The wire-haired coat of a brussels needs hand stripping. It's not that bad. But it sounds like it would be.
I LOVE brussels griffon dogs. If you go to
www.akc.org and look up brussels griffons they will list their breed club's rescue site. You can get a brussels really in need of a home.
If you want to go directly to a breeder, that is responsible, that's fine also. As long as it isn't a BYB. Many people don't know the difference, and they think they do. Not trying to sound cocky, but it is true.
Brussels griffons will be more on the pricer side because, many times, the dam requires a c-section to deliver the litter. Another part of that expense goes into the fact that, because they are a rarer breed, it will take more expense on the breeder's part, to finish the sire and dam's championship title, what with the long distance traveling to find BG's that are worthy of the competition.
I don't know if you are farmilar with dog showing. For the sake of the situation, I'll assume your not. For some one who doesn't know, you maybe wondering why you need to go to a breeder who shows if you "just want a pet". Am I right?
Well, here's why it is so important. The whole point of dog showing is to see how closely the dog comes to the features outlined by the breed standard. To look at the BG's breed standard go to the AKC website. When a dog gets its championship title it means that many judges have decided that the dog looks, and to some degree, acts the way it is suppose to look and act. "It has the breed's features" When you buy from a breeder who has non-championship titled dogs, it means that their dogs don't have one or more of the features (look and personality) that the breed is suppose to have. This way not seem like a big deal, but when you breed 2 non-Ch dog you will produce pups that are never farther away from the standard than the parents. If those pups should breed with other non-Ch dogs their litters will have even more faults. With every generation that is produced the resulting litters will be less and less like the breed, to the point that they will not look or act anything like the way they are suppose to be.
This becomes a problem for people when they decide on a purebred. People decide on buying a purebred because they like the looks and personality of one breed or dog and it fit their life style. Than they get the puppy from a non-show breeder and, depending on how many Ch dogs are missing from the pups history, it turns out to be nothing like what they thought they were getting. When you buy from a non-show breeder you won't be getting a good example of the breed. It can be completely different from what you wanted because no one "judged" its parents to see if they have the look and personality that the breed is suppose to have. Most of what show breeders have is pet quality puppies. I know that seems contradictory, but stay with me. When two Ch titled dogs mate the resulting pups usually only have one or two show dogs in the litter, at most. That's just how genetics work. That means that the pet quality pups have atleast one minor fault that would keep them from wining a Ch title, but will not make them any less good at being pets. Yet they will still act and look like the way the breed is suppose to look and act for being pets, which is why you chose that breed to begin with. For the look and personality. The BYB's dogs have more than just one or two minor faults. They are not even close the breed standard, which makes buyers mad when they buy these dogs and think they are getting one thing when they turn out to be getting something else. Many of these people often drop off their pets into shelters or rehome them because the dog isn't what they wanted and they can't deal with it.
Another feature of a responsible breeder is that they do not profit off of breeding their dogs. They usually do not brake even, at the end. That means that you will only be paying for the price of the health testing done on the sire and dam before they were bred, feeding the dam and puppies,vet visits, the cost of fixing the puppies (if the breeder does that, before they leave their care), and any other supplies used (like the whelping box). That cost will be split up by how many puppies where born. If a show pup is born the show pup will obviously cost more and the pet quality pups will cost less. I'd like to point out that buying from a responsible breeder ALWAYS costs less than buying the same breed of dog at a pet store.
Some people complain that a responsible breeder costs to much. This is not true. They cost less than pet stores, because they don't profit. However, there are some scam artists out there that only show to win ribbons and make money breeding their dog to every mate possible after or during the dogs championship titles is being earned. These people do not do health testing and are just breeding for profit. With most dog showers, this is not the case however.
What you will seem more of is people who do not show and/or do health testing and charge high prices for their dogs.
But than there are some people who have accidental litters frequently because they can't afford to fix their dog and/or they don't want to. And they turn around and less the litter for a very low price just to get the pups off their hands. All of these are examples of backyard breeders (BYB's) and they are people you should avoid buying your next dog from.
The responsible breeder always has their dogs health tested for genetic defects, on both the sire and dam, before the dogs breed. They know the genetic health history of atleast 4 generations back of both the sire and dam. That way, they know that even if the sire and dam both come back free of defects on their tests they can look back into the pedigree to see if there was any other relatives with genetic defects. If there is, that signals to the breeders that the sire or dam could be a carrier of the defect (skipped over one or more generations) and the defect can still be passed on to the offspring. If that happens, they will not breed the dogs and the carrier will get fixed.
Some breeders will claim to have tested their dogs but haven't. Ask for paper work but don't stop there. Ask for the name, number, and location of the vet they got the tests done at and verify it with them. Also verify that the sire, dam, and pups are up to date on their shots with their vet. This may seem like alot, but if you are going to be paying acople hundred to a little over a thousand, depending on what breed of dog to decide on, and will be taking care of the dog for the next 15 years, you deserve to know.
I hope this helps you. This is only a small glimpse into the world of dog breeding. I will post links to website that will further explain why dog showing is important for dog breeders, how to find a responsible breeder, breed info on BG's, and how to avoid BYB's.
So, any ideas would help, or if anyone knows of any Brussels Griffon breeders let me know 
