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.
