I am sure that in your research for a puppy you have stumbled across the “List of Questions to Ask a Breeder”. More than likely you have seen and hopefully read more than one version and from these different version compliled your own list. These lists are great tools and offer sound advice, HOWEVER, there are a few questions that NONE of these lists address.
The purpose of this page is to finally address these questions and what to look out for. My hope is that after you have read this you will beaware that not all breeders are not all that they present themselves to be or who they want you to THINK they are. The old adage “Do Not Judge a Book By It’s Cover” most definitely hold true when looking for a puppy.
Ask if the breeder still has their Foundation dogs
Almost all breeders state that that they seek out FOREVER homes for the puppies they produce. Many even practice that art of showing and chasing the “ever important” title.
The question is, Do they practice what they preach?
Sadly the answer is NO. A large number of breeders practice what is called retiring and placing. Once a dog/bitch cannot perform or produce any longer they are thrown away(placed or retired). Although these dogs/bitches have spent their life there and given so much to the breeder they are discarded without a second glance because they can no longer line the pockets or the ego of the breeder. Have these dogs not earned the right to live their life out with the only family they have known? IF these dogs have TRULY been your friend, companion, and family members for years How, then, can some breeders simply throw them away, often for the purpose of making room for a new puppy!! THINK ABOUT IT!!!! How is this practice RESPONSIBLE?
If the breeder says, “ I couldn’t possibly keep every dog until it passes, if I did I would have X number of dogs” Well my friends, if this is the case then the breeder more than likely has TOO MANY dogs.
Things To Look For…
Look at how long they have been breeding compared to the age of their oldest dog. If they have been breeding for 10 years but their oldest dog is only 2 or 3, be very leery.
How long is the Health Warranty?
You should have At Least a 2 yr. Warranty since many genetic defects can take this long to show up. Hips can not even be tested until 2 yrs of age. Even puppies from Health Tested parents can still have problems.
DEMAND to see where the dogs and/or puppies are kept. Are they kept and treated as members of the family? Or are they in a kennel (a state-of-the art kennel is still a kennel) like livestock. If they are kept inside, ask how? If they are inside but confined to Crates only getting let out to go outside, this is still a form of Indoor kenneling, and is often a source of mental tourture to a dog. If they have more dogs than time RUN. If they have to many dogs to keep them in anything but a kennel, RUN FAST!! If the breeder refuses to let you come to their home to see where and how the dogs are kept LOOK ELSEWHERE, DO NOT BUY THEIR PUPPY!!!! Any responsible breeder should Encourage you to visit, be sure to see ALL of the dogs and puppies.
BEAWARE!!! An all CH pedigree DOES NOT make a breeder responsible. Showing their dogs DOES NOT make them responsible. Unfortunately, many of the breeders who regularly use the above practices are “show breeders” Their goal is ego based looking for the next big winner, as a result the concept of it being about the dogs is lost. The sad truth is many of these dogs are nothing more than Ego boosters, sperm banks, and uteruses, all used to make the NEXT big winner. It is a vicious cycle and the real loser is the dogs. To Better Understand Why this is true Please read our CONTRACTS, and CO-OWNERSHIPS pages.
