GentleLake Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 Gentle Lake, you probably didn't pick up on the Branchwater sire (oh, but such a pretty lilac color!) from a kennel in CA that's notorious for aggression towards people... No, didn't even notice a lilac sire. And didn't notice that the stud's pedigrees were posted. But I really wasn't looking all that hard. I saw enough in just a quick look to know it wasn't a quality breeder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 I am also going to suggest rescue with your kids. Right now I have an adorable 10 month old puppy asleap on my feet while I drink coffee in bed. He is going to make a perfect family pet, he is good with kids, learns quickly and likes nothing more than a good cuddle, three weeks ago he had never seen the inside of a house and had lived on a chain with a shelter (no abuse just not a very interesting life). Even though he is already 10 months it is just like having a puppy, he knows nothing and is a little sponge, learning how to be a house dog from the resident border collie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denice Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 I think people limit themselves by wanting to find someone close by. What is a couple days of travel when you will have the dogs for up to 16 years? Seems to me it is the last on the list of requirements instead of the first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borasaurus Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 I think rescue would be great, too, and more accessible if you want a dog right away (which for me still took about two months of searching). Kieran was a blank slate when I got him. He was two, so I didn't have to deal with his teenage years. He's always eager to learn and is turning out to be great for dog sports. There are many other dogs like him in rescue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 Completely agree. What's the point of choosing a local breeder? You're hoping for the "pick of the litter"? If there are still *plenty* of pups to choose from when they're old enough to display temperament/personality - that's a big red flag right there. At most I've had a choice of two in any of the recent dogs I acquired as puppies, including the two I got to choose from in Idaho after having been on a waiting list for more than a year. No regrets with any of the resulting dogs... puppies are all a "pig in a poke", you really can't tell much (unless it's unusual fearfulness). Hoping to meet both parents? (Will both be on the premises? Not all that likely in working dogs; you'd be better off going to trials). I think people limit themselves by wanting to find someone close by. What is a couple days of travel when you will have the dogs for up to 16 years? Seems to me it is the last on the list of requirements instead of the first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptJack Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 It probably should be last, but frankly I doubt I'll ever travel a couple of days for a dog - any dog. It isn't laziness or cheapness, it's the same reason I don't travel for agility trials if I have to stay overnight: I have an autistic kid and other pets/animals to consider, and arranging care for all of them is a major production and isn't always even possible. Given that I'll know for sure I"m getting a puppy from a given litter from most breeders at MOST 2 months before I need to pick up? Yeah, no, not happening. Give me a date and time of pick-up 3-6 months in advance and we can talk - but we all know all the reasons that's not possible. (I mean. I could maybe make it work? But it still couldn't be two days of travel. It could be, at most, a single overnight stay in a motel for one of us. Because also WORK and vacation time requires notice. Flying can increase the distance of that but flying makes notice important for other reasons.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 You can always have a pup shipped by air - probably cheaper than traveling that distance. It probably should be last, but frankly I doubt I'll ever travel a couple of days for a dog - any dog. It isn't laziness or cheapness, it's the same reason I don't travel for agility trials if I have to stay overnight: I have an autistic kid and other pets/animals to consider, and arranging care for all of them is a major production and isn't always even possible. Given that I'll know for sure I"m getting a puppy from a given litter from most breeders at MOST 2 months before I need to pick up? Yeah, no, not happening. Give me a date and time of pick-up 3-6 months in advance and we can talk - but we all know all the reasons that's not possible. (I mean. I could maybe make it work? But it still couldn't be two days of travel. It could be, at most, a single overnight stay in a motel for one of us. Because also WORK and vacation time requires notice. Flying can increase the distance of that but flying makes notice important for other reasons.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptJack Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 And that I would do, if a breeder were willing. Some are, some aren't. I'd be there, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 Dear Doggers, At the risk of seeming silly or absurd, why must you pick the dog yourself? As Jack Knox once said:"If I could pick out the gooduns, I'd never have to work again." I know - I know - but . . .If I coudln't travel myself there are any number of friends here on this list I'd trust to pick one for me. If you read "Top trainers talk about starting a puppy" you'll see how many of those pups were trained because they were the last ones in the litter - the ones nobody else wanted. Although I've been embarassed about it for years, I got my first pup, Pip, when a friend was going to pick up a Border Collie and I said, "Pick me one too." And here we are 30 years later. Thanks Pip. Donald McCaig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald McCaig Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 Dear Doggers, At the risk of seeming silly or absurd, why must you pick the dog yourself? As Jack Knox once said:"If I could pick out the gooduns, I'd never have to work again." I know - I know - but . . .If I coudln't travel myself there are any number of friends here on this list I'd trust to pick one for me. If you read "Top trainers talk about starting a puppy" you'll see how many of those pups were trained because they were the last ones in the litter - the ones nobody else wanted. Although I've been embarassed about it for years, I got my first pup, Pip, when a friend was going to pick up a Border Collie and I said, "Pick me one too." And here we are 30 years later. Thanks Pip. Donald McCaig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 I'd like to feel that I'd chosen a pup to share my life but in reality I didn't really choose mine. Two pups left, one smooth, one medium coated and since I prefer smooth that's the one I took. If they'd both been smooth I might have flipped a coin as there was nothing to distinguish them from each other. It would have been very difficult being offered the pick of a litter as I think I'd always be wondering if I'd passed over a better dog if mine wasn't 100 per cent perfect (and which dog ever is?) Choice isn't all it's cracked up to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Bates Posted June 22, 2020 Report Share Posted June 22, 2020 This is a puppy mill!!! Do not buy their puppies! Owner was arrested in 2019 for felony animal cruelty and neglect!!! Look @ Lancaster online and American Border Collie Association for owner, Seth Lins and JTail Border Collies Disciplinary actions. They are selling dogs illegally for $2500 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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