My wife and I buried our 11 yo Pekingese about two weeks ago.  He was our last dog purchase and I remember it was tough finding him.  Now it seems almost impossible.  Everything I see on the internet is a "rescue".  Noting wrong with rescue dogs (we have one now)  but why is nearly every dog a rescue dog?  And where are people selling puppies nowadays?  I'm about a hundred miles east of Houston and am willing to driver further than that for the right pup.  

Can anyone offer any advice?

Always start with the main breeder club for the breed you are interested in. For example:

http://thepekingeseclubofamerica.net/

There is almost always an online forum, too. Search google for "pekingese forum" or "pekingese mailing list", etc.

Start networking. It may take a bit because when you are buying "new" you have to wait for pups to be available.

There are also several pekingese rescue organizations. Google "pekingese rescue".

Dogs can be shipped, you know. While we flew and then drove 14 hours back to pick up one of our Akitas, my youngest I drove two hours to pick him up at the closest United Air Cargo location.

I am a breeder of medium sized dogs.  I don't know of any small dog breeders.

The methods of finding a well bred puppy are pretty much the same across the board, and are as the Akita man detailed. Go to the web page of the national breed club. Usually, they will either have a list of Code of Ethics compliant breeders somewhere, or a contact for the breeder referral liaison. That is a person that gets notified by members of the club every time they have a litter or are planning one. That person will know all the breeders in your area (and perhaps across the country as well) that currently have litters and puppies available.

It looks like there is a Pekingese Club of Texas that has a breeder referral service as well. Perhaps try contacting them. They have membership across Texas and into Louisiana, so if you are looking for a Peke, they will probably be able to help you out. They will also have info on rescue Pekingese, should you want to go that route.

Thank you for your help.

puppyfind.com

I've never used this but have looked at Shelties on the site.

No. No. No, no, no.

That is one of the sites commonly used for disreputable breeders to peddle their irresponsibly bred pups. Bad idea to go that route.

Try Craigslist. We got our little guy there.

Just like everywhere else, there are those types on that site too, but there are also some good guys. Do a location search for your area then go look at the dog.

Craigslist has basically replaced the newspaper ads for dogs.  However like the newspaper ads, many adverts are for 'oops' breeds, but it is also used by unscrupulous types to take two low quality dogs, breed them and offer 'purebred' pups at half the price of what a good breeder would charge.

Rescues and breeders (both reputable and disreputable) make heavy use of facebook to promote their 'product'.  There is a growing trend for backyard breeders and the like to take on the appearance of a Rescue and simply list 'adoption fee' the same as what they would have charged for the pup on a normal sale.


Finally, stupid human factor.  Soccer Moms now don't want to say they the dog from the pound or an ad on craigslist, saying they got it from a 'rescue' gives them higher standing with the rest of the soccer moms same as the gluten free snacks they all buy for their kids.


My specific advice?


#1 contact AR15.com's in house dog rescue, run by joker1, tell him what you want and he will work his magic.


#2 Decide on a breed or even better group of breeds, then go on AKC and find the 'parent club' of that particular breed.  Go to parent club website and there should be a list of recommended breeders.  Contact these breeders.  It isn't necessary to buy only from this list.  Often these breeders have contacts who are producing good pups, often these breeders are helping other breeders getting started, and know when they are having litters, and can put you in contact with them.