Tell me I can't get a puppy!!!!

ninacaliente

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I made the mistake today of walking into Petland. I don't normally shop there, but a new one just opened near my house and I thought I would see what kind of food they carry. I ended up spending an hour cuddling with an adorable little Corgi. I miss having a dog!!!!! I don't have time for a dog, I don't have space for a dog, my cats would be less than thrilled about a dog, my husband would be MUCH less than thrilled about a dog, I have 3 cats under a year old so I REALLY don't need a puppy... but I miss dogs.


Last night I found some photos of my baby that we PTS a couple years back. I miss her so much.


Tell me I can't get a dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

white cat lover

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There are always little dogs.
Check rescues.....you could make a trip down here to me & I'd find you a purr-fect dog!
 
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ninacaliente

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

Oh, I just LOVE Corgis!
But it might chase your cats...
I pretty much KNOW this little guy I cuddled today would terrorize the cats!
That's pretty much the one thing that kept me from bringing him home. (I know I shouldn't buy a dog from a pet store, but they are tough to resist.)

The thing is, I'm going to school right now plus working, plus taking care of my 3 human kids and my 5 kitties... I just don't think I could manage it. And DH is not the animal lover that I am, so the 5 cats alone is pushing it for him.

I'm hoping that after I graduate this spring and get settled in a new job (and hopefully a bigger house, if we can swing it) that Dh would agree to a dog then.

At that point, whitecatlover, I'll probably come out there to visit you at the shelter! I'm thinking I'd really like to adopt a dog that's been in a foster home with cats so I can be sure the dog is cat-friendly.

In the meantime, you are not helping!!!
 

white cat lover

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Originally Posted by NinaCaliente

At that point, whitecatlover, I'll probably come out there to visit you at the shelter! I'm thinking I'd really like to adopt a dog that's been in a foster home with cats so I can be sure the dog is cat-friendly.

In the meantime, you are not helping!!!
I'm never very helpful at telling someone not to get a pet!


The dogs here aren't in foster homes....but I can always foster one if you see someone you're intersted. Ophelia is the ultimate test!
A lot of times, you can tell a dog will be cat aggressive because of the prey drive level. Not always.

*cough cough* Check out this dude. Wouldn't be a good fit for your home, but he's cute, is he not?
 
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ninacaliente

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

*cough cough* Check out this dude. Wouldn't be a good fit for your home, but he's cute, is he not?
OMG, you are killing me here!!!!
He is adorable.
 

goldenkitty45

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Please please please do NOT patronize Petland or any other petshop that has dogs and cats!!!!

They are mainly from puppy mills or kitten mills. As much as you want that puppy in the window, if you take it home you only encourage the pet shop to buy more animals from a puppy mill. Beware of dogs "registered" from AKA or ACA or a number of other puppy mill registeries - they are worthless. Even the CKC (Continental Kennel Club) is a puppy mill registry - not to be confused with the legit Canada Kennel Club which is Canada's equiv. of AKC here in the states.

If you really want to adopt, find one in a shelter or rescue group.
 

bijou's mom

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Please please please do NOT patronize Petland or any other petshop that has dogs and cats!!!!

They are mainly from puppy mills or kitten mills. As much as you want that puppy in the window, if you take it home you only encourage the pet shop to buy more animals from a puppy mill. Beware of dogs "registered" from AKA or ACA or a number of other puppy mill registeries - they are worthless. Even the CKC (Continental Kennel Club) is a puppy mill registry - not to be confused with the legit Canada Kennel Club which is Canada's equiv. of AKC here in the states.

If you really want to adopt, find one in a shelter or rescue group.
I was going to say the same thing. Stay away from those pet shops. Every time someone purchases a puppy from a place like that, they are helping to support puppymills. These dogs are generally kept in horrible conditions (think tiny cages that they can't even stand up in, their paws looking like starfishes because the toes are so spread from being on a cage floor 24/7. They are kept like this for years and years until they are no longer able to produce offspring) with little human interaction. Either find a reputable breeder or go through a rescue. And just because they say they are registered from the AKA, it doesn't mean a thing. Papers are forged all of time. My little pug came from a reputable breeder, but my next pug will be a rescued senior. They have so much love to give, and you are saving a life. If you want a little puppy, please, please find a reputable breeder. If we all say NO to these types of petshops, we can help wipe out the countless puppymills across the country. I strongly suppot rescue for purebreds. (my choice breed happens to be pugs) Believe me, there is a rescue for every breed that you can think of.
 

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DH and I are considering a 3rd dog but we are being very realistic about it. Adopting a puppy is a tremendous amount of work. If you don't have the time to devote, then hold off until you have more time. We've decided if an adult comes by (bypass the puppy toilet training period), and it is both cat safe and friendly to our existing dogs, we'll adopt her. There will always be dogs out there to adopt!!

You asked us to do this: Don't adopt a puppy right now!
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Momofmany

DH and I are considering a 3rd dog but we are being very realistic about it. Adopting a puppy is a tremendous amount of work. If you don't have the time to devote, then hold off until you have more time. We've decided if an adult comes by (bypass the puppy toilet training period), and it is both cat safe and friendly to our existing dogs, we'll adopt her. There will always be dogs out there to adopt!!

You asked us to do this: Don't adopt a puppy right now!
Ditto ... I am planning a puppy in the next yr since my Gigi has cushing s
 

bonnie1965

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Do not get a puppy now (just cuz you asked us to say that)


Of course you know you cannot handle a puppy now. You're schedule is crazy and a new dog deserves lots of attention, training and lovings. Sounds like next year will be a good time to plan on the new addition
We'll want lots of pics!
 

goldenkitty45

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Puppies are cute, but I don't have the time/patience to train one - we will adopt from rescue an adult dog that is already trained for the most part
 

EnzoLeya

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I'm not going to tell you that you can't get a dog because I tried telling myself the same thing and as you can see I have one


I will tell you that you can't get one from the petstore. They charge WAY too much for puppy mill dogs. You can get a great registered dog from home breeders! They cost less and you aren't incuraging puppy mills that way. Check your local listings! There's always puppies in there! AND you can meet the parents!
 

EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Beware of dogs "registered" from AKA or ACA or a number of other puppy mill registeries - they are worthless.
Hey now! My Thor is an ACA dog
I didn't buy him from the petstore though. He was from a home breeder. His mom and dad were "rescued" from a petsore (at least that's what the breeder said
)

They are good dogs and have decent breeding standards so if you get one other than from the petstore I don't see a problem with it other than if you want to show them in an AKC show.
 

bijou's mom

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Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

Hey now! My Thor is an ACA dog
I didn't buy him from the petstore though. He was from a home breeder. His mom and dad were "rescued" from a petsore (at least that's what the breeder said
)

They are good dogs and have decent breeding standards so if you get one other than from the petstore I don't see a problem with it other than if you want to show them in an AKC show.
It sounds like your dog came from a *backyard breeder*. Some aren't so bad, some are horrible. Backyard breeders are only in it for the money. They don't care about improving the breed. Usually if you see an ad in the paper for a purbred dog or cat, 99.9% of the time it's a backyard breeder. True, alot of the time a backyard breeder dog is cheaper than a pet shop dog. A purebred from a reputable breeder is going to cost more than a pet shop or a backyard breeder pup. ALOT MORE. But in the long run the dog ends up being cheaper because of all of the money that you save with vet expenses. My first dog came from a backyard breeder, and boy was I ever sorry. In the first year alone I spent over two grand in vet expenses because of bad breeding. My poor pug had hip and horrible eye problems. She ended up having several surgeries. But I was responsible for her, so I sucked it up and paid. But I learned a very valuable lesson about getting a dog for *cheap*. It just isn't worth it, plus as an animal lover I did NOT want to help support backyard breeders or puppymills. I have learned so much about backyard breeders since my first dog. Before, I was totally oblivious and had never even heard of a backyard breeder, let alone a puppymill. It was after my dog started having medical problems and I joined some pug forums that I learned about these places. A reputable breeder can trace their dogs lineage all the way back through many generations. Reputable breeders also do genetic testing, (VERY IMPORTANT in getting a healthy puppy) and are most often involved in the show ring. It isn't a good idea to get a dog from a backyard breeder because you just don't know how sound and healthy the animal really is. I really don't mean to offend anyone, but I feel VERY STRONGLY about this subject. Many backyard breeders also get their breeding stock from puppymills and petshops. I don't understand how something can be "rescued" from a pet shop.
 
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ninacaliente

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Thanks, everyone, for "talking me down", so to speak! Dh and I talked about it last night, and we agreed that we will start looking for a dog after I am finished with school and we are moved into a bigger house with a fenced yard - so probably a year or two down the road. It will be hard to wait so long, but I figure I will spend that time doing lots of breed research, maybe going to local dog shows, and once my schedule opens up a bit, getting back into helping with rescue dog transport (which I haven't done since I started school). And of course, drooling over the pics of all of your dogs on this forum!
 

bijou's mom

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Originally Posted by NinaCaliente

Thanks, everyone, for "talking me down", so to speak! Dh and I talked about it last night, and we agreed that we will start looking for a dog after I am finished with school and we are moved into a bigger house with a fenced yard - so probably a year or two down the road. It will be hard to wait so long, but I figure I will spend that time doing lots of breed research, maybe going to local dog shows, and once my schedule opens up a bit, getting back into helping with rescue dog transport (which I haven't done since I started school). And of course, drooling over the pics of all of your dogs on this forum!
Good for you!
And when the time is right, I just know that you will find the perfect dog!
 

kluchetta

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Originally Posted by NinaCaliente

Thanks, everyone, for "talking me down", so to speak! Dh and I talked about it last night, and we agreed that we will start looking for a dog after I am finished with school and we are moved into a bigger house with a fenced yard - so probably a year or two down the road. It will be hard to wait so long, but I figure I will spend that time doing lots of breed research, maybe going to local dog shows, and once my schedule opens up a bit, getting back into helping with rescue dog transport (which I haven't done since I started school). And of course, drooling over the pics of all of your dogs on this forum!
Good job!
And anticipation is half the fun!
 

cococat

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Good for you for thinking this through and talking with your significant other. A pet is a long commitment, puppies are a lot of work too!


You can get a puppy at some point. Just DO NOT get a puppy from a pet store, EVER. That is just asking for trouble. They are strictly a business, that is not the type of place you should get a dog, puppy, cat, or kitten from. Don't support that type of business and don't let them fool you, no good/ethical/responsible/reputable breeder would ever ever sell their precious babies in a pet store to be sold to whomever had an impluse and the money to buy that day. When you buy from businesses like that, another puppy goes into a cage to be sold. Just an endless cycle. It makes me sick.
The dogs are the ones that suffer. Those puppies also learn to pee/poo where they sleep and play. Housetraining is not easy with such a background.

Adopting from a rescue is a good idea. If you are stuck on a certain breed, you can get with a certain breed rescue now and let them know about you and your desire for a puppy if you want to go that route. In the mean time to help your puppy urge you can volunteer at a shelter or breed rescue maybe even one day a week. Or go to dog shows.

Make your puppy worth that wait and do all the research you can, the breed is important, but the breeder can be even more so important. Find a good one. There are basically three types. Puppy mills (commerical breeders), back yard breeders, and reputable (responsible breeders). A back yard breeder will not tell you they are back yard, of course they won't, they will talk around it or tell you lies (they may or may not believe those lies themselves). Ignorance is not bliss, ignorance when breeding pets can easily cause health problems and temperament issues. The end result of the massive amounts of backyard breeders in the US is our pet overpopulation problem. They breed for money or due to ignorance. You don't want a puppy from these people.

It is up to you to know the signs to look for and do your homework. Starting out going to doggie events, shows and dog sports is a wonderful start to finding the right breeders. Visit training clubs too near you. You can also join dog forums to learn more, I think there are even many breed specific forums.
http://www.wonderpuppy.net/breeding.htm
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/NoPupp..._breeder_.html
http://www.jlhweb.net/Boxermap/reputablebreeder.html
 

charmsdad

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It seems you answered your own concern about getting a dog:

Originally Posted by NinaCaliente

I don't have time for a dog, I don't have space for a dog, my cats would be less than thrilled about a dog, my husband would be MUCH less than thrilled about a dog, I have 3 cats under a year old so I REALLY don't need a puppy
How many times have I seen someone get a dog because they really wanted one, but were at a point in their life when it just wasn't the right thing for themselves or the dog. Dogs do require more time and effort, on a daily basis, than cats. The decision is yours to make, but your statement above seems to pretty strongly indicate that this may not be the right time.
 
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