Hey everyone!I'm Chelsea I'm getting my little Finnegan on December 1st! I am a first time Boston owner, and getting a bit anxious to meet him. I'm absolutely positive I will have LOTS of questions to ask in the near future as I have not much experience with this awesome breed. Finny is going to be a spoiled little guy, as I am quite understanding this breed only wants to be around their humans, I have decided Finn is going to come to work with me EVERY DAY! lol
I honestly feel like a little kid on Christmas about to open their presents haha, I'm just a bit too excited Pics below of him taken a few days ago. finny2.jpg
oh my goodness he is just gorgeous! Congrats on your baby boy, you are going to LOVE him! This breed is so full of spunk and love, they are very sensitive too It's so great that you will bring him to work with you too. Can't wait to see more pics.
Awww he is so adorable. Congrats! A new puppy is so exciting (but.. I dont envy you I am happy we are done w/it) Bella is going to be 1 and a 1/2 tomorrow, and is totally spoiled and loved by me and my boyfriend and my parents. She has never really been alone except when she is sleeping or a few minutes here and there. She is a people dog for sure. Loves being part of and watching eveyrthing we are doing. I grew up w/ Boxers she is our 1st Boston and she is a little handful but we wouldn't change a thing. She was tough when she was little but with alot of good tips from this forum we got through it.
Thanks everyone!! All of my regular customers are over the moon that I'll be bringing him to work with me! He is EXACTLY EXACTLY what I have been looking for in a BT, a stout little guy he is
Trumansmom: That is AWESOME you're in the Seattle area! Is it a BT specific breed meet up?? I got him from a breeder in Oklahoma...I TOTALLY flipped out after finding that OK has a lot of puppymills..But I looked into the breeder more and it turns out he and his wife had 50/50 mixed feedback from people on here! But, none-the-less I am too excited to have this little guy come into my household!
Sonja: A new puppy is very exciting! But I know EXACTLY what you mean by not having envy! I have raised a puppy before, they are just like babies..well almost! I'm totally dreading the potty training aspect..and the chewing of the furniture..and middle of the night wake ups haha. Finnegan (what I have decided to name my BT) will pretty much be around me 24/7, I want to get him into some sort of service dog program where I can take him to nursing homes/hospitals so the patients can also love on him.
Oh, no--I think I know which one. You can look at his USDA registration--he's a puppy mill (45 adults--no one can properly care for that many at once) Just be VERY careful. And know that your risk for inborn behavior problems is much greater going that route. Again--45 dogs means he is NOT testing them for health problems, and is not taking the care to breed for breed excellence. He is breeding them for profit because they are the right color and breed. He does have USDA certification, yes. That doesn't mean much in the world of mills. I know others here have gotten dogs from him--one has major behavior issues, the others do not. It's mistake people make once, but if you can avoid it, you will be saving lives in the long run. The fewer pups those people can sell, the shorter time they will be in business and the fewer adult breeding dogs are left in cages 24/7.
There are a lot of really great breeders in the area who would stand behind their dogs. Mine takes all three of mine whenever I go out of town and is always there if I have questions. She has one male pup ready to go to the right home. And she knows all the others out there who are honest and care about the kind of dogs they produce.
The meet-up is indeed a BT meet up--they have a board and sign ups so you can get reminders of upcoming meets. You'll have to wait a while till your little guy has his immunizations, tho.
I know I sound preachy--understand that I work in rescue in Woodinville. I am passionate about this breed and have a pretty visceral response to puppy mills as I've personally fostered dogs who were used to breed in those conditions. Trust me, if you saw the parents, you'd walk away. Those crappy mill owners lie and cheat to make a buck at the expense of the health of the parents, no matter how nice they seem and their websites are.
I don't understand how people can buy a puppy and have it shipped to them?!? I'm assuming that is what you are doing being that you are in WA and the pup is in OK...don't you want to see how the puppy is with the litter, so that you can pick a dog based on it's personality?? Don't you want to see the parent dogs and how they are cared for and talk to the breeder about all of the dogs and puppies they are raising? This is not any better than driving to the local pet store and buying a puppy from a glass cage .
50/50 reviews would have me RUNNING away, you are willing to take a 50% chance that your puppy is going to have not only health issues, but maybe also behavioral issues? You won't be so excited if you are one of the unlucky ones who ends up with a dog with issues...What kind of testing and lines does this breeder have? Feel free to post the link to the website, so we can point out all that is wrong with this "breeder", I'm sure that is how you found this puppy??
Was that harsh....absolutely....you want to know why things like this bother me so much?? I have 2 BT's and 1 of them is from a rescue situation, really opened my eyes to the rescue community and made me see how absolutely horrible people are. Most of the dogs in rescues come from mills and less than respectable "breeders" for those who can't admit the place you purchased your puppy is actually a mill...and the conditions many of these dogs have when they finally make it into rescue is horrendous.
So my girl was not from a situation like that, she was purchased from a pet store or online by a family who was clueless about the breed and saw a cute little boston in a movie, they even managed to get one with very similar markings to the dog in the movie, which is why I think she was bought online, and named her after the character...they ended up keeping her in the backyard and long story short, she got out one day and was found by a lady who works in BT rescue. That lady got her returned to the owners and told them if they needed help with her to contact her, not too long after they contacted this lady and wanted to surrender the BT to rescue as 'it didn't fit their lifestyle'. Good for them for realizing that and getting her to someone who would place her properly...but she has recently developed seizures and she has luxating patellas in both knees and will likely require surgery, she is only 3yrs old now. Neither of those conditions is cheap to treat, I'm certain the original owners would have dumped her in the shelter if she had been diagnosed with either of these conditions while with them.
Anyway my point is...Both of those conditions are hereditary which means there are likely many more dogs from this 'breeder' who have or will develop seizures or LP or any number of other conditions. So, You never know what you are going to get when you buy a dog from a pet store or online through a "breeder" who is not breeding to improve the breed and not providing health testing to all of their dogs.
I should also say that my post ^^ is by no means an attack on the OP....it's a general statement to anyone who purchases a BT from a pet store or puppy mill/breeder AFTER knowing what a mill is, but still decides to make the purchase and "take the chance".
There are plenty of people on here who purchased a BT without knowing what to look for in a breeder or the best ways to find a puppy, no disrespect to any of those as long as they are now able to acknowledge that there are better ways to find a pet and pass on the knowledge to help reduce the amount of animals in shelters, rescues, who get euthanized and now help educate others about pet stores and puppy mills.
I just have a bad feeling that we might be getting some more "I'm getting a puppy" threads with the holidays right around the corner...I'd have stayed out of this thread except I was asked to reply.
Chelsea--know that Foxy and I are super passionate about this. We are also passionate about HELPING owners no matter where they get their dogs. The only time we'll talk about this issue is in this thread because if we can save you from this, we will do whatever we can. If not, you can expect nothing but help and support from us. I'm in no way mad at you (don't think Foxy is, either). I boil at the owner of that mill. I know he's accused me of 'working for another breeder' which is laughable. I *do* like the breeder who produced my dogs--because she is responsible. I hold her up as a standard. But I'm just as supportive of other breeders who breed a few litters a year, spend time socializing them, training them and finding the best homes (which doesn't mean just anyone with a check). And they all will require their dogs to be returned to them if the need for rehoming comes up at any time in their lives. These breeders are leaving no dogs out there to go in to rescue or shelters, and that means a LOT when millions of dogs are euthanized yearly due to careless breeding practices. We have a responsibility as dog lovers, and BT lovers, to vote with our dollars to support responsible breeding practices if we are choosing to get a puppy rather than a rescue. That is where I stand and come from.
That said, my finical advisor bought a puppy from a pet store in Northgate. he told me after the fact, and all I can do is support him and encourage him! but if he had told me he was thinking about it, you bet I'd have given him as much info as possible to change his mind