What Is A Reputable Breeder? - Page 1

Ok, lets, as a group, try to figure this out:

1)  A reputable breeder probably doesn't have more than 2-3 litters per year.  And, maybe not that, depending on what they have in their kennel, and what the market will bear.

2)  A reputable breeder(Hence forth known as a RB) knows their dogs.  They are honest about their dogs.  No dog is perfect(well, my Largo is....Grinning wickedly....but she's a Rottie)Seriously, all dogs have some faults.  My Largo's faults are:  Roundish eye, and she could have a stronger topline.  Tempermentally, she is a bit on the soft side, but can do bite work with no problems, and is still maturing.

3)  A RB will screen his buyers.  While he might accept paypal or cc, he/she still interviews all buyers and asks a ton of questions, and requires references.

4)  A RB will do their best to determine what your needs are as an owner and place a dog with an appropriate temperment with you.

5)  A RB will screen against any genetic defects.

6)  A RB ****MIGHT NOT**** guarantee hips---hey, hips are not always about genetics, they can be about feeding and enviornment as well.  HOWEVER, and this is a biggie, they will be honest with you up front, and explain why they don't do those things.  They will caution you about being careful with jumping a dog too young, with rough housing on tile floors, with proper nutrition, etc....and, while they might not put it in writing, or they might do what I have done in the past(I offer a 50% guarantee---next pup is 50% off, or you get 50% of your money back when I have my next litter, or sooner, depending....but, I don't ask $3000.00 for a pup either, and all adults leave with OFA pre-lims or exrays)

7)  A RB will have a "first right of refusal" clause in their contract.

8)  A RB will likely have feeding/care requirements in their contract.

9)  A RB may put a dog on limited registration or co-ownership, until such time as the dog is "proven" worthy to be bred.

10)  A RB breeder does not breed anything that he/she would not be willing to keep a puppy from, or take a puppy back from.  While they might not actually keep a puppy, they should not breed dogs that they wouldn't be willing to buy a pup from.  Does that statement make sense?  Sounds choppy to me....

This is a short list.  Any additions?  More later, gotta run!

 All of the above an also:

1) Take back dogs that need to be rehome for wathever reasons and traine them if they need to

2) have an interest in the dog world. Brings their breeding stock to titles (sch or obedience or herding or show)

3) RB goes to seminar and try to get the best advice from the best people

4)ALWAYS SELL WITH GARANTEE ON HIP ELBOWS or wathever congenital or hereditary health problem ans I don't care if they jump-runan are crazy, if they are prone to HIP dysplasia they will have it period!

5) I don't care how many litters you do in a year if you respect all conditions..you are a RB

6) A RB is someone WHO CARES ABOUT THEIR DOGS, THE ONES THEY PRODUCE AND THE BREED..

A reputable breeder is one who has a reputation, it can be good or bad.    It mostly means someone who has been around long enough to be recognized by their peer's.    A reputation is a fragile thing, one wrong move and it can go to hell in a heartbeat.   Those who have a good reputation over a long period of time have earned it and notice I say a long period of time.   Some spend a lifetime working hard and doing things the right way.

Those are the one's to learn from.

JMO.

IMO either you gurantee hips and elbows or you don't.  Don't make buyers jump through hoops by proving the dog was fed to specs, exercised as directed, etc..  It's a  risk one takes as a breeder, part of the dog breeding game. How a breeder "makes good" on a dysplastic dog is a matter to be agreed upon by all involved parties. If I were buying or selling a dog represented as show/breeding quality, then I would expect either a full refund or a free replacement if that dog didn't clear its xrays. Also, I would not agree to returning the dog prior to receiving that compensation. Otherwise, sell all pups at pet prices and only guarantee against crippling HD.

So some the big kennels in Germany are not reputable breeders?  Two or three litters a year?  I think many of them would disagree..... 

Hip dysplasia is strictly genetic if the genes are not there the disease will not manifest,it can be influenced by the enviroment it the genes are present..but it is not caused by anything in the enviroment

Someone is not thinking through these conditions, and have not spent thousands and thousands on breeding the dogs they breed or spent years in training dogs up from nothing to have the best breeding stock that they can have, to say that a reputable breeder has only one or two litters a year.   And it seems that some breeders want to be mini-dictators in their contracts with conditions they cannot enforce.

A 50% refund guarantee sucks, and is rather self-serving as far as I am concerned.  The owner put 500% of emotion and finances into the dog, and the breeder is going to give back a 50% refund to them so they can buy another pup out of probably the same two dogs who screwed up the last time?  Give the buyer a chance to go somewhere else if that's what they want to do!  Or give them a replacement dog out of another unrelated litter.  But wait, the reputable breeder only produces one or two litters a year, so probably there aren't any unrelated litters coming along, and if they are..maybe a year down the road, whether that is a good time for the puppy buyer to raise a new puppy or not.

So, the breeder has feeding conditions in their contract?  So for instance, the puppy buyer must feed a mostly raw diet, and the breeder can renig on the guarantee if the buyer cannot prove they have been feeding a mostly raw diet?  So that means...people who have the most time and money get the best chance of a refund in the case that their dog has a GENETIC issue?  Yes, I know that enviroment and nutrition are factors in genetic issues.  But how much is not proven by scientific study to date.  Opinions are not concrete facts. 

By the way, I feed at least 50% raw to all of my dogs and 100% raw to my litters.  Why? Because I believe raw is the best, I can afford it, and I have the time. 

So someone has physical requirements and conditions of how the pup must be raised in their contract.  You should council your puppy buyers to be careful, but putting it in your contract seems ridiculous to me.  How are you going to enforce it?  Renigging on your guarantee?  This is one in particular that irritates me: puppies may not climb stairs because it is thought to be bad on their hips, until they are (PICK ONE):  six months, one year, 18 months.   I have stairs in my house, (just about all houses in Alaska DO) three levels of them....the pups I raise for myself follow me around my  house from six weeks on.  If I had such a physical requirement in my own contract, (I don't!) and if I'd bought pups from myself, I wouldn't be able to do good on my own guarantee if I had a pup come up with dysplasia...(wow, that's convoluted and a bit smart assed.)  But hey, the OFA certs and prelims have come back on three dogs raised in my THREE LEVEL HOME as good hips, normal elbows...excellent hips, normal elbows....good hips, normal elbows.

Reputable breeders do what is right for the dogs and their buyers.  It is not tied up with superficial concerns such as how many litters they have, or if they have silly hoops for the buyers to jump through in their contracts. Yeah, I'm emotional about it, this is what I do.  Give me the name of your working profession and I'll give you a set of rules you should use to be reputable even though I know nothing about your job.

Veronica, thank you! 

There are "breeders" here that would fit the "requirements" that I wouldn't take a free pup from.  

I think it's harder to say what is reputable, over what constitutes disreputable. I don't think the number of litters per year is a good indicator if the pups and mother are well taken care of. Many kennels have huge numbers of litters born, and the dogs are well cared for. Some BYBs only have one of two litters a year, and couldn't care less about taking care of the mother and litter.

Insofar as "what the market will bear" I think that depends on the kennel's soley reputation and location.

Here's something that I posted on my kennel blog a while back. [link -- it's the last entry on that page] Opinions are welcome ^_^  

Warning Signs of a Dispreputable Breeder:


The Breeder
1) the Hard Sell technique -- any breeder who makes you feel pressured to buy a dog from them and doesn't care about your questions or the pup's future home.

2) "clearence puppies" -- dogs sold for substantially less than their litter mates or dogs marketted as being "reduced in price."

3) the old "rare color" ploy -- most of these colors are outside the breed standard, and thus are not worth more. Same thing with the "exclusive bloodlines" scheme.

4) any breeder who will not let you visit their kennel upon request.

5) breeders who are unwilling to discuss their breeding goals, or states goals that don't include temperament, health, working abililty/conformation to breed standard.

6) any breeder who cannot provide vet records, health certification (OFA, etc) or verification of the dogs' pedigrees upon request.

7) not being able to meet the mother of the pups -- sometimes the father isn't on premise, due to away breedings, but you should always be able to meet Momma-dog. (exception: older pups well past weaning age that may be from a previous litter.)

8) reluctance to talk about their dogs -- most breeders can talk the ears off a brass monkey when it comes the their beloved canines.

9) repeatedly mentioning price if you haven't asked.

10) a breeder who is not interested in showing/competing with their dogs, be it working or conformation, yet repeatedly uses the phrase "champion bloodlines" and "champion pedigrees" as part of their selling point.

11) bait-and-switch techniques: you chose a pup, later the breeder says that pup was accidentally sold and offers you a different dog than the one you'd agreed on.




The Dogs
1) an unhealthy mother; look at her eyes, ears, etc. If the breeder isn't taking care of mom, what guarentee do you have of the pups' health?

2) puppies that look sickly, lethargic, underweight, or generally unwell.

3) not providing proof of puppy shots at time of sale.

4) skittish, aggressive, or otherwise unsuitable dispositions in the parents or the breeder's other dogs.

5) puppies displaying similar issues as mentioned above

6) puppies / adults that seem skittish or improperly socialized.

7) foul living conditions of puppies, adults, or both

8) when the breeder doesn't even know the ages of his/her own dogs!

 

Newspapers
1) multiple breeds listed to one phone number or ad

JC

What an excellent post!  Can I "recycle" it?