Your 2 cents......

[jenkins]

Well this is my first time posting on this board, but I will have to say Ive spend at least a month coming here daily and reading every thing I can before I purchased a puppy. The puppy Im getting is only gonna be 6 weeks old when I bring it home. I know what all of you are thinking, why not wait till its 7 or 8 weeks old, well the reason is because Its from a BYB, in poor condition. I dont have the oppurtunity of going to a Rottweiler rescue center. So my question is, should I past this puppy up and let who ever puts up 300.00 dollars take it home or take the puppy now, and know it has a great home and will be healthy? I plan on taking this puppy every where with me. It will be with me everyday. On a great diet (canidae)and exercise. I also plan on getting her into classes. so give me Your honest answer on what I should do. Thanks in advance,,,,,,,,,,,

ps. These are the books Ive read that I thought were great.

Both New monks Skete(New Versions)
How to raise a puppy.
Rottweilers for dummys...
Any other ones please let me know..

[poohbearsmom]

Where are you located? Surely, there is a rescue that covers your location, unless you are on a remote Island somewhere.

I would hesitate to buy this puppy because:

You say the pup has been whelped and raised in less than pristine conditions. This means, it could be unhealthy to begin with, (i.e. full of worms, mama not given proper nutrition, and, if they are in poor condition, I would wonder if mama was properly vaccinated to begin with.....grrr). Rottie pups are more susceptible to infections than a lot of other breeds, parvo, in particular.

You are purchasing this pup from someone with little or no regard to the heritage of the dog. This puts you at a higher risk of buying a dog with hereditary health issues. i.e. hip displaysia, heart problems, etc....

You are purchasing this pup from someone with little or no regard to the heritage of the dog. This puts you at a higher risk of encountering temperament problems. This is the stuff that nighmarish headlines are made of. If these people are not raising the litter in a hygienic, healthy manner, what makes you think that the puppies would have adequate socialization? If these folks are getting rid of the pups at 6 weeks (puppies NEED to be with their mama and siblings between 6 and 8 weeks - this is the time in their lives they learn HOW TO BE A DOG.) then you run a much higher risk of encountering dog vs dog issues later in the pups life.

Granted, it's difficult to see pups in this position. These things tug at our heartstrings. While I'm sure that SOMEONE will plunk down $300 bucks each for these pups, my own conscience would not allow me to do this. This encourages people like this BYB to continue on in the same fashion. Now, if they ended up with not as many buyers as they have pups, they might think twice next time.

My suggestion to you - RUN, don't walk away from this. Take your time in picking the right dog for you. You have already done so much homework, and I really believe you're on the right track.

Regards, and welcome.
Elisabeth

[Mick Trainer]

hmmm, quite a position you are in.

For me I would definatly pass on the pup. Whilst I am sure that you will do the best for it but there is questions over what it will do for you. Without health checks/certificates/guarantees you run a higher than normal risk of something going wrong. This can be heart breaking for the owner and can cost you many thousands of dollars.

Secondly by purchasing the pup you are supporting an industry that I simply would rather not. Maybe if they have trouble selling this litter they may not do another. I know the chances of this are not high but I would rather do all I can too not support their decision to breed.

Further to this as the sire and dam have not been truly temperament tested there is a very good chance that the temperament will be severally flawed. Whilst there is a chance of this from even the best bred litter the chance is far higher from a BYB. Certainly you can make inroads into modifying behavior to cover a poor temperament but you should never overlook the influence genetics has over the temperament or behavior of a dog.

Whilst I know that your decision may negatively impact upon this pup, which is something that pulls at all our heart strings, I believe that you must put yourself and the greater good first. We cannot help all the dogs but if we can possably stop the next litter it is worth it. Not much help to this poor pup I know. We can only hope it finds a good home also.

Hope that helps, but I suspect it doesn't. Good luck with your decision.

Mick.

[Carina43]

Originally posted by Mick Trainer
hmmm, quite a position you are in.
***
Secondly by purchasing the pup you are supporting an industry that I simply would rather not. Maybe if they have trouble selling this litter they may not do another. I know the chances of this are not high but I would rather do all I can too not support their decision to breed.
***

It is a tough decision, and the reason above is the best one not to buy from the seller. I believe buying a puppy from someone who is breeding just to make money (which is despicable) may benefit ONE dog, but does nothing for the breed as a whole.

HOWEVER...I'm going to go against the tide here a little, on the health & temperament issue. First, almost any dog you get through rescue is going to be a BYB/poorly bred dog too. And many, many of those are healthy, wonderful Rotties - probably more than half the members here own a BYB/rescue dog and will tell you how wonderful they are. Certainly people post with behaviour & health problems they have with pups from quality breeders too...there are no guarantees either way.

I've had five Rotties - the ONLY one who has had dysplasia (elbows) plus another congenital problem we just found out about (extremely narrow trachea) was also the ONLY one I bought from a very good, code of ethics breeder. His temperament is impeccable, however, and he is my heart dog, he's wonderful.

My very first pup I brought home in 1986 from a BYB, and he was 6 weeks old. I took him to work with me pretty much every day of his life, and he was one of the wisest dogs I've ever known, though he was a very challenging, dominant pup. God knows what sort of upbringing & heritage Dutch & Daphne have - they were both adults when I got them...but both are good dogs. The few behavioural issues they have are from poor upbringing & lack of socialising & training etc - I'm not sure it's hardwired. Dutch in particular has got a very strong work ethic, extremely intelligent dog.

So while you're probably more likely to get a healthy, problem free pup from someone who has done all the recommended health checks & only bred proven dogs etc, it's still not a guarantee. And IMHO, very few dogs are really badly "hardwired" - the correct upbringing is the biggest influence.

My recommendation is the same as the others - don't buy this puppy - despite what I've written above. For the reason that Mick gave - it is supporting a really abhorrent practice. Where are you located that there are no rescues - are you not in the US? Rescues very often have puppies...if you're in this country there is bound to be a Rottie rescue organization not too far from you. Post where you live & people will try to help you find one.

[Birdie'sMom]

Gosh - I know exactly how you feel. Although, when I got Birdie from a BYB, I didn't exactly know how bad it was, I still had a little voice inside me that told me that this wasn't the best place to get a dog. But, I thought the same way you did - someone is going to end up with this dog, why not let it be me - I'll take care of her better than most people will. Well - I made the decision and I bought her, and while I will never say that I wish I hadn't (she is the love of my life and I wouldn't trade her for the world!), I am now having problems with HD and other things that make my trips to the vet very frequent. Now, one can't say for sure that it is because of where I got her, there is more of a risk of ending up with a dog with medical problems when you buy from a BYB. Rottweilers already have lots of medical problems - why make the risk higher by buying from someone who doesn't take the precautions to avoid some of these problems? Of course, I did it, so I can't say I don't know where you're coming from, but I can say that I would never do it again. I've learned from my mistake and maybe you can learn from my mistake, too! Good luck!:)

[sophie's-mom]

Sophie came from a backyard breeder. And I thought that I was "saving" her also. I paid $250.00 for Sophie, GREAT PRICE RIGHT?? Well, in the past 2 1/2 years I have had to come up with 20 times that much!!!

The reason I got Sophie.......a co-worker at my old work told me of a "friend of a friend" that had a litter. I drove out to the house, saw the pups.....they were cute....as all pups are. In speaking with the woman over the next couple of days I came to realize that this house was NOT the ideal place for Sophie (Sophie was 14 weeks old). The parents were TOTALLY unsocialized, the mother looked like she had been bred.......ALLOT!!! The woman told me that she had wanted to KEEP Sophie and that if I took her, would I promise to bring her back so that Sophie could be bred back to the FATHER!!! That's when I said, "SURE, here.....thank you....BYE" And Sophie has been with me since.......NOT BEING BRED!!! 2 weeks after we got her home, Sophie got PARVO, $800.00 for a 1 week stay at the vet, she pulled through.......no, she had not had any puppy shots while in the woman's care. THEN Sophie developed a KNOT on her head above her right eye, took her in for x-rays.......$250.00 to find out that she had a fractured skull from some sort of blow or KNOCK on the head. So I ask, "DID I DO THIS SOMEHOW??" The vet says, no......this appears to be an older fracture.........probably BEFORE you got her. The fracture ran from the top of her eye into her sinus. Now, every time Sophie gets EXCITED.....she snorts.....and sometimes it's difficult for her to breathe. OK, so now Sophie is 1 I take here to get her hips x-rayed since she kind of hops when she runs......another $100.00 and now we find out she does NOT have a full hip socket on the right side. GREAT!! SO, now Sophie is older and her temperament is not BAD......but MAJORLY HYPER..........she cannot control herself when she gets excited.....so, we take her to classes at Petsmart.......WELL, she can't contain herself in class so we don't go anymore.........so, off to a trainer with the promise that she will be a much calmer dog. YEH RIGHT. 1 month of one on one training at the BARGAIN price of $1,200.00 Sophie gets training, we take her home and continue the training at home, but Sophie's attention span is for CRAP! The dog is a GOOF.....mentally not capable of command retention. And the list goes on and on........everyday it's something different.......I can't even begin to give you the list of things we have gone through with this dog......and it will continue for probably the next 10 years.......but we do love her. And MAYBE your pup won't have the same problems.......but in ALL HONESTY.....had I known then, what I know now.......as much as we love Sophie........We would have walked away.........because handing that woman $250.00 2 1/2 years ago......only gave her more money to continue doing what she does.......breeding for money, without concern for the lives she's creating. I can only HOPE that the pups from Sophie's litter didn't end up in rescue or in shelters.......but I know the truth, if they had any of the same problems as Sophie.......they were probably too much for some to handle.....and did end up in shelters. :(

Just something to think about BEFORE you make your decision.

If you would TRULY be interested in a rescue dog......there are 100 members on this board that could help you with that. I would be willing to help you. Just let us know. :)

[Jamie & Odin]

I would pass on the pup too. I have a dog who is the result of poor breeding/BYB. I adopted him from my local humane society.

No health problems so far, but he does have some temperment issues. His problem is fear issues.

While I love him dearly, and he is the light of my life, he has taken much extra effort in the way of training, socialization, behavior modification and management.

The management has been the most difficult aspect. This is not a dog I can take anywhere, meet anyone etc. He is fantastic around the people/kids he knows, but takes a while to warm up to people he doesn't. I cannot introduce him to anyone without giving specific instructions on how they are to behave with him, and if they are not interested and do not understand, they are not introduced. I cannot run the risk of ever making a mistake with this dog. I can never just open the door when someone knocks, I can NEVER run the risk of him "getting away" etc. With a temperment issue, you always have to be on your toes.

Think long and hard about what you may be getting yourself into. I went through a very difficult decision making process at one point, wether to put this dog that I love so dearly to sleep as a result of his issues, or work through it. I decided to work through it, and have never looked back. But it's not the easiest thing to do.

Take care and best of luck with whatever you decide.

[Homerhomer]

Originally posted by Mick Trainer

Secondly by purchasing the pup you are supporting an industry that I simply would rather not. Maybe if they have trouble selling this litter they may not do another. I know the chances of this are not high but I would rather do all I can too not support their decision to breed.

I also believe you will be supporting their business model and IMO the less demand the less supply. If this person makes money this time be sure they will be at again and again and again, and many pups in the future will be put in the same difficult situation by this person again, however if they don't make any money then perhaps they won't want to go through the hassle again.

Where are you located, perhaps someone can give you a contact to a rescue group or a shelter.

Welcome aboard Jenkins.

[Jamie & Odin]

I know the chances of this are not high but I would rather do all I can too not support their decision to breed.

It does happen. My Odin's "breeder" couldn't sell the remaining three pups of Odin's litter in time to turn a profit. He took the pups to the shelter, decided that was his last litter and dumped the mother on the street.

[spidey]

I agree with everything that's been posted.

While there's no guarantee that the puppy will have any problems whatsoever (although the fact that it's so young would definitely concern me, as you know, there could be some dog socialization problems down the road for this puppy, so if you know someone with a fully vaccinated and friendly dog, now is the time to start talking about regular play dates to try and head off any issues before they arise), remember that this will be your companion for (hopefully) about a decade. That's a long time. Plenty of people adopt on a whim and end up happy, but IME those who do their research (as you've been doing) and take their time finding just the right dog have a better chance of it. Remember that what you spend on the puppy, whether it's ten dollars or two thousand, will probably be the least expensive thing over the course of the dog's life - food, vet care, etc. will all add up to make the purchase price negligible, and you're more likely to end up with serious health problems in a poorly-bred puppy (but by no means is this certain, as Carina has pointed out - but at least with a code of ethics breeder, you're more likely to have some recourse if the puppy ends up with problems). The decision is yours, you need to think about what your priorities are here, what feels right to you, and it really sounds like you have your heart in the right place, but I'd suggest rescue or the pound might be better places to save a dog from than a BYB, at least there your money will be supporting ethical organizations (but there are worse things than buying from a BYB, too). Good luck, whatever you choose. :)

[snooksbc]

I know how hard this is. I just went into a pet store to check out the conditions the dogs were living in and almost bought one. They just looked like they needed to be rescued. But the reality is I can't in good conscience give my money to people who do this to animals. I just can't. Like others here, I got my first dog from a BYB and have regretted it ever since. Not regretting having her, but regretting giving this woman money for abusing animals because that's exactly what I did. Please try again with the rescues. Lots of times arrangements can be made for transport. I am now owned by a wonderful 12 yr old rottie that I adopted last summer. Never again will I buy from someone who doesn't care enough about their animals to take care of them. JMHO
Bev

[jenkins]

First off, I would like to think all of you for taking the time to post. Most of you say that I should walk away from this and I feel the same way, but my heart just wont let me. Also I live in Oregon and there is Rescue Centers here. Just not as close as I would want them to be. So if you guys know of any good rescue centers in my area please let me know. Everyones advice on this topic has been very informative. The main reason Im leaning towards not get this puppy is because I dont want to support BYB. Well Im still not sure what I should do, follow my heart or follow what I know is the right thing to do. Please keep the information coming. Thanks again to everyone. :)

[Bruce Lanthier]

There have been times in my life when I followed my heart and eventually regretted it. I have yet to regret doing what I know is the right thing to do. The right thing to do is not always the thing that we want to do. What makes us who we are is deciding between the right thing to do and doing what we want to do.

[Bucky's Mom]

Originally posted by Bruce Lanthier
There have been times in my life when I followed my heart and eventually regretted it. I have yet to regret doing what I know is the right thing to do. The right thing to do is not always the thing that we want to do. What makes us who we are is deciding between the right thing to do and doing what we want to do.

Feel with your heart - but THINK with your head - and let your ACTIONS reflect your thinking. - I wish you well.

[spidey]

How far away are the rescue centres? Call them, if they're willing to adopt to someone as far away as you (pending interviews and stuff obviously), why not at least see if they have any dogs who'd be a good match? Even if it's a long drive, it's at most a day or two out of your life, the dog you get will be with you for years, so the time and money spent getting it are fairly irrelevant (assuming you have transport, obviously ;) ).