Puppy Selection

The best breeders will choose a puppy for you.

They have spent 8-12 weeks with the puppies and know their temperaments, energy levels, and all their little quirks. They definitely know the puppies better after 3 months than your boyfriend would after 10 minutes.

If they're dead set on shelling out the money for a breeder, it should be a proper one that does health testing and actually gives a shit about the puppies. This is one of the ways you know they actually give a shit. They won't let a more shy puppy go to a big energetic household where they'd wilt and be overwhelmed, for example. They know which puppy would be the most confident and willing to hold his own.

Despite what your boyfriend might think, there's no bonding at first sight with a puppy. They will bond with the puppy no matter if it happened to toddle over to their lap or the breeder plopped it there.

>>2295358
A breeder recommending a puppy based on what they know of them is different to arriving and having them say "here's your dog" and then you leave though. Just saying "This one's a bit too shy for your situation" is preferable, right?

I think the "shelling out the money for a breeder" thing is a bit misleading. We've no intention of showing it, but there's a fairly strong culture (growing at least) against puppy-farms here, so people tend to find reputable breeders, even if they're not grand champion bloodlines or anything.

>>2295361
>reputable breeders

Reputable breeders literally do this.

They're not just handing you a puppy and you leave. It's like your neighbor said: the breeder gets to know you a little too.

If your boyfriend is so pressured by the growing culture being all about how bad puppy mills are, why dont they do a better turn for a dog and adopt a boxer from a shelter? They can meet all the dogs they want.

>>2295370
>so pressured
I think there's a difference between an ethical stance and being pressured. Anyway, what you're describing seems a lot more reasonable than the neighbour saying you're "not allowed to select your own" which sounded so retarded I had to start this thread.

>>2295372
Proper breeders will have waiting lists and each puppy will have an owner before it's even born. They are not going to have all the owners come line up one day and let them pick out their dogs.

It simply makes more sense for the breeder who knows the puppies and knows dogs in general to pick which puppy will do best in which environment. This leads to fewer unhappy families and dogs, fewer returned dogs, and fewer dogs turned into the shelter.

People are stupid, they think they want the rambunctious puppy that runs right up to them and play fights with their shoe laces despite wanting a quiet life with a more reserved dog because "omg so cyute he lykes meh!"

>>2295372

Why is this upsetting to you? Do you find the idea of pairing the right dog to the right person disagreeable? Most people just care about getting uh white an' brown one, George. From the OP, the lady's request for color and temperament was met, so there doesn't seem to be a problem?

>>2295400
>Why is this upsetting to you?
It's not upsetting me really. I've never bought a dog via lucky-dip, so wanted to see if that's what it really is.

>>2295386
>they think they want the rambunctious puppy that runs right up to them and play fights with their shoe laces despite wanting a quiet life with a more reserved dog because "omg so cyute he lykes meh!"
This.

My friend's uncle breeds border collies. He's been doing it a long time. He always says that it's dumb to let people pick out their own pups because they either go for the most unique looking one, like a merle or a piebald, or "bond" with the first pup that tries to play with them. It's a huge pain in the ass for a breeder to take back dogs that were a bad match for their family and rehome them.

Bad breeders don't care at all if the puppy doesn't work out because they won't take it back-- and that's why a lot of driven, high energy young dogs wind up in shelters and on craigslist.