I'm in the same post as the OP and I totally get what you mean.
I take those moments as opportunities to educate the person giving me grief on why we decided to go the route we did.
We are very proud of our puppy-to-be and to quote someone on another thread on YT, "Buy your breeder first." We absolutely adore the breeder we're getting our pup from. She has made us feel like a part of her family and I feel confident if I was confused about something and needed advice in a month, a year, 5 years, 10 years - - she would be more than happy to chat on the phone for an hour.
This is a potentially a 15+ year commitment. It's a huge deal.
Rescuing is wonderful and I'm so thankful for everyone is able to do that. They're saving lives and that is extremely admirable.
As previously stated on this thread, if you're going the breeder route and can say confidently that you know your breeder is reputable, ethical and striving to improve the breed, you have nothing to be ashamed about.. now you just have to focus on being the best pack leader you can
