I wanted to share the experience of getting my dog Carly. I dealt with a very reputable breeder who was registered on the American shelty association website. I am not a puppy person so I chose to get an older dog that had been a breeder mom and was being retired to a pet only home.I was able to talk with the breeder many times before I picked up the dog. It was at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020 so it would be a couple of weeks before I could pick up the dog. Her rule was with the older dog she did not want any payment for them she just wanted them neutered or spayed at her local vet and them to receive a dental. At first I did find it a little difficult that she did not want me to have the spay neuter surgery at my veterinarian that I would be using from then forward but that was her rule it was nonnegotiable and now that some time has passed I really think that was a good solution because I found out my veterinarian does not do spay and dental surgeries at the same time so I would’ve had to pay for two separate procedures which in the end would’ve cost more.
Her veterinarian is in a bigger area with more income in that area so her veterinarian was quite a bit more expensive than my veterinarian but that was her rule, and her veterinarians office was a lot more busy and a lot more in personal than my vet but the surgery went well the dog did well and that’s what matters.s
Due to the fact that I would be paying for the surgery and the dental I was uncomfortable with her taking the dog home after the surgery but she did offer to do the follow up care and then I could pick up the dog at a later date after it was recovered from surgery but she was understanding of the fact that I did not know her.
We both were at the veterinarians office when the dog was ready to go home from surgery I was able to take her home she signed paperwork she gave me all the records she told the veterinarians to turn the records over to me she did all the responsible things.
I will admit some things I did not meet the dog or her before taking the dog home from surgery. Would rather meet the dog see where the dog lives be around the dog and if you are able that is probably the best thing to do because there were some issues that did come up with the dog that were difficult because I did not know the personality of the dog. I’m not going to say that issue had anything to do with the breeder, I don’t know that for sure, but I would imagine the issues were present when she lived with the breeder. Carly has severe anxiety and Hass to be on medication. She was not on medication when I got her and possibly I could say she might not of been as anxious at that home where she had been all her life and being rehomed at age 7 was so traumatic that it caused her to be very anxious but I have a hard time believing that. After taking her to the vet and researching anxiety I believe it is afor sure, but I would imagine the issues were present when she lived with the breeder. Carly has severe anxiety and Hass to be on medication. She was not on medication when I got her and possibly I could say she might not of been as anxious at that home where she had been all her life and being rehomed at age 7 was so traumatic that it caused her to be very anxious but I have a hard time believing that. After taking her to the vet and researching anxiety I believe it is A hereditary condition but I cannot say that for sure. I would use the breeder again I don’t know about meeting the dog. I’ve had a lot of shelties with anxiety and at the time that I got Carly I really did not want to go down the anxiety journey again. I really cannot say for sure I do know I will continue to get shelties and now that I know about anxiety, hopefully I will be able to see the signs clearly.
She gave me food, treats, heartworm medication, and flea medication. As well as all the paperwork, so I was very happy with that. I also received follow up information, anytime I had a question she was available. She was not able to help with anxiety, she claimed that Carly did not have it when she lived with her. I find that a little hard to believe because even with the medication, Carly is still very cautious, not exactly crippling anxious but she is definitely not outgoing even with medication.
When possible I would recommend meeting the Dog meeting the owner seeing where the dog lives. Being exposed to the dog and the dog being exposed to you. For me that’s not usually possible with not being able to drive and shelties are hard to find in my area,So I have to improvise. I spend a lot of time asking questions and talking on the phone. The breeder was very available to me, we spent hours talking and I asked lots of questions. I also highly recommend making a list of things that you want the breeder to know about you and things that you expect out of your dog. Example, I told her I was not very outdoorsy that I spent most of my time inside and so my dog would need to be happy indoors. I also talked about my house being small and my yard being small so I do not have a lot of room. I wanted to make sure the dog would be comfortable indoors because I did not want an outside dog. I did not want a dog that was not comfortable inside. I did not want a dog that was used to hiking or camping or anything like that because that was not going to be the kind of home I could provide. I wanted to make sure The situation was going to be comfortable for all parties involved.
Small animals rodents whatever you have in your home.I would stress whatever family structure you have and let the dog be comfortable with that. Whether it’s children, other dogs, elderly, disabled, men, women. Whatever you have, I told the breeder that I had a 16-year-old son and she felt like things would be fine. For the most part they are but Carly is terrified of my son. I believe it is because he looks like a man. The breeder told me later on it might be that Carly was not used to #MIN, and we’re working with it. She’s not aggressive, she’s just terrified of my son. So he has not been able to connect with her which is fine he does his own thing but that could’ve been problematic if he was younger or if it was a situation where she was very uncomfortable around him. Thankfully she doesn’t really have to interact with him very much and things are getting better through training and it might be one of those things that you just have to prepare yourself to work on.I told the breeder that I had a 16-year-old son and she felt like things would be fine. For the most part they are but Carly is terrified of my son. I believe it is because he looks like a man. The breeder told me later on it might be that Carly was not used to #MIN, and we’re working with it. She’s not aggressive, she’s just terrified of my son. So he has not been able to connect with her which is fine he does his own thing but that could’ve been problematic if he was younger or if it was a situation where she was very uncomfortable around him. Thankfully she doesn’t really have to interact with him very much and things are getting better through training and it might be one of those things that you just have to prepare yourself to work on. I h
When last thing I want to share is I think no matter what happens it’s going to be hard to prepare a dog and a family for every situation. I have found a dog in one situation might react to the very same thing differently in a new home. There’s no way a breeder or a former owner can prepare a dog for every thing or everyone. There’s always going to in My Home it was not a big deal. I also have found that the level of experience and skill people have with dogs contributes to how they perceive behaviors and situations. Someone who is very experienced and confident is going to be able to handle more than a new dog owner or someone that’s not very experienced.
Paws of Happiness 