Best place to get a dog

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gophersfan

gophersfan

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Me and my mom are thinking of getting a dog. We thinking of a Shih Tzu dog. My brother had one of those and we really like them. My mom fouund a site online but i told her not to use it. it call Classic Shih Tzu home. I look at it and said that a scam. What would be the best place around the twin citites Minnesota area. We live here in Stacy MN. Any help would be great. Here a pic of what my brother dog was before they had to put him down.
 

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Either get (a) a rescue dog from "the pound" that's a puppy or (b) if you want a pure bred contact the association for that breed and find one where the dog isn't going to become a champion. The breeder will then be looking for a good home for the dog since they won't be breeding it. You need to find someone that actually shows their dogs, not just a "puppy farm" breeder. Definately stay away from "puppy farms". If you're buying a pure bred puppy, only do it from a handler that shows their dogs in competitions. For option (a), you'll get a mix of breed that will be far more healthy than a purebred and most likely better tempered. For option (b), you'll get a dog that is around three years old that is very well trained and used to being around people.
 


There are a number of Rescue Groups that specialize in a particular breed of dog. As I type this I'm looking down at the Boxer we got from Boxer Rescue. Here's one in Minnesota for Shih Tzus.

STRMN Shih Tzu Rescue of Minnesota

Shih Tzu, dog, dogs, puppy, puppies, rescue, animal, animal shelter, pound, shelter, humane, dog pound, pets, pet, small dogs, toy dogs, chinese dogs, pet adoption, dog adoption, imperial, companion dogs, champion dogs, dog rescue, puppy rescue, breeder, Shih Tzu mixes, non-allergenic dog, dog...
shihtzurescuemn.org shihtzurescuemn.org
 

+1 for the rescue route. My wife and I were involved with the basset hound rescue after we got our dog from there. I think just about every breed has a rescue, and there may be different ones in different states you can search for. The great thing about a rescue (at least the one we are involved with) is that the dogs are in foster homes, so their foster parents can tell you all about the dogs personality and it’s much more likely you can find a good fit than a rando dog from the pound where you don’t know what you’re getting.

If you’re set on getting a puppy, I would try to find one that either shows dogs (as recommended above), or trains them, and is more of a mom and pop operation than a high volume breeder.
 


MplsGopher said:
Please consider adopting a dog from a rescue. There are so many dogs. Please don't buy from a breeder.
Click to expand...
I don't know if this is still the case, but 10 months ago, it was insanely difficult to find a dog, from any rescue. You would have dogs posted online and they'd be gone within minutes. Part of everyone being stuck at home. We had a 15 year old dog who passed away last March. We gave it a couple of months before we looked for a new dog. It was very frustrating. Like I eventually expanded my search to look for dogs as far away as Moorhead and all the way down to Austin. Eventually I found one that was rescued from Texas and got my application through by specifying that I was an experienced dog owner and wasn't just looking to cure Covid boredom, but there were several points where we were ready to give up.
All that said, if you have experience or only want a specific breed, it could be many months before you find one through a rescue.
 



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