We just spent the afternoon with a breeder of Portuguese Water Dogs and I think we've..
 

...pretty much decided this is the breed for us. What a wonderful, intelligent dog.

<img src="http://www.pwdca.org/PWDCA_Album/20_jpg_800_800.jpg" />

Now we have to decide what to do. The breeder has a 6 month old boy who is beautiful. She was going to show him but has since decided to just find a good home for him. I have some trepedation about getting a 6 month old dog, but then again I really felt a bond with this dog.

<img src="http://www.pwdca.org/PWDCA_Album/13_jpg_800_800.jpg" />

I've also made contact with a family in Ontario, Canada who have a litter of 10 puppies born in January. They have been extremely helpful and have sent pictures of their entire litter. I would have to drive up 600 miles to pick one up from up there but we would have a puppy the vs. a nearly grown dog.

<img src="http://www.pwdca.org/PWDCA_Album/14_jpg_800_800.jpg" />

There is another breeder in NJ who has a small litter and who will have on available there. She has also been very helpful but seems a bit "nudgy" about the dogs if you know what I mean. I'm a bit concerned that she would want to be more involved in keeping up with the dog than I would want her to be.

Anyway, I welcome thoughts and input.

T.I.A.

golden retrievers are the way to go!!
 

I'm definitely a little biased...we've had 4 of them.
I think that getting a puppy is really important to having a "good relationship" with your dog, but at 6 months it might still be early enough. However, with one of our dogs, who is now 3, he formed such a strong attachment to my sister within the first few days that we had him(she held him on the way home from the breeder).
Those dogs look very cute by the way!

Can't do a golden retriever. We're looking at specific breeds for their..
 

...non-allergenic nature. Also, everyone in my neighborhood either has a golden retriever or a lab. I want to be different.

My thoughts....
 

1. Do you care about sex? (asking for trouble, but I'll press on) - both our dogs are females, we just happen to prefer their temperament over male dogs.
2. Has the 6-month-old dog been crate-trained? If so, you shouldn't have any house-breaking issues. If not,....
3. If you bonded with the guy, there's no going back, is there. If you've already named him, you're doomed.
4. Initial cost of ownership (e.g. travel expenses to Ontario, eh) will ultimately be a drop in the bucket!

And finally....

It's really not up to you....the right dog will pick you out, not the converse:-)

Good luck, post lots of pictures!

Arf !!

Dave assuming you are looking at pet quality
 

dogs vs show the nudgy women should not be much of a problem. If anything then you should feel more comfortable that they are quality imo. Where is she in NJ?

But that being said I think a 6month old dog if well raised so far should be fine. I would go visit it another one or two times just to make sure.

re:non-allergenic
 

it's really strange with all 4 of the goldens that we've had. both my sister and i are pretty allergic to both dogs and cats, however, we never really have a problem with them--i think their allergic nature is overhyped!!

Thanks Richard.
 

I'm actually partial to male dogs personally. I like that they are challenging. I believe the 6 month old has been crate trained and is already housebroken. I definitely haven't named him and I really just felt like he was an awesome dog. I didn't let myself bond with him to the point of no return just because of my concerns. That's why we came home and are gving ourselves a cooling off and thinking period.

Thanks Rob. Yeah, I feel like I would definitely need to visit the.....
 

...6 month old again and get him off the leash. I'd go by myself and really put him through some paces. It's kind of tough to do with the kids around and on the first visit.

I agree. For the most part, I've found that breeders who seem on the 'nudgy' side ...
 

are merely wanting to weed out the people who might want to breed their dogs or cats outside of the normally accepted standards. I know that's true with Bengal cats. Many of the breeders will ask lots of questions that might seem probing by some, but they're just trying to make sure that the pedigree is safeguarded, and the cats go to homes where the owners know what they're signing up for (i.e., the cat is not going to show up in a shelter somewhere).

BTW, I even had to sign a contract that I would not allow the cats outdoors and would have them spayed at 6 months. It's not unusual. And while the breeder likes to hear how Sami and Shay are doing, that's about as far as it goes.

Yes, all of the PWD breeders require you to sign either a pet contract or..
 

...a show dog contract. I don't mind inquiring to make sure they're placing a pet in a good home. I just don't want the process to be invasive.