Where you get your puppy matters.
How your puppy is raised before you get them matters.
Responsible breeders matter.
Responsible breeders put a lot of effort into the puppies that they raise to ensure that they are successful in their new homes. Things like exposing them to new objects, surfaces and noises to ensure that they are environmentally stable. Allowing them to have good experiences with people and other dogs to help them be social and friendly. Teaching them to tug or chase a ball if they’re destined to do sports or even just teaching them to take food out of your hand for ease of training later on. Responsible breeders raise their puppies indoors and take them outdoors to potty. Responsible breeders make an effort to ensure that their puppies are acclimated and comfortable in crates.
When you purchase a puppy from a breeder that doesn’t do these things, your puppy might be just fine. However, there is an increased risk that your puppy might have problems that you’ll have to work through or they may not grow to their full genetic potential, they may have fears of different environments or of people or of dogs. They may need extra effort on your part to become a sport prospect or to learn to love to train. They may need more effort in terms of potty training and crate training.
Mud was raised in a muddy shed covered in poop. He hadn’t been inside the house and only was exposed to the people that lived with him. Luckily, he is a confident, happy, social puppy despite that upbringing. However, there are some problems that we’ve been trying to work through since he came home with me: keeping his crate clean and being comfortable in his crate.
Both of these problems could have been lessened by proactive upbringing, meals could have been fed in a crate and his area could have been kept clean so that he wasn’t living in urine and feces. Now, he is a young dog who doesn’t mind pottying where he sleeps and one that carries on when initially put in his crate.
This type of upbringing doesn’t guarantee these problems, his brother Smudge is far less problematic in these areas than he is. But having a breeder who puts effort in to ensure the puppy’s success simple stacks the odds in your favor that there won’t be issues to work through or lessens the severity of those issues.
Mud is getting better. We have a good schedule and he is able to take food in his crate now which gives me more tools to work with to help him relax. He hasn’t had an accident in his crate for nearly a week now. Progress is there, but I wish these weren’t problems that needed to be worked through. I wish he had a better beginning.