It would depend on the breed. I have an aunt who is trying to breed Clumber Spaniels (for show and for love of the breed, not for profit, people like her are the ones that should be breeding dogs dammit!); they’re quite rare, and very difficult to breed for reasons I don’t know. They are, however, delightful dogs. And I would happily take one of Ruthie’s pups, even with all the puppy insanity, because she’s a hilarious dog. Someday I hope I can, actually, but among other things she’s gotta get preggers first. The last try didn’t work.
But if I were looking for something like a Golden or a Lab, where there are about a million of them, I’d be inclined to go for a rescue. There are lots of wonderful adoptable adult dogs out there. There are also some screwy ones, but a decent rescue or shelter should know that and be ready to handle it. My favorite dog in the world is a rescued Lab! And my other favorite is a screwy neurotic rescue Golden, who is a sweetie but can also be a huge mess. We love him anyway.
I’m gonna go against the grain and say go to a breeder. A really, really reputable good breeder. Is this your first dog? Then the breeder will help you out with any situation that comes up, they are experts. You will know this dog’s temper, health, family and history. After you figure out dog #1, then dogs #2 on will be much easier and then a rescue would make more sense.
As my credentials, I submit myself as a first time dog owner and the ball of neurosis that calls herself a dog my husband rescued. Next dog will come from a breeder.
I think this is an ok reason to go with a breeder. A reputable breeder isn’t to blame for a glut of puppies and breeds where there is a market for dogs. Then again, I’m in an area where the idea that there is a glut of dogs is laughable - we bring puppies in from out of state because there aren’t enough puppies to meet demand.
A rescue dog is a fine choice - ours is a rescue puppy - but a lot of rescue organizations can be huge pains in the butt to work with - and you don’t really have any clue what you are getting with a mutt. Purebred rescues you know what you are getting - and its often a dog that someone else didn’t start well and then turned in because “a dog is too much work.” A dog with bad habits can be harder to break.
It depends on the breed of dog you want, I think - and your level of dog experience.
I made the difficult decision to go to a breeder for our next dog. I think my reasons are sound, though. We want a Newfoundland. So far we’ve had greyhounds and a boxer, all rescue - so we have dog experience. But the newf will be different. It’s a giant breed, who grow slowly and have special nutrition needs in puppyhood for healthy bone growth; I want to train him before he outweighs me; I want to ensure he’s not leaping down flights of stairs while his hips are still developing - this causes dysplasia, crippling in such a large dog. I want him to come from a breeder who breeds from lines free of the major health defects, and who breeds from dogs who are temperamentally and structurally sound (which really is what dog shows are supposed to be competing for). I want a dog who doesn’t come from a fear-biting mom or a dad with aggression issues. And I want the support, advice, and recommendations (training, food, etc) that come from a good breeder. You don’t just get a dog, you get a relationship.
Rescue is great. I’d never feel the need to go to a breeder for a greyhound. We got our current girl when she’d been all of 36 hours off the race track! BUT I have the experience with them. In the future I’ll have the confidence to get a rescue newf too - just not the first time.
One option that is sort of halfway in between is to get a lhasa that has been cared for in a foster home. Most breed rescues seem to do this anyhow. The foster mom can give you insight as to the dog’s personality and idiosyncracies. You’ll be able to call her for advice much as you would a breeder, cos she knows that dog and will be savvy to the breed’s funny little ways, and what works or doesn’t work to get around whatever problems may arise.
What a wonderful time it is, to be starting your search for a new buddy. Enjoy the process!
Missed the edit window but wanted to add, there’s no guarantee all of Dobson’s line will have his great temperament. But the breeders I respect, do not breed from dogs who seem to pass on sketchy temperaments, no matter how beautiful they may be. You can certainly meet the breeder, her other dogs, and get references from other owners of their puppies. Naturally they won’t be clones of one another but you already know you like one of her dogs, so it’s a start. If you really hit it off with her, all the better. If she impresses the hell out of you with her integrity and dedication to the welfare of the breed, better still!
There’s plenty of resources online to learn how to tell a responsible breeder from a back yard breeder. You might acquaint yourself with the health problems common in Lhasas, and see what she does to test for them, etc. You might google the Lhasa Apso club of america and find their chapter local to your region - they ought to give you good info, and also show you some upcoming events where you can meet lots of dogs and breeders and owners and enthusiasts.
How did Dobson’s family find him? Did they go to dog shows to see if they liked any of the dogs/breeders there, or did they get him from an ad in the paper, or what?
Rescue might offer the possibility that you are the perfect home for a hard-to-place dog. Some dogs are awesome little guys but need to live in no-cat homes, some need no-child homes, some need to be the only dog, some can only be placed with their best buddy, etc. It’s possible that you meet some of these criteria and there is the perfect guy for you who’s been waiting for just your circumstances.
First off, I agree that most people who call themselves “breeders” are idiots. I’ve got an acquaintance who believes she’s running a reputable breeding operation, but I believe is a puppy mill. (It’s not an illegal operation, but that’s about all I’ll say in favor of it.) I’ve also, because of things this woman has told me that she has done lost all faith in the AKC, or any other multiple breed dog association, to monitor their members and breeders.
Buying a “purebred” dog from a mall store, or even most of the people advertising in local papers is nothing less than idiocy, and enabling borderline criminal behavior. Certainly it’s rewarding irresponsible behavior.
Having said all that, I’m not ready to condemn all breeders, or all people who want purebred dogs, as idiots or irresponsible. For one thing, the majority of the dogs I’ve seen at the animal shelter, the last time I went, were mutts, not purebreds. Even with the effects of puppy mills, the real problem with overproduction of pets, isn’t those people who are producing low grade purebreds.
There are good, reputable breeders out there, who do track the health of their dogs, and can deliver a product that’s got a better chance of being healthy than a pound dog. Remember: the stats about the average health and soundness of a mutt, compared to the average for a specific breed, are just that - averages. If one has a line to examine, instead of the whole breed, the averages can end up comparing differently.
Given that the OP has said she wants a specific breed, I think it’s unrealistic to expect her to change her mind to choose a pound mutt. There are good reasons to consider rescuing a dog from the animal shelter, but that’s also catch as catch can for breed - about all you can be able to choose then is approximate size. And sometimes you get surprises.
I want to say that, although all the dogs I’ve had as an adult have been rescues, the dog of my childhood was an afghan hound from a breeder. He was a wonderful, calm dog who had no health or temperment issues. He was beautiful, but wasn’t show quality at the time because he had a white spot on his chest (now you see lots of afghans with big white blazes on their chest, but at that time any white at all was a big no-no). He saved my nephew from possibly being attacked by a neighbor’s vicious german shepherd who broke loose and was running straight at hime. One of the breeds I’d like to own someday is an irish wolfhound. I don’t expect to see one running loose on the roads of rural Tennessee. I’d buy from a breeder. I’ve rescued (so far) about 15 animals. If I chose to get a dog from a breeder, I’m not going to beat myself up about it.
We have a rescue Newf, actually a Newf mix, maybe mixed with Lab but we aren’t sure.
We met him and brought him home the same day, a 5 hour trip, and the first few weeks till we got his kennel were interesting, to say the least. He was between 12-18 months old so was virtually full grown and bigger than the kids. They were scared of him for a few days till they realized he was a giant baby who loves people and wants to be with **his ** people at all times.
He’s settled in well (he’s now about 6) but I have to say, we got lucky. I wouldn’t do it again without more opportunities to meet the dog before he came home with us. If we get a ‘next’ dog, though, it will probably be a Newf puppy from a breeder for the information on temperament and bloodlines that we don’t have with our big lug of a Bill.
Sorry, I kind of forget that there are places where dogs get snapped up that quickly (I think it’s wonderful, don’t get me wrong). There is a massive dog overpopulation problem on this island, and I’ve fostered perfectly adorable puppies for months before they got adopted. When we got our most recent dog we looked at about ten dogs before picking her, and she’s been wonderful. None of the others we looked at got adopted before we could choose.
I still think a foster-cared animal is ideal, but if you are in an area where homeless dogs are scarce (boggles the mind), snap up the first one you fall in love with, by all means!
And the way to make sure you get the dog you really want? Volunteer to be a foster for the breed rescue group in your area. That way you get to “sample” dogs. When you find one you like, keep it!
(And don’t obsess about puppies…yeah, they’re adorable and sweet and all…and that stage lasts about 4 months before you are dealing with a young dog. Silly to pass up great dogs holding out for the unknonw quantity of a puppy. Which also applies to the breeder: no guarantees on the offspring.)
I have owned several breeder’s pups and a few rescues. Mine now is a mix - her parents bred the mother but because they wanted to, and not to sell the pups. See, they had a great natured pug and a good pekingese. They loved both dogs and bred them, making my peeka-pug. They sold two, gave two away, and kept two. The only reason they sold the two is because good friends offered money for a dog that would have been given to them.
I got my first dog from a breeder when I was 4. He was a baby golden retriever and a magnificent dog. I don’t think it had anything to do with the breeder, but with us once he got home. He was well trained and loved. We also bought a Rottwieler from a breeder, but she was killed by an angry neighbor at 2 years old.
I rescued my first mutt from behind a school. No shelter for him, he was a tarp-dog. Someone had left him in it for dead, along with a few broken boards we assume they had hit him with, and we stumbled upon it. He was a great dog as well. He’s still around, but his mind is going.
To be honest, I would rescue if I was getting a new dog. Our town’s no-kill shelter/rescue is so full that they are turning away animals left and right. They had to hire a security guy to stop all the midnight drop-off’s at the gate. A lot of those dogs are good dogs and deserve a good home. Of course, you can still find a rescue pup you like.
Vetbridge’s post might have given you this idea, but have you considered talking to local veterinarians to see if they know of any pregnant/nursing Lhasas? I hope to be getting a dog late next year: I already know that I’d like to use the same vet I had for my cat (who died 3 years ago), and she will definitely be one of my “puppy locator” resources when the time comes.
For some folks, this is a very bad idea. You need to know whether or not you are the type to be able to give up an animal that “isn’t all that bad”, but may not be what you really want or need.
I’ve had no trouble fostering, and giving up animals, but I know way too many people that get in over their heads and can’t see how anybody can be as good a home as they are - so they keep an animal that does not fit into their lives. I’ve only done it once - and I knew that I was in for a lifetime of trouble with that dog. (she was a training foster from a breeder, and I knew there would be nothing but a lifetime of living in a crate for her if I sent her back - she could never be homed with anybody but a pro)
Remember, Lhasas were developed as guard/alert dogs, and many are stranger-biters as a result. Finding a nice one for a novice owner in a shelter is almost impossible.
I’ve owned two lhasas. One was a stray that we took in when she was about 1, the other I had from 8 weeks. Like Fetchund says, lhasas were bred to be guard dogs. They look like fluffy lap dogs but they really aren’t. They are smart, tough little dogs. They are generally more stubborn than trainable. They have some serious chompers under all that hair. I like the breed a lot and was planning to get another but I would hesitate recommending them to anyone else.
That being the case, my advice would be to avoid rescue dogs whose background you can’t trace. If Dobson is a delight (and lhasas can be very delightful) I’d talk to his breeder and get a line on a puppy that you can train while it’s very young.
(The only reason I don’t currently have a lhasa is because my cousin came home one day from the pound with a bichon mix and a tale of woe and I couldn’t resist.)
Oh my yes! Dobson let you know if anything new was around. He was especially vocal when there were people trying to be quiet outside, like those leaving things on the porch and darting away (UPS, advertisers leaving doorhangers, etc.) He had a good, strong bark and I marveled where it came from in that li’l body!
Tripler will be in school this time next year, a very intense school where he won’t be home and awake too many hours of the day; I’ll be glad to have the helpful company while alone with the cats.
We have kids, so temperment is a paramount issue. We watch bloodlines for the dogs they produce, and buy from a known breeder.
Yeah, it’s expensive (and believe me, there are plenty of Newfoundlands in rescue), but we can’t risk it with kids. And yes, I know there are never any guarantees with behavior, but we do everything we can.
If you don’t insist on a puppy and can consider a late model used dog, temperament does not need to be an unknown in either case: you can meet the fully formed character of the dog.
That brings up another issue with kids though - and particularly large breeds. Large breed dogs don’t live that long. Get a dog with three or four years on him (and anything under two years is still puppy) and you have to go through “the dog died” drama with kids (its bad enough with grown ups) more often. No guarantees with smaller dogs or puppies, but life expectancy in your house should be a few more years.
My brother in law adopts racing greyhounds - really lovely dogs. But four years with them is about all he’s learned to expect.
