Crosspost from r/poodles.
Note that both dogs in question are a standard poodle.
We are (excitedly!) looking to get our first dog. We are a married couple in our late twenties. Poodles seem like a great fit for us as we want a calm and peaceful, gentle soul who can kind of just roll with the punches. So not a total couch potato but not a high energy, overly friendly dog either.
We love routine and keep a very calm, quiet household. No other pets, but planning to start a family in the next 5 years. We’re not big partiers or constantly traveling. We do work in offices M-F 9-5 but should be able to easily adjust our in-office requirements (aka at least one of us work from home a few times a week or come home for lunch a few times week). Long term, we wouldn’t be working from home more than 0.5 day per week. One of us would come home from lunch, and then every other day we’d send them to doggy daycare or get a dog walker. We’d walk them for a least 30-40 min a day and play for 20 min a day. Definitely will dedicate a ton of time to the dog on the weekends (hikes, dog parks, training, etc.)
Option 1. Buy a standard poodle puppy from a reputable breeder for $2500. My husband thinks this is a rip-off and does not understand why wouldn’t just adopt. Obviously, the biggest benefit is that we won’t have to “re-train” the dog’s bad habits from previous neglectful owners. The breeder seems legit and detail-oriented, and has recommended one of their pups who is currently very low-energy and has a low-prey drive.
Option 2. Adopt a 17 mo young standard poodle for $400. The dog has been with a loving foster mom, but unfortunately was very neglected during the pandemic, and missed out on socialization with other dogs/humans. The foster parent has mentioned that she is a medium-to-high energy dog who can be a bit anxious in dog parks, but is currently being socialized and is responding very well to training. They believe she would be best with an experienced dog owner. Would this be a good fit for us? For the past 3-4 months, she’s thankfully been in obedience training, getting exposure to the outside world, but I still worry that their fearful/anxious nature would not be a fit for us who are newbies at dog ownership as adults. We had dogs as kids growing up. But maybe no dog is perfect and because she’s so young, she has plenty of time to learn?
I’m worried that the rescue dog might not be a good fit. The foster parent sees the rescue being successful with a calm owner but the dog is reported to have a strong prey-drive. Very well in crates, car rides, and on the leash, so that’s good! But I’m still worried about the unknowns versus just starting from scratch with a puppy. But I know puppies won’t always be a walk until he park either. We definitely want to get a younger dog, that’s just our preference. Any advice?
Note that both dogs in question are a standard poodle.
We are (excitedly!) looking to get our first dog. We are a married couple in our late twenties. Poodles seem like a great fit for us as we want a calm and peaceful, gentle soul who can kind of just roll with the punches. So not a total couch potato but not a high energy, overly friendly dog either.
We love routine and keep a very calm, quiet household. No other pets, but planning to start a family in the next 5 years. We’re not big partiers or constantly traveling. We do work in offices M-F 9-5 but should be able to easily adjust our in-office requirements (aka at least one of us work from home a few times a week or come home for lunch a few times week). Long term, we wouldn’t be working from home more than 0.5 day per week. One of us would come home from lunch, and then every other day we’d send them to doggy daycare or get a dog walker. We’d walk them for a least 30-40 min a day and play for 20 min a day. Definitely will dedicate a ton of time to the dog on the weekends (hikes, dog parks, training, etc.)
Option 1. Buy a standard poodle puppy from a reputable breeder for $2500. My husband thinks this is a rip-off and does not understand why wouldn’t just adopt. Obviously, the biggest benefit is that we won’t have to “re-train” the dog’s bad habits from previous neglectful owners. The breeder seems legit and detail-oriented, and has recommended one of their pups who is currently very low-energy and has a low-prey drive.
Option 2. Adopt a 17 mo young standard poodle for $400. The dog has been with a loving foster mom, but unfortunately was very neglected during the pandemic, and missed out on socialization with other dogs/humans. The foster parent has mentioned that she is a medium-to-high energy dog who can be a bit anxious in dog parks, but is currently being socialized and is responding very well to training. They believe she would be best with an experienced dog owner. Would this be a good fit for us? For the past 3-4 months, she’s thankfully been in obedience training, getting exposure to the outside world, but I still worry that their fearful/anxious nature would not be a fit for us who are newbies at dog ownership as adults. We had dogs as kids growing up. But maybe no dog is perfect and because she’s so young, she has plenty of time to learn?
I’m worried that the rescue dog might not be a good fit. The foster parent sees the rescue being successful with a calm owner but the dog is reported to have a strong prey-drive. Very well in crates, car rides, and on the leash, so that’s good! But I’m still worried about the unknowns versus just starting from scratch with a puppy. But I know puppies won’t always be a walk until he park either. We definitely want to get a younger dog, that’s just our preference. Any advice?