Breeders

We started by researching which breeders were located in New Jersey that met our specifications.

• We want a medium or large breed -- small dogs need not apply.
• We don't want a massive dog. I'm pretty small, myself.
• We want a healthy, kid-friendly, non-aggressive dog, preferably no older than 6 months, ideally 8-12 weeks.
• We will not, under any circumstances, support puppy mills or puppy auctions.

Right away I found a dozen breeders of Labradors, Golden Retrievers, and various mixes like Cockapoos. Success!

I'll admit I'm biased toward Labs and Goldens, so I started with those. I found a couple of really great options. One was a breeder of a rare creme color of Goldens. Stunning, beautiful dogs! I was most excited about that one. Another was a breeder of Labs. Both websites detailed the way the breeders care for the dogs, ensure no familial disease, raise the pups in their own homes, etc. I filled out a couple of application forms and waited.

Within hours, the Golden breeder contacted me. Exciting! He was really nice over the phone, very helpful, lots of interesting info, etc. He had one female puppy left of the beautiful creme variety. The catch? $4000. Now, I know prices have gone up since we got Champ back in the day, but really? $4000? He told me he also had a few puppies, both female and male, from another set of dogs, and because these dogs are the standard golden color, the puppies would be $3000. A bargain! (sarcasm) I said we'd have to think about it, and think we did.

On the one hand, that seems like a LOT. We knew we were going to have to pay a lot for the puppy up front, but we thought most of the cost would be in buying a crate, food, treats, toys, leashes, collars, etc. Maybe training classes. But not just the puppy! Yowza.

On the other hand, if the dog lives to be 15 or 16, like the breeder asserted, that's only a few hundred dollars per year to pay for what will become your best friend. That's not bad. And this guy offers phone call advice over the whole lifetime of the dog, no cancer at all, a long lifetime, healthy, pedigree, etc etc. So, maybe it's worth it?

In the meantime, the Lab breeder got back to me. No puppies right now, not for a while. Well.

I called a family friend who adopted his Yellow Lab from a breeder about 8 years ago, and he nearly choked when I told him the price. He suggested we look at breeders in other states, and either take a road trip to get a cheaper puppy or have it sent on a plane to us. That seemed reasonable -- and anyway, we didn't want to rush into a $3000 puppy.

Back to the drawing board.