[ZeusterRooster]

Good morning all,
I am in need of some good advice. We are looking at getting a female doberman. We have a 3 year old male that was given to us because the family that had him and his sister from the puppy age, had three children in diapers and he was too much for them. The sister was calmer than Zeus. He has fit in perfectly with our family. We also have a 6 year old shih tzu female. She tolerates him. She is the most calm dog I have ever been around. We have had her since she was 12 weeks old. When we first brought her home I didn't think she could bark. She pretty much makes no noise at all unless she is telling Zeus to leave her alone. We have over an acre fenced with a six foot chain link fence and have been saving to extend our fence to include our adjoining acre. This is planned for later this year. I know a puppy is a tremendous amount of work. I favor rescue by far. Especially, an older rescue. We have found a female puppy (5mo.) that my husband fell in love with the picture online. Her ears are cropped, a must for him but I don't really care either way, perfectly. Our Zeus has natural ears and love the snot out of that boy!!!

I reckon I am looking for someone to tell me not to invest 1000.00 in a dog.

 

[PatchworkRobot]

I think the advice you want is about the money?

The members here who got their dogs from a reputable breeder paid somewhere between $1200-$2000. However, we don't condone paying sugh prices (or any prices) for a puppy from a less than stellar breeder. It's not the puppy's fault here, please know, but the breeder's practices that we don't like to support.

I cannot imagine you being charged $1000 for a rescue puppy so where is this girl from? AND PICTURES PLEASE.

 

[Audrey1]

Yes, a puppy requires a huge amount of work. And who is going to do that work? Who does it now with the two dogs. If your husband wants the dog but you end up doing most of the work from day to day and you are already busy with the other two dogs...then he needs to stop looking at the photo.
This is my interpretation from your post. Not trying to be nasty...just realistic and considerate. And your husband needs to know that just because the 2 of them now get along, a 3rd one may not get along with both. It's like having kids. The first one or two are easy and you think you are the perfect parent. Then you have another and realize if you had had this one first, you would never have had a second one. The thing is, with a dog, if she doesn't fit in and you need to rehome her is she from a breeder who would take her back? Or is she going to be found on craigslistings?
I'm being the devil's advocate here. For all I know, you may get the dog and everything goes smoothly...and sounds like you have a great yard!

 

[monicaei]

Ahh, puppies. So very cute!!! Only thing I would add to the above is this... You had the Shih as a puppy, but don't expect a dobe puppy to be the same as far as work/time requirements. It likely won't be a similar experience.

As far as where she is coming from, have you checked out the "breeders" section of this forum? Maybe do a search and see if the person has reviews on here so you know what to expect. $1000 is nothing compared to how much lifetime care costs I am pretty sure I have put my vets kids through college.

 

[ZeusterRooster]

Thank you very much to everyone!!! I have tried to post pics but it never works. I will give it another shot.

 

[ZeusterRooster]

My hubby and I both do the work. Our 12 year old son is good with Zeus as well. We all take turns in caring for them. I used to run with Zeus until I hurt my leg at the Grand Canyon.
Yeah, I will check out the breeder reviews and see what, if anything, is on there.

 

[triciakoontz]

What is the name of the breeder for this puppy? Someone on here will probably know about them. I will say that I have not heard of a reputable breeder selling puppies for $1,000 so it is likely a breeder who is less than stellar with health testing and titling their dogs. All puppies are irresistible which makes it really hard to look at the decision from a logical and ethical point of view. Please listen to the advice here on this forum to save you potential heartache and to make sure you don't support a BYB with your money.

 

[ZeusterRooster]

Has anyone had any experiences with MysticKennels in Las Vegas?

 

[Jhagman]

Do you know the health test results? Titles and temperament of the parents?

 

[MeadowCat]

Based on their website, I would strongly recommend steering clear of that kennel. They appear to have some breeding dogs from notoriously bad breeders, and their others are imported European dogs of dubious quality. No titles, and not enough health testing.

Getting a dog from this breeder (like all back yard breeders) is taking a risk in terms of both health and temperament. If you are comfortable with such a risk, then the ethical thing to do is to adopt a dog from a reputable rescue group, which are packed with Dobermans from exactly these types of breeders.

In terms of whether to add another dog to the household, my experience is that the dynamics change SIGNIFICANTLY with the addition of a third dog, more than you would think. Whenever I've fostered or dog sat and had three, it was much, much harder than two. I'm not sure why that is, but it held true multiple times. If you're worried about the expense of a puppy, I would really wait until you have a good "dog fund" built up. Dobermans are pretty notoriously unhealthy. My two dogs cost me more than I'd like to think about each year in vet bills, food, toys, training. A puppy is significantly more expensive than an adopted adult, but even there, you run into bills. The boy I adopted about seven months ago has probably cost me well over $1K in vet bills, just from doing the recommended health screenings for his age and for one or two other visits. I'm looking at about another $500 in about a month when he has to have some teeth pulled. And he's actually a pretty healthy dog

If you are at all unsure about adding a dog, I would wait. Or, get involved with your local Doberman rescue! You can meet some dogs and get to know more about the breed. Maybe you can give fostering a try, to see what it's really like to have three dogs before you commit to a lifetime with a new puppy or adopted adult.

Best of luck to you! If you do decide to go ahead and look for a breeder, DT is a great resource for screening out the bad breeders.