Where to get a puppy?

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Reviving this thread as all I get each and every day from my wife are puppies for adoption.

We've had a few communications from an adoption FB group...but I'm getting puppy mill vibes from them as they don't really answer any of my specific questions, but more generic (including the wrong dog name / breed).

We stopped this process as my wife was pregnant, but now with the youngest at 3 years old we want to look again.

- no more than 30lbs (closer to 20lbs according to wife)
- minimal / non-shedding (hypoallergenic)
- not a yapper
- good with kids
- ideally younger so they can grow with the kids/family

We're sending out feelers to friends and family if they know of anyone, as I feel those are safer best than random FB groups.

What should a typical 'adoption fee' be? We're seeing $600-850 on the FB page. I'm not opposed to making a 3-5hr round trip if it's the right person/puppy.
 
mimico_polak said:
Reviving this thread as all I get each and every day from my wife are puppies for adoption.

We've had a few communications from an adoption FB group...but I'm getting puppy mill vibes from them as they don't really answer any of my specific questions, but more generic (including the wrong dog name / breed).

We stopped this process as my wife was pregnant, but now with the youngest at 3 years old we want to look again.

- no more than 30lbs (closer to 20lbs according to wife)
- minimal / non-shedding (hypoallergenic)
- not a yapper
- good with kids
- ideally younger so they can grow with the kids/family

We're sending out feelers to friends and family if they know of anyone, as I feel those are safer best than random FB groups.

What should a typical 'adoption fee' be? We're seeing $600-850 on the FB page. I'm not opposed to making a 3-5hr round trip if it's the right person/puppy.
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Most of the legit dog rescue/adoption places are in that price range although that often includes spay/neuter.
 
You're missing out on a bunch of potential good furry friends with the weight and fur thing. Get any young dog and train it well and it should be good with kids. Older dogs with bad habits would be harder.

When our beagle died we went out and adopted two fluffy things that turned into 50lb+ mischievous little buggers. They shed at times but it’s not an issue. Wouldn’t have changed a thing, they are 13.5 years old now and I get a workout lifting one or both up and down the stairs.

We only went to adopt one dog but the other grabbed my wife’s handbag and ran off with it at the adoption place. Figured he didn’t want us leaving without him. The adoption fee sounds about right.

Get pet insurance.
 
There are some vet cost comments in the Indian sols thread, my hijack.

Scuba Steve

Thread 'Indian motorcycles sold '

Now that Indian is in private equity how long until the bankruptcy?
Indian Motorcycles Has Been Sold, Polaris No Longer Owner In Shocking Announcement https://share.google/DB0xFv9wF69zISb48

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Private equity is taking over the market so consider the costs with an older animal. I tend to be cynical so when I hear of someone rehoming an older animal my first thought is they can't afford the vet costs but don't want to put the animal down.

Pet insurance isn't cheap and will go up if private equity takes over the market, jacking the prices.
 
nobbie48 said:
There are some vet cost comments in the Indian sols thread, my hijack.

Scuba Steve

Thread 'Indian motorcycles sold '

Now that Indian is in private equity how long until the bankruptcy?
Indian Motorcycles Has Been Sold, Polaris No Longer Owner In Shocking Announcement https://share.google/DB0xFv9wF69zISb48

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
  • Like
  • Wow

Private equity is taking over the market so consider the costs with an older animal. I tend to be cynical so when I hear of someone rehoming an older animal my first thought is they can't afford the vet costs but don't want to put the animal down.

Pet insurance isn't cheap and will go up if private equity takes over the market, jacking the prices.
Click to expand...

It's not cheap but for us we have come out more or less even or better over the years. Vet fees are no joke. One of our guys has been on anti-inflammatories since he was 10 weeks old. The insurance covers (80%) his painkillers, a shot every month for arthritis and pain. He had an ACL surgery paid for, emergency surgery for a cut on his side plus a bunch of other things. His sister is sensible.
 
I’m from a ‘dog’ family , my mom had a kennel and raised fox terriers , we had spaniels , labs , chow chows , mitts and a variety of hounds . There have been two dozen dogs in my life , often two or three at a time . Stuff I’ve learned ? (The hard way )
Small dogs often require more exercise than a large breed .
Guardian dogs are guarding dogs for a reason , they are often NOT family pets
Small breeds are often my default yappy
There are so many ‘oodle crossbreeds it’s just annoying ( imo)
There are a thousand dogs in shelters that need a home .
Most expensive dog to own I ever had was a pure bred yellow lab , nineteen K and he died at seven.
My current dog , rescue from Georgia , got sick at five , stomach infection, we almost lost her but six K in hospital stays fixed her up , at nine now , she is an almost perfect dog .
Vets are expensive , get insurance if you can .
I never met a puppy I didn’t love but I’ve met some two yr olds I would willingly drown . Do lots of research and get a dog that fits YOUR lifestyle , wife and kids will all claim , I’ll walk it , I’ll take it out to play . Two months in, it’s your problem



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crankcall said:
Guardian dogs are guarding dogs for a reason , they are often NOT family pets
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That needs an asterisk. Most of the Shepherd types guard their pack aka the family and make excellent family pets. Mals tend to be one person dogs but are still fine with a family, just more aloof, usually. Unless they have a particular mental issue they are good with kids. My last Shepherd was in charge of entertaining the customer's kids at Spokes 'n Slopes on Saturdays. I never had to worry about her.

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crankcall said:
I’m from a ‘dog’ family , my mom had a kennel and raised fox terriers , we had spaniels , labs , chow chows , mitts and a variety of hounds . There have been two dozen dogs in my life , often two or three at a time . Stuff I’ve learned ? (The hard way )
Small dogs often require more exercise than a large breed .
Guardian dogs are guarding dogs for a reason , they are often NOT family pets
Small breeds are often my default yappy
There are so many ‘oodle crossbreeds it’s just annoying ( imo)
There are a thousand dogs in shelters that need a home .
Most expensive dog to own I ever had was a pure bred yellow lab , nineteen K and he died at seven.
My current dog , rescue from Georgia , got sick at five , stomach infection, we almost lost her but six K in hospital stays fixed her up , at nine now , she is an almost perfect dog .
Vets are expensive , get insurance if you can .
I never met a puppy I didn’t love but I’ve met some two yr olds I would willingly drown . Do lots of research and get a dog that fits YOUR lifestyle , wife and kids will all claim , I’ll walk it , I’ll take it out to play . Two months in, it’s your problem



Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Click to expand...
Small dogs can be a problem in that they can get into places larger ones can't and find things they shouldn't have. They are more susceptible to the toxins people try to feed them, chocolate, anything related to grapes, onions, garlic and a bunch of other people food.
 
JC99 said:
It's not cheap but for us we have come out more or less even or better over the years. Vet fees are no joke. One of our guys has been on anti-inflammatories since he was 10 weeks old. The insurance covers (80%) his painkillers, a shot every month for arthritis and pain. He had an ACL surgery paid for, emergency surgery for a cut on his side plus a bunch of other things. His sister is sensible.
Click to expand...
I think my daughter is nearing $10K for her 13-year-old cat. She didn't go for insurance and figures it's about break even, considering the deductibles.
 
Another vote for Petfinder and also for not discounting a bigger dog (depending on your lifestyle).
An alternate to pet insurance, open a bank account and put money in every month (what ever you would have put in for pet insurance) to use for pet care. Like Nobbie48 mentioned with our guy we are about break even for vet bills v deductibles/rising insurance rates.
 
We bought our last dog (a lab mutt) for $150. He lasted about 10.5 years and cost $21k, more than half of that after six years. I thought that was insane and my wife thought it was a great use of money. So far I have held off on getting another as that's bleeping insane.

My wife likes bigger dogs (40-100 lbs). That one decision drives a lot of other costs that aren't captured. For instance, she needs an SUV as the stupid dog is too big to fit in the back seat with the kids. A small dog allows free selection of vehicle.
 
mimico_polak said:
Reviving this thread as all I get each and every day from my wife are puppies for adoption.
Click to expand...

Are you Absolutely sure you want to get a dog?
Crankcall pretty much nailed it below:
crankcall said:
Do lots of research and get a dog that fits YOUR lifestyle , wife and kids will all claim , I’ll walk it , I’ll take it out to play . Two months in, it’s your problem
Click to expand...

My cousin has 3 boys (16, 11, 7) as well. His wife and boys were excited about the puppy for the first 3-4 weeks at most. Then the excitement wore off and all the responsibility fell onto him. No one wants to walk the dog willingly. The boys take it out for a 10 min walk after their mum shouts at them for 45 mins every evening. Otherwise it stays leashed in the basement or left outside in the backyard whenever the weather is nice.

I wouldnt be surprised if I'm the only one that gives it some attention/love/affection along with some treats and take it out for 1-2 hour walks from time to time (I use it as an excuse to get away from noisy/annoying family parties they host whenever I am obligated to attend).
No dog should have a life like that imo.
If you are able to, I'd suggest dog sitting for 2-3 weeks to get a feel of the level of responsibility involved with something like this.
Daily walks, monitoring its poop to gauge its digestive health, interaction for mental stimulation, training etc etc all adds up time-wise. Its not a one and done thing.

Worst thing you can do is get a puppy and then dump it at a shelter a year in because you have no time to take care of it. If that puppy/young dog does not get adopted by another family, it will most likely get euthanized - do you really want that on your conscience?

Best thing you can do it adopt an older dog and give it a life it never had as it lives out the rest of its days.
 
Thanks all for the comments and suggestions.

And yes, both @crankcall and @POWERMAN are correct…the kids already said that mommy and daddy will walk it and pick up poop…and we’re both ok with it.

We’ll keep looking as this is not a rush, and I’d rather take my time instead of jumping too quickly.

I’ve got 10 links from my wife to go through of the ones she sent!
 
Want a good dog? Get a rez dog. They are free, rarely need to see a vet in their entire lives, don’t ask for more than food and a bit of exercise.
Natural selection has made them friendly, loyal and tolerate the outdoors

Here’s my buddy Hobo. He’s homeless but makes himself a good life by being friendly and respectful of the hands that feed him.
IMG_2019.jpeg
He comes to my camp kitchen door at dinner time, sits patiently for the boys to eat then dines on leftovers. He never tries to enter the building and he’s happy to just to have company.
 
We got an SUV for our dogs but it didn’t work as well as we wanted. Needed a separate opening rear window (it's just useful, trust me) but not many SUVs have that so hunted around for one that did. Bought one used.

Cost us a fortune.

Bed was too high for the dogs to jump onto when they got older so we sold the frame and put the mattress on the floor.

Nearly every room in our house has a dog bed in, some of them have two. We have no floor space.

The boy dog has a special harness we put him in now to lift him up stairs etc. He's gotten used to it and knows it's there to help him.

We buy turkey from Costco and I'm lucky if I see two slices of it.

I cook a pack of sausages and I might get a couple.

We have a bonded leather sofa that we've had for years. It’s scuffed and scratched and we can’t get rid of it as it's been claimed by the fur pigs.

Would do it all again in a heartbeat. Our dogs are our life long companions. They don’t ask for much and give so much in return.

When we were looking for dogs to adopt we nearly got a Great Dane, the only reason we didn’t was because they don’t live very long, not the size.

I can never imagine a time when we won’t have dogs.
 
JC99 said:
We got an SUV for our dogs but it didn’t work as well as we wanted. Needed a separate opening rear window (it's just useful, trust me) but not many SUVs have that so hunted around for one that did. Bought one used.

Cost us a fortune.

Bed was too high for the dogs to jump onto when they got older so we sold the frame and put the mattress on the floor.

Nearly every room in our house has a dog bed in, some of them have two. We have no floor space.

The boy dog has a special harness we put him in now to lift him up stairs etc. He's gotten used to it and knows it's there to help him.

We buy turkey from Costco and I'm lucky if I see two slices of it.

I cook a pack of sausages and I might get a couple.

We have a bonded leather sofa that we've had for years. It’s scuffed and scratched and we can’t get rid of it as it's been claimed by the fur pigs.

Would do it all again in a heartbeat. Our dogs are our life long companions. They don’t ask for much and give so much in return.

When we were looking for dogs to adopt we nearly got a Great Dane, the only reason we didn’t was because they don’t live very long, not the size.

I can never imagine a time when we won’t have dogs.
Click to expand...
My best friend, Kita, a Siberian died after a short illness at 14. I’ve had dogs all my life, she stands out along with a Lionberger, Ruffie, who was my companion for 14 years as well.

For the first time in 50 years, we don’t have a dog. We are enjoying the freedom but there is a hole in the fam without one.

Kita’s best friend (we got them together) is a Russian Blue cat,Shady, who behaves like a dog. We still have him and probably won’t get another dog until his days are over.

1760582368362.jpeg

The two of them waited at our front window for my wife to come home from work every nite.
 
Mad Mike said:
My best friend, Kita, a Siberian died after a short illness at 14. I’ve had dogs all my life, she stands out along with a Lionberger, Ruffie, who was my companion for 14 years as well.

For the first time in 50 years, we don’t have a dog. We are enjoying the freedom but there is a hole in the fam without one.

Kita’s best friend (we got them together) is a Russian Blue cat,Shady, who behaves like a dog. We still have him and probably won’t get another dog until his days are over.

View attachment 76350

The two of them waited at our front window for my wife to come home from work every nite.
Click to expand...

We have a very trusted friend who looks after the dogs in the house when we are away. If she can’t do it, we don’t go away. We used to board them in kennels when they were younger but they came back bored and unhappy plus they kind of have special needs now and I never fully trusted the kennels. They are both old, one is in a bad way with his mobility but so far every morning he's told me in his own way he wants to go on.
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