What do you want from a breeder? - Page 1

It's been awhile since I've really participated in an indepth discussion related to the breeding world, I will participate as best as I can in this one as my time & energy allows me.  I was talking today with some very close friends who are breeders about what their puppy buyers want and expect.  It is interesting to note that often what one buyer focuses on is radically different from what other buyers focus on, sometimes these things are purely sentimental and sometimes they're purely pragmatic.  

I want to get away from the generics, it is a given that the majority of educated buyers want dogs out of parents who have good temperaments, health clearances and some buyers insist on the parents being fully titled, breed surveyed, etc.   I don't want this to be a debate, this is purely about what specific details, no matter how minute, that you look for in the breeder that you purchase from.  Perhaps you put more weight on the breeder, perhaps you put more weight on the parents of the puppy you're looking to buy, perhaps it's all about the puppy itself.    For most of us, I think, we have several things on our list of needs that must be met before we make a purchase.  

I know that my checklist has changed over the last 10 years, some things I never considered at all more than a decade ago have now become very important to me...and other things that I used to dislike I am now neutral towards or even like (such as longcoats!)  

For me, aside from passing common health clearances, it is the parents' characters that are big on my list, I want to meet the sire and dam and observe their behavior.  I want to see calm, confident dogs who show no hint of spookiness and are clearly devoted to their person(s) and have very good focus, very good attention span.   My first dog spoiled me with her passion for learning, always listening, always ready at a moments notice to do whatever I wanted to do.  
I don't want to see a robot dog, I don't want to see a hyper-drive dog.  I want to see an attentive, intelligent dog who acts and reacts appropriately and is safe with every non-threatening being.    
I love a good looking animal, I very strongly appreciate good structure... but a dog with the best character looks far better than anything else.  

Ok, so thats my personal must-have, what is yours?  Is it a particular health concern?  Drives?  Structure?  Diet the mother was fed?  Something to do with the breeders themselves?  must-have-first-born-male-of-the-litter?  Or??? 

simple; i want them to know a lot about what they are producing and to be brutally honest in discussions with customer and allow for the fact that most customers do not know what they don't know and in fact know little of the questions they should even be asking, i would expect the good breeder to educate the buyer honestly as required and to provise "after sales service" like the dog was their own.

Agree with vk about the need for breeders to be honest with me, and for the
need for a genuine lifetime help commitment when I get a dog from them.

Unfortunately having helped my mentor with running her kennel and even sold pups
for her in her absence, I learned that a lot of prospective buyers are themselves
less than honest.  And less than interested in stuff they ought to be, about e.g. the
health of their purchase.  It is a two-way street !   I admire breeders who will suss
this out and not sell to anyone who worries them in that way, no matter how long
it takes them to find homes for the litter.  But I'm not sure that would be obvious to
an honest customer, you need a bit of an inside view on whether that happens !

I like breeders who explain health testing to me and produce evidence without being
asked for it, even when I'm clearly not a novice.  I like breeders who provide me with
a written puppy-pack (preferably their own, not just a commercial one from an insurer or
dogfood co.) so that I have details like worming dates etc written down, to come back
to at home once the excitement of collecting the pup is over.  

What do I want from a breeder besides health, temperament, bloodlines of the pups?

I want to have access to his property,
I want to be able to see all of his dogs,
I want him to train and title his dogs by himself,
I want him to be honest about temperament and working abilities of his dogs,
I want him to keep pups for himself out of his own breeding,
I want him to own not more than 4 or 5 adult dogs,
I want him to follow up dogs he sold ( health, temperament, conformation )
I want him to be proud of his dogs without bad mouthing others.

Edit, because I forgot:
I want to see outgoing, happy dogs with a strong bond to their owner/breeder - very important for me.

Honesty

A dog, basically.  I don't really have blanket requirements.  I do my own homework as to the genetics and pedigree. I wouldn't give money to someone I thought was a complete scumbag, but I don't necessarily hold them to the same or higher standards then I hold myself.

Hi,

We looked and looked for a puppy for 3 years....seeing a huge amount of breeders....
WELL>>>>

What we (7 house holds) wanted was the following:

DAD:      A1 hips and elbows, titled, all ancestors to have hip ratings and no worse than A2( and not all of them A2)  DM clear
Good temperament, size and not timid or shy, friendly when introduced.
No over/ under bite....no walking on hocks, no cow hocks either and nice tight feet.

MOM:     A1 hips and elbows, titled, all ancestors to have hip ratings and no worse than A2( and not all of them A2)  DM clear
Good temperament, size and not timid or shy, friendly when introduced.
No over/ under bite, no walking on hocks, no cow hocks either and nice tight feet.

Puppies:  Good temperament, not timid or shy or overly yappy( constant whining), must be friendly.
Male puppies should have nice big blocky Muzzles and heads (no fox/rat looking puppies)
Female puppies should have nice heads and muzzles,does not have to be blocky, just a good fit (no fox/rat looking puppies)
Puppies: Tight feet, no over bites or under bites, no walking on hocks!!!, No cow hocks either!, no standoffish barking, no food or toy guarding with growls( at 8 weeks of age like they want to rip your hand off)


FROM the breeder and his/her kennels:   An outside kennel (not in your kitchen) is always preferred!!!  it would be nice to see kennels with runs( have half grass or astroturf) not just concrete and also doggy doors that leads to their runs( house training for your puppy buyers are so much better and they will always recommend you!!!!!!!!!!!.)
Clean kennels! DRY Kennel floors ( I HATE SEEING PUPPIES SIT IN WATER ( bleach) ALL DAY!) 90% of kennels we saw had this going on! ( puppies soaked and shivering) Smelling like bleach and pee.
Tell the truth about the food you are giving the puppies....this is so important yet everyone lies and then puppies get mayor upset tummies...WHY lie? ( most say "oh I feed only the best like Orijen or raw"...But the truth.. a bag of Puppychow) 
Specific birth date.... Not he is 8 weeks old but in reality only 6 weeks. Doctored the papers too...
List the prices of the puppies... I  hate getting the "oh you live in Palm Beach" price!
Really ship the correct puppy (if a buyer pays for the pick...send them the pick) 

We went to a lot of kennels, Show line/ working line, German Imports, BIG kennels, Small kennels, kennels just starting up, and ones that's been doing this for 35+ years.
well, that is about it... sorry for the ranting....like I said it took 3 years of searching.




 

If full price is paid for a puppy, I expect FULL AKC Registration NOW, not two years after I've raised trained and exrayed the dog. Talked to a "breeder" after finding a litter of pups with the type pedigree I'm looking for (which isn't easy to come by) , asked some pertinent questions, such as how do the puppies look? The answer was, they're only a week and half old so there isn't much to see. Really?
Then after telling me yes , full AKC reg, AFTER AFTER. I asked, how long have you been breeding GSDs....the answer was a hesitant (had to think about it), "ten years."
Being as I saw no evidence of that on his site, as he only has ONE imported, after titles and sold prego, Czech female, I asked, how many females do you own? He said, there's five in the litter. Ok, let's try this way, how many litters have you bred? Crickets. Ok, how many Adult, breeding females do you own? Answer, just one.
Ok, now I explain the problem I have with believing he will be around (he's a transplant from the north), after we've invested two years into a pup, to get FULL registration on the dog. And I didn't want to hear the obligatory, "trust me, I'll still be around." so I thanked him and said I'd do business with a breeder who sells their pups with no strings.

As BIG BOB said...and it's so simple...HONESTY...Period!

I think of myself...as a person who breeds German Shepherds...as sort of a custodian of the breed as one that should stand up and help people who don't know as much about the breed...To explain as much as possible without overloading the person (potential puppy buyer)...

~Bob~

Forgot 1 thing...I guess it's a pet peeve...but I don't like breeders who withhold or charge more for a Registration...The only reason would be if there is a problem with the dog and shouldn't be bred...