PLEASE help me choose a puppy!

I am new here and am hoping someone can help me narrow down my choices for a new puppy! Background--I am married and have 2 boys 6 and 8 whom I homeschool. I am looking for a small breed dog and originally wanted to look at yorkies. My parents have a yorkie and a shihtzu and their yorkie is soooo wonderful...especially with the boys! The shihtzu is VERY shy (acts a lot like a cat LOL) but she was like that when they picked her out (she was 4 months old and was hiding under a chair--should have taken the hint right??) I have been nervous since reading about the yorkies in depth--they make it sound like these dogs are little brats who hate kids. Not anything like my parent's little Jazz (but I know they can have very different temperments). I also don't want a tiny dog....more like 8-10 lb range. So then I started looking at the yorkiepoo. Problem is that there is such a huge differences in their appearance from breeder to breeder. I definetly would prefer it to look more like a yorkie than a poodle. Then I looked at the shi poos and they look great too. Basically I am confused and not sure what breed to look at!! My last problem is that I am having a hard time finding a "poo" breeder anywhere near me (I live in Maryland). I would be more than willing to drive 4-5 hours in any direction. Any help or ideas would be great!

 

Hi Nicole! =P~

I replied back to you in the "poogirl, we'll need an update" thread with some info but here I am again!

I remember very well how much research I did when I was trying to find the "perfect" dog for us (just hubby and I, but children are in the near future), in fact, I researched for about 2 1/2 years! Yeah, I was somewhat picky...

Anyway, I also wanted a small dog (my girls are just over 6 lbs and I think they'll be about 8/9 when they are full grown) w/a great temperament that also had sort of a "teddy-bear" type face. I originally wanted a Schnoodle (schnauzer/poodle) but after much research realized they were a big larger of a mix than I wanted so the search continued... then I found the shih-poo! Here's a helpful site for you, it is one that I referred back to frequently:

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com (the main page)
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/poodlemix.htm (the "poo" mix page)

Once I found the Shih-poo it took another 6 months to find the right breeder! Like you, I was finding it difficult finding someone close to me. I decided to have my puppies shipped to me, until I stumbled across the breeder we did chose, who lived an hour away from me. I decided to check out the ads in our local paper and saw a breeder listing Maltese/Shih-tzu puppies, so I decided to take a chance to see if she ever had Shih-poos and it turned out she had a litter born the week before! Have you checked your ads? Seems like a silly question but in the six months of researching I never even thought to check the paper! :?

That's pretty much how it went for me.. not sure if any of that is helpful but I hope so! I would suggest checking out those sites and read the temperaments of each breed, that will help determine what traits your puppy can have. Once you decide on the breed/mix you want and the hunt for breeders begins, be sure you ask a lot of questions! It was very important to me that the breeder I chose raised her puppies in her home (along with them being healthy of course!)... I did visit a breeder who had ALL of her dogs in a barn out back.... no way! I was lucky to be able to visit our breeder (and even visit our girls after we had picked them out) and be sure that it was the best environment possible. Our breeder was friendly and more than willing to answer any questions that I had and that's they way it should be, in my opinion.

I'm going to send you a PM tonight, with her info. She is in Auburn, NY and I believe that she will ship her puppies, although I'm not 100% on that.

 

Poogirl13

Thanks for all the time you are taking with me! I wonder how far of a drive that is from me? But even if I had to have her ship the pup--at least I would know that you have checked her out for me

 

You are very welcome! I know how hard it is to find reputable breeders, so I'm very happy to help make it a little easier for someone else

I forgot to tell you a funny story.. I also belong to another message board (it's just for shih-poos and there is another member here that also pops over there) and would you believe that I actually met a woman who also chose my breeder! If that wasn't enough of a coincidence, our pups are from the same litter! We couldn't believe it, it was very cool! My girls were in a litter of 5, 4 females and 1 male. Of course, hubby and I took 2 of the females, Ginny (the woman I met on the other board) took the male (Charlie) and Ginny's friend took one female (Carly). I think it's so great that I know where all but one of the puppies went. What a small world! I actually do keep in contact with Ginny via email and her Charlie (and Carly, her friend's puppy) are doing great too!

 

I have two shih-poos myself, and I absolutely ADORE everything about them (i.e. temperament, looks, etc.)...so, of course, my vote would be for a shih-poo!!! :y_the_best:

However, you need to choose a dog that best fits your wants and needs. Have you ever checked out the site: www.yourpurebredpuppy.com
The person who created the site does an excellent job of listing the pros and cons of each breed (only purebreds, though). So, to get an accurate and blatant review of each breed, you may want to check that site out.
(The site PooGirl provided is also really good!)

The way your dog will be, temperament wise, is highly dependent on how well he/she is socialized. I honestly can't stress how important early socialization is. A puppy who was well-socialized early on in his/her life is much more likely to be accepting of various types of people (i.e. old, young, etc.), than a dog who was not properly socialized. So, with ANY dog you get, lots of socialization very early on is EXTREMELY important!!! Also, make sure you are able to interact with the parents of your puppy b/c your puppy is likely to pick up many of their character traits!

Putting socialization aside, if you are looking for a dog who is good with children, look for breeds that are KNOWN to be good with children! Have you ever done a search on dogbreedinfo where you pick your preferences, and based upon your answers, the database searches for breeds that fit your criteria, heres the link for that:
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/search.htm

If you're thinking about a Yorkie, be sure you are fully aware of the common terrier traits, especially that of Yorkies. And the same is true for any breed you are considering, be sure you are COMPLETELY comfortable with all aspects of their temperaments!!! Try and spend as much time as you can with the various breeds, or breed mixes, that you are considering so you can get a good idea as to what they are like!

That's just my opinion on it all! :wink:

Best wishes on your decision making, be sure to let us know what you decide!!!

 

Hello i just wanted to let you know that i have 2 yorkies and they are wonderful. I also have children well they are older but sebsatain and jasmine love everyone. My only complaint about them is they were really really hard to potty train and sebastain barks like crazy when i pick up my purse to leave. but other then that they love everyone i have a neice that will be 3 in december and sebastain loves her to death plays with her the whole time they are at my house.

Now i have seen pictures of mybaby's and poogirls babies and they are the cutiest little dogs

just my 2 cents please let us know what you decide