Finding Keiko Operation Puppy 🐾

So the decision was made well, a least to an extent, mummy and daddy decided to set about the top-secret mission of finding a puppy 🐶.

The kids had no idea what we were planning, and by sheer luck the timing was perfect.

At the time of looking, it was the summer holidays 2021. My fiancé Lisa works in school, and I’d already taken some time off work because we had a road trip planned, which fell into place nicely.

Now it took some persuasion for us to even come close to getting a puppy. Simply because dogs can tie you down so much, and you can’t just up and go when you want. So to have one means a lot of commitment and not just for Christmas 🎄. But needless to say the kids, finally won us over.

We searched pet websites high and low to narrow our options down – I called and spoke with several breeders, but talking is one thing and seeing is another.

So, in this post, we’ll share the whole experience and emotional roller coaster puppy buying can be. Maybe you can relate or learn something, and if you’ve got a story to share? Hit us up in the comments.

Step 1. What kind of doggy do we want? 🐕‍🦺

So the first and possibly most important things we had to agree on.

● (1) What are we looking for in a breed?

● (2) What breed would best suit the family?

Having had first-hand experience with Bull breeds, they would always be my first choice. We have a close friend with an English Bulldog Rocko, and what a personality; in fact, I’m sure there’s the spirit of a human residing in that dog; his temperament is unbelievable. He’s crazy in a loving, off the chain and cheeky, type of way to top that off the dog is incredibly intelligent.

Couple that with it’s solid and brutish build!!! It truly is a lovable rogue of a family pet. You can’t help but love it ❤️ Living in a family with 2 cats and another male dog it really does epitomise a well rounded and loving family member. That just happens to be one of the OG’s of the Bull Breed.

Lisa likes boxers and Frenchies, and when we met 17 years ago she had a mongrel call Harvey.

Now to say this dog was a character is an understatement. He was lively but not very well trained, his temperament did not leave you with much confidence when it came to him being around people and children so when we had the kids we really were extremely cautious with them around Harvey and that meant they didn’t have the relationship with him that the should have.

Be that down to training his temperament or a mixture of both we didn’t really let our gaurd down but that experience certainly taught us a lot about how we would select and raise another dog if indeed we ever did get one. Harvey lived to the ripe old age of 18 before he was sadly put to sleep due to his rear legs going.

It was so sad and he is dearly missed by us all. What a blooming character 🙏🏾❤️🙏🏾💯

Aside from Harvey, Lisa likes Boxers, and she also suggested a Frenchy, but in the end, we decided to settle on the American Bully.

Having had Staffordshire Bull Terriers in the past, I’ve had the first-hand experience of their impeccable temperament. Irrespective of the bad press that sometimes stigmatises Pit Bull Type dogs, most people will tell you that you can’t find a more philanthropic (human-friendly) dog breed than a Staff.

As a family, we want a loyal fun-loving, companion dog with an excellent temperament and solid physique. Most importantly we wanted a pet that would love the kids and be very tolerant. Even though they’re not toddlers at 9 and 11, we do have grandchildren along with young Nephews and Nieces that can be a little more challenging, to say the least, 👼 so temperament is at the top of our list.

All these factors led us to The American Bully. This relatively new breed originates from the United States. Said to have been created by breeding several bully breeds such as the American Pit Bull Terrier and the American Staffordshire Bull Terrier. It’s also believed to be crossed with other Bulldog breeds. Whatever had been used, they did a fantastic job creating the well-loved and sought-after breed we have today, called the American Bully.

The American Bully is also called a Nany Dog due to its loving and caring nature. It was specifically bred to maintain some of the esthetic of its Pit Bull and Staffordshire counterparts. Whilst any human and animal aggression has been bred out and is discouraged by today’s breed standard.

The American Bully comes in 4 different sizes according to the American Bully Kennel Club (ABKC) standard;

Pocket Bully males should be below 17″ at the withers (The area above the shoulders used to measure dogs) and no less than 14″ at the withers for Females. While the Standard Bully males should be below 20″ at the withers and no less than 17″ at the withers, the females should be below 19″ at the withers and no less than 16″ at the withers, the Standard Bully bears the same physical appearance in terms of muscular build of both the Pocket and XL; all three of these dogs should look powerful solid and bulky similar to a bodybuilder 💪💪💪.

The Classic Bully, on the other hand, should fall in the same height range as the Standard male below 20″ and no less than 17″ female below 19″ and no less than 16″, but the mass of this dog is lighter and more athletic. This brings us to the largest of the breed—the XL, which is simply a taller version of the standard. The XL Bully males should be over 20″ to 23″ at the wither whilst the female should be over 20″ to 22″ at the withers.

Some also recognise an exotic version of the breed, smaller than the pocket and an XXL larger than the XL. When writing this post, neither of the sizes mentioned above were recognised by the ABKC (American Bully Kennel Club).

So does size really matter? 🤷‍♂️

Step 2. Go See and Get Those Papers Baby

We decided to start looking as we knew we would go for the American Bully. The first puppy’s we went to see were local, and my goodness, they were gorgeous!!! 😍😍😍

After speaking with the seller online and over the phone, we made arrangements to visit their home to see the puppies. We pulled up close by so we could keep an eye on the kids who sat patiently waiting for daddy to look at a job 😜 Myself and Lisa reiterated the fact that we couldn’t believe what we were doing, as we walked towards the house.

Unsure of what we were walking into, the same lovely lady I had been speaking with on the phone welcomed us in. She was young, and they had a small family with just one daughter. She invited us into the house and guided us to the living room, a door to the left just a few short steps from the front entrance. The room was quite long and well lit with natural light. It also had a convenient set of patio doors leading out to the rear garden.

It was clean, but you could certainly smell our four-legged friends. Another bonus was that It was a family household, and the daughter was no older than 7. She shouted up to her partner, requesting that he bring the pups down and my word; when they entered the room, there was an instant avalanche of puppy energy. It was infectious and enough to drive you crazy all at once.

There were loads of them, at least six females fighting, biting, playing. Joisting for our attention, I have never experienced anything like that before they felt so carefree warm and loving, totally vying for our attention. They were at least 12 weeks and full of beans both Lisa and I were overwhelmed with the energy.

It was enough to turn most people into dog lovers; it was a madhouse. Both I and Lisa we’re looking for different things. Lisa wanted calm, and I liked the character. Lisa wanted cuddles, and I wanted to play tug of war. But you know how things go 99.9999999% of the time, mummy calls the shots and gets what she wants. 🤷‍♂️💕

Lisa liked a Lush lilac girl who was more than happy to cuddle. She had a calm and submissive demeanour. Precisely what Lisa was looking for and what many breeders look for when selecting a puppy.

We met the mother, who was huge, tall, solid. She had a red fawn coat and an unusual multicoloured eye which the seller said means she carries the Merle Gene; how true that is. I have no idea 🤷‍♂️ any of my more knowledgable readers, please feel free to enlighten us in the comments.

They brought down the other pups for us to see and well it was totally mental. It really was a mad house. They were clearly struggling to sell the pups but why would it be so hard to sell such beautiful dogs to a loving forever home?

Was it the fact that people had gone from crying out for dogs during lockdown. To now avoiding buying them been a factor?

We said our goodbye’s and left thrilled by what we had just experienced. The energy of the puppies and their beautiful nature made the thought of seeing the looks on our children faces when they find out that their dreams have come true even more sweet.

We left and discussed things in parent code!! It was hard working out what to do next because that girl Lisa was attracted to was lovely.

They advertised the puppies as American Bully XL’s. But unfortunately, as beautiful as they were, they did not come with papers. They were not pedigree or did not have documents to prove it and this posed an issue to us.

Being in the UK, the American Pitbull Terrier is banned. Having heard stories about the police challenging people with Pitbull type breeds, in some cases taking their dogs away and sometimes destroying them.

We were super conscious of finding ourselves in that exact position, and if it did indeed happen 🤷‍♂️🐾 How then could we prove that our Pit Bull-Type dog was not, in fact, an American Pitbull Terrier? Neither the Mother (Dam) or Farther (Sire) came with papers, and as a result, neither puppy could be sold with ABKC papers either.

Be mindful 🧘🏽‍♂️ of this, if you’re buying a puppy, the fact that they do not come with papers should significantly reduce the price, and you as a potential owner should do a ton of research. It’s a shame as all dogs deserve a home but please choose wisely remember doggies are not just for Christmas 🌲🧑‍🎄.

After a lot of thought deliberation we decided that we would only look for a puppy that came registered with papers.

Step 3. Don’t Rush and Be Prepared To Reconsider!!!!!

We visited another breeder who had a litter of standard Bullies. He didn’t quite have the colours we were looking for, but they came with papers, and he seemed genuine and knowledgeable. Most importantly, was were they healthy and how did they look.

A few days passed, and it was time for our long awaiting road trip and the top secret mission… “Operation Puppy 🐶”

We had been back and forth on the phone a few times. I was a little disappointed as he seemed reluctant to send up to date photos of the pups.

However, based on the information given and the conversations we had, coupled with the fact that we were passing that direction anyway. We proceeded to “Go See.”

We reached our destination and told the kids that Daddy was going to look at another job 😳. They were too enthralled with YouTube and Tic Toc to raise any suspicion.

So we proceed with our mission low key!

The home we visited was lovely and was on a beautiful estate. Visiting strange places with your children to meet people you don’t know can be daunting for some, but it was a lovely family in a lovely area.

What you will find with some breeders, as we saw with these, is they are reluctant to keep puppies where they live due to dog theft.

So the seller made a call and asked his sister to bring over the pups. We reminded him that the kids were outside and had no idea what we were planning, so stealth was a top priority.

The pups arrived with his sister, and unlike the last XL Bullies that we’re thick and healthy, these seemed very skinny and not the most outstanding example. In my opinion, their colours weren’t what we wanted, but as stated above these came with papers and were very reasonably priced.

We spent a little time observing them, looking at structure, movement and temperament whilst also being polite and complimenting how cute they were, but neither myself nor Lisa took to them at all.

However! We did not rush the decision and told the breeder we’d think about it and be in touch. We stopped off for the evening and did not stop talking in code about what we had learnt over the last few days

We continued looking at websites and speaking with breeders. The route to our destination gave us a great opportunity to plan and visit another XL puppy the following morning. By now, we had a better idea of what we were looking for and after explaining to the kids that I was going to look at another job 😜 We made our way to see pup number three.

The house was in a cul-de-sac. The family had just moved there and going by the set up to the rear of their home. They were experienced breeders.

The number of different dog breeds we were impressed by how well the dogs behaved, from Cain Corso to Bullies to Dobermans. Honestly, there were so many I actually couldn’t keep up. It was clear that they were dog breeders and lovers.

The owners were charming and very knowledgeable. They had the father to view, but not the mother due to tragic circumstances after the birth of the puppies. The father was a Merle imported from America with cropped ears.

He was huge, and the sheer presence of this specimen of a dog would send a shiver up your spine if you found him playfully bounding toward you. He was large, solid calm and friendly. But his sheer size was imposing, and I could tell by the look in Lisa’s eyes that she might be having second thoughts. At this point, it was clear that size does matter 😁

The puppy we had come to see was a Beautiful Blue female. She was lovely and one of only two pups remaining, with the other being a brindle.

We spent some time with the breeders, and they also had a small family with a beautiful toddler 😍👶. We spoke about their experience with the different breeds they had and the ongoing kennel build that took up a large area to the rear of their home.

They seemed ethical and were dog trainers, so they had a lot of experience raising and breeding dogs. We loved the little Blue XL. She was Lush 😍. With a cheeky little personality, my word pups sure do power when it comes to Attraction 💫

We liked the little blue pup, so we had a gentlemen’s agreement and shook hands. I agreed that we would collect the puppy on our way home the following Monday. We were so set on this puppy. Or should I say Daddy was, but mummy had a few concerns – having seen the size of the puppies parents, she was just really mindful that she may struggle with the size when I’m not around as I’m away from home quite often 🤷‍♂️

Now an XL can weigh anything from 80 – 150 pounds, which is colossal, especially for a petite lady like Lisa, so her concerns were warranted, not something I could ignore.

As the days passed and we had time to discuss the long term ownership of this Bully, we really couldn’t get past the size, the XL is a big strong dog, and it could be a handful for Lisa on her own. After hours of discussion, we decided to reluctantly contact the breeder and explain our dilemma.

They were super understanding, and there was no bad vibes or negative energy! It was great to meet them as they were a lovely couple with an adorable puppy, albeit one that would grow into an 80 to 150 pound unit of sheer muscle.

For us, it was a case of knowing we’d found a beautiful dog in a great colour with an excellent pedigree, but we knew it would not stay a puppy forever and even though it was super hard and more so for me, we had to make like frozen ☃️ and Let It Go!

Step 4. Be Prepared To Change Your Mind

Buying a puppy is a huge decision. Dogs become such an essential part of your family and, as a result, impact the dynamics of your family. So my goodness, you have to get it right and if that means making a few adjustments to options, then so be it.

So we had reached out destination, my loving Sister’s in Birmingham Uk. A road trip we take at least once a year, our kids love meeting up with their cousins and we love it too. Family is super important and distance should never be a barrier ❤️💯.

We spent most of that evening discussing dogs, amongst other things. But myself and Lisa came to our final decision on what member of the American Bully family we would go for, and we agreed that the correct size for us would be the Pocket.

So back to our trusted pet website we went messaging sellers asking questions. Looking at quality, price and colours. We had another trip planned to visit Bristol to go and see Lisa’s son and his partner.

I had messaged a couple of sellers in Wales hoping to go and see their pups. It would have been great as Bristol is not too far a drive from Wales. Unfortunately one seller never responded to my messages, another had sold his last pup and the other! Well, his price was just too high.

We enjoyed our time in Bristol, and it was such a lovely culturally diverse place. We ate out at an excellent little Jamaican spot, with a simple menu and great food, from Jerk Chicken to a unique Vegan dish.

We made our way back to the Birmingham that morning prior to leaving I had messaged another breeder in wales. They had 6 pups that were five and a half weeks old. Three boys three girls. We had a few conversations regarding the girls and two in particular caught our attention. Polly Pocket a Champange Tri and the smallest of the litter, then there was Verve a Lilac Tri one of the larger pups.

The breeder was really helpful, when we returned to Birmingham he called just to talk a little about the puppies, he really was a great guy and what was mind-blowing is he took the time to call us on his birthday whilst out in Liverpool.

Feeling guilty, I asked him to go and enjoy his birthday, but he agreed to video calling us later that night to see the puppies. Which he did, the call was fantastic, the breeder Chris and his partner were lovely, the puppies were lush, and Lisa and I knew that between Polly Pocket and Verve. We had found our puppy 💯

Chris was a genuine guy, we had numerous calls, texts and pictures sent. myself and Lisa felt confident as buyers. We arranged to go and see the pups on our way home the following Monday and that is exactly what we did.

Chris and his family live in Wales about a two hour drive from Birmingham. On arrival we told the kids that dad was going to look at a job 😜 and on we went. Chris explained that Hank the mother would be outside to avoid her getting upset.

They live in a nice little Semi-detached Chris had the garage converted for the pups. Again this was a lovely family home with one cute boy about 4 years old and a beautiful baby girl. Both Chris and his partner were absolutely fantastic people and we warmed to their energy instantly.

Chris got the girls; first, it was amazing watching them running around. He then got the boys, who made the experience even sweeter. The puppies were fantastic. The colours and quality was next level. Now Lisa and I had already agreed on our decision. Although we wanted a Pocket Bully, we didn’t want one that was too short. And Polly, although beautiful, was just a little too short, so finally our decision was made we were going for Verve.

Her personality was just unique, not too timid but not too rowdy; she passed Lisa’s cuddle test and certainly passed my eye test. She enjoyed a little tug of war and tugged on our heartstrings instantly.

Yes, we had been all over the country in our search, but when you are looking for that special puppy, you need to be committed to finding the right dog and although we had our ups and down the. By following these steps, we managed to find our girl, Keiko!

Be sure to keep coming back to see how she is coming along and share our journey.

Let us know about your puppy buying experiences in the comments section.