When you talk to breeders about their puppies, there are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a disreputable, unethical, or irresponsible breeder:

The "breeder" lacks knowledge about the breed and the Breed Standard

The "breeder" shows ignorance or denial of genetic defects in the breed.

The "breeder" has no involvement in dog sports

The "breeder" doesn't let you observe the puppies or adults. (Since homeowners insurance and local laws vary greatly, a refusal to let you visit the kennels may not, in and of itself, be a bad sign. You should ak for and receive a satisfactory explanation.)

The "breeder" doesn't ask any questions about you, your family, lifestyle or accommodations for a dog.

The "breeder" has no documentation of health testing and cannot provide a pedigree.

The puppies are not social or look sickly.

How to read those ads. A few more things to look out for.

"Champion lines" - look instead for Champion sired or Champion parents. "Champion Lines" means there is one dog somewhere in that puppy's family that was a champion - it says nothing about the quality of the parents at all. Anyone can buy a puppy from a champion, but it does not mean that they have any other interest in the breed but to bank on the name and make money. The puppy may have been sold as a pet and an unethical person did not have the dog spayed/neutered and is still breeding puppies. Having a Champion in a pedigree is like having a billionaire relative. It doesn't mean that you are rich unless each generation from that relative has passed down the money.

"AKC Registration" or "AKC Papers" - So what? AKC registration does not guarantee quality. AKC papers are much like the title of a car; papers are issued to the junked Chevy on blocks in your yard just as easily as they are on a brand new, shiny Jaguar. AKC does not control breeding, approve litters, or guarantee temperaments. Unfortunately, in the hands of some unethical breeders, it doesn't even guarantee that the dog is purebred. AKC Registration is automatic if you buy from a reputable breeder - they will provide all necessary paperwork when you buy a puppy. It is not a selling point, and shouldn't be treated as one.

Be wary of other "registrations," as well. There are several groups that are registering dogs, even mixed breeds, for a fee.This registration means nothing, and is of no value to you. Not that AKC papers really mean much, either.

"Extra-Big", "Extra-Small" - breeders trying for extremes are rarely raising healthy dogs, and any ad that has to stress the size and weight of the dog to sell the puppies is suspect. Usually, these dogs are outside of the breed's norm and are subject to their own medical problems due to excessive size or lack of it.

"Rare" - Why? Are there too many defects for the animal to be bred? What kind of problems does this "rare" color or size entail? Medical? Behavioral? Shop with care.

"See Both Parents" - This is not usually a good thing. Rarely will a good breeder have the luck to own both dogs for the perfect litter. If you can see both parents, it may mean that the person had two dogs in the backyard and didn't supervise them carefully enough, resulting in puppies, or that they bred to a dog of convenience they already owned.

There are some good and very reasonable reasons to have both parents on site. However, you need to ask the right questions and understand why this is true. If the breeder doesn't have an answer, or the answer is something like, "Well, they were just such cute dogs . . ." or "We bought another dog so we could have puppies," you need to evaluate whether this breeder is doing the right thing. They might be, they might not. It's up to you to ask.

• Strive in each and every breeding to achieve the highest quality possible relative to the breed standard for conformation, trainability and temperament, in order to maintain our breed's characteristics.

• Use only physically sound, mature dogs of stable temperament for breeding. These characteristics are rarely, if ever, determined before the age of two for females.

• Continue to educate themselves regarding genetic diseases pertinent to the breed including, hip and elbow dysplasia. Documentation of hip and elbow screenings should be available to prospective puppy buyers. It should consist of an OFA, OVC or Penn Hip report and/or a letter of evaluation from a board certified Veterinary Radiologist.

• Apply the same high standards to outside bitches sent to their stud dogs as they apply to their own breeding stock.

• Match each puppy's personality as carefully as possible with a compatible buyer/family. Temperament testing of a litter before puppies are offered for sale is encouraged.

• Take appropriate steps to have each puppy examined by a licensed veterinarian for general health prior to placement. Each puppy should be vaccinated and de-wormed by a veterinarian.

• Encourage buyers of pet puppies to spay/neuter. Methods should include written spay/neuter contracts, limited registration and/or spay/neuter rebates.

• Endeavor to gain personal knowledge of the temperament and health of every dog they breed, or to which they breed, in order to gather information on which to base future breeding decisions. They share this information fully and honestly with other breeders and with prospective buyers.

• Sell breeding prospects to knowledgeable, ethical and experienced persons or are willing to help educate and guide novices. They should at any time accept the return of any dog/bitch their breeding program produces and they should always help when relocation is needed.

• Do not engage in misleading or untrue advertising and do not use GSDCA membership as a marketing tool.

• Do not sell, supply, donate or surrender any dog for which they are responsible to a pet shop, catalogue house, wholesale dealer in dogs, Humane Society or to a laboratory. They should have reasonable assurance that each individual receiving a dog will provide a home with appropriate shelter, restraint, control and responsible care.

• Encourage puppy buyers to go to puppy obedience classes to help their puppies to become better canine good citizens. The achievement of a Canine Good Citizen certificate should be encouraged.