Is it a bad idea to get a dog without seeing him first?

I've been taking everything into account that everyone's been saying about how long I should wait. I really feel that I could give a dog a good, loving home. I also feel that I just can't live without a dog in my life.

I've been looking at a lot of dogs on Petfinder, and I recently found one that I fell in love with. He really seems like a good dog for our situation. He's a good size, (18lbs) he's house trained, crate trained, nurtured and has all of his shots. My uncle even said he could buy him for me for a birthday gift (he's $125, which seems pretty cheap for my area)

He IS about 3 hours away, so we'd have to drive out to get him. But that's where the problem is. I've only heard about this dogs personality from the person who is fostering him. I didn't ask a ton of questions because I wanted to talk to my boyfriend first. But if we're serious about him, I would call the woman who is fostering him and ask about him some more. (any suggestions on what questions to ask?) But from what I gather, he's a bit shy at first, loves to play, but is a a lap dog at heart. To me, this sounds really ideal. I asked if he barks a lot and she said he'll bark if he sees something, but isn't a yappy dog. I know dogs bark sometimes and I don't need him to be silent.

I really fell in love with this dog online, but I know that can be a mistake. We don't really have tons of money to be spending driving to and from Columbus (we live near Pittsburgh) but we can drive out there to pick him up. So really, I would just be going on what the woman is telling me about his personality, you know?

Do you think this is a big mistake? How many of you have done this? I really am committed to my pets, and I just cannot see myself returning a dog because he's too hyper or yappy. I would much rather work with him. I mean, I'm already attached and I haven't even met the dog yet. I can't imagine getting rid of a dog that I've owned for a few months.

The woman said she has someone else who is also interested in the dog, so to please let her know by tomorrow. I really like this dog already. I know it might sound silly, but I feel it in my gut, you know? I have seen hundreds of dogs recently, but this one just really stuck with me. I keep going back to him. I know making rash, emotional decisions can get you into trouble. But I also know they can really pay off. I'm just trying to get some outside opinions, I guess.

One last thing. I asked about any previous health issues, and she said he recently had puppy strangles. I had never heard of this, but I looked it up and it doesn't seem to be anything that would effect him long-term. Does anyone have any comments about this? What other questions should I ask if I am going to adopt him?

Thank you guys SO much.

All i can say is it was a good thing i had made my mind up on Victor before i saw him because when i did see him he was a total disaster. Skinny, and desperate. But since i drove all the way out, and i had felt that heart tug when i first saw him on line i went ahead and trusted my initial instinct and i am so glad i did.

We did the same thing with Beezer Smkie. We had him picked out before we even went to the shelter lol.

when they brought him to us he was crazy. he was fighting them, wouldn't walk on a leash, just a general spaz. but we decided to take him out for a walk on our own with Belle anyway despite the fact that he was a total nutcase. and turned out to be the perfect dog for us

Sort of the same with Belle although we didn't get to bring her home the same day we saw her. but it would have taken something drastic for us to not take her.

I think it should be fine as long as the foster was an honest person. Do you have the petfinder page? I'd love to see him!

We took Rose without seeing her and without ever even seeing a picture of her Initially we were a bit worried because she was so shy but she's really been the best dog imaginable. She wasn't a rescue per say but we still got her without ever seeing her or meeting her, though we did know a lot about her.

We didn't get Pepperoni without seeing her first..I wish we would have but I wouldn't have changed anything about that. Well, If I was for sure getting Pepper..it would have been sorta hard to travel to another country to see her before hand!

I won't tell you you're nuts...I kind of just jumped in as well. I'd had dogs before but this probably wasn't the smartest idea I ever had, but it turned out wonderful!
Long story but my mom brought me a dog (I'd grown up with dogs my entire life) that her exboyfriend abandoned when he went to prison, it was stolen from his yard, abused, ended up at the pound, and there was a lot of drama with the exboyfriend. She brought him up to me to "find him a good home" - so I get an abused very large dog, I could see all his ribs and count his vertebrae through the skin and he was 65 lbs. Never been around children and was always on a chain, 6 years old and never house broken or been in the house. Something in my head should have said "Wow this is probably a BAD idea getting a dog this old that has never been around kids, only lived in a chain, and never housebroken...not to mention skinny and sick"
It didn't ever go through my mind. My mom got him out of the truck and I told my hubby "we're keeping him permanently" - he's been one of the best dogs I've ever had. He was easy to housetrain and just soaked up all the attention from the kids right off the bat - he was a bit spooky at first and bit me in the leg because I tripped on him (now that was a bad idea, mom brought him up during my 4 yr olds birthday party since she lived so far away and I stepped on him and he caught my ankle but didn't break the skin, he was stressed!) so while I did make some serious mistakes, like having him in a stressful situation with about a dozen kids around (he was in my bedroom though but still it was loud and rambunctious) it all worked out for the good.
I too just had that "gut feeling" that he needed to stay at my house. Sometimes you have to just go with what your heart is telling you, even though your brain makes you think really hard about it!

I knew I wanted Banzai before I set my eyes on his physical being. If the heart goes *thumpathump* then it's meant to be. Congrats.

That's my position.. Remember- for all you know the foster will not tell you everything as accurate ...Or just because the dog did fine in their home, if you do not know all the details of what the dog was use too etc, it could be a problem.

We agreed to adopt our puppy based on a picture without meeting her first. I did tell the lady as I went to pick her up at the vet she was being boarded at that I had to technically meet her first, but as long as she wasn't snarling at me I'd take her home. She didn't look quite right to me when I met her (skin irritation and missing fur on chest, thin, slightly prolapsed rectum), but I took her home and got her fixed up nicely

When we saw her picture, we just knew we had to have her.. And as much of a pain in the butt that she can be sometimes, I'm very happy she's here

Bernie was a "petfinder" puppy as well. We adopted sight unseen, and it has worked out wonderfully, but I do feel a little like I missed out on "being chosen". There were 17 other puppies that came down from Moose River at the same time, but having spoken extensively with the foster mom, we know we have the right puppy for us. Mellow, laid back, passive, and a true character.

Well I fell in love with Ollie on Petfinder , but they wanted to check me out as much as I wanted to check him out . To me it's a 50-50 . Had EliN not checked out the dog they wanted , Hunter would have been toast ! Lovely pup but VERY dog aggressive ! It's the toss of the dice ! Good luck !!!

you can never be sure..but if you are willing to work with the dog, and it doesn't have some major issues you dont' know how to deal with, then why not take it a step further?
Would the foster family be willing to meet you half way somewhere?

I think sometimes your "gut" instinct is best in knowing.

I would have trouble getting a dog without meeting him first. I know the foster gave you a lot of good information, but it's possible that everything she told you could be completely different than what the dog's actually like. for example, she said the dog is potty trained - but just because a dog is potty trained in one house with one family, does not mean he's potty trained everywhere; you WILL need to do some potty training, although, given his ge, he'll probably be easier than a puppy. "He's a bit shy at first" could mean that he's terrified of strangers, and will bark and hide from anyone who ever comes over; of course, not too hard to fix, but it's something. "Loves to play but is a lap dog at heart" could mean that he has a lot of energy and is also very pushy about sitting in your lap and on your furnature... and 18lbs is a relatively big lap dog, IMO. "He'll bark if he sees something" - well, that's pretty vague; what if he barks every time someone walks or drives past your house?

Of course, this is pretty much a worst-case scenario, but I just want you to realize that it's possible that the picture you have in your mind of what this dog is like could be completely different than what he actually IS like. Then you'll have to use your best judgement to make the decision.

Good luck, and let us know what happens!!

I'll be the negative one. You can always go home without a dog. Keep that in mind. Nowhere does it say you HAVE to bring the dog home if you think it will be a mistake. The dog is in a foster home, it isn't in any danger at the moment.

I drove four hours once with two dogs, stayed overnight, and met three dogs the next day at a rescue. None clicked and I drove home with only the dogs I went with. I was upset, but I'm still quite happy with the decision itself.

Alternately I drove two hours to meet my first dog and she was a nutty idiot who got loose while I was there and ran around like she's never been free before. I only picked her because the dog I had brought with me ignored rather than hid or attacked her. They caught her and I took her home on her first car ride. She'd been returned twice for energy, and when I got home my father took one look at her and we finished fencing the yard that weekend. Haven't looked back since.

--Mia

I think you should call the foster ask any more questions (potty training, how he does with other animals, how is he with kids, men, old people, noises, what training, food, allergies etc) if everything sounds good why not say yes we are going to take him barring it goes horribly when we meet him (snarling snapping etc)

We picked Maggie out just based on a picture, even though the foster told us she was very very shy and slow to warm up. We did meet her before we got to take her home, but at the meeting she wouldn't even let us pet her, she was so shy. I realize that it could've been a disaster, but she's turned out to be the best doggy ever - we couldn't have asked for a better dog for our situation.

There's always a chance that it could be a mistake. If your situation calls for very specific requirements, then you might want to be more careful about it. But if you're pretty flexible then go for it. Now let me see that petfinder page. I live near Columbus, maybe I'll steal him

All dogs have negative faults to go along with their good ones. I'd be wary if all I heard about was what a "sweetheart" and "lapdog" a dog is.

Also, I would definitely question her more about the shyness. I've seen sooooo many dogs labeled "shy" or "slow to warm up then loves everyone" when in fact the dogs were basketcases with bad nerves and not all of them ever liked a single person other than maybe the 1 true owner.

Personally I've owned a "shy" dog. But I labeled her as "a dog who doesn't like men so don't even aproach her or you most probably will get bitten" as that was the truth behind the matter. No amount of training and loving got her to be good with men (she tolerated my husband but would actually get off the couch and relocate if he sat down on the same sofa she was on).

Also, specifically ask about the negative traits. When I placed one of my rescued "pit bulls" with a new family this past December, I told him all the great stuff he wanted to hear and then I was honest about all the not-so-great stuff (like he whined in his kennel a lot, he would have accidents in his kennel from time to time, he absolutely loved to eat poop, he would throw up the poop on your floor, he liked to jump up on people and still needed work and reinforcement on that issue, etc.).

IMO it's when people are mislead about a dog that they end up being disappointed in what they got.......even when the dog's faults are very minor.

A big thank you to everyone to responded!

I tried to take every single thing into account. I really do see both sides to this. But in the end, my boyfriend and I talked it over...and we decided to not go with this dog. I really am sad. I know it's silly since I've never even met this dog and I don't have any real connection. But I feel like I was really close and then I had to give him up.

Like I explained a little bit in my original post, the woman fostering him told me about the puppy strangles he had recently gotten over. I had never heard of this, so I looked it up. Apparently it can happen from puppies from 4 weeks to 4 months (that's when it's most common, anyway) but I didn't read a single thing about it happening in dogs over a year old, which this dog was. Apparently he's a year and a half or so.

So I called my vet and he got on the phone and I explained the situation, and he said puppy strangles COULD occur in older dogs, but it's really rare and he doesn't really hear about it happening in dogs over a year old. He said he'd be cautious about adopting him. He said it could be a one time thing and he could get over it and be fine, or it could be a reoccurring problem. But he told me to maybe get the name of the vet that treated the dog, and talk to him. So I called up the foster woman again and asked for the name of the vet that treated him, and she said "He was treated by an emergency vet, so maybe you can just call your own vet and ask."Well, that didn't help much since I wanted to speak to someone who saw the dog personally. I explained that I DID call my vet and he said it was odd for a dog over a year old to come down with that.

Anyway, this is the short version. Basically, I told her I'd call her back later that afternoon. I discussed it with my boyfriend, and he felt something a little shady was going on. I mean, I'm sure the woman means well...but I'm confused as to why I couldn't have the emergency vets number. I've taken my dog to an emergency vet before and they still keep things on file. I don't see why I couldn't speak to him. She also told me that some other people were interested in the dog, so I felt pretty rushed. I didn't feel like I could go visit him or anything. She basically told me I had to get out there soon if I wanted to visit him, and that's a pretty long drive. My boyfriend works all day and we only have one car. So it was just a few too many issues, you know?

When I spoke to my vet, he basically said that there are plenty of dogs and he made me feel like I shouldn't rush it. I know this is true, it's just so difficult. I'm going crazy without a dog! But I don't want to get a dog who I'm not a good match for, and who isn't a good match for me. I know I would be committed, but the idea of getting a sick dog scares me. I just watched my beloved dog get old and sick and then eventually have to be put to sleep, so I would like to see a young, healthy, happy dog if I can.

I can be very impulsive but I'm trying to slow down and take the advice of maybe going to visit the dogs first.

Thank you guys. You're all such a big help It's really nice to have this kind of support.

I know it's very difficult, but I think your vet's right on that one. I know it will all work out in the end and soon you will find your perfect dog!