are puppies GFMPH?

I know, unrelated question but I need all the help I can get.

Looking for a puppy and had no idea what a shady industry it is. Basically anything I've found so far under $2K turns out to be a puppy mill or a bait and switch operation based on the stuff I've found online.

Yes, I've put in for two adoptions but even that is a crazy process.

So I'm asking you for recommendations to breeders you may have. I know dogs as pets in America is as American as baseball, apple pie and hooters so I'm sure a bunch of you have some insight for me. I've literally spent 3 weeks now obsessing over this, corresponding with breeders I find online and via kennel clubs, and researching their practices with some scary results (aliases, warrants etc). Was also shocked at how many puppies are sold online based on a photograph, no questions asked, and then shipped via air for $250. What kind of personality disorders can that cause?

My other problem is that I want a terrier, specifically a wire fox terrier with some spunk, while my wife and daughter want a toy breed, specifically a Havanese. My son would like a bulldog or a mastiff but that's not happening.

Thanks for your help if you have any.

You and I will find absolute and unconditional common ground right here.

My journey was at first quite a bit full of various therapies. My wife when I met her 20 years ago was a pure cat person. I was the dog guy. Well with depression a challenge early on, she decided to take my to the shelters. Enter my best friend ~ Blackie. He loves to lie at my feet when I am in my home office, where I have been doing most of my HW posts. He's there right now, reliably and dependably. After two years we got him a friend. Enter Shelby. She does anything and everything Blackie does.

Was this good for me? Yup! And these are our kids now that our kid is grown up and on his own. We are both very blessed by our loving friends. And they provide unconditional love and support to me and to my wife now a bone-afide dog person.

Both pups came from the shelter. Shelby was in the "pups on parole" program since she was 3 months old and we got her at 4 months. She was already very well trained by a local prisoner incarcerated in a local women's correctional facility. Blackie ~ he's by my feet. Again, and as always.

Yes. Great therapy.

Tony

Yes!

Meet the seller in person, and the puppy that is to be yours might just pick you.

Looking forward to those reports of how your new friend can make the stress fade away.

I've had poodles all my life....you can make um foo foo if you want ( not me) but really they are a great breed...smart, don't shed, loving, yada yada , got my last 2 from a poodle rescue group which required an in depth in person interview and a vet reference....so they care where their doggies go....so try a rescue group for the breed you desire. Absolutely good  GFMPH

Shelter dog here. Hound dog, Coon Hound to be more specific. I have a friend for life and she never EVER asks questions of me. Here she is in some photos if you wanna take a peek. Bella She is the Tan hound.
The best dogs are rescue dogs IMHO.

The day I left for prostate surgery I will never forget. She had been acting suspicious and being very quite all morning. This was not like her. She is a bouncing ball like you wouldn't believe.

When it was finally time to go, she became very attached and literally jumped in my arms and tried to wrap her legs around around my neck and whimpering loudly. She did not want me leaving. She had never acted like that before either, she knew something was going on and she didn't want me to leave.
Needless to say, it was hard to leave her that morning.

Are puppies GFMPH? You darn well better believe it is!

My coworker

Barrowsbluebullies.com

He is a good guy, I don't know if you want this type of dog or not but I know one of his dogs had puppies the other day

you guys have mentioned a lot of dogs I love. A Bloodhound was always on my list but the slobbering is a deal breaker. So I researched coonhounds but my wife nixed it as she thought it was a politically incorrect name. I fell for Ridgebacks a few years ago. My good friend, an MMA fighter and now instructor for Renzo Gracie Holland had two and they were majestic. The boy, Kronos, knocked my son down the first time we met him. Great great dogs. My wife wouldn't let me have one because of the shedding and because they could kill a man with ease if provoked. Makes no sense, i pay for an ADT subscription but she doesn't want a dog that could really protect her. My friends Ridgebacks were professionally trained and it was like have two armed guards in the house. Bulldogs are cute but have health problems, fart all the time and my vet sister said they have serious health issues.

This evening I finally decided on the wire fox terrier. I know it will be a handful to socialize and train due to its hunter nature and its stubborn nature but I love their independent fierce character mixed in with their ridiculously funny looks. I found a great trustworthy breeder near Albany NY. The couple was not pushy at all, advised me on some of their colleagues that charged less and how to contact them, and taught me a lot about puppy mills. I researched them and much to my surprise the first hit I got was a wall street journal story about them mentioning how they won an Oscar in 1974! how weird is that? The last line on her last email this evening was to inform me that we don't pick the puppy, the puppy picks us. I fine with that as long as a boy puppy picks us! This breed needs a ton of exercise, now I have no option but to get back in shape. I have concerns about all this but I think it's be good for me and for my family. Last time I had a dog I was a small kid. My kids have never had one. My daughter is complaining that this dog is ugly and that she won't be seen in public with it because all her friends have toy breeds. I tired to explain to her that a dog isn't an accessory but I think I'll win this one by letting our new puppy specifically chose her.

Oh, and the other great thing is that to get to this breeder I get to drive up the Hudson during a spectacular time of year when all the leaves are turning green, red and orange. Could be a great day.

ps - I still need to do my yearly PSA test. Delaying it again this year too after all. Maybe the fearless attitude of the new puppy will rub off on me.

everyone has warned me that owning one of these means this:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PejjvNAY_zc

Post Edited (davidg) : 11/1/2013 11:33:07 PM (GMT-6)

Hi there,  I don't post often, but a lurker in the background.  I've owned and trained lots of dogs over the years.  Have owned a Scottish terrier, 2 poodles, lab, now have a schnoodle, which is a rescue and a field springer spaniel.

When I got my field springer, i too said I wanted an active dog that I can do things with.  I am very active and found this was a bonus... so I thought.  His activity level was beyond anything I could have imagined and it was a real struggle.  I wound up working with a professional trainer for a year and a half to get him both on and off lead trained so i could exercise and work him in a proper manner.  It was well worth it, but a BIG commitment with time and $$.  Remember, you cannot just exercise a high energy dog to calm them down.... they need mental stimulation too.  They need a job.  The more exercise you give them, the more conditioned they will be and then the more they will need, or demand if you are talking about a terrier.

So, my 2 cents, I would not advise anyone from not getting the breed that they want and love, but put a lot of thought into it.  I looked at a wirefox as well and they are a LOT of work and will be VERY naughty until you can properly train and contain that energy.  They also like to dig.  You will have lots of holes in the backyard.  They are definitely not a for a first dog owner (not sure about any other dogs you may have had).  As a hunter, you will need a fenced yard for sure.  If it gets out and gets on a scent, it will be long gone for sure. 

So, I am not trying to dissuade you, just go in eyes wide open.  If you are not 100% after this email, check out the Scottish Terrier.  Definitely has the terrier spunk, but toned down from a wirefox.  I opted for a scotty after checking out the wirefox.  BTW, a lot of reputable wirefox breeders won't place one of their puppies in a home that does not have terrier experience.  Good luck!!

Friday one of these guys is apparently going to pick us www.flickr.com/photos/107691515@N07/

The breeder was nice enough to send us multiple shots of all 12 puppies (two litters, other one is whiter). My daughter thinks she's picked her choice already ut I know anything can happen Friday.

Can't wait, we drive up to Albany on Friday.

Davidg,

Good luck on your pick of the litter, or maybe who the litter picks.

We've always had dogs. Love them. The last 2 (20 years) have been rescue dogs from the pound. Both have been/are incredibly smart. Both were/are mutts. Both had learned how to dive for frisbees underwater in the pool. Get in and out of the pool at the ladder whenever they want. Bark when they want something. Sociable. Do what they're told when need be. They had no genetic disposition to any particular ailment. Didn't shed too much. Loved rv'ing. Loving and loyal without issue. Good companions.

Others had mentioned the attributes of getting a pound dog...usually, they don't go wrong and they are grateful for a good home. Might be something to consider. Our next one will be another mutt. Just ask my wife.

Good luck!

Mike

adorable. Keeping them all? That's a handful.

I'm sure you'll have no trouble. I consistently see pugs in the top 10 list of popular dogs.

I've been preparing my wife for our addition. Some people think we're crazy to introduce this level of activity into our sedentary lifestyles.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PejjvNAY_zc

I've had shelter dogs and strays all my life. Even when I was in Vietnam my outfit had a couple of stray puppies they'd adopted before I arrived. The sailor who was taking care of them recognized me right off as a dog person, and since he was about to rotate back to the world, he put the dogs in my care. When my tour was coming to and end I put another newly arrived sailor in charge of their care. I even had a wounded dog shipped up the coast to me via swift boat from from an RVN navy base by one of our USN advisors. The dog had multiple shrapnel wounds, but none of them were deep and she recovered nicely.

My current dog is 5 year old Django. My wife and I got him from the local shelter here in Massachusetts that actually imports puppies from rural areas, where many dogs aren't neutered. He and his siblings were found in a culvert in Virginia. The shelter's and our best guess was black lab mix, but we were very wrong. He is hound through and trough. Half-again bigger than a beagle and as stubborn as a basset. I'm finally getting around to fixing the 100-year-old woodwork he chewed up five years ago with his puppy teeth when we weren't watching closely enough. But he's settled in to a really good dog. We take him on long vacation trips towing our trailer and he'll lay in the back seat of the truck happy to be allowed to sleep on the truck's "furniture", which he's not allowed to do at home, and sitting up from time to time to watch the world going by.