After some advice from all you dog lovers and owners out there.

We’ve been doing some research into buying a dog for the last 6 months and are now looking at taking the plunge and getting one.

We’ve got a breed in mind (not going for a mongrel as I have two young kids and need to have an idea of its behaviour traits) so now keen to know what your tips would be when selecting a breeder and also what we should be considering when we get it home and in the first few months to make sure it settles in ok.

It depends also on the ages of your children and do you have any idea of size or type of dog.

Any dog should not be left unsupervised around young children. Then again you can get the most docile breed but the litter you choose may have poor behavioral traits.

I looked long and hard and bought on temperament, then had all the socialising to do afterwards aswell. You are on the right track at least having thought it through and asking questions.

You could get a rottweiler and it brilliant, sociable loving gentle etc. Then you could get a labrador and its a handful. Personally I have two ridgeback that sociably are brilliant, a little demanding of affection but great with everyone, but I don’t have small children, granddaughter on the way so that will be a little challenging.

Also look at what your breed of dog was actually originally bred for, collies as sheepdogs etc as that can also indicate the levels of stimulation they may need.

Unfortunately its not an exact science but good luck.

When we got our dog we found the breeder on a Kennel Club list of breeders plus when we went to the house we knew the woman was doing it for a hobby as opposed to cash.

If possible meet both parents. Get hips scores etc. You should be in touch with the breeder from early on (my mum got her last two from registered breeders and was all for doing the proper way so I’m going from memory a little.)

On the first few months. Decide on ground rules, where it will sleep, when it will be walked, where in the house it will be allow. (worth considering having a non dog area for a puppy/dog, especially a gun dog, as they ‘retrieve’ things with enthusiasm.) Make sure everyone (kids) are aware and agree to the rules, get used to closing the separating door / what ever before puppy arrives. and Stick to them. This is also fairer on the dog as it needs to learn its place in the hierarchy as well so consistency help with that…

” doing it for a hobby as opposed to cash” this would be a big plus for me.

as above, set rules on the dog and try to stick to them. I stuck to them, the wife didnt so we now have a jack russel sleeping inbetween us most nights.
Dont underestimate how much of a responsibility it is, its like having a small hairy child.
This is our first choice and we got ours from the dogs trust who were brilliant

Take the whole family to puppy training classes.

The posts above talk sense. As to where to look, have a ganders on the champdogs website. There’s a list of registered breeders of lots of different types of dogs. All the ridgeback breeders I’ve encounterd off there ( cant speak of other breeds, I’m a ridgie man at hart 8) )have breed for correct temperament, blood lines and health. If you are not asked to be vetted I’d be looking elsewhere. A good breeder would always ask questions about you to make sure their puppy’s go to a good home. When we got our ridgeback we had to make three six hour round trips. First time to be vetted, second time to give them the deposit and see the pups then finally to pick him up. Stay away from puppy farms. Good luck in your search

Cheers for the info. I’m really keen to spend some time with a breeder or two to get to know them and the dogs before I make any decision.

We’ve got a breed in mind (not going for a mongrel as I have two young kids and need to have an idea of its behaviour traits)

😕

1) I would recommend a mongrel/cross breed. Much more likely to be easy going. See both parents. Don’t got to a puppy farm!

2) Try The Dogs Trust – they give great advice and morally you’ll feel soooo good. (I suspect you’ve already made a status based decision but you did ask)

2) As AA said, train your kids and yourselves at the same time as the pup.

3) Enjoy! Dogs are ace.

A neighbour of mine got a largish mongrel from a rescue centre.
Its attacked my dog twice (a very docile King Charles) the second time resulting in me having to kick it to get it off.Every time i see it it is straining to get at every dog no matter what type.
Its obvious the dog has a severe behaviour problem.Thats probably why it ended up in the rescue centre.
I’d suggest that if you go to look at dogs take someone with you who’s had dogs for many years as i believe you get an immediate sense of a dogs attitude if you’ve dealt with them a lot.

I found my breeder through the Kennel Club – and wouldn’t go anywhere else because I have a Labrador. They’re bred so commonly that you’d struggle to sort out good breeders from bad if you cast your net too wide to begin with. I wanted to be able to check health tests for parents, grandparents – and you can do this through the KC provided they’re registered.

In terms of picking breeders, I started by chatting with them on the phone for a few minutes. If I didn’t like the sound of them I didn’t arrange to visit the litter.

I’d suggest that when you go to visit a litter for the first time you don’t take your kids. You need to make a completely dispassionate decision and having your kids their will scupper that one. Also – talk to the breeder first, before you start handling puppies and getting attached to them – you need to be happy with what you see and hear and be prepared to walk away – again this is easier if you haven’t just spent 20 minutes playing with curte puppies!

Go with a list of questions to ask the breeder, to an extent it doesn’t actually matter what these are – the point is to engage in a conversation, and for you to be happy with their answers rather than testing them on anything. Personally I’d want to know why they were breeding the litter, if they were keeping one themselves, how many litters they’ve bred before, where they found the sire. Try to meet the other dogs in the house/kennels as well as the mum. Expect to see health test certificates and know that all the tests appropriate for the breed have been carried out. I’d want to in the very least see a photo of the sire and to be confident that if I asked I’d be given the opportunity to speak to his owner and arrange to visit.

I’d also expect a good breeder to practically interview me. If they don’t care whether I’d be a good owner then they don’t care about the litter.

Alarms bells would ring if the breeder wasn’t happy or able to answer my questions, if I felt I was rushed, if they dismissed any health concerns, if I couldn’t see mum, and if they were cagey about the sire.

Finally, good breeders will talk to you about the personality of different puppies in the litter, and will be able to help you select one that is appropriate to your circumstances. They’ll know which is the most confident, the most energetic, the quiet sleepy one, and will help you get the right puppy for you.

I’d personally go for a mongrel puppy, get it neutered at 5-6 months (or whenever the vet recommends), train it right and you’ll have no problems. The idea that one breed or another will guarantee good behaviour seems a little utopical to me.

I’d personally go for a mongrel puppy, get it neutered at 5-6 months (or whenever the vet recommends), train it right and you’ll have no problems. The idea that one breed or another will guarantee good behaviour seems a little utopical to me.

^^^good advice there^^^

We had to have our springer put down about three months ago and just decided to go for another dog.

The last was a rescue and for reasons I’m not going into, this time were going for a puppy this time round.

We tried to get a mongrel but found most people selling were utterly useless. Form not responding to adverts to not being available for viewings, unfortunately through to a puppy farm.

We’ve ended up getting another Springer, going through the Kennel Club. I cant recommend it enough.

We’ve found an amazing breeder, Husband works the dogs, wife breeds and keeps them as pets. They are really knowledgeable and asked us as many questions as we asked them. The litter is only three weeks old and we saw them for the first time a couple of days after they had opened there eyes. So saw all 8 pups with mum, dad and a half sister. Everything was clean and tidy, the breeder ran through the whole pedigree family tree, inoculations, weening and feeding, training where they’ll be raised, getting them chipped & registered the list goes on! But to top it off, pups don’t really have much personality when there that small so the breeder have let let us put down a (small) refundable deposit on a bitch, and we go back next week to go pick one out. Oh yea they’ve also offered to keep her if we’ve got any holidays planned over the next 12 months and if we have any issues they’ll take her back no questions asked.

So if you want to know what a good breeder is, I’d say the one we’ve found is textbook!

So if you want to know what a good breeder is, I’d say the one we’ve found is textbook!

Where are you based?

We tried to get a mongrel but found most people selling were utterly useless. Form not responding to adverts to not being available for viewings, unfortunately through to a puppy farm.

People sell mongrels?

franksinatra – Notts

mogrim – The designer dog’s labradoodle, springador, labrollie etc etc They’re really expensive. They make great dogs, but people charge silly money for them. I used to have a lab / collie cross, she was lovely and cost me £70. Then they became ‘cool’ we had a call from the police to say don’t leave her tied up outside the shop or unattended in the garden as people started charging £600+ for them and the local scrotes were nicking them to order 😯

The designer dog’s labradoodle, springador, labrollie etc etc They’re really expensive

Ah, don’t really think of them as mongrels, could see them being pricey.

People sell mongrels?

RSPCA charge about £70 IIRC. You do get an awesome feeling (don’t get that from the kennel club) and a great friend in return though.

Where it notts? I could show you our rescue mongrel. You’d never meet a softer cuddle monkey. There are trends with breeds regarding temperament but ultimately, a dog becomes a reflection of their upbringing.

RSPCA charge about £70 IIRC. You do get an awesome feeling (don’t get that from the kennel club) and a great friend in return though.

Picked up my (sadly departed) dog from a stray kennel, there was a similar charge. I just found the idea of individuals selling mongrels a bit weird!

You know you will get pooh on your carpets, don’t you?