I am hands down the most knowledgeable on this subject, most breeders are greeders..they need to breed dogs to pay their bills.. I gotta ask why a lab? I know they are a good breed and great family dogs but it's probably the unhealthiest breed in America from over breeding. A Lab mix would clean up the gene pool and result in a healthier hound.

_________________

It's certainly not impossible, but the criteria is usually pretty strict. Almost all won't want the puppy left alone for more than four hours at a time, depending on breed some will want another dog in the home to help with socialization, some will want the fenced in yard, etc.

A 1-2 year old dog can still grow/bond with the baby, and you still have a great chance at it lasting 10 years. And while fostering is more of a gamble (a dog is being pulled with limited information), any reputable rescue is going to make sure the dog is with a foster long enough to get some training in as well as understand temperament/personality/challenges before it's adopted out. They'll make sure it's a good fit, as there is zero incentive to push off a dog to an adopter, since adoption returns are a giant headache to deal with.

If you have the time, that pet expo I mentioned is an awesome event. They generally don't do onsite adoptions, but there will be all types of dogs there, and you might connect with a dog you otherwise wouldn't have thought about.

You can get a baby chicken or a duck at big R for $1.70

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Better get a dozen, hawks,rats, coons, skunks n possum pick em off pretty quickly.

_________________

Don't adopt. Why do you want some dog that wasn't good enough the first time?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Good for target practice?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Ah, a question tailor made for me. I'm sure you've seen pix of my lab Lionel on Facebook. He's 12 now and has been nothing short of amazing as a pet. I got him from www.berryhillretrievers.com They're in eastern Ohio so it was a bit of a drive, but well worth it. I think the cost was $900, but don't know what the cost is now.

Had a friend get a chocolate lab from there a few years ago and that dog has been great as well.

Not a puppy mill, Linda the owner does a great job and cares quite a bit about all the dogs. She called me to check a reference when my friend bought from her years ago.

She sells english labs, not american. English are stockier with big blocky heads. They are the show dogs of the lab family. Not as athletic or energetic as the americans, but all that means is not as hyper cause there's no such thing as a non energetic lab. English are just a little calmer over all. If you're not hunting I recommend going English.

_________________

Don't have a different opinion than Caller Bob on a subject or else he will want it shot in the head.

I hope they are better at breeding dogs than they are at running websites.

_________________
"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

yea they might've gotten rid of the website and just gone with a Facebook site. been a while since i looked at the website. Or I could've written it wrong.

_________________

Wait a minute ... when did dogs start liking the balcks?

_________________
Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Lots of good advice here, I don't really have much to add. My first two dogs were from a breed specific rescue organization. They
usually have dogs already potty trained and usually have some kind of history of them, although some are found as strays. In most
cases these dogs are already up to date on their shots and ready to roll out the door. Feels good to "save" an animal when so many
are put down all over the country. Last dog I got was a puppy from a breeder. I never had a puppy and wanted to get a dog I could
own their entire life. The first year was quite difficult as some have mentioned here, they are a lot of work and mine got into a lot of
trouble and had a number of accidents in the house. I had to throw out two large rugs. He turns 5 on April 1st and he is one of the
family. My wife doesn't even generally like dogs but has really grown attached to him. If you haven't had dogs before the adoption
route might save you some headaches early on, you can find just what you are looking for temperament wise and probably save yourself
$6-700 in the process. My only real advice is to enroll in an obedience class when you get one. Even if the dog seems to know the
commands it is a good bonding experience for your family and the dog and help get on the same page together.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Great point here, Nas. Get the dog in classes for sure. And make sure you kids know the commands and to say them correct. If you say "down" to get him off the couch, then 'down' cannot be the command to get him to lie down on the floor. Traning them with verbal and non-verbal commands is a good thing as well because as the dog gets old and start losing his hearing, you can still 'tell' him to sit or stay using a hand command.

Make sure you have a routine as much as you possibly can. He should eat close so the same time(s) every day, and should have a scheduled for going out first thing in the AM and before bed. Plan for plenty of time for walks, exercise, and have patience. My wife and I were thisclose to getting rid of our dog due to her potty and behavioral, and now she is the sweetest thing and definitely a member of the family.

_________________

Just make sure the dog doesn't eat until you tell him he can - even if you put it right in front of his nose. Once he knows who eats first, the rest of the training is easy.

_________________

i'm indifferent to adopting from humane societies vs buying a purebreed. but it doesn't sound like you are after a purebreed. mutts are not prone to things like inbreeding diseases.

i would really look at your lifestyle and determine if the change that comes with dog ownership is really worth it.

we had dogs our entire childhood and i was determined to someday have my own dog. it took about 10 years after graduating college for my wife and I to get one and quite frankly, although we love our dog, and she's one of the best behaved dogs there is, its kind of a pain in the neck when you travel as often as we do. we have a plethora of people willing to watch her while gone but its just not ideal. the letting in and out frequently. having to exercise them. it just all takes time that we are willing to spend, but i can already tell you that when she's gone, we probably are done with dogs.

my other word of advice is don't buy a pug. they are an evolutionary abomination that should of been allowed to die out but for some reason some sadistic troubled set of humans feel the need to keep these medical atrocities to still breed and exist.

Pugs are great.

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

i know you don't believe that

It will be one of my top 5 choices for a rescue dog, in about a year or so from now.

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Get one of those dogs that’s popular in internet memes. Instant street cred.

My brother had one for a while. It was a very sweet dog but had a lot of medical issues. They also make a lot of noise which some people
find annoying. Anyway, my brothers family found they couldn't take care of it and gave it away to another family that had pugs. Definitely
cute.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Can't agree any more. My wife definitely underestimated the effort and money involved. Her dad works from home so he is able to care and supervise their family dog during the day.

When we got our puppy we first hired a person from our neighborhood to watch over her and let her out every 2 hours or so with her puppy bladder. That was running us $30 a day.

Eventually once she built up a larger tolerance we split between my parent's house and dog daycare. Luckily my parents house is 20 minutes otherwise I'd be SOL paying for daycare everyday. So now I'm going 2 days dog daycare ($20/day ) and rest at my parent's house. But then I had to buy indoor cameras ($200 ) to monitor her as she would get bored and start chewing things. My lunch hour ends up me rushing to my parent's to let out the dog so she can play in the backyard and piss/deuce. Boarding expenses aren't cheap ($50/day min) if you don't have family or friends who would watch over the pup while you're out of town. Even though the dog is technically my wife and mine, she's becoming a family dog of sorts since she spends a lot of time at my parent's house. They've been a life saving crutch.

Finally, if you have a fenced yard it's so nice to open the door and let the pup out. On the other hand, we live in an apartment. Fortunately we're on the 2nd floor but in the winter there were plenty of games of rocks/paper/scissors when she let us know it was time for her to go.

our dog lives its life when we are gone in the garage with a enormous doggy door attached to a run. so we can actually even leave for a few days if we'd like. and she's just fine.

plenty of dogs walking the streets unattended. Just throw a leash around one of them. If you need a pure breed, go to Lincoln Park on a Sunday and stand outside of a Starbucks. Inevitably some yuppie will lash a dog around a bike rack and go in for 20 minutes for overpaid coffee. Unwind the leash and you have yourself a trained purebred at no cost.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Pugs suck. Buy a dog that has more wolf-like qualities including a normal snout. Flat nosed fashionable dogs all have shitty health.

As others have said, adopt. There are several breed-specific rescue sites out there. We got a Fox Hound/Shepard mix from Animal House in Huntley. Amazing dog.

Biggest thing is do some research on the breed. Make sure you train them well and know how active certain breeds are. I walk my dog a minimum of a couple miles every day due to how active he is.

Nothing is sadder than these dumb ass city and suburban dwellers buying Siberian Huskies because they saw wolves on Game of Thrones only to realize those dogs need space and a lot of exercise. But they'd rather post 2000 pictures of their dog on social media instead of actually taking care of them properly.

_________________

Yup. Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, Pugs, all are prone to health problems which of course is more time and more money.

_________________

Like most pets (and humans I guess), they also get expensive when they get old. As heartless as it sounds, you should have a limit in mind of how much you're willing to spend to keep your dog alive. With kids that love the dog it's easy to think "whatever it takes!" but it adds up quickly.

I have a lab now that is old as fuck and having some issues, it is expensive. If I do get another dog, I'm going to check out pet insurance. I'm guessing if you lock in when they are younger your premiums are much lower.

Age should be a factor as well. Spending $2000 on a five year old dog is lot different than spending $1000 on a 14 year old dog.

_________________