The age-old question: should you adopt or buy a dog? I’ll explain the nuances and why I say “Buy for you, Adopt for them”.
As someone who has both adopted/rescued many dogs and bought purpose-bred, puppy culture puppies, I’m going to walk you through how I made those decisions.
Before asking you some questions, there are some facts you need to be aware of: dogs that need to be rescued or adopted have a history. Whether that be positive or negative depends on the dog’s situation. According to the 2025 ASPCA Animal report, there were 1.4 million dogs in shelters in the first half of the year, from January through June, and of those numbers,164,000 were euthanized. There are some really great dogs in rescues around 1.3 million, being fostered, or on the street; they just haven’t met the right person. Well-bred dogs don’t end up in the shelter. That leads to the backyard bred dogs that aren’t health or temperament tested, bred with genetically stable parents, so these dogs may require a specific person, and that’s ok. The choice you have to make is whether the life you are bringing a dog into requires a very specific type of dog or if it’s open to adjustment. All dogs deserve a home; it’s your job to figure out what your home is capable of contributing.
I like to say “Buy for you, Adopt for them” because you want to think about it in terms of if I’m adopting a dog, I’m adopting it knowing none of its history, unsure of what happened to it, or why it was relinquished in the first place. Sometimes people get lucky with details, but most of the time, people find dogs on the street or people relinquish them with as little information on genetic, health, and temperament tests as possible. You may get a dog with an unknown medical problem or behavioral problem, posing more of a financial, emotional, and physical strain on the new owner who had hoped the dog would achieve certain goals or fit into a specific dynamic. Adopting a dog is great for those who are open to the type of dog they want, understand the health and behavioral risks, or are looking for a specific personality, but don’t care about the breed or age.
In my practice, I tell people to adopt a dog if they’re not interested in doing long-term training, because you can find a dog that’s already been trained. Those who don’t want to deal with certain developmental stages, like puppyhood or the teenage years. I recommend adoption over purchasing for the elderly or people with a lot of land to roam. For example, if you just want a lazy couch potato dog that just walks to go potty, I’d say look at adopting an older or lazy dog from the pound. Most rescues have details on their fosters and can point you to the best dog for you based on what you are looking for. However, you still need to be flexible as things can change after they settle into their new home. If someone just wants a dog and they don’t have preferences or specific goals, then the pound is where you can find a dog you connect with if you are open to being what they need.
It doesn’t mean everyone can go out and rescue a dog, depending on your lifestyle, your living circumstance or your situation. Sometimes, getting a dog from a reputable breeder who does health testing, genetic testing, and proper vetting of the handlers’ needs is your best bet and worth the money it costs. If you want to buy a puppy culture breeder dog, there are puppy culture breeders who:
- Have dogs that have been returned to them because either the owners get sick or die, or something changes where they can’t keep the puppy anymore, so the breeders take the dogs back and find new homes. Most of those dogs are evaluated and trained by the breeder to find the best home for them, with the bonus of a full history on the dog.
- Breeders will have retired show dogs or puppies that they held back to train and title, and then once they get all their titles, they sell them to people who don’t want to do the training and trialing themselves. This helps if you are looking for a certain type of dog but don’t want a puppy or don’t want the responsibility of managing a young dog.
It’s a whole different ball game owning a dog versus raising a puppy. A lot of the times when someone thinks that they want a puppy, it’s rarely a good reason to get a puppy. Most people want a puppy so they can grow up with it, or they can train it themselves, but the people who say this often are the ones with the least amount of time to give to properly raising and training a puppy.
Now, if you have decided you are getting a dog and want help deciding whether you should buy from a purpose-bred breeder or adopt a dog, here are some questions to ask yourself.
First off, you’re thinking of getting a dog:
- What does your lifestyle look like right now, and do you want it to change?
You can have a purpose in mind, something that you see your life encompassing with this dog, whether it is a service dog to mitigate your disability and give you independence, or you want a camping buddy, a dog to compete in sports with, or to travel the country in a van, trying to be the next Westminster Dog Show Champion. Each of these scenarios requires a different type of dog. Once you figure out the life you’re trying to bring a dog into, then we can move on to the second question
- Why are you getting a dog?
This seems like a silly question, but the reason I’m asking is to find out the type of dog you’re looking for. Certain lifestyles are too rigid for certain dogs or pets in general. If you are a couch potato wanting a dog to get you more active, don’t get a husky thats like getting your license and buying an F1 car. Don’t get a brachycephalic dog if you like to go for hikes, runs, or want a low-maintenance dog. Don’t get a poodle if you don’t want to learn how to groom a dog or pay for a groomer every month. Depending on your why will determine what limits or options you have.
For example, I foster exotic animals and do educational outreach in the community. I refuse to get dogs with high prey drive to kill. Yes, my cattle dog has a high prey drive, but his drive is to keep things together. I raised him to be incredibly gentle and restrained around exotic animals like lizards, turtles, rats, and birds to go to work with me. He can still herd sheep and goats, but he has an on and off switch. He knows when it’s time to herd and when it’s time to be gentle; that is genetics and being raised with puppy culture values. My staffy Mercedes was a “broken staffy” I found at the pound because she raised rats for me, found my missing hamsters, and that’s not normal for the breed. It was a lot of training and realizing she didnt act the way other terriers acted around my animals, I got really lucky with her. I used to have a Jack Russell that I adopted, who was constantly trying to kill possums and squrles even with training to control her impulses. I would never get a terrier again. I don’t recommend fighting instinct.
- What type of dog are you looking for, whether that be personality or breed?
This question makes you think about how the dog will affect your life and, therefore, decide if your needs are rigid or flexible. Say you’re looking for a service dog and you require a dog that does some mobility, which means you need a specific ratio compared to your body that might limit certain breeds, depending on your height and weight. Maybe you want a dog, but you may move in the future or don’t have stable housing, then a banned breed or bully breed is not for you. Maybe you require a service dog for psychiatric reasons, which immediately excludes certain breeds that get too emotionally attached to their handlers and can become reactive when your anxiety is heightened. You may be looking for a dog to compete in sports that require a specific temperament and drive. Some people just want a dog that will hang out with their kids and go for walks. That means you’re definitely not getting a breed or dog that’s not great with kids. Once you figure out what type of dog you’re looking for, then you can ask yourself the following question.
- Is this dog going to be a puppy, an adult, or a senior?
Now that you know what type of dog you’re looking for, you need to decide if you need a puppy, an adult, or a senior citizen. Depending on what you’re looking for will determine what age the dog should be.
For example, if you’re looking for a service dog, it’s going to cost you around 24k and 2 years to train the dog until they can graduate and start working. You’ll get 8 to 10 years they can work, depending on their health and safety. Most people choose to get a puppy for service work because they can work longer before retiring and having to start all over again with a new dog but if you need to be more sure on the dogs future abilities, say for mobility, buying a 2-year-old dog to check its hips and elbows immediately or the breeder already having them done before you choose the dog can save you lot of time, money and heartache.
You may have kids, and you want a dog that will be good to your kids, go for walks with them, but also be calm enough to watch TV on the couch. You might decide that you want a young dog that’s old enough to no longer be in the teenage phase but young enough to be active with the kids, and you know in advance they like kids.
Say you don’t know if the dog’s life is for you, and you want a trial run. You can foster or adopt a senior dog, which is a relatively short-term commitment compared to getting a young dog. Then you can choose the right dog for you based on their training and personality traits, which you’ll be able to find out before adopting.
- Adopt or Shop?
By this point, you’ve analyzed the type of dog you need, and you’ve figured out what you’re looking for. You might already have your answer. In my life, when I’ve had to ask myself these questions, I bring it down to lifestyle and needs.
I’ve been fortunate enough in my life to both adopt and shop. I have amazing working dogs that I bought, and it was the best money I ever spent. They have been absolutely everything I’ve ever needed, and I have never been prouder. I grew up adopting dogs as well, and have been fortunate enough to foster senior dogs when I can.
My boy now is high maintenance, that’s why I got him. We work, we compete, we train, he helps me train service dogs, and raise animals, but I do love senior citizens. When I have the affordability and the time to grieve, I like to foster senior dogs, giving them a soft place to land. Most of the time, they’re low maintenance; they’re just along for the ride. Plus, they balance my dog out. If they are a little hectic and like to do more, I am fully capable of giving them that for as long as they need.
When I adopt a dog, I become what they need. My life revolves around what will give them a safe, happy existence for as long as I have them. Whether that’s managing a medical foster puppy or taking care of a senior citizen with a tumor the size of a softball.
An example is I had a senior 14 year old pity and a Chihuahua relinquished to me when the owners no longer wanted to care for their kid’s dog when they left for college. I happily accepted the dogs because they were old, cute, and they were good with other animals. At the time, I was raising puppies, and that 14-year-old senior pitty had lost several litters from the history I got. She absolutely loved raising the puppies I was training.
Even though we took the dogs together to adoption events. It became clear they wouldn’t stay together. The 2-pound Chihuahua ended up being adopted into a loving home until he passed over 2 years later. We learned later that the pity already viewed herself as adopted and was not going to anyone else’s home again. She would try to escape or start crying and screaming at events. As soon as we decided to keep her, she let everyone say hi, as if she knew. She also didn’t need any training whatsoever. If I took the puppies to the park to play, she would follow slowly behind us, and when she got too tired, she’d walk herself home. She didn’t care who was walking by. She would ignore everything and everyone as she followed the sidewalk back to my house, and she sat at the door until someone let her back inside. She was a great dog for the two years I had with her. She loved going to work with me, but she was no demo dog; she had a big dog bed, and she would lie in the sun until work was over.
When I buy a dog, I’m buying a dog with an expectation to some degree that they will fulfill a need I have. They can still choose their own way in life, but we have some type of agreement.
For example, my dog is a working cattle dog. I expect him to have the energy, drive, and initiative to work. He doesn’t have to do cattle, he doesn’t have to herd at all, but I need that energy and drive to train long hours, to trial around hundreds of other dogs, under pressure, travel frequently, go for long hikes, raise exotic animals, be ok with different dogs staying in my home at any given time, be a demo dog at events with hundreds of people trying to pet and see him do the same repertoire of tricks repeatedly, and keep me alive while he’s at it. Not just any dog can live such a high-demanding lifestyle.
At the end of the day, you are committing your life, your heart, your wallet, and your home to an animal that doesn’t speak any known languages. People seem to make this decision so impulsively without realizing the long-term ramifications of what owning a dog means, or any pet in general, but specifically talking about dogs, they’re a 15-year-plus life commitment of blood, sweat, tears, and money. Choose wisely, whether you adopt a dog ready to be what they need you to be, or you decide you need a dog that fits your needs, and you go with the puppy culture breeder. Both options give you a dog that will change your life; it’s just a matter of what you’re looking for.