New here. Questions about breeder etc - Page 1

Pedigree Database

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by StevieLee on 10 May 2020 - 20:05

Hello,
I’ll be receiving a puppy and the end of June and given it’s the first puppy I am purchasing I have a few questions hopefully some if you can help me with.

Upon contacting the breeder he forwarded me a link of the male and female which brought me to this website. All of the numbers etc really don’t make that much sense to me so I’m wondering if someone can briefly explain watch I should be looking for when I am looking up the male and female of which my puppy is from.

I’ll be giving the reader a deposit later this week and should there be any questions I should ask him in particular?

by Nans gsd on 10 May 2020 - 21:05

Ask for health checks. Can you post pedigree of the puppy, if not you want to see paperwork and pedigree along with any other papers on puppy. Is he/she SV, AKC, OR othewise. How did you choose this breeder, etc. Good luck. all this should be settled prior to sending deposit as most of the deposits given are NON refundable.  

 

Are you able to see sire/dam and chose your puppy.  Also need to see how and where puppies are raised in their environment.  What training have parents had as well as the puppy training.  These are just a few of the things you need to find out.


Hundmutter

by Hundmutter on 11 May 2020 - 05:05

Hi, & welcome to PDB.

Re the Health Tests - don't just take the word of the seller these have been done, ask to see the paperwork that proves the results ! A genuine experienced breeder won't mind you asking and will be willing to show you, in fact will be pleased you are taking so much interest. Be prepared, too, to be asked a lot of questions about yourself and the home you will be providing; good breeders care what happens to their puppies. And if you are really worried about something you see or hear, steel yourself to be prepared to say No, and walk away. Every puppy bought against a buyers gut reaction makes room for the puppy miller to breed another one badly. Never buy a pup without seeing it with its mother (even if only on a video link).

On page 2 of this list of recent topics, there is a post "Pedigree Traits". If you call that thred up and read through it, you can learn what the letters and numbers etc in the pedigree stand for.


srfwheat

by srfwheat on 13 May 2020 - 11:05

Hand mutter and Nans are spot on with the answers to your questions. Ethical Breeders really are pleased to show you health testing reports, pedigrees, DNA results (on both parents), etc. I’d be wary of a Breeder that doesn’t show you the mother or at least videos of the puppies with the mother. Beware of Breeders who when you ask to see the mother tell you the mother was recently shipped “overseas“ in order to do police or K9 work (so soon - really?). The sire could be onsite to view or be an outside stud but ask to see pictures or videos of him. Also, the sire could possibly be overseas (frozen semen) or the dam could have been impregnated overseas and shipped to your country. So unless the puppy itself is an import, be wary. There are Breeders that buy up cheap 200 or 300 dollar litters from people, register them as their own and then sell them for higher prices ranging from 1500 to 2000 dollars. My wish is that in America AKC could pop in unannounced with DNA test in hand and shut down these unethical Breeders. Good luck to you. 


by GSCat on 17 May 2020 - 01:05

When you get to the breeder's facility, look, listen and SMELL. It shouldn't smell bad, as in dog poop not cleaned up and/or neglected/sick dogs. If the breeder's in a rural area, there may be farm smells (no problem). All dogs on the premises should be in good health, clean, and not smell bad. Allow for playing in the mud ;-)

Ask to see a copy of the vet records for the puppies. When you pick up your puppy, the breeder should give you a copy (some actually give the original), at least of the shots and worming(s).  Male sure you get the name, phone number, and address of your breeder's vet.  If your breeder has the puppies microchipped, you'll also need the information for your puppy's chip.

Find out what kind of registration you can get for your puppy (full versus limited). If there are conditions to get full registration, make sure they're in the contract. There may be a price difference for full versus limited registration. Make sure you get papers to register your puppy (or signed registration papers for transfer of ownership if the puppy is already registered). Ask if the breeder will take the puppy/dog back (generally without paying you) if something unforeseen happens (handler death/severe incapacitation, etc.).

General puppy stuff:

When I picked up my puppy (many hours/hundreds of miles away), I stopped at my vet with her on the way home (I had made an appointment for her before picking her up), so the vet could check her and her records, advise what needed to be done and when, microchip her, and get her into his system as an established patient. That way, if there were a major problem that couldn't be resolved telephonically with the breeder/breeder's vet, I could have turned around and driven directly back to the breeder. Having the puppy as an established patient also meant I could call the vet and ask questions if I needed to, and if anything had happened after hours, I was assured of getting to see my vet instead of going to the really expensive emergency vet.

Before I picked up my puppy, I got a couple of collars, leashes, stainless water and food bowls, food, toys, a travel crate, and a crate pad. You'll want to get some of the same food the breeder feeds even if you want to change later so it can be done gradually. The breeder can advise on amount and frequency. I got a puppy Kong and a regular Kong for the trip home, but the puppy Kong was too small for 9 week old German Shepherd, so I'm glad I had the larger size, too :-) The blue radiopaque Kongs (NOT the blue puppy Kong) show up on x-rays in case your pup manages to chew a piece off and swallow it. I've only seen the radiopaque ones at a vet's office or K9 supply places. Never at PetSmart, etc.
The Kong plastic travel crate and an "indestructible" washable crate pad were perfect for my puppy for the long trip. She outgrew them quickly, but they were easy to clean.

Before I got my puppy, I got a couple of tags made for her. The one side was blank, as she didn't have a name, yet, but I had my phone number, my vet's phone number, and a couple of alternate phone numbers on the other side. That way, if something had happened, there was contact information for her on a tag on her collar :-) This was especially critical because of the length of the trip. As soon as my puppy had her name, I had tags made with her name :-)

Before puppy comes home, puppy-proof your home. Kind of like toddler-proofing. Otherwise your puppy could get hurt and/or your possessions destroyed.

If you're going to crate train, get the crate before puppy comes home. I despise the wire ones because my puppy got her teeth stuck around two adjacent wires and her head/neck/body were twisted in a few different directions and she could have seriously hurt herself jerking/pulling backwards trying to get free (she didn't know to open her mouth wider to back out).

Have a great time with your new puppy. The bond you and he/she make now will last a lifetime and are the foundation for training (never too early to start).
 


Hundmutter

by Hundmutter on 17 May 2020 - 02:05

GSCat - an absolutely excellent and very detailed / well thought out list. Hope StevieLee is still around and reading these comments, but even if they are not, IMO this is a pretty good post for casual browsers to read when setting out on the puppy owning trail. I'd venture to say an awful lot of whats been said applies to the purchase of an older dog too, for those e.g. buying their first sports dog. Spot on !

by GSCat on 17 May 2020 - 02:05

Hundmutter--thank you.






 


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