How To Pick A Breeder...

[ToddPugLover]

Hi All --

I'm going to be creating some content for a website of mine that deals with how to pick a dog breeder.

I would like to ask you all, what kind of information would you like to see in it? I'm going to provide some basic information like what questions to ask your breeder, what questions you should expect from your breeder, what to look for in a breeder, etc. But I was hoping to find out what other kind of information would be useful.

This will be focused on people wanting to adopt pure bred dogs and what they should look for.

Adopters - What are some of your worries? What are some of the questions you would like to have answered?

Breeders - What information would you like potential adopters to know before they contact you?

Thank you all for your input.

 

[BlackDog]

I'm a strong believer that to pick a responsible breeder you need to know how a responsible breeder thinks. Some of them can be indimidating asking you tons of questions about your life style and dropping a ten tons of information on your head. Beware of a breeder that is very lax about your intentions for their puppy. Ask how long a the health warrenty lasts. A good breeder will provide a life time health warrenty for any defect that was a direct result of their breeding program. A good breeder is welling to take back the dog at any point in the dogs life time regardless of what problem may arise, but that doesn't mean you are going to get your money back if the problem was not the fault of the breeder.

Having said that, read up on dog breeding books, particularlly the parts about re-homing and contracts the breed will require you to sigh. Ex. fixing, anything relating to the dog current and future health, puppies price, etc...
This will give you an idea of what to expect and what to watch out for. Good Luck!!

 

[showpug]

Here are the top 10 things I look for in a reputable breeder:

1.) A reputable breeder only breeds 1-2 litters per year on average.
2.) A reputable breeder always supplies a sales contract, health agreement/guarantee, copy of the pedigree, vaccination history and if the puppy is to be a pet, they will also supply a spay/neuter agreement.
3.) A reputable breeder will ask the buyer a lot of questions and generally require a home visit, interview or for a written questionaire to be completed.
4.) A reputable breeder never sells a puppy before they reach at least 8 weeks of age.
5.) A reputable breeder breeds within the written standard for the breed and they compete in some form of competition with their dogs to make sure they are not breeding in a vacuum based soley off their own personal preferences and opinions.
6.) A reputable breeder usually belongs to a breed club
7.) A reputable breeder usually picks the right puppy for you, not the other way around!
8.) A reputable breeder completes the necessary genetic health screens for their perticular breed prior to breeding!
9.) A reputable breeder maintains a relationship with their puppy buyers and serves as a breed mentor.
10.) A reputable breeder always demands all puppies that can't be kept for any reason are returned to the breeder!

 

[Saje]

I just want to add that it's good when a breeder asks you more questions than you ask them

 

[doberkim]

this is specific to the doberman, but can be applied more broadly to other breeds as well.

http://members.execulink.com/~korevaar/buyingguide.htm


a good breeder makes you PROVE that you are worthy of adopting their dogs. they produce PROVEn dogs that have the proper temperament, structure, working ability, and health.

 

[doberkim]

the other thing - contact local breed rescues and see what THEY have to say about your breeder.

if your breeder is the number one supplier of dogs to that rescue, then maybe reconsider