# Rant, rant



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I want to get another dog. It will be a purebred. I want to “know” what I’m getting as far as size, weight, likely temperament and energy level. It will be a puppy because I don’t want to deal with the “problems” most adult dogs come with. Yes, older dogs can be great. But too many times they’re untrained, under socialized, or have “emotional” issues (i.e. separation anxiety), if not all three. This leads to my rant...”good” breeders. Why, oh why, do they sell their pups while they are little more than squishy caterpillars? I can’t understand how someone would buy a pup like that. You can’t tell much more than size about that pup. How do you know what temperament it has? Yes, breeders try to breed for such things, but even so there are ranges within that sought for “good” temperament. And energy level? I can’t even begin to see how you can judge for that in a pup that’s less than 4 weeks. For gosh sake, even personality hasn’t really shown up. So, pretty much, you’re buying a puppy, a lifetime friend/companion/family member on looks and gender. It blows my mind. Most breeders want a non refundable deposit on a puppy at the very least, and even if you pay extra for pick of the litter, you have to choose your pup within a couple of days. I’ve never chosen a dog purely on looks. I need to handle the pup, test it’s temperament, just get to “see” how the pup interacts and reacts to stuff. And you can’t do any of that with a blind, deaf, helpless squishy caterpillar of a puppy. If all I wanted was an “unknown”, I would go with any old pup. I don’t want that....I want to know “exactly” what I’m getting. I’m at the end of my rope here. I’m almost tempted to just find anyone who has the breed I want that will give me the ability of choosing a pup by something other than just looks and gender. Rant over.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Well, still absolutely no luck on the puppy front. Sill, finding only breeders who want you to deposit/buy a puppy at the “squishy caterpillar” stage. When I got my oldest iggie, I’d already turned down 5 others (2 girls, 3 boys) all perfectly lovely dogs, but... Not what I wanted in personality 
/energy level; turned down 2 before picking our 2nd, the 3rd... I was “guilted” into taking (not chosen). All of the pups I turned down were sweet,typical Iggies, but they just didn’t “click” . So, how am I going to get a pup from a “good” breeder that will also be what I want? I’m starting to think that these things are mutually exclusive. I still have a lot of time to search, but things are not looking good. Does anybody have any ideas that might help with my search?


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## vsl (Jan 10, 2020)

Well, I'm still looking for a breeder where I would be able to choose a pup by more than color/sex. It seems that trying to find a good breeder that waits to sell puppies after 6 weeks of age is like finding hen's teeth. I don't understand it. Good breeders don't send the pups home until at least 8 weeks, so why can't they wait until the pups are at least 4 weeks old before selling their pups. I mean by then pups have the start of a personality. I know I could get an older pup/dog. Been there, done that. In all my many years, I've had exactly 2 dogs that haven't had some issue (behavior, health, mental stability). I don't want to have to retrain/rehabilitate it. I'm at a loss as to what to do. I'll keep looking but I'm starting to lose hope of finding a good breeder.


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## Blanka (Feb 14, 2020)

It seems that trying to find a good breeder that waits to sell puppies after 6 weeks of age is like finding hen's teeth.


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## vsl (Jan 10, 2020)

Yup,it is hard. I've, finally, found a breeder who has litters quite frequently, so she, sometimes, has "left over" pups from some litters I should be able to have a choice of "older" pups. Of course this happens when the timing is wrong for getting a pup.:Cry:


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