Sunday, August 12, 2012

Buying a Puppy? Decisions, Decisions, Decisions !!!


So, you want a puppy.  Or do you want an adult?  Do you want a retired show dog or one that the breeder kept to show but changed their mind for one reason or another?  Do you choose a male or a female?  Is color really a factor? 

So many choices, so much time.   And you do have time.  There should never be a rush to bring a dog into your household, by you the buyer, or by the seller trying to pressure you into buying a dog from them.

One should never feel pressured to buy a specific puppy or dog, but you should also respect the input of breeders with years of experience placing dogs, not just a breeder who sells puppies.  There is a difference.  A placement takes into consideration the dog, it’s personality, and the prospective new family, their needs, desires, and accommodations.

For some reason people think a ‘rescue’ dog or a ‘shelter’ dog is fine to bring into their home with  no family or actual dog history available, but would not consider an older puppy, adult, or retired champion from a reputable breeder.  Dogs from reputable breeders should never end up in a rescue, shelter, or auction.  Any dog we place can come back to us at anytime the owner is unable to keep them, for any reason.  A reputable breeder is there for you 24-7 for the life of the dog.  Our ‘puppy people’ can call us any time, day or night.  We would much rather get a call in the middle of the night that turns out to be nothing, instead of the dreaded phone call a few days later, because the owner didn’t know what to do or who to call.  Many people think the price of a puppy is ‘too high’, well a lot goes in to breeding quality dogs.  Many people also think an older dog should be a lot less.  Why?  It’s not a used car with a lot of miles.  An older dog has already been trained.  Many, many hours, and sometimes a lot of money, has gone into raising that critter. Yes, you miss out on that itty-bitty-puppy stage.  But you also miss out on him teething on your antique dining room chair, peeing on the imported rug in the living room, teaching him to lay down and stay to be groomed, and having to wait 2 years to see if they pass their health certifications.  So, why would you think that dog is worth less?  We recently placed Red Dog, a fully health certified, young adult Bichon male that is an American Grand Champion and a Canadian Champion with multiple Group Placements in the US and Canada.  What is all of that experience, maturity, and training (and trainability) worth?  Why would it be worth less than nothing?

The days are long gone of ‘large breeding kennels.’  It was common for top breeders to be wealthy people with a large kennel building, a kennel manager, and 150 to 200 or more animals.  These were controlled environments with each breeding carefully planned, and everything completely documented.  Those breeders produced many of the great bloodlines that are still out there today.  A reputable breeder today is generally a small ‘operation’ out of our homes and dependent upon co-breeding with co-owners to keep the best that we produce and breed only to the best.  We live in regular houses, in subdivisions, some on small acreages, but usually with some type of ‘dog limit’ restrictions.  That is why you see breeders with adults available.  We can only keep so many, and while as in Red Dog’s case, I love him and miss him terribly, here he was one of many, and at his new home he is is quickly becoming a totally spoiled only dog.  I would love to have been able to place him and keep him in tact for a few years so that I could have bred to him again, his pedigree and health testing is fabulous, but instead, we put his happiness first.  It’s not like we place all of our adults, we have our dogs that will always be with us, some are retired show dogs, some not, most are spayed or neutered.  The oldest is my Mom’s dog, Maggie.  She is a 22 year old toy breed mix that came to live with us just before my Mom passed away.  She has her monthly chiropractor/acupuncture appointment and when isn’t demanding to be held, she is either sleeping or wandering around the house.  Are we crazy to spend that kind of money on a dog most breeders would not have kept?  Maybe, but she is a good dog that brought much joy to my mom, so she will always get the best care we can afford.

When you see kennels with hundreds of dogs today - think Puppy Mill.  Those are people who breed to make money.  They breed whatever they have, don’t care about pure-bred dogs, health testing, or pedigrees.  They are on a first name basis with the cargo guys at the airport because they ship crates full of puppies every week. 

If you pay $2,000 for a dog, that sounds a ton of money, and it is, for most of us.  But, when you break it down, if that dog lives 15 years, that purchase price equals $2.57 per week.  If you buy a 4 year old for the same price, with the same life expectancy it ‘boosts’ the price to a whopping $3.50 per week.  I would hazard a guess that many of us have spent more than that at Starbucks for a coffee, at least once a week.

Since many breeders require a deposit to be on their waiting list, they will also consider a payment program, so you do not have to come up with the cash all at once.  We had a family waiting for a puppy from a specific female.  They put a deposit down well before she was even bred.  By the time their new puppy goes home it will be paid for without a large cash outlay all at once. 

If you are honest with your breeder, you will be amazed at how easy this can be and how fabulous your puppy is.  If you lie to your breeder, or yourself, about your life, your history with dogs, or your abilities, that prevents placement of the right dog.  You will probably NOT end up with the companion of your dreams.

The following link provides some excellent information and tips on buying a puppy (from Joanna Kimball, Blacksheep Cardigans):


I must say that I agree with a lot that she writes about in that article.  There is good information to consider no matter what breed.  

One thing that I must emphasize is Health Testing and Certification. 
This is NOT a ‘vet check’ or a health certificate from a vet. 
There are specific standards that must be met to pass an OFFA Health Certification. 
Whether you want a show dog or strictly a companion, ask about health testing.  Get the registered names and registration numbers of the parents, and/or the name and number of the dog you are interested in.  Go to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals website, http://www.offa.org, and look for those dogs.  It is a relatively easy site to get around.  If you have any questions, call us and we would be happy to help you through it.  The parents should both be there.  Why?  Because all health testing can be completed after the age of 2 years.  If the parents are too young for their health testing, what was the hurry?  Why are they breeding puppies to make more puppies?  There are plenty of puppies out there born to parents who were old enough, and have passed their health certifications, and had them posted to the OFFA site for everyone to see.  Check the parents, check their siblings.  Just finding a dog on there doesn’t mean everything.  Many dogs are listed there that have not passed.  Remember, all information is good information, and will help you make a better decision.  If a 14 month old dog is there and has, for example, their Cardiac certification, why isn’t the patella certification listed?  Both of those tests can be done at 12 months of age.  Did they not pass, or does the breeder not think that having good knees are important?  If the dog is over 2 years old, you should be able to find certification results for at very least:  hips, elbows, heart, CERF(eyes) and patellas (knees).  We also like to see the thyroid test.  Many clubs recommend BAER hearing certification, although that is getting more difficult to find.  We have to drive 3 hours each way to a university to have it done, at $65 per dog.  If you are looking at a dog over the age of 1 year, some testing (eyes, heart, patellas) should be there.  If not, ask the breeder why, and if they will take the dog to a vet and have it done.  Honestly, sometimes you just lose track of time, and don’t realize that one dog’s testing did not get completed.  These tests are not expensive, and the dog you are buying is, so it shouldn’t be a problem for the breeder to do this for you...and their bloodline.

Ask questions, if it pisses off the breeder, there are more out breeder out there, find another one.  Feel free to ask about other breeders.  Some people have sour grapes (the breeder you just asked about kicks their butt in the show ring) so it is your responsibility to make sure that you have correct information.  Do not take anything at face value.

This is a lifetime ‘partnership of personalities’ so if you don’t ‘click’ with a specific breeder now, tell them ‘Thank You” and move on, because you probably won’t get along with them any better later.

I hope this gives you more to think about when making this important decision.
Wishing you all the best in your search for the next member of your family.