Doggy wanted!!

why not try the local animal welfare center ,they usaly have all types and sizes to select from and lots of help and advise you, perhaps an older dog would also need a home.

What sort of dog are you looking for? Are there any rescue centres near you - they'll be overflowing at this time of year, and they have pups as well as older dogs?
If you want a specific breed, make sure you track down a reputable breeder (via the kennel club or similar organisations), and can see the mum and pups together to check they're from a good environment. Some of the ones advertised in local papers (especially if they only give a mobile number) are from puppy farms, and the dogs are very likely to have both health and behaviour problems.
Think about what sort of dog will suit your lifestyle - they vary a lot in terms of the amount of exercise and mental stimulation they need. Also look into what health problems the dog might be prone to, and ask the breeder about the health of the parents. Although Heinz 57 are the healthiest of the lot!

(Hope you don't mind me telling you stuff you might already know, just that I got caught out big time with a dog that was always a bit of a liability, both health and behaviour wise, so it's one of my soapboxes)

Anyway, whatever dog you find, have fun and enjoy it.

don't buy a dog from the local paper as often these are not the best examples of dogs you can get. If you have a specific breed in mind make sure it is health tested with the appropriate tests (these vary depending on the breed). Watch out for puppy farms where badly bred dogs are churned out for similar prices to a well bred KC registered dog.
if you do not do your research you could end up with an expensive sick dog on your hands. https://www.champdogs.co.uk is a good place to find breeders or the kennel club will post out a list of accredited breeders for your chosen breed.
a rescue is often a great choice too and if you have a specific breed in mind there are breed specific rescues out there that can find you the dog of your dreams
good luck in your search and hope you find the perfect dog for you.

Please look at local rescues. Buying a dog from a breeder just encourages people to keep breeding dogs for money, when last year alone (according to a Dog's Trust Survey) 7,892 unwanted Dogs were destroyed.

The only way to stop this is to stop buying dogs and adopt one of the many dogs and puppies already in rescue.

As usual animal resuces will soon be overflowing with pups bought as christmas presents, but dumped when the owners realised that puppies are a big resonsibility, need a lot of attention and training, and will, without exception, widdle on your carpets!

Dogs and puppies in rescues can be all breeds, pedigrees and crossbreeds and all ages. Looking at it entirely financially, rescues ask for a donation, which is normally considerably less that you would pay a breeder for a pup.

I have had two rescue dogs and both of them have been fabulous. The one i have at the moment is really smart, loves learning tricks, and as an addition she is so beautiful that people keep stopping me and saying 'wow, thats a beautiful little dog, what breed is she?' - I have no idea, we think she is a collie x with jack russell, but she is really very pretty!

p.s I have always chosen adult dogs myself, as you can see what they have turned out like - a pup still has to develop, both physically and in its temprement, and I like the fact adult dogs are a bit more sensible and easy to deal with, in my opinion - however, if you a prepared to take on a pup good luck!

have a look at www.rainrescue.co.uk - there may be one of their shelters near to you, if not you could google for a local rspca or dogs trust

Murtle wrote: »

Are any of these listed on this site are near you??

http://www.dogpages.org.uk/ireland.htm

county durham isnt in ireland, its in the north east of england

and im another one who says go to a rescue centre we got our dog from the dogs trust in feb and cant recommend them enough