# puppy from breeder or rescue?



## fkeeley (Aug 31, 2006)

Not sure what to do! Any advice is greatly appreciated. I lost my beloved GSD about 3 yrs ago. I miss him terribly and I'm ready to get a new one. Problem is....breeder or rescue. I know that if I get a puppy from a breeder there will be less chance of health issues due to the proper breeding (hip, elbow, etc) and there is a background to rely on. From a rescue, I would know nothing about the parents; no idea if the parents are from puppy mill, etc. I'm very concern with health issues, not so much myself, but my husband. He loved our dog, but due to the health issues we had to deal with (not too many but enough) he's reluctant to get one where we would no nothing about the parents. Part of me says that if I get the puppy from a rescue, I would be doing a good deed and saving a life (which I love the idea). At the same time, I'm afraid of the health issues that might come up. I know that either way, there might be health issues to follow, nothing is absolutely guaranteed but I'm not a millionare and I don't want to have all these issues due to poor breeding that could follow a rescue and not be able to afford the vet bills. It's almost like pay at the beginning (from a breeder) or pay at the end (from a rescue). Gosh, i feel terrible asking this as I would love the dog no matter what, but I would hate to face so many issues that might follow due to the poor breeding issues. I believe I need more education as to why the puppies end up in rescue groups. Any information to enlighten me on the subject and make an educational choice is greatly appreciated.


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

I think the issue is getting a puppy vs. an adult more than anything. At least if you go the Rescue route. I was involved in Rescue for many years. I adopted one of my foster puppies (she was 10 weeks old when I got her) but I just fell in love and decided to keep her. She ended up costing me well over $3,000 in health issues.
On the other hand I adopted another one of my fosters (14 months old at the time) who has turned out to be the best dog ever. I could not have asked for a better temperament, nerves, you name it! The only problem I had with him is that he bloated last year, but that can happen to any dog, whether from a breeder or rescue. So if you consider adopting an adult dog, you can learn a lot of things about him/her before you decide to adopt him/her. You can even pay to have the hips/elbows x-rayed prior to adoption, you would have to pay for it of course.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I would also be torn. Save a life or buy a puppy with a background. Very tough decision.

I think that if I were getting a puppy under the age of 6 months then I would go through a breeder. If the puppy was over 6 months I would probably do a rescue, because you would be able to see what kind of drive it has and what type of personality it has and see if it's got the temperment you like.

Again, very hard decision. Good luck to you!


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

If you spend some time in the health threads on this board, I would say that you are not going to see any more rescue dogs having problems than ones from breeders. Granted, you do stack the odds in your favor when you are buying a dog from a good, reputable breeder. But any dog from any kennel can have issues. EPI can crop up. HD can occur. Thyroid issues can flare up. You can end up with a puppy not right in the head. There is no guarantee you can't be the unlucky one to have something happen, no matter what breeder you get it from.

You can always get an adult dog from a rescue and have it xrayed and checked out before you adopt. Puppies, I think, are always more of a carp shoot than an adult dog, whether it is from a rescue or a breeder. Sure, in many ways you are able to shape behaviors and socialize on your own, but it is still not a sure thing. An adult dog in a foster home, from a reputable resuce, for the most part is going to be "what you see is what you get." 

And of course...always put them on a good diet and supplement appropriately to help your odds.

That's my opinion. I'm pro rescue in 90% of the cases. I think you can find great dogs, and if you do your research and are careful you aren't going to end up with any less or more of a dog than from a breeder. If you were interested in competition and needed certain drives, that's one thing....but it looks like you are primarily interested in a family companion?


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## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

I felt the same way you do, and I ended up going to a breeder. I wanted the best possible GSD that I could get. I have heard too many stories of GSD health problems, and my Mom rescued 2 GSD's from a shelter about 20 years apart, and they both turned vicious on her forcing her to find them new homes. In my opinion, unless you are prepared to deal with the unknown circumstances of a rescue dog, it's better to go to a reputable breeder.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Any dog can turn on you if they desire to do so.

All Rescue dogs are not bad. Some get dumped off because their owners, no longer found them cute when they grew up, they cost them too much, they just had a baby and decided the dog was too much or because they just did not want the responsibility of owning a dog.

Some might have behavioral problems but most Rescues do tests with the dogs to see how the dogs react to certain things and what they need work on.

The family dog was a rescue and she is the best **** dog I have ever met


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## fkeeley (Aug 31, 2006)

My husband really wants a puppy (not older than 4 months old) so I have to think hard about this because I have a kid and I need to make sure that the dog will have a good temperament too. Yes, we can shape the dog to be well manner, etc and I will be taking him/her to obedience, but if I'm getting a puppy, I would want to know a bit about the background of the parents if I could. If I was to get an adult dog (I would love to but my husband wants a puppy) then I would most definitely go thru a rescue (too hard for me to leave a healthy dog in a kennel). And yes, I would know more about temperament, health issues if any, etc. With a puppy, that would be harder to know....Gosh, never thought it would be this hard! But thank you for all the advice!!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

If you just are looking for a great dog.... then I'd go the rescue route.

If you are looking for a specific type of dog, are you planning on doing any herding/agility/tracking/obedience/whatever.............then you may want to go more the breeder route. 

Just cause they will tend to be specifically breeding for whatever you are interested in, so with their puppy testing and (hopefully) years of knowledge specifically with their dogs/breed it will help you get more the dog you are looking for.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Breeder dogs have health issues too. And not just BYB dogs. I've seen very well bred dogs pop up with EPI, Mega-E, dysplasia, allergies, spinal issues, cancer...you name it. 

If I was looking primarily for a family companion I would probably go rescue and look for a 6-12 month old dog. Still very much a puppy in mentality, but old enough that any major health issues would be more readily apparent and old enough that if you wanted you could Xray the dog. Although truthfully IMO, mild HD is not really a big deal. You'd pretty much just be looking to make sure that things weren't severe.

I've seen some beautiful dogs come through rescue. Some who were probably reasonably well bred but were too much for the family, or the family has to move. There are a variety of reasons none of which have anything to do with the dog.

I also agree though that there is nothing wrong with getting a dog from a breeder. Particularly if you have something very specific in mind. Just be aware that even good breeders who do right by their dogs have problems crop up from time to time. I always hate to hear people complain about how their dog that they got from a breeder is not perfect. More money does not always equal perfect dog.


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

fkeeley said:


> My husband really wants a puppy (not older than 4 months old) so I have to think hard about this because I have a kid and I need to make sure that the dog will have a good temperament too. Yes, we can shape the dog to be well manner, etc and I will be taking him/her to obedience, but if I'm getting a puppy, I would want to know a bit about the background of the parents if I could. If I was to get an adult dog (I would love to but my husband wants a puppy) then I would most definitely go thru a rescue (too hard for me to leave a healthy dog in a kennel). And yes, I would know more about temperament, health issues if any, etc. With a puppy, that would be harder to know....Gosh, never thought it would be this hard! But thank you for all the advice!!


How old is your child? Another thing to consider with puppies--from breeders or not...and ESPECIALLY GSD puppies is that they like to BITE!!!! It's not from aggression. Everything is something juicy to knaw on. If your child is young (under 7?), it would make that not-so-fun phase extra hard. Kids are on "dog level" and the younger they are, the harder it is to make sure they don't become a chew toy.


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## cshepherd9 (Feb 11, 2010)

I have had 3 dogs in my adult life and I rescued all of them! Two were mixes and the newest was Willow my 7 month old purebred GSD. My first passed away last April at the age of 13 and until she reached the double digits in age had no health issues. Same with my 7 year old ACD, she has never had any health issues and only had routine vet visits.
After Kinsey died I wanted to wait to get another pup because I REALLY wanted a German Shepherd. I had done much reading on the breed and knew it would be a lot of work. I was thinking I would wait until spring/summer to get a new dog, but I had a lot of sites bookmarked (some breeders in the area, a bunch of rescue sites, etc) and would check them periodically. Well, it so happened that a rescue posted 2 eight-week old GSD pups that had been rescued from a BYB in Oct of last year. I guess they had fallen on hard financial times and the pups were just wandering the property and scrounging for food. Even though I originally wanted to wait a bit longer, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to rescue her and it was a great decision! It seemed fate stepped in and helped me along. 
I do worry a tiny bit because I don't know anything about her parents but so far I couldn't be happier that I got her. She is a super smart, well-behaved puppy. As far as health issues down the road, as she gets older I am going to look into Pet Insurance. 
I guess the point of my long rambling tale would be that sometimes the right dog just finds you whether it be from a breeder or a rescue. I was fully prepared to buy a GS from a good breeder but, like you, I love the idea of rescue and saving a dogs life and I knew the second I saw the posting that I wanted to get her even if it meant potty training in the winter!!! 
Good luck with your decision!


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

I also want to add that people are talking about puppies from reputable breeders. Not adds in the newpapers, or cheaply through puppy brokers, or simply ones that breed to breed and don't do the health testing. 

If you had any of those in mind, then I would definitely go for a pup from rescue.

I also want to repeat that there are many dogs that are in rescue for reasons that had nothing to do with them in particular, only that they couldn't move with them, or theit owner was deployed.

Or in Koda's case, his owners got chihuahua's and since he was a boisterous puppy, at a 1 old and 80 lbs, was tossed in the shelter.


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## fkeeley (Aug 31, 2006)

My son is 10yrs old so he'll be fine with the dog. We also had our shepherd when he was younger so he knows how to deal with a big dog. But I know I will have to get a puppy (my husband's only request, which I must honor as he was first against another shepherd and now conceeded). Sooooo, with that said, maybe what I will do is just keep looking around. I would only get a dog from a reputable breeder or a rescue group such as Brightstar (near me). Either way, I want to consider the puppy from (for example) Brightstar if perhaps they have some background on the dog (or the parents perhaps. Who knows right? I should take both into consideration and who knows? Just like cshepherd9 said: maybe the puppy will come to me . Thank you so much for the input. It has definitely made me think now!


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