Common questions › Buying & breeders
The short answer
Both can be good, it depends on your situation. If you don't have kids, don't have other pets and don't need anything specific, adopting can be great.
If you want a specific temperament, want your kids to be safe, or have other dogs, a proper breeder removes most of the guesswork: you know the genetics, how the puppy was raised, and what it was exposed to while it was young.
When you adopt, you're taking home a dog with an unknown past. You don't fully know its genetics, how it was raised, what trauma it had, or how it reacts to kids, loud noises, other dogs, men, women. Could it be an amazing dog? Sure. But you're accepting far more uncertainty.
A great breeder removes as much of that uncertainty as possible: generations of hand-picking dogs for the temperament, the size and the disposition toward people, kids and other animals that you expect. You're buying predictability and quality.
Ethical breeders aren't why the shelters are full. The problem is irresponsible breeding and irresponsible people. And I only want approved people to get our bulldogs, where it's the right fit. I used the same logic for my own family: we got our Newfoundland from a responsible breeder, bred to be gentle and great with kids, and that's exactly what we got.
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A breeder should be breeding for a specific temperament, especially in a breed known for one. You also know what the puppy was exposed to during that critical developmental window when it was young. With a pound puppy, you don't.
If something traumatic happened in that window, it can affect the dog's behavior long term: with kids, with other dogs, in your house, with you. With a puppy from a good breeder you're preventing bad habits instead of trying to undo them, and shaping its confidence and boundaries from day one.
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Put a few of our puppies down and they just follow you. That's what a properly bred bulldog does: naturally loyal, loving, attached to people. That's the kind of dog that ends up in a stable, loving home, and stays there.
Dogs end up in shelters when they're bred without care for temperament, health or structure and don't fit the home they went to. We turn people down when it's not the right home.
Adopt or shop, both are great: just understand the pros and cons. If you want a protection dog, don't come to me. If you want a companion that's great with your kids, your family, in an apartment or a house, loving, sweet and funny, that's what a good bulldog is.
Quick clips on the same question. Tap any one and it plays right here.
If you want to adopt, don't have to worry about kids or yourself, and don't want anything specific, adopt a dog. If you want to control the temperament and make sure the kids are safe, get a puppy from a proper breeder.
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Tell me about your family, and I'll tell you honestly if one of ours is the right fit.
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