them

show up here or get them outside of Petsmart when the rescue groups are adopting. This holiday season I bought my first dog, a King Shepherd from Amy's Acres. She is a handful.

[lob1]

2. Try a doggie rescue service. That's where I got mine and I'm really

happy with him.

[MADem]

3. Try a rescue agency. If you google "collie rescue" you get hits across the country.

Often, they deal with purebreds, but sometimes they deal with mixes, as well. The purebred dogs are often older, adolescents and up, but sometimes the mixes are young.

You might also ask your local SPCA to keep an eye peeled for a puppy for you, that isn't a pitbull, and to call you if one comes in.

Third option: Ask your SPCA if they'd call around to other neighboring shelters and try to find a "regular" (non-pitbull) puppy for you to go look at---then, armed with the "reference" from your local SPCA, you can expand your search a bit. Tell 'em what you want--they're motivated to place dogs, surely they'll help you if you ask (and they'd probably appreciate a donation, too).

[RebelOne]

4. Check out Petfinder. They have dogs available all over the U.S.

www.petfinder.com/search.html

[ceile]

5. Try petfinder.com n/t

[MadAnne]

6. Right here.

http://www.petfinder.com/

[MajorChode]

7. Mutts are the way to go

Check with the local SPCA.

Many years ago I adopted a mutt and then a year later I adopted another. Both of them appear to be part Border Collie or at least they have similar markings. They are now 16 and 15 years old respectively and neither has had any joint problems that often affect some breeds. The oldest one is going deaf, she can no longer jump on the furniture, and her head has been tilted to one side for the past year due to vestibular disease, but she is still hanging in there. The 15 year old is certainly no puppy, but she has no health problems.

[hedgehog]

12. Sounds like our Lassie. She finally went down in her old age from

a tumor, but she was the smartest dog I've ever seen. She used to lie in wait in the yard around the corner of her shed from her food and water bowl. She's wait for the chickens to gather , then burst around the corner running and barking. The chickens would scatter in a hundred directions, squawking and shedding feathers. Then Lassie would trot back to her spot in the shade laughing and grinning.

[canetoad]

8. Consider a girl

I usually find it reduces the niggling that can happen between two males and the interaction is wonderful to watch.

[Stinky The Clown]

9. As many have said ..... a rescue. Many rescues are breed-specific.

[MiniMe]

10. Find a rescue group, either all-breed or whatever breed you want

I volunteer for a lab rescue, and we have a litter of 12 in now. They are 6 weeks old. Rescues can never tell you when they will get puppies in, they usually don't know. These pups came into our rescue when they were 5 weeks old. The mother is a real doll. We got in a litter of 9 weeks olds over the summer, a complete litter. And somebody else gave us a litter at exactly the same time. For a weekend, I had a house 'o puppies (I was taking care of them for another foster). We get older puppies in all the time (5 or 6 months old).

[Runcible Spoon]

11. petfinder.com is how I found my kitty very recently

You can type in all different kinds of search criterion: zip code, age, size, breed, etc. One note of caution: I truly, truly support the work that animal rescues do, but I ended up adopting from a Petco who was working with a humane society. REALLY READ the adoption rules that each rescue has. I was turned off by some agencies since some of them had really restrictive rules. For example, one agency wanted to contact my landlord, and another one wanted a month's notice before moving the animal or else they would be free to take the animal back. In essence, the animal never becomes "yours" under some of those rules.

I certainly wouldn't ever chastise anyone doing good work like animal rescue, and I understand the philosophy behind those rules, but for me personally I wanted my pet free and clear since I knew I was a responsible owner anyway. Just something to keep in mind; private rescues tend to be stricter and have more policies than humane societies and government shelters.

Good luck!

[bicentennial_baby]

13. It's the norm to contact the landlord, b/c

they don't want the pet to end up back on the streets when the landlord who doesn't allow pets finds out and threatens to evict you, etc.

[Runcible Spoon]

17. I'm aware of why it is done

I just don't like that level of invasion. As I said, it's a personal preference. I guess I am somewhat grumpy about those rules since a lot of rescues, especially no-kill, can't or won't accept every animal that is referred to them. The humane societies and shelters often do accept all, even if they have to be put down. I guess my philosophy is that it's better to place more animals with less restriction and fingers crossed that it will work out than to spend a lot of resources doing intense screening and follow-ups. It just means that they take less animals, and who knows the plight of the animals that they reject for whatever reasons.

All that said, I would never malign any agency that is trying to do good work. I just wanted to OP to be aware of things involved that might not be immediately obvious. I choose to give my dollars to humane societies instead. That is my choice, and I would never interfere with any good rescue's work.

[hedgehog]

14. I've been haunting the Petfinder and it's only been two months.

I'll keep an eye out for the Petco people. We've been approved by the local pound, but I didn't consider using them as a reference.


Still in all, we've got a problem folks. The All-American mutt is in danger of extinction. As I said, responsible families spay and neuter their dogs. Breeders are pushed to focus on matching a breed description which means that pure breds are heading to various dead ends. Puppy mills are hell. Too many back yard breeders are trying to get a mean fighting dog. How do we get ourselves out of this situation?

[EmeraldCityGrl]

18. This is going to change with the economy.

Since few people have pet health insurance, it will become harder for folks to to keep up
with vet bills when they can no longer afford care for their families. spaying and neutering
will decline and you will see more and more unwanted dogs and puppies.

I read an article that said in some places people have been leaving their horses on the side
of the road because they can no longer afford to feed them.

[napi21]

15. I also recomment Petfinder.com. All the dogs on there are either from a shelter

or a rescue group. I would suggest checking the rescue groups first. AFAIK they all operate with volunteers who take the dogs into their home as fosters until they can find a permanent home. THAT gives the foster mom the ability to get to know the dog's personality, fears, problems, and addtributes. All the volunteers I know are always very honest with potential adoptive parents because they want the dog to have a happy life, and that can only happen if the new owners are happy with the dog!

You enter your zip code and how far a distance you are willing to travel. You can even refine your search to breed, age, and sex.

Oh, and all the rescue groups I've ever worked with always have the dog fully vetted and have taken care of any problems they might have had.

Good luck.

[SoCalDem]

16. Little girls with cardboard boxes..in front of grocery stores?

Seriously.. Ask around.. someone always seems to have an "oops litter"...or keep visiting the pound until one picks you:)

If you have a petSmart, they have adoptions every Saturday when people bring in puppies & kittens..

Sorry about your Jack :cry:

[greguganus]

19. Also try www.adoptapet.com

http://www.adoptapet.com/

[Runcible Spoon]

20. according to your profile location, there are puppies

Meet Marley:
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12729416

And Cassie:
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12705178

It just looks like you might have to travel a bit to get a non-pit pup, but they're out there!

[hedgehog]

21. I'd seen Marley , but not Cassie on the list. I might have to work a little

on my husband. He figures that a dog will last for a good 15 years, and he's a little concerned about having a big dog around when I'm 70. Jack did knock me down more than once when we were walking in the woods and he spotted a deer. To be honest, I did have to sit down before he dragged me down. I'm not a good disciplinarian with dogs, so I need one with some sense of its own. My husband may be right that our future dogs should be smaller.

[Runcible Spoon]

23. take a look at these little guys! beagle mixes!

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12768442

Irresistible! You know, you're evil, now I really REALLY want a puppy! And where I live, I can have kitties which is great but I want a dog too!

[hedgehog]

24. We're a little ways east of Rochester, but that's where I got Guinness.

There must be a very busy beagle daddy in the Rochester area!

[MadAnne]

26. If you want smaller I have two of these guys from

rescue. http://smallpawsrescue.org/

[XemaSab]

25. Gypsy looks like a nicee girl:

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12776251

[hedgehog]

28. I would love to have her, but she doesn't like men.

:(

[Bunny]

22. Have you tried craigslist?

You can watch the ads in their Pets section, you can place a 'wanted' ad in there too.

[scorpiogirl]

27. This is where we found our dog:

http://www.adoptapet.com/