Where to get a puppy? | Page 8 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Where to get a puppy?

Our lab mutt was $21.5K for just under 11 years. I thought that was crazy high and my wife thought that was a very reasonable price.

Cost $75 to buy. Big expenses were $3.5K for a dental visit that took two hours (f that vet) and a dumpster fire at the end. My wife is completely unable to say no. Dog was cooked, the possible diagnoses were cancer or heart issues neither of which could be treated and she still "needed" to spend over $1K on an ultrasound. That confirmed cancer. What a load of crap. My choices were let the ultrasound happen or get a divorce. Dog died two weeks later. We don't have another dog yet and she is always looking but I am a hard no as she has zero ability to exercise financial restraint with pets. The only way to limit spending is to not have a pet. If she had some common sense in this area, we'd probably have another dog.
Pet insurance is a way to limit liability - figure about $1000/year with co-pays.
 
Don't get me started on "rescues" from far away. What a bleeping crazy business that is. There are tons of available dogs in Ontario that get the needle as they don't have enough homes for them. Relocating dogs thousands of miles is idiotic and akin to youtubers filming giving a homeless guy a sandwich. It is all about bragging to your friends/followers how awesome you are.

I never understood bringing dogs in from across the globe.
I'm sure there are thousands available here for adoption.
 
Was in florida A couple months ago, Stopped into a pet store and almost fell over when they told me the min was 3000 for a puppy. Most came from puppy mills, Eyes was all gooped over and running nose
 
I never understood bringing dogs in from across the globe.
I'm sure there are thousands available here for adoption.
Priller had a well reasoned answer.

My brother got a bully dog from Texas, a friend got a chihuahua from California, other friends have Caribean street dogs. In those cases, their justification was mostly bs imo.
 
We learned that finding the right pet insurance was a good way to maintain costs versus high priced and unexpected vet bills.
Doesn't work for everyone, but worked well for us and our dogs.
I have never gotten pet insurance I see it as them betting the bills will be less than the premium. Our last dog was 17 cancer at the end vet bills were reasonable.

Sent from the future
 
I have never gotten pet insurance I see it as them betting the bills will be less than the premium. Our last dog was 17 cancer at the end vet bills were reasonable.

Sent from the future
Doesn't work for everyone, but worked well for us and our dogs.
 
I have never gotten pet insurance I see it as them betting the bills will be less than the premium.
That's all insurance. The difference is most pets seem to get very expensive at the end. Premiums reflect that expected payout. Most car policies only pay out every few decades, home policies probably closer to centuries between major claims.
 
Our lab mutt was $21.5K for just under 11 years. I thought that was crazy high and my wife thought that was a very reasonable price.

Cost $75 to buy. Big expenses were $3.5K for a dental visit that took two hours (f that vet) and a dumpster fire at the end. My wife is completely unable to say no. Dog was cooked, the possible diagnoses were cancer or heart issues neither of which could be treated and she still "needed" to spend over $1K on an ultrasound. That confirmed cancer. What a load of crap. My choices were let the ultrasound happen or get a divorce. Dog died two weeks later. We don't have another dog yet and she is always looking but I am a hard no as she has zero ability to exercise financial restraint with pets. The only way to limit spending is to not have a pet. If she had some common sense in this area, we'd probably have another dog.
We just started using a website called Rover to drop our dog off for daycare, since he’ll go nuts in the house with tradespeople coming and going all day.
Lots of people on River who watch dogs either during the day or at night are previuus dog owners who can’t have that commitment right now for some reason and watch other peoples dogs here and there to get their fix.

That might be good for people like your wife, or just make your life even harder…
 
We just started using a website called Rover to drop our dog off for daycare, since he’ll go nuts in the house with tradespeople coming and going all day.
Lots of people on River who watch dogs either during the day or at night are previuus dog owners who can’t have that commitment right now for some reason and watch other peoples dogs here and there to get their fix.

That might be good for people like your wife, or just make your life even harder…
She's already found that and excited about it. We'll see. I suspect it will be a loser. By the time Rover takes their cut, the rest gets taxed and you have some mileage to the dogs, it may end up being a money loser.
 
She's already found that and excited about it. We'll see. I suspect it will be a loser. By the time Rover takes their cut, the rest gets taxed and you have some mileage to the dogs, it may end up being a money loser.
We were looking into Rover awhile back as we were planning a trip and required dog sitting. we only looked at the top rated people and were in contact with a few. Some used Rover as well as their own services for the exact same reasons. Rover got them started and built them reliable reviews, then for repeat customers they would offer a discounted rate "off the rover books"...

With our property having a small kennel, we were thinking of offering some dog days for invited and trusted people to come out and let there dogs run around in a safe environment. The kennel would be used as a time out if a dog (or its owner) get a little too excited.. LOL
 
Be prepared for heartbreak too....Buddy was a real find
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...just 18th months ( we've had several with some Great Dane and Dalmation mix and he was great....not as big as he looks in photo.) Tanta was smaller and JD larger with similar genetics - actually brother and sister with different fathers.
Buddy was still a puppy in many ways, had a hard time learning to get in a car :giggle: Loved chasing stuff..little barking..we were very pleased.....he was a joy - just a bundle of happiness.
Then started scratching at his ear one day off and on. Partner is a nurse and attuned to these things and treated him a bit and it seemed to settle.
It was the first dog I personally owned ( due to tagging policy limits ) since my first dog Rusty, a cocker spaniel in the 50s.
All was going along fine and suddenly got a message....Buddy is gone!!!!. :eek::cry:
I was still Canada and Jude and I were heartbroken. He had a seizure due to an infection that progressed to his brain and that was it, gone in hours ...despite getting to the vets within an hour and despite Jude being a 30 year nurse.
Took Jude two years to recover and still blames herself for not paying closer attention. She had a very rough recovery and finally Maple came up as a rescue and is our constant companion. They become a serious family member and if something happens heart ache ensues.

Mapes has a been a treat ( and some scares when she escaped to the street ) and now a bit older has settled into mostly matronly composure cept at dinner time when the inner puppy surfaces. She did not like any form of water including baths but after seeing other dogs at a local park with a stream just had to join in .....still won't have a bath but the stream is fine...not the ocean. ;)
She has made us laugh so many times and has a great grin. She also talks a lot.
The "why aren't you up for yet for a walk" comes with the look and the chatter.
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Dottor in law has a real rescue pup, part wolfhound and growing....chews everything including Maple but they run themselves ragged on play dates ( often a few times a week ).
Chewed ears are from mating battles when she was feral. Vet figures she had 4 litters and has some scars to prove it.
 
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He had a seizure due to an infection that progressed to his brain and that was it, gone in hours ...despite getting to the vets within an hour and despite Jude being a 30 year nurse.
Turns out that can happen to people too. I apparently came far closer to that path than I would think possible. Path from onset pain to emergency surgery was five days (and it should have been shorter as things were spiralling quickly at that point).
 
Not a common breed that many suggest (maybe not for a first time dog owner) - Jack Russell Terrier.

Small but pretty strong and smart.
With some training and proper socialization (and a routine), they are a really nice companion dog and super affectionate. Can be both a lazy couch potatoe and ready to go on an adventure.
All of mine have different personalities.

If you do go the kijiji route, try to make sure at least the mom is on site. Bonus if the dad is there too. Too many bad breeders/brokers/scammers - you can get a feel based on how they chat with you. I try to look for family dogs where the dogs live with the family in the home and maybe bred one or twice in their life before getting fixed.

Edit: I forgot to add, some of these can be/ are really great therapist dogs despite their reputation (Nikki on the left is so great with people and kids - she did have babies once. Nick, her son, in the middle doesn't have a mean bone in his body.... also surprisingly great with people/babies and other animals. His brother is a registered therapist dog where his owner and him goes to elementary schools and helps the kids there. One of his sisters is also great with all and the mom wished she registered her to become a therapy dog but is a great family dog getting spoiled. The other sister is prey driven but loves humans. Beatrix on the right is our newest addition - she is a covid puppy and might have not had the best beginning/ not socialized properly but have had great improvements since coming into our family.
 

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Not a common breed that many suggest (maybe not for a first time dog owner) - Jack Russell Terrier.

Small but pretty strong and smart.
With some training and proper socialization (and a routine), they are a really nice companion dog and super affectionate. Can be both a lazy couch potatoe and ready to go on an adventure.
All of mine have different personalities.

If you do go the kijiji route, try to make sure at least the mom is on site. Bonus if the dad is there too. Too many bad breeders/brokers/scammers - you can get a feel based on how they chat with you. I try to look for family dogs where the dogs live with the family in the home and maybe bred one or twice in their life before getting fixed.

Edit: I forgot to add, some of these can be/ are really great therapist dogs despite their reputation (Nikki on the left is so great with people and kids - she did have babies once. Nick, her son, in the middle doesn't have a mean bone in his body.... also surprisingly great with people/babies and other animals. His brother is a registered therapist dog where his owner and him goes to elementary schools and helps the kids there. One of his sisters is also great with all and the mom wished she registered her to become a therapy dog but is a great family dog getting spoiled. The other sister is prey driven but loves humans. Beatrix on the right is our newest addition - she is a covid puppy and might have not had the best beginning/ not socialized properly but have had great improvements since coming into our family.
My family had a Jack Russell. Fantastic dog, super, super smart. A ton of energy though, didn't really subside until she was well into her teens.
 
Our first dog wasn’t insured. Cost us a fortune. Our two now are insured and we break even/come out on top because one has had hip issues from day 1 and also an ACL surgery and leg problems such that he’s been on pain meds all his life. He just had surgery to remove a few suspect lumps too. Loveliest little bugger there is. Everyone at the vet loves him as he’s a regular. His sister is the opposite…strong as an ox, twice as stubborn and rock solid. When we adopted them by chance we think we got the alpha and the runt. Wouldn’t change a thing. Love them to bits.
 
This is where we got ours from: Home - Joyfulpuppies
FB: Joyfulpuppies.com

You have two young children, right Mimico? Be prepared to spend a lot of time with the puppy for the first three months. You will need to look into some basic training as well towards the 4-6 month mark.

Ours is a Sheepadoodle - super needy for attention due to the sheepdog side of him.
 
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This is where we got ours from: Home - Joyfulpuppies
FB: Joyfulpuppies.com

You have two young children, right Mimico? Be prepared to spend a lot of time with the puppy for the first three months. You will need to look into some basic training as well towards the 4-6 month mark.

Ours is a Sheepadoodle - super needy for attention due to the sheepdog side of him.
If you buy from a breeder with a litter you can watch how the pups interact.

Our daughter bought a Morkie (Maltese Yorkie cross) and picked the one that interacted the most with her.

That little thing is pure attention whore and has to be with someone all the time. Not great if you have other things to do.

Little things count in observations. When we got a cat from the humane society most of the cats were actually reaching out for attention with their paws. While none of them were aggressive the one we picked reached out but the claws were fully retracted.

Beautiful natured animal. It knew when our daughter wasn't feeling well and laid with her. Knew what time people got home and waited at the door.
 
If you buy from a breeder with a litter you can watch how the pups interact.

Our daughter bought a Morkie (Maltese Yorkie cross) and picked the one that interacted the most with her.

That little thing is pure attention whore and has to be with someone all the time. Not great if you have other things to do.

Little things count in observations. When we got a cat from the humane society most of the cats were actually reaching out for attention with their paws. While none of them were aggressive the one we picked reached out but the claws were fully retracted.

Beautiful natured animal. It knew when our daughter wasn't feeling well and laid with her. Knew what time people got home and waited at the door.

We went to adopt one dog from the rescue. Picked her out (she’s the alpha) and she was gorgeous, as my wife was playing with her at the rescue her brother picked up my wife’s handbag and ran away with it. We took him home as well.

He’s the one with the big medical bills, he was trying to tell us what he would cost from day one.
 
Wifey does dog walking, boarding, daycare full time.

When she first started in 2019 she used rover to help establish a clientele but she came off it just before covid. Today i heard her refuse a client again because she can't take more LOL

Rover is hit or miss in terms of who youre gonna get, there are some great ones and some not so great ones. Then you have boarding facilities which are basically friendly pup prisons hotels.
 
I'm all for adoption but they make it so hard to adopt certain breeds of dogs that its almost impossible to get. You can walk into any pound and get a pitbull or a terrier or some random mix of dog and they'll thank you for taking it off their hands because they are in general less desirable dogs and there is 30 others just like it in the cages beside it. You want a golden retriever, or a shiba, etc., they are in such high demand that there are questionnaires to fill out before they would even consider letting you adopt it - how big is your yard, is it fenced, how many walks per day will you take it on, how long, how many hours a day do you work, etc. etc. etc. The local shelter got a golden retriever in December and essentially like buying a house, said that because of how high the demand they expect for the dog, you had until x date to put in a questionnaire and then they would review them all after... I'm not jumping through hoops to spend money - a dog is a dog whether it is in a shelter or in someone's house.

I went with Kijiji - bought our dog from a family that had two goldens that missed the window to spay the female. Obviously not a puppy mill, the owner obviously cared for all the dogs, still texts me asking for pictures of her.

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