i think you are very wise to think it through and discuss everything.. rather then plunge in the way i often do..Ang;2545199; said:
What would you do? Puppy question.
- Thread starter Ang
- Start date
IMO I'd definitely go with a lab puppy, when you feel the time is right. My family has three labs, two yellow, one black, and they are by far the best dogs we've ever had. We also bought purebred labs from very good pedigrees, similar to what you were looking at, it sounds like. They are a lot of work, but it is worth it. Our labs are gentle, well-behaved and probably the most protective dogs you'll ever meet. Ours are trained for field and hunt trials and duck hunting in the Chesapeake Bay. While you may not want to do that with yours, they are easy to train and always eager to please, no matter what.
I agree that rescuing dogs if you just want a pet is a good idea, however if you've got a young child, I would get a good puppy from a breeder. With the breeder, you can see the parents and labs always inherit traits from their parents. The temperament of the parents is what you'll get out of your puppy just about every time. If you raise and socialize the pup with your child and around you, it will always know its boundaries and will be a companion for many many years to come. For these reasons, I'd go with a puppy over an adult also. Adult dogs and pound/rescue dogs can have baggage, as you've stated and in my experience, I've seen more bad dogs from rescues than good ones.
Go with the lab pup when you feel the time is right, It will be frustrating at times, but I can promise you with absolute certainty that it will be worth it in the end.
I agree that rescuing dogs if you just want a pet is a good idea, however if you've got a young child, I would get a good puppy from a breeder. With the breeder, you can see the parents and labs always inherit traits from their parents. The temperament of the parents is what you'll get out of your puppy just about every time. If you raise and socialize the pup with your child and around you, it will always know its boundaries and will be a companion for many many years to come. For these reasons, I'd go with a puppy over an adult also. Adult dogs and pound/rescue dogs can have baggage, as you've stated and in my experience, I've seen more bad dogs from rescues than good ones.
Go with the lab pup when you feel the time is right, It will be frustrating at times, but I can promise you with absolute certainty that it will be worth it in the end.
I know the question has been answered, but I felt I had to say this:
So many people think that pound dogs have "emotional problems", some do, but many, many do not.
Many of them have never known what it's like to be hit or neglected, to be hungry or even unhappy.
The girl in my avatar was left t the pound because the owners couldn't keep up with her terrier puppy energy, and she is great. Any problems she has now are caused by things that have happened after we adopted her.
And if you wouldn't want to go to a pound where they have a high-kill ate and usually don't have a lot of background info on the dogs, go to a breed-specific rescue.
They normally have owner-surrenders and get a lot of info on the dog or puppy, and they keep them as long as needed, in foster homes most of the time, so they are already acclimated to a home and other pets, kids, have some training done and are used to the activities associated with a normal household.
People seems to portray 'pound' dogs as mentally unstable, bad behaved, many times aggressive mutts.
They really couldn't be father form the truth, most adult pound dogs are eager to please and learn after being in the pound situation, and crave attention.
Mutts (although MANY pound animals are pure-bred) also tend to be healthier from the new genes that a lot of pure-breds lack.
And the other benefits from adopting are you can choose from just about any breed or mix, from a baby to a senior.
If you absolutely disagree with me and still believe that pound animals are unstable and not safe, then please choose a breeder VERY carefully.
Make sure the breeder has records proving the health and temperament of the dogs for several generations, look over their papers carefully to make sure there is no inbreeding, many breeds are to retain certain traits, but it causes health and temperament problems.
Also check out how the breeder is keeping their dogs, and where they are being kept.
The last thing you want to do is buy from a backyard breeder.
If the owner wants to meet you somewhere with the pups or brings them out to see you, instead of bringing you to them, that is a sign they don't want you to see how their dogs are kept, and is a good sign of a BYB.
Yes, I know I just wrote you a book, but I am very pro-adopt and take every chance I can get to educate people that shelter dogs are not mentally unstable, aggressive, untrained monsters.
And I do know you won't be getting a while, but hey, take that time to educate yourself about the breed you are interested in, and possible rescues.
#side note:
Many rescues take dogs from breeders, so you are getting the same dogs you would be getting from a breeder without supporting the pet overpopulation.
Here are some interesting reads:
http://dogbreedinfo.com/articles/breedersvsrescues.htm
http://www.rescueinfocenter.com/
http://www.stonewallspringers.com/Infopage.html
^ that is a springer site, but is a good thing to judge a BYB from a pro. breeder.
So many people think that pound dogs have "emotional problems", some do, but many, many do not.
Many of them have never known what it's like to be hit or neglected, to be hungry or even unhappy.
The girl in my avatar was left t the pound because the owners couldn't keep up with her terrier puppy energy, and she is great. Any problems she has now are caused by things that have happened after we adopted her.
And if you wouldn't want to go to a pound where they have a high-kill ate and usually don't have a lot of background info on the dogs, go to a breed-specific rescue.
They normally have owner-surrenders and get a lot of info on the dog or puppy, and they keep them as long as needed, in foster homes most of the time, so they are already acclimated to a home and other pets, kids, have some training done and are used to the activities associated with a normal household.
People seems to portray 'pound' dogs as mentally unstable, bad behaved, many times aggressive mutts.
They really couldn't be father form the truth, most adult pound dogs are eager to please and learn after being in the pound situation, and crave attention.
Mutts (although MANY pound animals are pure-bred) also tend to be healthier from the new genes that a lot of pure-breds lack.
And the other benefits from adopting are you can choose from just about any breed or mix, from a baby to a senior.
If you absolutely disagree with me and still believe that pound animals are unstable and not safe, then please choose a breeder VERY carefully.
Make sure the breeder has records proving the health and temperament of the dogs for several generations, look over their papers carefully to make sure there is no inbreeding, many breeds are to retain certain traits, but it causes health and temperament problems.
Also check out how the breeder is keeping their dogs, and where they are being kept.
The last thing you want to do is buy from a backyard breeder.
If the owner wants to meet you somewhere with the pups or brings them out to see you, instead of bringing you to them, that is a sign they don't want you to see how their dogs are kept, and is a good sign of a BYB.
Yes, I know I just wrote you a book, but I am very pro-adopt and take every chance I can get to educate people that shelter dogs are not mentally unstable, aggressive, untrained monsters.
And I do know you won't be getting a while, but hey, take that time to educate yourself about the breed you are interested in, and possible rescues.
#side note:
Many rescues take dogs from breeders, so you are getting the same dogs you would be getting from a breeder without supporting the pet overpopulation.
Here are some interesting reads:
http://dogbreedinfo.com/articles/breedersvsrescues.htm
http://www.rescueinfocenter.com/
http://www.stonewallspringers.com/Infopage.html
^ that is a springer site, but is a good thing to judge a BYB from a pro. breeder.
