We're Buying from a Breeder

[Vela]

You COULD'VE done a little more research and looked in Yahoo under Lab Rescue. There are hundreds of labs in foster homes waiting for a furrrever home.

I hope you'll reconsider. For every purebred that is BOUGHT, another stray dog goes without a home. Sad but VERY true.

This is very true, but at the same time some people prefer a certain breed and prefer to get it as a puppy from a breeder who has done extensive health testing and breeds for type and temperament. Shelter dogs can be wonderful, but so can purebred dogs. If there aren't people out there breeding type specific purebreds of each breed, pretty soon there won't be any individual breeds left because only those breeding poorly bred dogs, like BYB, and accidental breedings will be left. I think it would be a great loss if people truly took that to heart and never bought purebred dogs
so that truly honorable and GOOD breeders stopped breeding because they couldn't sell their dogs. I don't want to be reduced to having to have a mixed breed or poorly bred dog if I want a certain breed. We NEED good responsible breeders to keep breeding healthy dogs. I have nothing against rescues or pound dogs or anything else, but I think there is room for both. There is an overabundance of dogs in shelters but that is not because of proper and responsible breeding practices, that is because people refuse to spay and neuter and there are lots of BYB. By not buying purebred puppies or dogs ever, it would eventually cause the only dogs to be left to be mixes or poorly bred and/or sickly specimens of each breed. The stray problem is the result of carelessness by people, but a bigger disservice would be to allow healthy purebred dogs to cease to exist by never buying them. I would gladly pay for a puppy and help support a truly responsible ethical breeder to insure healthy specimens of that breed continue. I would also rescue a stray, but that doesn't mean I want to be limited to only being able to own shelter dogs in the future if nobody ever bought purebreds. It's great in theory, but pratically speaking there needs to be support of ethical breeders, or else who would be left to do the breeding and where would our future dogs come from? That would only further the irresponsible types to continue and that's all that would be left.

[BC_MoM]

Oh well........best of luck to you. I can see you really want a puppy instead of adopting an adult Lab, knowing it's personality.

Can temperments be 100% guaranteed? I didn't know they could. Puppies love everything and everyone, so of course they will love kids.. but they can change as they grow older.

Good luck to you whatever you do!

[dab_20]

I am happy you've decided to get a puppy, and are going about doing it in a responsible way. I'm not much of an expert on these things, but Vela, Karen, .sarah, and others have given you good advice.

I woulden't put you down for not adopting from a shelter, because if I did, then I would be a hypocrit! I can understand adopting from shelters is much harder then it seems sometimes...

Good Luck, and can't wait to see what you've chosen!