AgileGSD
Posted : 3/11/2009 1:59:33 PM
I guess that it depends on how much money this person is wanting. It is true that the majority of purebred dogs in rescue are from BYBs, so quality wise you are looking at about the same thing. If the person with these pups are doing the health checks prior to placement, you can expect to pay more to cover those. If they are are not, you have to ask yourself if you could deal with a deaf and/or blind dog. That can be a risk with any rescue with an unknown background too, as most eye disorders are late onset and most rescues don't CERF.
You really have to weigh the pros and cons - no one here can tell you what to do. I personally would not get a puppy from rescue unless they would allow the dog to mature prior to altering (and most will not for any reason). Of course most rescues wouldn't adopt a dog to me unless I lied, so I suppose that makes rescue dogs a poor match for me to start with ;)
As Brookcove said, when you pay for a well bred dog you are paying for more than just the dog. In doing so, you are hopefully getting a "lower risk" puppy for future health or temperament issues. You can save on the purchase price by getting a BYB puppy or a rescue but you are also taking on a "higher risk" dog for health issues and may get a dog which lacks the breed's proper temperament.
If you aren't set on having a young puppy, there is another option available as well. Sometimes breeders will hav older puppies available that they decided aren't turning out as they had hoped or get back older puppies who didn't work out in their home for whatever reason. Such puppies are usually not as pricey as a young puppy but come with the perks of buying from a reputable breeder (plus the bonus that they are already started on training and can "hold it" longer).