Would you prefer a shelter/rescue or breeder pup?

I have to admit I prefer a responsible breeder. By responsible I am talking about someone who is dedicated to the breed, testing and carefully planning each litter. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a shelter pup, Heaven knows I have had many in my life. I simply prefere to know as much as possible about the lines, and out come. I love the concept of breeder take back and being able to count on the breeder for information and help.

hugs Bonita of Bwana

I like both. There are a few purebred dogs i always want to have in my life- RRs, GSDs, and dobes. I also wouldn't mind having a beaceron or great dane.  I love mixes too though, especially boxer or pit type mixes.

Are you talking about strictly shelter pups?  If not, then one of the advantages of adopting an adult, versus going to a breeder and buying a puppy, is that what you see is what you get.  You don't have to wait a year and then find out that oops, your dog hates kids/doesn't play ball/eats cats/dislikes other dogs.

There's also another option not mentioned here, and that is adopting from breed rescue, or even all-breed rescue.  Putting in the middle step of fostering takes out a lot of unknowns, even in the case of puppies. 

 I  have 2 from a breeder and 1 from a rescue. While I loved not having to house train and deal with puppy chewing of the rescue, I have to work harder to mold the dog in to something I want. When I got dogs as a pup it was much easier for me to shape them. Plus I don't like not knowing the health history of the rescue.

Edited to add: My dogs aren't just house pets. I got the breeds that I have because I like to be active with my dogs, hiking, frisbee, agility and so on - which is why I don't like not knowing medical history (hips and such). A dog with HD can't do frisbee and agility. If I was just getting a dog to be a house pet then a rescue/shelter dog would be fine. 

Shelter/breeder puppies, dogs, seniors and youngins...all/any age dogs.

True, I forgot about fosters (God bless em!)....they do take some of the unkown out.

This has come up (like a shelter vs breeder discussion) because my Aunt & Uncle....very nice people, love them...would never in a million years adopt (they still think I got Apollo from a breeder that just didn't want him or something) because they think that every shelter dog will have thousands of dollars in health problems and/or bad temp....they don't have (and aren't planning on getting) a dog though...this is just what they have said to me before. Plus, I know that people on this forum got their dogs from all different places.

 I got Tootsie from a responsible and dedicated to the breed breeder and got exactly what I wanted. If I ever get another corgi it will be from a breed rescue.

 Well, when it comes to huskies, I'll never buy from a breeder again.  There are just too many husky crosses in shelters and rescues to justify it.  I will never show a husky, and I doubt I'll ever actually race them so breeding is not in the cards.  Even if I did race, it wouldn't be pure bred Sibes.

Lately though, I've been considering another breed.  Not sure which yet, but something with the word Velcro in the breed standard.  For that I might consider a breeder, but again, if it turns out that its a breed commonly found in shelters, well thats where I'll go.

 I prefer dogs from a responsible breeder.  One of my biggest reasons is health issues.  While even the best breeders can have pups at times come out with health problems, it is nice knowing your getting a dog from someone who tries their hardest to make healthy dogs sound in mind and body.  I also love the security of knowing I always have someone to turn to when I have questions or should a problem arise.  In addition to that, when it came to my breed papillon, they thankfully aren't that common in your average shelter.  I did look at some of the breed specific, papillon rescue groups when doing my initial research on deciding on whether to adopt, but decided for my first dog I really wanted to go through a breeder so I could have the added safety net throughout the whole process.

I prefer older, shelter rescues. That's where Casey was from - I got him around 10 months, and he's been in my house for over a year now. He's the best dog for me - not too clingy, but affectionate. I would never buy from a breeder, unless I was looking into showing - which I'm not.

Although... I may be a tab biased - I see shelter dogs daily, and there are always a few that really tug at my heart. Maybe in the next year or two I'll add another dog to my house forever. For now, it's just fostering, which is fine by me!

Without a doubt I'll go for a rescue/shelter dog.  I prefer an older dog.  As long as there are dogs in shelters/rescue that's where I'll get my dogs.

Krissim Klaw

 I prefer dogs from a responsible breeder.  One of my biggest reasons is health issues.  While even the best breeders can have pups at times come out with health problems, it is nice knowing your getting a dog from someone who tries their hardest to make healthy dogs sound in mind and body.  I also love the security of knowing I always have someone to turn to when I have questions or should a problem arise.  In addition to that, when it came to my breed papillon, they thankfully aren't that common in your average shelter.  I did look at some of the breed specific, papillon rescue groups when doing my initial research on deciding on whether to adopt, but decided for my first dog I really wanted to go through a breeder so I could have the added safety net throughout the whole process.

 
 

This is exactly how I feel too.
 

Responsible breeder.  Despite the health concerns, Oliver has the BEST personality because he was so well socialized.  I can really tell the difference between him and Otto.  That alone is priceless to me :)

Well, for me any future chows will come from a breeder.  But, for older dog, a mix or a dog with much less tendency for temperment issues I think a rescue or a shelter would be nice. 

My next dog would be an older rescue because I would really, really like an "uncomplicated" dog with a great temperament. Puppies are just too unpredictable, and I really don't want another high-strung, skittery, special needs fellow.