Safe puppy buying and selling - Page 1

One cannot go wrong by personally investigating the living conditions and parental temperament before handing over a very large chunk of change for your next "furbaby" family member.

There are two very good reasons. (1) Support those who provide us with wonderful German Shepherd Dogs and (2) do not give even one penny to those who try to "do it on the cheap at the expense of others". If we did not give money to those who operate to the detriment of their dogs, those people would all soon be out of business.

If you are a breeder, do not breed your bithches to a dog that is "skin and bones", "no teeth to speak of", neurotic/crazy/spinning '"nerve bag". The poor dog in that condition needs to go to rescue or a kind soul who can give it a good life to the best of their ability.

Don't buy a dog just from pretty pictures on the internet with a "good pedigree".

Give your money to a really good breeder who does everything they believe is necessary to properly care for their shepherds and their pupies. It is really hard work and very labor intensive. Good breeders welcome you to their kennels and are very proud of their dogs and how they care for their puppies. They want puppy buyers who go that extra mile or long drive or cross country flight for a face-to-face meeting. It really is good for everybody. They most likely will have rules and require plastic booties and hand sanitzers, but that is a good thing.

We don't all have the same standards about what that good kennel is, but, if we all made sure that our standards are being met by those we buy our puppies from, the dog world would be much improved.

Vote with your dollars, trust but verify,

People selling puppies want to know that they will have a good life and be well cared for.

How do you go about doing that? I would live to hear.

Michele and Pharaoh vom Banach

Hi, I sure agree with you! Be very careful about who you buy puppies from. Today with the internet it is so easy to be missled. I found one web site who was using some of my pictures of my dogs to sell their pups! How would enyone, expectialy a novice ever know it waas not true?

Try going to the home of the pups, meet the breeders and see the other dogs and their enviroment. We have been breeding German Shepherds for 29 years now and have had the oppertunity to sell families their 3rd and forth dog from us, we were there while they went through puppy hood, and also there for them when it came time to say good bye to their dear old friend. We even had people bring their dogs ashes to our place to spread so they could "Come Home" ! 

I think the main thing when deciding if a home will be a good one for your pups is to talk to the people, spend as much time with them as you can, even if it is on the phone. Ask them lots of question without them realy knowing you are asking. I have been asked why I don't have a questionare to fill out for new puppy people. I beleive people will put down whatever you want to hear. Go with your heart, you will know when something is just not right. In 29 years I have had only one bad home, and I bought the puppy back at twice the price, and lots of "convinsing". My husband says if you are not sure about someone then do not sell them a pup! Our pups are like our kids, we become rather possesive over them!

Heather - Broomeacres German Shepherds

www.broomeacresgermanshepherds.com

I agree with you as well. It also goes both way's with the breeder's being very careful as to who they are selling their puppies to as well. In both case's it helps to investigate and by all means get references from vets, puppy buyer's, etc.

i do not breed often, (3 litters in 7 years) but I require sthe following:

Several visits to my home by the potential buyer,

A visit to their home if local

If they have current dogs, cats I ask for the rabies tag/dog lis. number then check with the township if infact the dog is licensed. (refering to curent or previous dogs

vet references

pictures of their fenced yard

I check to see my adult dogs reactions to the buyers and visa versa . (what cute puppies but here is what they will be like full grown)

I also  give then the choce between CERTAIN pups. I will not allow a very hight drive pup to go to a pet home

if they don't like my way of doing things then they are not the people i want to have one of my pups

also extensive questioneer. 

I agree with all of your posts, but I have a question relating to something on K9sar’s list (pictures of their fenced yard). I’ll give you my story and then pose my question. It’s going to sound a little bit like a vent, but I really am curious.

I am not a breeder, but have recently bought my tenth GSD. I also grew up with GSDs because my parents owned nothing else. At any given time I’ve owned 1-3. I have never shown or competed with any of my dogs, but they were all well trained in obedience. Most did either agility or PPD (for fun) and the ones that didn't loved playing ball or Frisbee. I have used the same professional trainer (training with me) for my last 3 and will use his services again for my new little guy. I like him because he’s able to help me get the most out of my dogs, whatever that happens to be. After 10 GSDs, I know the breed pretty well, or at least know more than the “average” pet owner (Since I found this site I’m learning lots more).

Having owned a few with extremely high drives, I would consider myself an experienced handler. I have an extremely flexible schedule that allows me to spend tons of exclusive time with my dog(s). It is a rare day that I don’t devote at least 2 hours to one-on-one training/play/exercise. I don’t just put in the time because I know they need it, I genuinely enjoy spending time with my dog(s). It is my absolute favourite thing to do. I’m also in a position now that my new pup can accompany me to my office so he’s by my side almost all the time, and will be always. I do not have any other pets and decided long ago that owning a GSD is more fulfilling than a relationship…hahaha...this of course means I live alone.

Here’s my thing. I live in an apartment in the downtown core of a large city. I had a difficult time getting this pup because almost all of the breeders I contacted stopped the conversation the second I told them I didn’t have a fenced yard. Until this pup I had always been in a house. I even contacted the GSD rescue in my city and was told the same thing: “dogs will not be homed in apartments.” I never even got the chance to discuss my other dogs and the full lives they lead. I finally found a breeder that was willing to let me have one of their pups in an apartment, and while I’m thrilled with this little guy the breeder would not have been my first, second, or even third choice.

I guess I’m asking why so many breeders turned me away so quickly based solely on my living situation (apartment). I really didn’t get a chance to get into my other dogs because the type of place you live is usually a question that comes up early in a conversation. I know far too many people that own nice houses with nice backyards that come home only to open the sliding glass door to let the dog out. This makes up the bulk of the time the dog spends outside…alone in a fenced yard. Even if I wasn’t the type of person to do much with a dog, at a minimum, apartment dwellers are forced to walk their dogs at least three times a day. Apartment dogs often get far more exercise than the average dog that lives in a house. Even though I now live in an apartment, there are plenty of great parks around (where I spend a great deal of time with the pooch) and I also drive to other parks with great trails and wooded areas for him.

Sorry, I guess this is a long ramble....

I will also be taking the dog weekly to my trainer’s place (who has a huge property) and will probably be there more frequently when the pup is older so I can use his agility equipment.

Have you had problems placing dogs in apartments in the past? Is it just a precaution? Like I said, it may sound like a vent, but I really am curious. Should I have been more forceful with the other breeders (e.g. making them hear me out)? I didn’t because I also respect a breeder’s criteria for placing a dog. I would really appreciate your thoughts.

Karen

Hi London,

Like you I am not a breeder. Even though I have 1/3 acre of fully fenced land on a hillside, I don't have a kennel. I work at home and occasionally visit client's offices. I bring my dog(s) with me.

You are so right about a yard making it possible for me to be soooooo lazy. The first thing I do in the morning is open the sliding doot and throw a toy down the hillside. The end result is my dog looks like a miilion dollars and I am not as svelt as I would like to be.

This is not to say that I don't go for long walks and hike with my dog, it's just that I don't have the discilpline of having to do that three times a day. Since I feed raw dog food, there are no big fat stinky kibble poops on the hillside to pick up.

My guess is that many responsible breeders fear that their precious puppy that they entrust to you will spend all day long in a small crate. They also may fear the puppy will end up in a rescue for going on search and destroy missions while left in the apartment all day.

Hey Pharoh, I hope I didn't offend you in any way. I'm not saying that every dog owner in a house is lazy :-) I was just saying that many house dogs don't get the exercise they should. Chasing toys up and down a hill sounds fantastic and I'm actually a little jealous as it would be nice to be able to do on a rainy day :-) Haha...I'd probably be a little more svelt myself if I had to actually chase the ball or frisbee too. My little guy is also 100% raw fed, so no gloppy stools to pick up constantly. A real bonus when we're just going for a walk along sidewalks.

When someone owns their own home they control the decision about having a dog.  When someone rents the landlord controls the decision about whether a dog is allowed or not and that can change overnight. This may be part of the reason breeders are so quick to eliminate you. Also all too often apt dwellers will tell a breeder that dogs are allowed when in fact they are not - then  2,6,12 months later the dog gets tossed because the owner "couldn't" ( yeah right) find a place that allowed dogs. It's a fact of life that many have had experinece with.

Next time I would start the discussion out about your past dogs and what you did with them and that's why you want another GSD and then up front say - I now live in an apartment and this is how I manage etc etc.

London, no offense was taken.

When you are approaching a breeder, bring references with you.

Your landlord

Your veterinarian.

Past breeders

A note from your self explaining how you live and how long you have been doing that.

Be proactive, send those bona fides and say "Please don't make an immediate decision. Please check my refernces and then let's talk."