What is a reputable breeder and how do you find one? |
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| Author:
| Prothis
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| Submitted: |
29-Feb-2004 14:11:52 |
| Imported From: |
zZine (original author: Prothis)
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| If you are looking for a pure-bred puppy to be the perfect addition to your family, then it is well worth your while to find a reputable breeder.
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So, what is a reputable breeder? And how do you find one? I will give you a general guideline to follow, as well as a questionnaire for you to print out. You can take the questionnaire with you when you visit any potential breeder.
A REPUTABLE breeder will:
- breed only one, or maybe two breeds.
- not breed to make money
- in fact they will probably be lucky to break even.
- probably have a waiting list, but definitely NOT have puppies available year
- round
- ask you a lot of questions, such as where you live, if you have children, your work schedule, and about other pets. This is not to see if you are "worthy" of one of their puppies, rather to make sure the breed is right for you, and even to match a particular puppy specifically to your family
- provide you with a pedigree for both the puppy's parents
- guarantee the puppy's health
- not place a puppy in a new home before 7
- 8 weeks of age
- often keep at least one puppy from each litter for their breeding program, otherwise what was the point of the breeding?
- take back one of their puppies or dogs AT ANY TIME
- in fact they will ask that you return the dog to them if for ANY reason you cannot keep it
- be responsible for each and every puppy they bring into this world, for the its entire life
- offer you continuing support and training advice throughout the puppy's life
- insist that buyers of pet puppies spay/neuter their puppy, and have some method of enforcement
- be involved with their breed(s) club, and other activities, such as showing their dogs, agility, obedience training
- educate the buyer about any potential genetic problems in their breed. ALL breeds have them! If a breeder can only tell you that the puppy will be checked by a vet, then they do not have the information they need to breed healthy dogs
- encourage all puppy owners to test their puppies for various health problems and report them back to the breeder so that the breeder has a broad, as well as a deep knowledge of what is in his/her lines
A reputable breeder produces a litter only after careful consideration of the physical qualities and temperament of the proposed parents, their individual strengths and weaknesses, how their pedigrees (ancestors) relate, and what the proposed breeding would contribute to the improvement of the breed. This is often a difficult and time-consuming process, therefore, it is not surprising to find that a responsible breeder considers the puppies as his/her "kids" and wants only the best homes for them.
ABOVE ALL, dogs of reputable breeders are beloved family members first! Their canine "kids" live in the house with them, and are loved and respected just like the other family members. If this is not the case when you visit a potential breeder, JUST WALK AWAY!
If you need help finding a reputable breeder You can find almost any breed club on the Internet just by doing a search for that specific breed. You can also attend a local dog show and talk to the owners/handlers there.
Below is some questions to ask when choosing a breeder.
The first and most important question to ask is:
Why does the breeder breed? If for any other reason than to improve the health and temperament of the breed, then this is NOT A REPUTABLE BREEDER. You do not need to ask any more questions. Following a favorable response to that first question, here are some other crucial points to find out:
What is the breeder's experience in raising and training this breed?
How many dogs/breeds of dogs does the breeder have?
Where do the dogs live?
Is the breeder involved with the breed club?
What activities does the breeder participate in?
Does the breeder support any health registry by contributing information on dogs in the pedigree, even if those dogs are not going to be bred?
What are the potential genetic problems with this breed?
What kind of support will the buyer receive before and after the purchase of the puppy?
Can the buyer return the puppy for any reason it doesn't work out?
How old will the puppies be when placed in their new homes?
How do they evaluate the temperament of each puppy?
How do they match each buyer with each puppy? Can the buyer just pick any puppy? Or will the breeder interview the buyer and try to make the match?
What steps are being taken to properly socialize each individual puppy? Are they exposed to children, other dogs, cats, and a variety of other people?
Are pet buyers required to spay/neuter their puppy? At what age, and how is this enforced?
**Remember** The breeder should be asking you a lot of questions about you and your lifestyle.
This article was written by: Catfancy
This article was originally published by CyberArmy.net in the CyberArmy Library.
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