Basic guidelines to buy dogs for breeding purposes
Basic guidelines to buy dogs for breeding purposes
I’ve seen a lot of people that have a home a dogs that would qualify for shows or breeding, but that do not have the appropriate support from their breeders or that at least they do not have enough information.
If you are going to buy a puppy not only to go to the shows but to begin your breeding staff, I believe that there are several thing to have in mind when looking for the most appropriate kennel to buy from.
You must do some research on the breeder that you are looking for to buy a puppy, his/her dogs as well as the way this breeder manages the kennel before making a decision.
You should evaluate the answers to your questions, use your common sense and consider the breeder attitude.
If that breeder does not go to the shows, why do you think it’s the reason for not going? Lots of times the excuses are related to disagreement with the way shows take place, too much politics might be one of the complaints, or that there is always a breeder that wins most of the shows leaving no space for others. Some of these excuses might be true however, why do some of them win beyond politics?
If you go to a show and always lose, then something is wrong. What is it? Do your research, study the dogs on the ring, may be the winners are different in size, maybe they are better groomed. Or is it that they are better exercised? Bone structure? Angle? The conformation of their head? The breeder must go to the ring and learn from the other participants as well, whatever the experience of the breeder or the outcome of the show. A breeder can not avoid going to the shows, as a breeder cannot afford not having his work measured up against other breeders. Maybe he would be able to find a stud dog that would help to correct some defect on his litters, he might be able to meet a dog out of another dog that he admires, you never know what you could find at the show.
A breeder’s work is a teamwork, thus it is important to know where his/her dogs are coming from, where did the breeder buy his own stud dogs and bitches, what bloodlines are involved. That’s the only way to learn how a breeder is working, how consistent his work is, is there is a clear breeding plan. Does he provides breeding services to other breeders? Does he work together with other breeders? We always need eventually to buy a dog or stud services outside our kennel or even import dogs. Nobody can relay on himself as the bloodline would end up closing too much.
Before contacting a breeder, we must first study the most common diseases in the breed we are looking to buy. For example in my breed, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, we are very careful about hip dysplasia, epilepsy and a diversity of eye related inherited problems.
Lots of breeders says that their dogs come from Americans bloodlines, then you need to know that in the US we need to have all of our breeding dog’s hips tested and certified by OFA. Therefore, although the dog you buy might not be OFA certified its sire and dam might be as well as its predecessors. You can check on http://www.offa.org all the records available from certified dogs. Then you will be able to understand if your dog is truly free os hips dysplasia or not. If the dogs relatives where tested, then the breeder is open to tell and show the records of this dogs, but if the dogs are not tested… something must be wrong.
Eyes can also be tested under another certification, provided by CERF. You can have more information visiting http://www/vmdb.org/cerf.html.
Also, the breeder’s attitude is very important. He should be always willing to replace a puppy that did not developed as expected or if it has a problem related to a health or temperament. No breeder wants to sell a dog that would not be used as expected, particularly if the promise was to be a show or breeding dog. A breeder would also want to avoid spreading genetic problems by breeding or letting somebody else breed dogs out of his kennel that might have some issues.
Therefore it is important to sign a purchase agreement stating what kind of dog is being sold and what warranties are being provided by the breeder.
In the case a health issue is probable present, the breeder will request a medical exam and with that examination you would be able to request a replacement puppy..
If you can visit the breeder, take a close look to the appearance of all the dogs in the staff, of everything is working fine, if the place is clean, not only in the kennel but in the house and surrounding areas. A serious breeder does not only have the dog that he’s currently showing in excellent conditions, he should have all his staff in the same form.
If the breeder shows evasive or hides something during the visit, something is wrong. If you are going to buy you have to see first what you are buying and where it is coming from.
If you are buying from a distance, you should ask lots of questions, request pictures, videos and all the information available to better know the staff of the kennel. A serious breeder would be happy to share all the information and willing to cooperate. The breeder that is always too busy to answer your questions, that answers with vague or evasive responses and is not clear on the information that is providing, has probably something to hide. Then you should move with extreme caution or definitely look for another source for your dog.
When we buy a bitch for breeding it is important that the information about her history, how many litter she had in the past, how many puppies per litter who were the other sires for each of them. In my particular breed if a breeders tells me that a bitch had litter with three puppies, something is wrong as this breed can deliver an average of 7 or 10 puppies per litter. We can also ask about the grandmother, aunts, sisters, the more you know the less risky you will be buying.
We also need to know about the male, how many services he delivered, how old the puppies that were born from him are. Ask for pictures of the complete litter, it is important to see all the puppies as no matter how wonderful one of them is, the most important is the overall quality of the litter. Remember that as a breeder you are looking to have a great quality in all the litter, thus it is not good to buy from a litter that is very eclectic.
If we are going to get the puppy, as to see the whole litter, if we live far away, ask for pictures of the siblings. It is the only way to make a good decision.
Also the breeder can let us know why this is the puppy for you among all the puppies in the litter. Compare the puppy he selected for you with the other on the table and let the breeder explain you the differences between each other. You will learn to compare and see the puppies.
If we are new to buying a puppy and the breeder tell us that this will be the first litter of the bitch or the first service from the male, do not buy from that mating. Wait to see what that bitch delivers and eventually you can change your mind and select another bitch that has a proven track record as a breeding dog.
Finally, these are the basic guidelines I believe you should consider to buy a puppy. Of course each breed has its own specific issues you should pay attention to. This are just general guidelines at the time to buy a puppy, spend your money and make the commitment to bring the animal home.
Remember that if you do not pay attention to these detail you will soon have a backyard full of dogs that are not useful for your kennel, as well as extremely frustrated as breeders.
Mercedes Roizman
For Forum Canino
Feb 09, 2006
