The Mrs has agreed. It is time for another dog. What I would love to know is the best way to find a puppy these days... Let me qualify that a bit...

Originally, we were looking at choosing a pure bred. Then I realized that pure bred is not really that important. A 'mut' would do nicely.

We thought about adopting an older dog, but it was vetoed by my bride, and some agencies will not adopt out to us (young kids). And of course, with 2 kids and an old dog (who does not easily take to other dogs) adopting an older dog just is not ideal at this time. PLUS, shelters do not typically put "enjoys canoes and camping" in the dog profiles.

We looked at adopting a puppy from a shelter, but it seems puppies are spoken for as quick as they appear. I want to look into my puppy, and make some choices.

I want to (and being under employed, have the time to) train my dog well for camping and hiking, be tolerant of the kids, and to be O.K. With people and other dogs.

In the past there were want ads in the paper. I looked at craigslist, but it seems to be older dogs, chihuahua mix, or pit bull mix puppies...

We got Echo from a coworker when their pure bred expensive hunting Black Lab had an oops. He was 1/3 the cost of getting a Humane Society puppy and we knew the momma was a great dog. Echo is an amazing family member. He's 4 now and absolutely loves our girls and their friends. He's a good running partner and a good canoe dog. . One of my wife's coworkers has one of Echo's sisters and she's a great dog also.

Sorry, the reason I explained so much about him is that my coworker is worried that they may have another oops on the way. Their dog was gone for a couple nights and the last time that happened she ended up having pups.

I'll let you know if there are pups on the way.

Echo

I got Katie when she was 5 years old...she was used as a breeder but did not produce to the previous owners expectations, so she was sort of a rescue.
She is a purebred Australian Shepherd, and is a great companion, intelligent, excellent in a canoe and around camp. She stays close and never wanders off and is not a runner. Great with kids. Aussies are great dogs

If it's a puppy you are looking for and a purebred is not needed, I'd suggest two things. First, put the word out to your friends. If you do Facebook, Instagram, or the like, just say what your looking for and you may find friends of friends having litters. My sister found her last pup by just mentioning it a work, and a coworker knew of someone with pups. Another idea, more old school, is keep your eyes open at certain stores you visit. I don't see it much here in MPLS, but in my sisters small town I always still see index cards or flyers up on bulletin boards with puppies (and other things) at the local liqueur, hardware, and grocery stores.

Have you tried petfinder.com It is a great place to find a pet. Many shelters post their animals there. You can narrow the search down by putting in a location, specifying breed of animal, age, and gender. I've found our two of our Australian Shepherds that way. Good luck!

Animal shelters have puppies but you have to stay up/current on the postings/available dogs since they go quick.

I got Elsa from a local shelter when she was just a couple months old.
She had a missing left eye, and was looked over by other people even though she was a cute Shepard mix puppy. She is a great canoe dog.

I got another puppy by word of mouth from a friend, look around, search all the web-sites and be willing to travel as much as 6 hours away, for a puppy from a shelter. They are out there.
My wife traveled from Detroit Lakes MN to Austin MN to pick up a Shepard/Collie Mix from a shelter. 6 hours away, the drive is nothing when you think of a best friend for life.

Also think of the particular breed/mix/mut that you would like to adopt. Many of these breeds have specific web-sites for their specific breeds. IE: Shepard Rescue, Collie Rescue, Golden Retriever Rescue, Greyhound rescue. The list goes on and on.

Pups are out there it is just harder to find them.

I commend you for your desire to take in a rescue dog. Even if the dogs does not come from a rescue shelter, in my book it can be still considered a rescue, since many dogs that are given to friends or co-workers often end up in shelters. ----------------------Elsa looking for her left eye.
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Thanks! we are actively searching...

It took us literally years to find another dog. Same situation - we also had an older dog + cats + kids + no fenced yard. So despite owning dogs for 40+ years, none of the rescues we contacted would have anything to do with us. The only breeders I could find on the web wanted thousands of dollars for a puppy, and even then they were sometimes waitlisted. I finally had some luck in January and February. For some reason there seemed to be a lot of dogs available in the $600 range from what seemed to be decent breeders. Maybe no one wants to bring a new puppy home in the winter? Also, like LindenTree said, you want to look at shelters that are as far as 6-8 hours out and rural - you may have much better luck that way I found.

Despite all that, we still actually ended up getting a rescue puppy - a Border-doodle. The puppy had parvo. Spent thousands of dollars on vet bills - I'd do it again, sigh - but you don't want that! If you get a rescue puppy, absolutely make sure it is over 16 weeks and that it's at least 10 days after at least its second round of shots!!!

I think we found her. A 6month old black lab/ ?border collie? mix. An aquaintence in Mississippi has been caring for her (along with the 14 other dogs she owns). The woman trains and competes with shepherd dogs, so I trust her to give us the strait scoop on the pup and her temperment.

quote ECpizza: "I think we found her. A 6month old black lab/ ?border collie? mix. An aquaintence in Mississippi has been caring for her (along with the 14 other dogs she owns). The woman trains and competes with shepherd dogs, so I trust her to give us the strait scoop on the pup and her temperment. "

Awesome!!!!! Can't wait to see pics of your new family member when she joins it. Knowing her background from someone you trust is a huge plus. Sounds like you'll have a very loving and energetic girl.

quote ECpizza: "I think we found her. A 6month old black lab/ ?border collie? mix. An aquaintence in Mississippi has been caring for her (along with the 14 other dogs she owns). The woman trains and competes with shepherd dogs, so I trust her to give us the strait scoop on the pup and her temperment. "

I think that's a good combo for the canoe. Best of luck and start getting it used to the boat right away.

quote ducks: "

quote ECpizza: "I think we found her. A 6month old black lab/ ?border collie? mix. An aquaintence in Mississippi has been caring for her (along with the 14 other dogs she owns). The woman trains and competes with shepherd dogs, so I trust her to give us the strait scoop on the pup and her temperment. "

Awesome!!!!! Can't wait to see pics of your new family member when she joins it. Knowing her background from someone you trust is a huge plus. Sounds like you'll have a very loving and energetic girl."

Clever too. Apparently her first night with my friend she escaped her kennel, dug under the fence of the dog run, entered the doggy door into the house and lay down with the other dogs in the house. All without disturbing anyone and without grabbing any shoes to snack on.