Hello All -
I haven't posted in a long while, going through a tough time but starting to see light at end of tunnel. Seeking the wisdom of the group on a random issue.
My kids (12 and 8) and I have been looking to adopt a dog for a long time; we are taking our time to find the right one. We don't want a puppy -- I've had one before and am not up for the intense work of the puppy period right now. So, we are looking at young dogs, like about a year or so old, i.e., already housetrained and any other training a plus. We have been looking at shelters and rescue groups, but only considering dogs we can meet in person before deciding (some places ship them to you from far away and you basically just have to take the dog when it gets to you no matter what so I'm not willing to do that). So far no luck. Many of the smaller dogs we have liked based on information online, when we inquire about them they have been returned for aggression or biting, etc. Some are simply untrained but large -- my kids are still too small to control a big dog that has no leash training at all. I am ready to shoulder responsibility for care of the dog as needed, but I do want the kids to at least be able to walk the dog without me having to go along every time until it is dependable on a leash.
The other day, I saw that a breeder of Golden Retrievers had a one-year-old dog available, completely trained, knows hand signals, gorgeous dog, etc. I thought wow that must be a REALLY expensive dog and moved on. But I kept thinking about the dog, so I decided it couldn't hurt to at least call and ask about the price.
It turns out what they are really looking to do is find a "boarding contract" for the dog. I had never heard of this, but basically the idea is that the dog lives with your family but the breeder is allowed to take it to compete in shows once in a while, and then once it turns two, they have the right to breed it a certain number of times (I believe in this case it was 3 or 4) and the dog has to stay at the breeder's for about 8 weeks when the puppies are born. We would be welcome to visit, see the birth, etc. Once all the breeding has occurred, the dog is spayed and then we would keep it forever. Apparently the reason some breeders do this is as an alternative to keeping the dogs out in kennels. They would rather have them in homes living with families.
I have never heard of this before. What I like about it is that the dog is beautiful, beautifully trained, and seems so much more likely to be the happy addition to my family that I am hoping for rather than a problematic addition. The lady said many of the "boarding" dogs are with families that have kids with special needs, so these are very well-trained dogs, and I am also actually hoping that this dog will help my daughter to unlock emotionally so that was a plus to hear that information. Also, it seems interesting to learn about breeding and see the puppies, maybe go to a dog show, etc. I don't know anything about this, and the kids are interested too. I don't even mind the fact that the dog will occasionally be gone for a bit -- the lady said people often plan their vacations then, sounds like a win win.
As for the cost, she said she charges about $1000-$1500 but sometimes she has just waived that in special needs cases. To some extent, it almost seems like she should pay me to do this, but I can afford the range she is talking about and don't want to get hung up on that -- I really just want to successfully add a dog to the family, and even most rescue dogs have a $200-$400 fee. Her puppies cost $2500-$3000. I checked them out online and they seem very reputable, the dogs win all sorts of awards, etc. etc.
Has anyone ever heard of this or done this? Any thoughts pro or con? Appreciate any input you might have.
Mamalatte