It's a good thing to be picky! I too would have walked away from that.
I only wish our family had that sense years ago when we got our German Shepherd pup. Went into the city, saw the parents aggressively barking and lunging, etc, and we took the pup home anyways. She ended up being very aggressive, attacking someone and being put to sleep. I was devastated as a kid.
I DO believe you can somewhat mold a dog into what you want it to be, especially from a young age. Jackson certainly did not come from a good place either (a rowhouse in Baltimore City -- the woman was nice and all, but totally just breeding her pet dog for some extra money), and he lived in her home and not outdoors in a kennel, etc, but definitely not a good breeder nor ideal. He was a pretty shy little guy, but struck a bond with me right away. I always let him explore, learn new things, experience all kinds of different things, socialized, brought him everywhere he could go, began training right away. He was always real shy for the first year, but with patience, training, and socialization, he turned into a really amazing dog. He would NOT be the dog he is today without everything I've done for him. He'd probably be a neurotic hyper dog scared of everything and barking at everything.
But health problems are something to be aware of too. I think your chances of getting a healthy dog can be greater going with a GOOD breeder (not *always* the case) but I think it's important to see the parents, the lineage, temperament of parents, etc.
I'll be looking for a second dog at some point, and I've got 3 breeds I'm debating between, and I've been researching for 2 years now... breeders, etc. It's definitely not something to go into lightly if you want to be happy! I don't see anything wrong with trying to find that "perfect" dog for you. |