Where can you find a dog at a reasonanle price with a picture or description?

Question

Looking for a small to mid-size dog with a posted photo if possible or a description. Must be good with kids and not real excitable.

Answer 1

For kids, I'd recommend my favorite
mid-sized dog - the English (or Welsh) Springer Spaniel. They require some grooming, but don't shed too much, are generally great with kids and easy to train. Females are a little bit easier than males, but either should make a terrific pet.

Beware of people selling puppies online at "reasonable" prices! Even "free" dogs cost money to take care of. If the dog isn't properly trained, it can chew up your house and your stuff. If it's not housebroken, it can ruin your floors and your furniture. How "free" is a dog that does $1000 in damage to your house? Many "free" dogs turn out to be sick - how "free" is a dog that costs you $800 at the vet because he has Parvo or distemper or heartworm?

A good pup can easily cost $1000 or more. All dogs require a lot of time, energy and money to take care of properly. A crate, books and supplies can cost up to $300. Puppy shots are $200, then $100 a year for boosters. Annual Heartworm test and preventative medication $100. Professional trainer $600 and up. Going on vacation? Boarding kennel $40/day. Spaying? $250. If you can't afford to pay for a good dog, maybe you can't afford to maintain one either?

BEFORE you get any dog you should read some great books on training. (Try not to pick books randomly - there are a lot of bad books out there also!) These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com
What All Good Dogs Should Know - Volhard
Good Owners, Great Dogs - Brian Kilcommins
Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin
Don't Shoot the Dog - Pryor
Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method - Volhard
Dog Problems - Benjamin
Cesar's Way - Cesar Millan
Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I've ever seen on TV.

Find a good breeder by going to www.akc.org or talking to people at dog shows. You can also find info about the breed clubs on the akc site - they probably have a rescue group where you can get an older dog for less money. The best breeders will be members of their breed club, promoting healthy dogs with great temperaments. They should ask you a bunch of questions to make sure their puppy will be getting a good home. If all a "breeder" seems to care about is whether your check will clear, you can be sure he won't care a week later when the pup is dying from distemper or parvo and you want your money back.

Whatever you do, DON'T go to a pet shop, a flea market or buy one sight-unseen off the Internet!!!! You'll pay top dollar for what is usually a poor quality puppy mill dog. And you'll be supporting one of the cruelest industries in the country. The breeding animals are often kept in deplorable conditions - spending their entire lives in small wire-bottomed cages. They probably haven't been vaccinated against contagious diseases or tested for any health or temperament problems or genetic diseases - that costs money and cuts into their profits. A female is often bred every time she comes into heat. When her poor little body can't take it any more, she is often clubbed in the head and tossed into a dumpster or an open ditch. Most puppy mills ship their pups to pet stores at wholesale prices and many pups die before they even get there.

These so-called "breeders" have now figured out that they can use the internet to ship a dog directly to the customer and thus make more money by cutting out the middleman. If you buy a dog from out of state, good luck getting your money back if there's something wrong with the pup. These people count on you becoming instantly attached to the poor little guy and being willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars at the vet to treat whatever is wrong with him.

Answer 2

www.petfinder.com

Petfinder is a service that most shelters and rescues in this country use to let anyone view their adoptable pets and read descriptions of them. Just type in your Zip Code and what type of animal you want (dog, cat, etc...) and even if you know the breed, you can put that in as well. It will then show you all the dogs of a certain type that are available for adoption in your area, along with information about the animals, and information about who to contact to adopt them.

Answer 3

Go to your local ASPCA. Many dogs there waiting to be loved! See if your local ASPCA has a website. If you go to the national ASPCA site you should be able to find a link to your local branch, which might have pictures and descriptions of the dogs available for adoption! Good luck!

Answer 4

Most breeds have their own rescue societies. The money is then a donation and tax deductible. Search the internet on the breed name +rescue

Answer 5

You should go to the humane society. There are so many homeless dogs that need good homes.

Answer 6

www.petfinder.com

Lots and lots of dogs, with pics and descriptions, needing homes. Search around your area.

Answer 7

Go check out the animal shelter!

Answer 8

You could go to a humane society near you or go to www.petfinder.com.

Answer 9

Hi try www.petfinder.com or your local humane society's webpage.

Answer 10

I buy my pekingese and my Westies at www.puppyfind.com. But, all the dogs are purebreed and reg., so you get show dogs and chanpion bloodlines. :)