Finding a puppy

[Steve Rozmiarek]

We lost a member of our family yesterday, our little black and tan dachshund died unexpectedly. She got injured somehow, we did everything we could, including taking her to CSU. My girls are heartbroke, heck so am I, and we think getting a puppy may help ease the pain.

I'm having a heck of a time finding a puppy though. Anybody have any ideas on finding the right puppy? We are looking for one similar to Bailey, but dog breeders seem to be incompetent at web usage, so I'm having a hard time. Is there some better way to search?

[Lori Kleinberg]

Sorry for your loss. For a replacement, you could try a rescue or the humane society. If you want a purebred you could try the AKC website. They list breeders by city/state, I believe.

[Bill Orbine]

Not for particular or specific breeds, but worth noting: Rescue Dogs.... google it. check your local shelters.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Thanks guys, we've got a rescue dachshund too, she's a nice little dog, but we really want a puppy similar to Bailey. I doubt we'll find that at a rescue.

I actually found an AKC list, thanks Lori, and a very helpful lady got us a lead. We're hoping, will see in the morning.

BTW, I think someone could make a living helping dog breeders make websites.

[Bruce Page]

Sorry for your loss Steve.

[Paul McGaha]

Sorry for your loss Steve. Hope things go well finding a puppy.

PHM

[Pat Barry]

Sorry about losing your best friend Steve. When our yellow lab passed away we decided about 9 months later we needed a new dog. We didn't want to lose our memory of that Lab (who was the best dog ever by the way) so we got a totally different dog breed. There are so many options out there - maybe worth considering for you.

[George Bokros]

Sorry for your loss. You can find puppies at animal rescues. A local rescue, Paws & Prayers, periodically has them as does the Cleveland Animal Protective League.

[Rod Sheridan]

Steve, very sorry to hear about the death of your dog.

They certainly become an important part of the family in short order.

Best wishes on finding another dog..........Rod.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

Sorry, try this

http://www.nebraskadachshundrescue.org/

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Thanks so much for the sympathy and ideas. I think we may have found one, she is very young still, so they next 6 weeks is going to go so slowly!

[Erik Loza]

Sorry to hear that, Steve. We lost our Shepherd of 12 years last November and I still miss him. I cannot tell you what to do except to give my experiences during our search for a new dog.

1.) The Shelter: Crapshoot, 90% pit bulls and chihuahas.
2.) Rescues: Get the breed you want but usually, with issues.
3.) Breeder: Sometimes (as it sounds like you are discovering) challenging to deal with and to be honest, the whole "we only sell to people we feel are qualified" is kind of ridiculous to me but that's the way most of them seeem to operate.

We adopted a new dog back in May from the Shepherd rescue place we got the first one from and it turns out he has 0% Shepherd in him, so is more of a project than a companion like we expected. We love him and he's one of the family but point being, it's all a huge pain in the butt no matter which route you go. Our next dog will be from a breeder and as much as we support rescues and are somewhat opposed to the whole breeder-thing, it seems like the only way to be assured of getting what we want.

Best of luck in your search.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Tom M King]

The national parent club should have a breeder referral list, as a good place to start. Otherwise, go to a show and talk to breeders there. There is no substitute for being able to visit a breeder, and not only meet them to see how they start the puppies, but also meet the Parents. Be prepared to wait for a puppy from a good breeder though. Good breeders don't breed many litters a year, put a lot of time in the puppies first weeks, and are selective to who they sell to because of the time they put into starting the puppies, and the limited number produced relative to the demand. I know this because my Wife is a Havanese breeder. We always have a waiting list well in advance, but get inquiries almost daily. No top breeder is likely to have puppies available with no notice.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I'm definitely finding that there is more demand than puppies in this instance too. I had a perfect candidate found at an apparently highly regarded breeder in north carolina, but we were second on the list, and the first took the option. Two more 2 week old ones out there, need to wait a week to see what their hair length turns to. The dog we just lost came from a questionable non akc breeder. She was a wonderful friend, and I wouldn't want it any other way, but the disease that got her can be genetic, and it's not a risk I want to willingly ignore if a careful breeder can minimize the chances of us losing one so young again. I love that there are rescue operations, especially breed specific, but like you said Eric, we want to this pup to grow up with us, and get her personality from that, not bring someone elses.

[Bryan Rocker]

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your fur baby, it is never easy. If you are in a search for a puppy, please consider rescues. I know locally there have been all sorts of pups dropped off lately. If you need some links PM me and I can help you out, I would also recommend looking at petfinder dot com......

[John Conklin]

Very sorry to hear that you lost your family friend Steve, we lost our St. Bernard in similar circumstances about a year ago and it's a tough one to get over.

I just wanted to mention something that I don't believe anyone else has mentioned... maybe taking some time to grieve before getting a new dog. Sometimes we are so lost without that familiar face, that we can make some hasty decisions. A new pup with be just as cute and lovable a month from now. Just a thought.

[Myk Rian]

When our Daughter lost her Lab, I made a Scroll picture to remember Casey by.

296431

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Thanks again for the sympathy guys, we really miss her. I suppose we all deal with this sort of thing differently. We waited several months to get Bailey when her predecessor, Dotsy, died. Because it was not unexpected, I think it was a much easier time, especially for my daughters. This time though, because it was such a shock to everyone, we're doing it differently. I think it's impossible to forget a good dog, even if you try.

We've lost two dogs now as a family. I made a nice box for the last one too, and put routed out a little saying that we all remember. Had lots of time to do it on the last one, Dotsy, not so this time around. It took them 3 hours to drive home from Ft. Collins, but I was able to get it done this time too. As you work on these, a flood of emotion happens, and it helps me cope I guess. Another little phrase came up for the top of this box as well, and I think it will forever be associated with Bailey in our family. Makes me feel good to have done something to remember her.

Mike, that is a very nice tribute you did for you daughter, I bet some of the same emotion was in play there.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

John, you are right of course, a puppy will be awesome in a while too. The way it is working out though for us, there are no available 8 week old puppies in this nation as far as I can find, so we are now waiting on our 3 week old one to grow some before we can bring her home.