Reputable Breeders

I have been looking for a Pyrenean Mastiff breeder here in Canada, but with no luck.
My question is, if there are no local reputable breeders, how do you make sure one of the long distance ones are good or not? It's not like I can go there and see the parents on site or anything.

Well, there are multiple things you can do. One, call and talk to them over the phone. Email and ask lots of questions. If you're able, find a forum/Yahoo Group that is specifically for this breed and ask what they think of the breeder.

Another thing is to research pedigrees. See what dogs are where. It will give you a feel for other dogs, too, not just from the breeder you're looking at.

Reputation,maybe talk to those who have bought puppies from that breeder,of course check pedigrees/health testing stuff. Talk to the breeder over the phone, ask a bunch of questions!

Is that sort of information readily available for potential puppy buyers? I would think that they would not give out other peoples contact info, but I may be wrong.

As for the health testing, how would I get them to prove they have had all the necessary health testing?

Sorry for all the questions, but I have never gotten a pup from a breeder. I don't want to screw this up especially considering the size of these dogs!!

I don't think they would give out the contact information, but you might ask if they have any updates about previous puppies and pictures?

Yes there are lots of pictures and little blurbs about past litters.
They claim that many of their dogs that have been in shows and such, but how do I find out if they are telling the truth?

I would contact the president of the Pyrenean Mastiff Club of America and ask for their recommendation (Pyrenean Mastiff Mastin De Los Pirinoes Mastin del Pirineo Pyrenean Mas Pyrenean Mastiff Mastin De Los Pirinoes Mastin del Pirineo Pyrenean Mas Pyrenean Mastiff Mastin De Los Pirinoes Mastin del Pirineo Pyrenean Mas Pyrenean Mastiff Masti).

Talk. . . and ask about their breeding goals, health, involvement, and accomplishments. Make sure you agree with their breeding practices, and the way their rear their puppies. Those are most important to me, so you will have to think about what YOU want in a breeder, and go about bringing it up.

Like mom2dogs said, contact the Club and get there opinion.

As far as telling the truth, I would just try to talk to them as much as possible.

Simply ask. Do they have certificates? Photos? Judge's reviews? As for health testing, again, ask for documentation. Any breeder who refuses, is easy to walk away from.

The national club also has a list of Ch. on their website, you might want to ask when it was updated, though:
Pyrenean Mastiff / Mastin De Los Pirinoes.

Most of those names are from the breeder I am looking into. Thank you for finding this list. I will continue my research.

Good luck!

Many breeders, especially the further into the dicussions you get, will give out some previous puppy contacts. My Aussie breeder gave me the email of a couple people, though I already knew them through the board.

Rafael Malo Alcrudo is on face book he founded the breed in the USA.
He also wrote the book on the breed. You should contact him where you can get his book and strike up a convo with him. He is a judge so not home all the time .
http://www.tajadera.com/images/fondo.jpg

This breed has not hit the millers and yarders yet so u will have a good chance.

Check this out can we say pack dog.
http://www.tajadera.com/entrada/Tomando el sol.jpg

I can't see the last link. Re-send it, I am very curious to see the video.

This is the breeder I have been e-mailing back and forth with. Tell me what you think...Pyrenean Mastiff Mastin de los Pirineos Mastin Del Pirineo Pyrenean Mastiff Mastin de los Pirineos Mastin Del Pirineo Pyrenean Mastiff M

I e-mailed another one, but still have not gotten a response.

Just want other peoples opinion on this:

I have been in contact with a Pyrenean Mastiff breeder from the US. We have been e-mailing back and forth for 2 days now. I also contacted the Pyrenean Mastiff Club of America and the president ends up being the same person from the kennel.

Is that good? I think so, but maybe there could be a different perspective on this.

I would say that's definitely a positive.

Even breeders with the best reputation are humans and they cannot control everything in genetics of their breeding stock. It is always like a gamble. The breeder can only improve his chances and so is the buyer of puppy. Most of old popular purebreds are highly inbred and the chance of buying a dog with hip dysplasia and other genetic defects are high. I notice you choose between Great Pyrenees and Mastiff. They are very different breeds; more different then you may think. It depends how you will use your dog. If you want just an impressive appearance, or you want a reliable personal protection dog? What is your environment? Do you live in a city? Do you need a dog for protection of livestock? These are things to discuss with would be a reputable breeder. These two breeds are very different. If you need a dog for field work with livestock, you may consider other big aboriginal origin dogs. They may be more vigorous, but somehwat wilder in the character, then Pyrenees. Selling healthy and capable to work puppies is OK. They should go to right home and the right owner.

If a breeder has the full name of their dogs listed on their site (show name) then you can check in the OFA online database to see if they've health tested their hips and such. Or even if you just have their kennel name . . . Like if their kennel name is Dream Mastiffs (okay, lame name, I know), you can put that in the OFA search and it will pull up all dogs whose names start with that.