Buying a Dog

[Amastacia]

So I've never bought a dog before. Back when I was a kid you waited until someone on your block had a dog with puppies and they were glad to give you one. However, now that I'm old and married, apparently you can't do that anymore. So we are looking at buying a fancy dog.

Since I only had mutts growing up I'm totally lost. So for anyone who has experience buying a bred dog, help me out if you can.


1) How do I avoid getting ripped off? I suppose dogs you pay several hundred dollars for come with papers and such. What should I be looking for? Is there some sort of online database to avoid forged papers, etc?

2) What's a good small dog? The wife wants an inside dog and it needs to be good with children. No shedding. No biting. Etc.

3) Is there an advantage to getting a male or female? Or do they behave pretty much the same assuming I get them fixed?

4) What are the yearly costs? Someone said about 200 bucks a year for flea/heartworm meds and thats it other than food. That seems way low.

1) Do your research and look for reputable breeders. If you're buying a dog from a good one, their dogs will be AKC registered, they'll have a well-sorted contract you sign, their dogs will be properly vaccinated up to the point when you take it home, they'll be knowledgeable about the breed, and obviously passionate about breeding. If something feels sketchy, it probably is. Always go to visit the breeder, look at their dogs, etc. before you plan on taking one home, so you can decide whether they're someone you want to do business with.

2) No clue. I'm partial to whippets, but they're hardly indoor dogs. I'd look at small "designer" mutts that are mixed with poodles. They tend to have good temperaments and not really shed much.

3) It depends on the breed and the dog, males tend to like repetitive play more and females can be harder to housebreak. Really though, a lot of it depends on how the puppy is raised (both at the breeder's, and after you take it home). One small note though is that it's cheaper and easier to neuter a male than spay a female.

4) It depends on a lot of things. Bigger dogs eat more, and food costs also vary with diet (kibble is fine, some prefer raw which can be more expensive, and utter morons buy wet food which is both expensive and bad for the dog). Do you plan on training with treats? How frequently do they destroy toys or other items around the house? Are worms a major risk where you live?

$200/year is a lowball price. Food + treats are likely to run $10-20/mo for a small dog, maybe a bit less depending on how you do it. Probably around another $150-250 for preventatives (heartworm + flea/tick). Then whatever you spend on toys, other accessories (crates, collars, beds, etc.), and replacing anything a puppy chews up.

Spay/neuter is going to be at least a couple hundred to have it done well by a reputable vet.

If you're buying a purebreed isn't it discouraged to get them fixed because of their bloodline? Purebreds are usually used for further breeding.

Friend of mine does the dog show circuit with her great danes, she's told me it's something like $2k or pick of the litter to bring a female to be impregnated by a stud. Would make me think males go for more than females, though since this is secondhand I'm not sure how accurate this is.

If you're buying a pet quality pure bred dog, the breeder should insist that you have the puppy fixed. Show quality dogs (that you intend to show) should be left whole because they cannot be shown if they are fixed. Breeding quality dogs are a subset of show quality, so will already be whole. Most dogs are pet quality.

Usually puppy price is the same regardless of gender, because there's no difference between a pet or show quality male or female. You can't predict whether a puppy will be breeding quality until it's an adult (and usually has some show wins), and the reason there are stud fees for males is that one breeding quality male can sire litters with many females, while the reverse doesn't really work. You can get some clue whether a puppy will be pet quality or show quality, and the latter do tend to be more expensive, but again gender isn't really a factor. A show quality male and female are equally desirable.

Breeding tends not to be a profitable venture... people do it out of love, interest in showing, or a genuine desire to improve a breed. The cost you pay for a puppy is some recompense for their time, and helps subsidize a stud fee, but realistically a breeder loses money in the long run.

[isladar]

EVERYONE WITH PUGS POST PICS gdi

[zoobernut]

Rescue a dog. They usually already have their vaccinations, spayed/neutered. All you need is heart worm meds(~$25/6mo) and and flea/tick pervention(~$50/6mon). As cute as they are, don't buy pets from stores.

And: http://www.gopetsamerica.com/dogs/miniature-dogs.aspx

Quoting again for truth. If you don't plan on breeding (you shouldn't unless you really know what you are getting into) or plan on showing the dog, or need it to be pure bred for some specific reason purchasing a dog is such a waste of money considering there are so many great dogs out there to adopt. You can rescue a pure bred from a rescue center if you REALLY need a pure bred but keep in mind they are more expensive to keep in the long run as they have a much higher tendency to have health issues later in life than a mutt.

Yeah and as people have said if you don't plan on breeding get your animal fixed. Fixing your animal can save you a shit ton of heartache later because unfixed animals have much higher chance of getting cancer. Specially cancers specific to that region of their body.

[Chun Liroy]

Oh! And as for things like puggles, cookapoos, or any of the other godawful designer breeds that are popular right now: You will be paying the same amount FOR A MUTT as you would for a pure breed, with absolutely NO history on health or personality issues. Avoid these like the plague.

Not that I know much on anything like this, but wouldn't they be more healthy just by virtue of being a mutt? Not to mention a lot of the times a dog's personality is based on how you raise it, at least in my experiences.

[MF Perm tha Fineass]

That is an immensely short-sighted and ignorant statement, dear. Animals get lazy and boring if they aren't interacted with, exercised, or cared for. As stated, if you are not a dedicated, Westminster-level breeder, get your animal fixed.

A lot of those dogs in rescue and shelters? Someone thought fixing didn't make a difference.

Seriously. We need some Bob Barker up in this piece telling it how it is. Fixing doesn't doesn't change shit about your dogs temperament. I had a pit bull from when she was a puppy and stupidly waited 4 years before getting her fixed and she didn't change one iota in personality.

I felt terrible for the poor thing as she came off sleeping drugs lol but other than that she was same old Jada through and through.

[Chun Liroy]

EVERYONE WITH PUGS POST PICS gdi

Fuck yo pugs, I could post my Westy or Pitbull lulz.

[isladar]

Not that I know much on anything like this, but wouldn't they be more healthy just by virtue of being a mutt? Not to mention a lot of the times a dog's personality is based on how you raise it, at least in my experiences.

One step down from pure bred? No, they'd be more likely to inherit both sets of breed-specific health issues. To be fair, that is just a risk, not a prophecy of doom or anything, my huge issue with them is you're paying the same amount of money for what amounts to shitty breeding practices.

[*Shinzon*]

Post picts post picts post picts :3

Should have one in my email stored somewhere gimme a sec D:

[zoobernut]

Seriously. We need some Bob Barker up in this piece telling it how it is. Fixing doesn't doesn't change shit about your dogs temperament. I had a pit bull from when she was a puppy and stupidly waited 4 years before getting her fixed and she didn't change one iota in personality.

I felt terrible for the poor thing as she came off sleeping drugs lol but other than that she was same old Jada through and through.

This is not true. It depends on when you fix your dog. If you fix them before they are fully matured sexually (before their first heat if they are female or before they start marking if they are male) their temperament will be different than if you wait until after that time to fix them.

[isladar]

Fuck yo pugs, I could post my Westy or Pitbull lulz.

Look you have no idea how obsessed I am with pugs. I think since my grandmother passed she's possessed me with a desire to buy everything secondhand and own pugs.

[Yabby]

1. Please get from a no-kill if possible like stated above.
2. if you don't GET IT FIXED! It does nothing to their temper or the way they act. If you keep playing with him he won't change. I think the only time i've heard of that happening is when the dog got fixed late in his life.

If you are not a REAL breeder you have no business breeding puppy's. And no you are not a real breeder if you make a fenced in area in your backyard. Real breeders take the time to pick the right animals based many things. A lot of dogs today are breed in a way to cut out bad genes. When backyard breeders just go nuts all they are doing is putting dogs in shelters and weakling the blood lines.

[Acturus]

1) How do I avoid getting ripped off? I suppose dogs you pay several hundred dollars for come with papers and such. What should I be looking for? Is there some sort of online database to avoid forged papers, etc?

The best way to not get ripped off is to not buy a dog from a breeder or pet store. Rescue a dog. I cannot emphasize this enough, but rescue a dog.

2) What's a good small dog? The wife wants an inside dog and it needs to be good with children. No shedding. No biting. Etc.

Most small dogs are also energetic. Jack Russels and Poodles and Yorkies come to mind, but each are notoriously high spirited, and the first two were not bred to be "inside" dogs.

What's a small dog to you? 10 pounds, 40 pounds?

3) Is there an advantage to getting a male or female? Or do they behave pretty much the same assuming I get them fixed?

I think it's cheaper to get males fixed, but in 4 small dogs, three males and one female, the biggest spaz is the female (all are Jack Russels).

4) What are the yearly costs? Someone said about 200 bucks a year for flea/heartworm meds and thats it other than food. That seems way low.

Boarding costs suck balls. Ours are $17 per dog per day, and that's not terrible, but our place isn't open on Sunday, and they close early on Saturday (it's a Vet that also boards).

Our vaccinations run pretty cheap, but visits for anything out of the ordinary can get a little pricey. If your wife wants a fashion accessory, be ready for grooming bills. My cousin-in-law spends $300 a year just to have her Yorkies' teeth cleaned. It's a racket, I tell you.

If you get a puppy, there is such a thing as doggie health insurance. It's worth it for the first two years of a dog's life. Get a policy and then cancel it once you're past the monthly vaccinations stage of the dog's life.

But again, don't buy, rescue. Please.

[Chun Liroy]

One step down from pure bred? No, they'd be more likely to inherit both sets of breed-specific health issues. To be fair, that is just a risk, not a prophecy of doom or anything, my huge issue with them is you're paying the same amount of money for what amounts to shitty breeding practices.

Yeah I figured that was the main point, because it is true lol. Fuck that noise.

We still haven't fixed my Westy because I want her to have puppies, but my dad doesn't want to breed her lol.

[*Shinzon*]

Kay, crappy cell phone pic but it's all I've got for now:

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/3696/img00008be.jpg

[Chun Liroy]

looks so fat

[Amastacia]

I totally agree with rescuing, but.

There are wonderful breeds that are not frequently or readily available as rescues.

Whippets are amazing dogs, and our puppy is everything we could ever ask for and more, but they are not overbred, and there aren't a tremendous number who are in need of rescue.

We're looking at getting another, and will be keeping our eyes open for rescue opportunities, but realistically we may need to go to a breeder. If the opportunity to rescue presents itself, we'll try to take advantage, but you're not going to walk down to a no-kill shelter and find one.

[blindSharingan]

EVERYONE WITH PUGS POST PICS gdi

Louie on the left and Roxy on the right.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s...chmentaspx.jpg

[*Shinzon*]

You know as far as the fixing thing goes, you'll never really arrive a consensus about what is truly the right decision. Most people will agree that fixing your animal is probably the safest road to go, especially if you are a first time owner, and I wont disagree with that. But if you are spending a lot of money to get a purebred dog, and even if you're not a breeder, you can take your male to a breeder and eventually make a lot of money. The decision really revolves around you, and what you can honestly expect from yourself during your time of ownership.

[Acturus]

I totally agree with rescuing, but.

There are wonderful breeds that are not frequently or readily available as rescues.

No, and that's true too. If you know what breed you're looking for, then you can go out and find it.

But there are many dog breeds that are over-bred, and rescue dogs fall into one of three categories typically:

1. Small, high energy dog that the owner couldn't keep up with.
2. Large dog that the owner thought would stay a puppy forever.
3. Dogs with behavioral problems, usually with other dogs or children.

#3 isn't independent of the first two, of course.

[*Shinzon*]

looks so fat

He's huge. He's not average size for a pug and that's what makes him kinda special. Purebred, with patented curl tail, but he's like twice the size of most pugs I've seen.