Where to find a puppy or dog to share your life with

By Naveen V.

As you are probably well aware, there are several sources from which you can pick out your canine companion who will hopefully share the next 8-15 years of your life with you.  Given that long time span, it becomes clear why choosing the right breed and the right pup is critical to everyone's long term happiness.  Much as you are unlikely to marry a person you just met, getting a puppy on a whim is about the worst thing you could do, both for yourself, and your new four legged friend.  So before you even reach the decision to buy a dog, you first have to examine your lifestyle and environment to see if you could give any dog the basic attention and effort he will need for his upkeep.  Please read the section on questions to consider before you get a dog for additional information.  Below is a list of the usual places you could get a puppy from with a brief discussion of the advantages and disadvantages.

The most easily accessible source - The corner pet shop:

I could have easily labeled this the worst possible source to get a puppy from.  By definition, pet shops are probably the worst places to get a puppy because of several reasons.

Disadvantages to buying from a petstore:

1. Their primary source of livestock is either a commercial breeder or a commercial dealer or broker.  The primary pitfall in this is that most of the people along this chain of supply, usually think of puppies as commodities.  They might as well be dealing in pork bellies as in puppies.  There are exceptions of course to every rule, but in most cases, it is hard to find a puppy mill breeder or dealer who has the time and inclination to provide personal time to each puppy that passes through their hands. 
2. As a result, the puppies coming out of this source are poorly socialized and poorly trained.  A simple yard stick to measure this by is the process by which the puppies relieve themselves.  If you have been to a pet store, no doubt you are aware that most stores let the puppies do their business in their crate and clean it up later.  By doing this, they have taken away the best tool you could use in housebreaking a puppy - the crate.  Pretty much all reputable hobby breeders will provide you with puppies either housebroken, or at least potty trained on paper.  In addition, these puppies think of the crate as a refuge or 'den' and would never soil it.  Just the housebreaking frustration you could avoid by getting a pup from a reputable breeder is well worth any effort or expense on your part.  Getting puppies from a pet store usually means a puppy starved for attention that will only be more trouble training and house breaking.
3. Sometimes, people buy a pup from a pet store believing that they are 'rescuing' the pup from the deplorable conditions that they live in.  I truly admire the sentiment, but by doing this, you are only funding the continued operation of another puppy mill or dealership and condemning more puppies to the same fate.  You can not possibly 'rescue' every one of them.  So next time this sentiment steals across your heart, harden yourself, turn and walk out the door of the pet store.

I really can not say there is much of an advantage to buying from a pet store.  The only thing I can think of is that large chains usually provide you with some limited health guarantee.  However, most health problems are nor diagnosed until the pup is much older and usually well past the guarantee period.  So this is not much help.  From a cost perspective, it can cost you anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars for buying a pup depending on the store - if you are unlucky enough to end up with a poorly bred dog, your vet bill could run you several thousands more.

The Puppy Mill or Commercial Breeder:

This is usually the source of the supply for the pet store and every ill that one may find in pet store puppies can be found in these pups.  One may also see some additional disadvantages as these operations may not stand by their guarantees if any are given to begin with.  You can read much more about this horror story by following this link to nopuppymills.com where you will find detailed information of what the commercial dog breeding industry (that's right, industry) does not want you to hear.  In addition to breeding for the pet industry, these mills also breed for research purposes, although this has been curtailed to a great extent.  Again, the cost could run anywhere from a few hundred to well over a thousand - and again, if you are unlucky enough to end up with an unhealthy pup, your vet bill could drown you.

Often times, one can give a hundred logical or practical reasons why one should not buy a dog that originated in a puppy mill.  But the best one I could ever present you with is this:  Owning a dog is not a matter of the head, it is a matter of the heart.  Most people I know would weep like babies if any harm were to befall their canine friends and myself, it is more likely that I would tangle with any intruder myself than let them hurt my 85 lb doberman (although my dog will likely fare better than me in such an argument :-)  Given this fact, you would be much better of giving your heart to a friend who can reciprocate your love.  A lot of times, dogs from dubious sources are unable to do so despite your best efforts and if they possess some serious flaws, it will only break your heart further if you have to make the choice to put them to sleep.  So do yourself and your family a favor and buy from a reputable breeder.

The Hobby Breeder

If you are looking for a purebred dog with AKC registration, this is by far the best source to buy from.  The typical hobby breeder is primarily involved in dogs as a hobby.  They attend and participate in dog shows and other dog related events.  They are in it for the sport and not for the money.  In fact, most hobby breeders lose money breeding dogs as they have very few litters each year and are very selective about breeding their dogs and placing their puppies.  I know several breeders who would rather retain puppies for their entire lives if they are not convinced that they are going to good homes.  And I know several more who contractually require you to return the puppy to them any time during its life if you are unable to keep it.  These are breeders who really care for the dogs and the breed and whose word means more than any guarantees one could possibly offer.  In order to make sure you are buying from such a breeder, you should ask questions, lots of questions about them, their dogs, their line, any possible health issues to watch out for etc.  And you should expect to answer even more questions about yourself, what you want the dog for and so on, as the breeder is also evaluating you and your home as a possible fit for his or her puppy.

The Casual or 'Back Yard' breeder

Often times, one can give a hundred logical or practical reasons why one should not buy a dog that originated in a puppy mill or any source other than a reputable breeder.  But the best one I could ever present you with is this:  Owning a dog is not just a matter of the head, it is a matter of the head and heart.  Most people I know would weep like babies if any harm were to befall their canine friends and myself, it is more likely that I would tangle with any intruder myself than let them hurt my 85 lb doberman (although my dog will likely fare better than me in such an argument :-)  Given this fact, you would be much better of giving your heart to a friend who can reciprocate your love.  A lot of times, dogs from dubious sources are unable to do so despite your best efforts and if they possess some serious flaws, it will only break your heart further if you have to make the choice to put them to sleep.  So do yourself and your family a favor and buy from a reputable breeder.  We have a sample list of questions you should ask the breeder.  This is not a comprehensive list, but it should give you something to start with.