Finding the Right Puppy: Part 2 1/2- Finding a Shelter or Breeder (part 2 was breeders)

Now that you've picked out a breed (or two), you should try and find the same breeds out in the real world. Many times I've found I have an idea of the breed from reading and looking online or in books, but you never really know the breed until you see a few in real life. Also before investing too much time make sure you are financially able to care for a dog, they are not cheap in anyway. All too often I hear of a 'free dog' but you don't think of food, vet care, items such as toys, beds and leashes that all add up. While I was in 4-H we had to make a cost list up and I was surprised for two small dogs every year for every cost it was $1,000. Know your limits for yearly care as well as the cost of the puppy or an adult dog and what to get in the beginning (think lots of training and items you also have to have).  Know too how much time they do take, you cannot just leave them for 10 hours a day and expect them to thrive. Spending time to train, exercise and love them will be fulfilling but also consuming especially when they are young. If you travel or work a lot then a puppy might be too much, make sure you think the commitment through before buying; or they end up at a shelter again.

One way to see some of the breeds is to spend some time at a local shelter. While it can be fun to just look around and 'window-shop' it's even better if you can volunteer your time and walk or clean the dogs at the shelter. This will give you a good idea of the typical types in the shelter (some focus on breed types like pits, or get a lot of mill dogs) and if you are able to handle their behaviors and sometimes issues. Many times people just want to save every dog and while that would be nice you have to know your limits in training, care giving and energy. If you can't devote the time to an issue it can get worse and even the small breeds can have serious issues just as much as the big breeds. By volunteering you can also spend some time with not only that one dog that might come home with you but all the dogs that are waiting to find a home. Take your time before committing to a shelter too, some are better than others and you might find policies you don't agree with. Then it would be better to move on to the next and find one you would like to help.

Keep in mind what breed(s) or type of dog you would like while you are in the shelter. It's easy to fall in love with every breed but keep a goal in your mind of what you want and can handle. Knowing the history of the dog is great but not always possible, but having a shot record and getting it fixed will often happen at the shelter. Once you find one that you like spend some extra time with them and see if this is really the one, they are not play things to be brought home and then discarded when they are no longer fun. All too often that is why they end up at the shelter to begin with. Also make sure you know the rules of adopting at that shelter, each will have their own, such as having a fence or taking a training class at the shelter.

Another route you can also go is to rescues which are like shelters but often are more breed related. There are some that do only certain breeds (such as Bichon rescue), small dogs, or there are some that only rescue from certain situations (such as owners that are seniors and no longer able to care for the dog). Finding the right rescue depends on your wants and how they fit with you. Often they have very strict adoption applications so ask before getting attached to a dog and make sure you are set up for the process. Again knowing the dog's history would be great but not always possible, but if they have been fostered by a family you can always ask more about the dog's behavior and see if the vet has seen anything that might become an issue. 

Also if you have the time and energy you can also foster dogs, this requires more because you are getting the dog often right from a bad situation. It can be very fulfilling but also hard on certain people as the dogs then get forever homes and leave you. Again knowing your wants will play a big part of this, but you can always ask and see.

With any shelter or rescue puppy or dog there is the harder part of the not knowing everything. You often can't ask if the dog had a good socialization with the little or if the parents were healthy (although you can sometimes test the dog it might not be until after you have it) or if it is a mix what it might truly be. Many times a puppy looks like one breed and the sibling another, you might know the mother is a lab mix but don't know anything about the sire. Again this is a big choice to take the questions that you might never know and bring the dog into your life and hope for the best as we do with any of our pets, if you are ok with that, then start the search for your pup. 

Picking the Right Puppy: Part 2- Finding a Breeder (part 2 1/2 will be shelters and rescues)

Now that you've picked out a breed (or two), you should try and find the same breeds out in the real world. Many times I've found I have an idea of the breed from reading and looking online or in books, but you never really know the breed until you see a few in real life. Before investing too much time make sure you are financially able to care for a dog, they are not cheap in any way. All too often I hear of a 'free dog' but you don't think of food, vet care, items such as toys, beds and leashes that all add up. While I was in 4-H we had to make a cost list up and I was surprised for two small dogs every year for every cost it was $1,000. Know your limits for yearly care as well as the cost of the puppy and what to get in the beginning (think lots of vet bills in the first year with training and items you also have to have). Know too how much time they do take, you cannot just leave them for 10 hours a day and expect them to thrive. Spending time to train, exercise and love them will be fulfilling but also consuming especially when they are young. If you travel or work a lot then a puppy might be too much, make sure you think the commitment through before buying.

Now if I didn't scare you off, going to a dog show in your area is a great way to see many breeds and often many of the breed you want to see, and guess what, summers are the show season for most areas. Two big rules for going to see a show, one being never touch a show dog without asking. Two being people are not always nice before going into the ring, they are nervous and often have spent hours to get ready for a 5 minute ring time. Wait until the whole breed is done showing, asking the people around you might help you enjoy what the judge is doing and once they start taking pictures or the judge brings in the next breed, seek out some of those dogs that just left the ring. Ask if they are the breeder and have time for questions (some are just handling and showing the dog for the breeder). IF possible make connections to go to their kennel at another time and see the dogs in real situations (dog shows can make dogs crazy too) or see if they know someone else that might be able to help. This is a great way to network and see if they are a person you want to get your puppy from. For show times and places look up AKC or UKC shows in your area or if you want to see more fun types also look into agility, hunt tests, lure coursing, weight pulling and many of the other dog sports you might want to try. You can also do an internet search but beware of puppy-mills, they will often have many breeds or many puppies for sale listed.

Once you find a breeder you like start asking questions, this is very important and make sure you listen to what they really say. Often I see too many 'breeders' say a lot of fluff or technical speak and really they end up not answering the question. Ask how they bring up the puppies; is it in their home, out in a barn area or in kennels. Not that having them in a barn is horrible you just want to make sure that they are touched often, they get their area clean regularly, have plenty to explore once they get old enough to move around and have lots of food and water once weaned. Ask to see the area if they have a litter or see pictures of the area of past litters. Ask about past puppies and how they are doing now, if they still keep in contact. Puppy-mills will not allow you to see where the bitches and puppies are kept, they are in raised kennels with the waste dropping through and little else in the kennel or you will see rows and rows of kennels with litters. Do not buy from these places as you are not 'saving' the puppy you are reinforcing the mill with more money to keep breeding the bitches and keep up the bad puppy rearing. 

This is a local Standard Poodle Breeder with an area for the young dogs to potty, plenty of toys and noise makers as well as food and water. Puppies will always be messy but having enough to learn with is important.

Ask about the parents of the puppies; are they health tested, what titles do they have, how are they living during normal times, how old are they and want do you give the bitch when she is pregnant. All too often you see people breeding too young of dogs with no health testing because they think they are 'real nice dogs', the problem is they might be nice but they might have a genetic factor that once breed together will lead to unhealthy puppies. Having tested them is important (know your breed's health issues) but also knowing want they scored is important too. Most dogs show never be bred before 1 1/2 at the earliest and most don't breed for a few years to make sure they stay healthy as well. Beware of the bitches that get bred every cycle or every year for many years this is hard on a dog. With asking about titles know what you want from the puppy, are you looking for a pretty but maybe laid back dog then show dogs with conformation titles and therapy certifications might be better for a parent dog. Or are you looking for an energetic dog to do dog sports with, look for parents that also have the same dog sport titles on. While the parents personality might not rub off on the puppies for the energy the breeder might be more apt to breeding for those types and knowing how the young pups might be shaped for your needs. Again puppy-mills will not often let you see the parents or will bring out any dogs that might be clean.

After checking all this out, research a bit online checking out not only their sites but if there are any more that come up with that kennel name (every breeder has a kennel name such as Spirit or Diva). Once you get all the questions answered how you would like and you know this is the breeder for you ask to be put on a wait list for a puppy. Often breeder have these if they don't have a litter on the ground or if they are thinking of a litter so that they will have homes for the puppies. For uncommon breeds you can be waiting for a long time so don't be surprised.

Picking the Right Puppy: Part 1- Breed Type

While we all know there are a lot of different types of dogs out there I bet you didn't know that there are well over 300 different breeds world wide and that's not counting all the mixes breeds. Often we are drawn to a look of a dog and maybe know very little about the type. As a child I loved Husky and Scotties but after growing up and knowing that I couldn't handle a Husky's fur type nor a Scottie's stubbornness I found the breeds that were right for the family.

So even if you don't want to go to a breeder and get a purebred dog you still have to know the type of dog you want from a rescue or shelter, don't think you can just go around and look at the cuteness without knowing something about their ancestry. All too often that's how they ended up in those places, the first owners didn't know how to 'deal' with the dog and it became too much for them. For today I will break down the 7 AKC groups into common traits but there are too many separate breed types and mixes to cover. If you find a group or breed you like research it thoroughly to know behavior, temperament, size, coat care, medical issues and anything else that might be important to you.

Sporting Group: Retrievers to Spaniels to Setters to Pointers
This group is known for hunting, they like to have jobs and to do something, don't be surprised if playing fetch for hours is the dog's favorite thing to do. Most shed with a few wire-haired dogs with low shedding, most in this group are not recommended for allergies. Knowing if your breeder was breeding for show (more coat and bone usually) or sport (thinner, taller, less coat usually) will help with knowing how much drive the dog will have. Great dogs for active families, must socialize and do impulse training.

Hound Group: both sight and scent hounds
This group is almost two put together, sight and scent. Sight hounds are taller, thinner and have big bursts of energy. These have to always be on leash outside of fencing because running after prey is so instinctual to them, they will run and quickly. Made for lure coursing and fun for many families. Scent hounds have the long drape ears and typically thicker bodies, these dogs were made to sniff. Known for continual energy but not as much interest in you as the ground they can sniff out any food or even people. Also ones you want to make sure they are contained on leash or fenced as they will follow the trail to the end.

Working Group: Mastiffs to sled dogs to guard dogs
This group is known to having bigger high drive working dogs, knowing what the breed you like's job was is important. Guard dogs have a bad rap but they can be very sweet with socialization and training, they tend to strongly bond with the family. Don't forget that the short coats are easy care but still shed often. Some of the dogs worked in the water and you might have a hard time keeping them out or finding a better use of the energy, don't be surprised if your kiddy pool is theirs now. Also you have sled dogs which have stores of energy and aren't afraid to use them. They can be a bit stubborn but with the right motivation you can have them pulling you on skis or in a cart in no time. For all these dogs having something for them to do is very important or they will drive you nuts with their energy. Most of these dogs have high shedding coats as well so don't be surprised to find it everywhere in the spring and fall.

Terrier Group: From rough wire coats to smooth coats and a couple soft coats too
 These dogs are all known to get prey animals often 'going to ground', they can be terrors if you don't have an outlet for their behaviors. Often called stubborn they do have a mind of their own but with the right motivation they will love to work with you if not exactly for you. The rough wire coats are often seen in this group and should be 'plucked' or hand stripped for a better health rather than cutting like a softer coat, originally they would do it naturally on bushes and such. Smooth coats again are easier but shed more frequently.

Herding Group: sheep to cattle they'll be rounding them up
Once again these dogs are ones that need a job or they will drive you nuts, but often are good with training and direction. Depending on the breed they can be really good with families to needing lots of socializing to be good with anyone, so be aware of the breed. Most will have a shedding coat with  the puli being able to make cords (or dreads) instead. Often you'll find this group wanting to know where all of it's family is and if possible to group them where they can see you all, thus the herd is together. Tons of energy and lots of fun if put into the right direction.

Toy Group: little guys
These were made to be companions and smaller than most other groups. This group has the most allergy safe dogs as well as lower needs for exercise thus you see them more often as pets. Not to say that you don't need to give them some training and fun things to do too. Looking at coat types know that the long silky will need grooming as much as the fluffy poodle, but the short and combo coats will shed. This group gets a bad rap for being snippy but with socialization and proper handling (ie kids need to play gently with small dogs) they are very loving.
 
Non-Sporting: All the rest
This group is the odds and ends group, any breed that didn't fit completely in another group ended here. While there are lots of loving companions they were just a little too big for toy group, such as Lowchen or Bichon. There are also the Poodles who look all fluffy but can and do still hunt and are very active. So looking at this group find a breed and look it over for more information as they are very different for each other.

Remember this is just an overview of the groups, if you find a breed check it out thoroughly before committing to that one (or a mix of them). Next we will look at places to get your puppy!