Originally Posted by Frecs

Of course not! It's not about "good" or "bad". You need to find what works best for you. But, you will find that dog people feel very passionately about certain things and backyard breeders is one of them--pet store puppies are ALWAYS from such places. This practice must be discouraged and the only way to do that is for NO ONE to purchase such dogs.

Regarding allergies: no dog is hypoallergenic (as has been mentioned). Pres. Obama is looking for that for his girls and he's going to find out the hard way that they don't exist. That said, my understanding is that dogs that have hair rather than fur are less likely to produce dander which is the allergen. Dogs such as shitzus and Lhasa's and maltese are such dogs.

People seem to make me feel bad because I couldn't find a small rescue dog. On our island, we have only 2 Humane Societies, waited and waited. Mostly they got pitbulls, there are 100's of them here. I didn't care for chihuahuas and there were plenty of those. I purchased my puppy from a lady (does not consider herself breeder). I asked friends in that area about her and all liked her for her kindness to animals. I know I paid too much probably for a shih tzu/lhasa but I fell in love with her. ($400).

Originally Posted by makahana

People seem to make me feel bad because I couldn't find a small rescue dog. On our island, we have only 2 Humane Societies, waited and waited. Mostly they got pitbulls, there are 100's of them here. I didn't care for chihuahuas and there were plenty of those. I purchased my puppy from a lady (does not consider herself breeder). I asked friends in that area about her and all liked her for her kindness to animals. I know I paid too much probably for a shih tzu/lhasa but I fell in love with her. ($400).

Not sure what island you are on. But, I respect that you did try to find an appropriate rescue.

Whether she calls herself a breeder or not, if she is producing puppies, she is a breeder. The question is then, what is the quality of the puppies she is producing. Personally, I would not spend $400 on a mixed breed dog but each person has to make the decision that is best for them. I spent $150 to adopt a purebred--more than I've spent on adoptions previously but I thought it was worth it.

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the replies. We're still looking up dogs, not Cockapoos, anymore, but did look up that pet store that that lady went to for her dog. Now I do know that pet stores get it's dogs from puppy mills or bad breeders, but this one seemed different in that the puppies are bought from respectable breeders-ex they go to check them out, they have their shots and vaccinations and don't sell them unless the are an appropriate age. That's a pet store that hopefully changing.

Anyway we're looking for other breeds with less dander and fur. I love Corgis but don't think I could ever have one as they shed. We're looking for a dog that doesn't shed that much. I think we found one, but aren't sure yet.

Thanks again for your help. :^)

shots, papers and correct age is all well and good but GOOD BREEDERS DO NOT SELL THE PET SHOPS! It is against the code of ethics for breed clubs (of which any GOOD breeder is a member of). If you are not able to meet the puppies parents, see where they were born, get copies of BOTH parents OFA & CERF certs, DO NOT BUY THAT PUPPY! They are from a puppy mill or BYB.

There's nothing wrong with getting a dog through a breeder. You and your friend can agree to disagree.

[lil mutt]

I think it depends on what kind of breeder he is... You should stay away from money making breeders who only cares for the profit that they are going to make to those animals.