[Bhikku]

SO I called and told them about her, and then spent the next couple of weeks prior to Thanksgiving (when they were coming from Chicago to come get her) working on potty training, getting rid of ear mites, and a nasty kennel cough...(and this is a dog you paid 2,200.00 for).

Gah, for $2,200 not only should the pup have been perfectly healthy, it should pick up cable and record your favorite TV shows while you're at work. Yeesh...

That sucks that the dog didn't turn out looking like you thought it would.
This is a bit of a retrospective question, but why didn't you consider getting a puppy out of the newspaper classifieds? That way you would have been able to see the parents if you liked, and you would have some idea of what the dog would grow up to look/act like...and it would have been a lot cheaper.

I know lots of people here don't approve of backyard breeders, but almost all of my dogs came from BYB and I have never had a single health/congenital behavior issue with any of them. They've all been unregistered purebred dogs, conformationally sound (though not perfect) and all less than $400.

Seeing as you weren't looking for a show quality pup anyway, seems like a well-scrutinized BYB could have gotten you a good-looking pup far cheaper than a pet store would. And in better physical shape, too. Did the pet store give you a health guarantee?

I bought my pup for $350 bucks out of some country housewife's living room, and the vet says he's healthy as a horse. No medications, no Nutracal, nothing. He's not show quality but he has solid conformation, and since I got to see the father, I have a pretty good idea what he's going to look like as an adult too. He came with pre-registration, a health guarantee, and preliminary housetraining.

I don't blame your cousin really. If I paid $2,200 for a purebred dog and it ending up not looking like the breed I wanted, I would be pretty angry. All that aside, I'm sure the dog is a wonderful pet.