Help needed buying a new dog

Hi everyone! unfortunatly i recently had to put down my dog ace my best friend. however my other dog needs a companion and we are wanting to get a doberman pinscher. where should i look??? i searched the internet and its overwhelming. the rescues have extensive dog adoption processes and others will only give their dogs away to people with fences (not electric fences like we have) its much more complicated than i thought plus the price needs to be 500$ or under. HELP? where should i look? i just wish i could stick to the simple old fashion newspaper ads where you can go pick up a pup for a certain price. any advice appreciated thanks

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/findingbreeder.htm
http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/good_breeder
http://www.akc.org/contact/answer_ce...ndabreeder.cfm
http://www.almosthomerescue.org/breeders/breeders.htm

Hi there

as most of us on this site are in the UK, we can't give specific advice regarding where to get a pup. However, we can give general advice.....

Buying a pup from an advert 'where you can just go and pick up a pup for a certain price' isn't really the best idea, particularly when you are looking at breeds like dobes which can have specific health issues.

I think you need to decide what you want. If you want to buy a healthy, well balanced puppy, you should first do some research into the breed (e.g. known health problems) and then research local dobermann breeders. once you have found a breeder you like, put your name on a waiting list - this will give you the time to save up the extra cost of a well bred dog (and by well bred I mean healthy with good temperament).

If you don't want to go down this route, I'd look at the rescues. Yes they may have extensive processes to go through, but they do need to do their best to make sure the dogs are going to the right homes.

I'm afraid that I'm of the view that getting a dog shouldn't be too easy...if people have to go through processes/do a bit of waiting, it helps to ensure that they really do want the dog.

good luck with your search.

whereever you end up looking i cannot recommend highly enough that you go for thoroughly health tested stock

DCM
PHPV
THYROID
VWD
HIPS

temperament/drive (depending on what you want the dog for/your cirucmstances are bloodlines will be important!)

you could try Marienburg they are in Montana not sure if they are still breeding (they are listed on my boys sires website as being somewhere way back in their lines)

This is a breed i am currently researching and can not stress enough the need for health testing as Dobermonkey pointed out. There are a few breeders out there who dont do it and its going to be you and your dog that pay the price in the long run.

I have been advised to expect to pay around £800 - £1000 for a well bred health tested pup here in the UK so i would guess the price is going to be similar in the US. If this is a breed you want then dont set yourself a budget, find a breeder you like and if its more then you have then save. In this life you get what you pay for!

A good place to start would be the breed club:

http://www.dpca.org/

they have breeders and rescues so would be worth getting in touch with them.

I must admit i am glad i am not looking for this breed in the US as it seems hard to find a breeder that doesnt dock or crop the ears