Would you buy a dog from Internet?

Would you buy a dog from Internet?
Hi I have seen a 9 month old choc lab bitch in need of a home advertised on the internet. She sounds lovely and I am tempted as I desperately want a young Choccy and they are hard to find unless I buy a puppy. Could anyone give me some advice - would you purchase a dog in this way? I am an experienced Lab owner so I know a little about the breed.

I personally wouldn't be happy to 'buy' a dog like a second-hand car - in my view it totally devalues a thinking, feeling creature to just a commodity. Of course, if you go to a rescue you would be asked for a donation, which would go towards admin costs, things like travel bills, kennelling fees etc - so you would be parting with money but in my view for a worthy cause rather than just paying someone who bought a dog and now wants to sell it because it no longer suits them to own it. That said, I privately adopted a lab some years ago via someone I met at training classes, and did end up offering some money because I wanted to feel secure that the former owners could not suddenly announce that they wanted him back. If you deal with former owners direct (rather than using a rescue charity), you do take the risk of tearful late-night phone calls somewhere down the line (I've had them), or things not going as planned. I personally wouldn't take in a dog that I hadn't met - not least because it would need to get along Ok with my other dogs. If you buy a dog off the internet, hand over the money and go home, you might find you have a dog who has behavioural issues, or at least a lack of basic training, and you will need to be prepared to put in 'catch up' work if necessary, and without the back-up of a reputable rehoming organisation. I would be asking myself - how much do they want for this dog? Is it quite a lot of money? Why is it being sold? Will I mind if this adolescent dog ends up needing time and energy spent on it? Of course it might be beautifully behaved and being sold because of an unfortunate change in family circumstances. But it might also be a bouncy, under-socialised untrained loon who no-one has bothered with and the family now don't want because it's grown too big and too out-of-control. If they are asking a small fortune for it, hoping to get some of their original purchase price back, I'd mull over the following things: is this worth it to me personally? would I be better buying a puppy whose breeder and background I can check out and who I can mould and train from day 1 into the dog I would like? Would I prefer the satisfaction of helping a homeless dog through a charity, rather than paying money to owners who may have created problems in the dog and are now passing them on. Of course the answer will be different for different people, and we don't know the circumstances of the dog or owner in question. My own privately adopted dog turned out to be under-socialised and have dog-dog aggression issues (thankfully not with my own dogs). When the problems became evident, I didn't want to give up on him like every human in his numerous former homes had done previously. I read books, consulted trainers, surfed the net, watched videos - and got hooked on the subject. Then I formally studied canine psychology, went on courses and seminars with some of the worlds top 'names' and it became a big part of my life. Of course, that's taking things to the extreme :wink: :lol: But if you are happy to put in any work that may turn out to be necessary, then I wish you all the success in the world if you decide to go for this dog, or any other which needs a home.

It is quite risky as Elaine has already mentioned. The fact that you are already questionning whether to look into this further is maybe your answer, you have your concerns already. If the sale of the dog is genuine, I am sure the current owners would be more than willing for you to have a few visits before you make up your mind. Maybe take the dog for a walk by yourselves etc. Only really if you spend a little time alone can you begin to possibly gauge if the dog is for you. Having said that, you take pretty much the same risk with rescue dogs but I think the majority who take on a rescue are expecting some settling in issues - or they should be :wink: good luck - let us know how you get on. :)

I was kinda of feeling it wasn't right going via the internet but you know what it's like you see this gorgeous picture and your heart melts and you feel so sorry for it etc etc. I'll be patient and wait for Lab Rescue to find me the right dog or hope I can find a puppy - after "Pedigrees Exposed" last night tho that's a worry!

I know it is very hard. Part of you wants to take the dog away from any potential bad situation it is in but then you don't want to fund any kind of unsavoury breeding/puppy selling etc! The programme was a shock - it was biased towards only bad breeders and did feel that reputatable breeders were not given the chance to speak up but obviously, they went for shock tactics completely eh!

I was kinda of feeling it wasn't right going via the internet but you know what it's like you see this gorgeous picture and your heart melts and you feel so sorry for it etc etc. I'll be patient and wait for Lab Rescue to find me the right dog or hope I can find a puppy - after "Pedigrees Exposed" last night tho that's a worry! I don't think it's necessarily wrong to get a dog off the internet, although as I said I don't like to see them treated like used cars. I'd just suggest that you go in with your eyes open as it were - be aware of possible pitfalls, or that you might need to do work with the dog (as you might also need to with any rehomed or rescued dog). As B&Y said, the people might let you meet her and get to know her...

I agree with whats already been said. Give them a ring and visit a few times-thats if your happy with the first visit. I only got to see part of that program,I hope they show it again so i can see the rest.

I can't imagine buying a dog from the internet regardless of conditions involved. People who own dogs will find a way to rehome them via a local rescue or shelter. Hence, unless I knew the folks involved I wouldn't even think about it. I realise how endearing the dog may look and pull at your heart strings.

I can't imagine buying a dog from the internet regardless of conditions involved. People who own dogs will find a way to rehome them via a local rescue or shelter. . I fear not everyone is so caring, sadly. I know of people who have paid hundreds of pounds for a pedigree dog, then decided later that they didn't want it - but they wanted to recoup as much money as they could, and therefore wouldn't consider taking it to a rescue. The small ads papers near me often have people selling adolescent and adult dogs. One person I know of advertised their unwanted dog in a local paper and found a buyer who agreed to return the next day to collect the dog. In the meantime, another person rang and was told 'sorry, it's sold'. The second person admitted they had only wanted the dog to breed from because their bitch was in season - so they quickly nipped round to the seller that same night and gave £50 to mate them :shock: Did anyone on the forum read the inquest reports in the last few days of the little boy killed by a rottweiler? That dog had been bought from someone in a pub :shock:

I can't imagine buying a dog from the internet regardless of conditions involved. People who own dogs will find a way to rehome them via a local rescue or shelter. . I fear not everyone is so caring, sadly. I know of people who have paid hundreds of pounds for a pedigree dog, then decided later that they didn't want it - but they wanted to recoup as much money as they could, and therefore wouldn't consider taking it to a rescue. The small ads papers near me often have people selling adolescent and adult dogs. One person I know of advertised their unwanted dog in a local paper and found a buyer who agreed to return the next day to collect the dog. In the meantime, another person rang and was told 'sorry, it's sold'. The second person admitted they had only wanted the dog to breed from because their bitch was in season - so they quickly nipped round to the seller that same night and gave £50 to mate them :shock: Did anyone on the forum read the inquest reports in the last few days of the little boy killed by a rottweiler? That dog had been bought from someone in a pub :shock: No I haven't read that! More negative publicity for the Rottie though when really, it could be down to irresponsibilty (although I obviously don't know the story). I did get Willow through the newspaper in a sense - it was where we found the advert for LRRSE! We were looking around and toying with the possibilty of getting another dog when we spotted the advert............the rest is history but I have to say, since thenthis has been the one and only time LRRSE were advertised in my local rag - so it was meant to be :lol:

The dog that killed the little boy had been kept chained in a yard and not had a walk for five months - I know that doesn't excuse a dog attacking but my theory is there are no bad dogs just owners who have no idea that a dog deserves time, effort and is not just something you buy on a whim and stick somewhere until it does crackers with boredom.

The dog that killed the little boy had been kept chained in a yard and not had a walk for five months - I know that doesn't excuse a dog attacking but my theory is there are no bad dogs just owners who have no idea that a dog deserves time, effort and is not just something you buy on a whim and stick somewhere until it does crackers with boredom. thats very sad for all concerned :cry: No one wishes any harm to a child but a dog not walked will have lost all proper mobility, social skills and probably, the will to live. :cry:

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