Buying a puppy can be a stressful event. Not all breeders are the same as their goals for breeding might be different. Here are some pointers I've complied which may help you decide which breeder you can be getting your puppies from.
Do note that all of the pointers below are of my personal views and experiences shaped during my journey of understanding well bred dogs.
Labradors are probably the cutest dog breed ever and I think I'm biased =p
Green Flags 1. Breeder does all of the recommended health tests for the breed This to me is non negotiable. Every breed has specific health tests that needs to be carried out before the parent dogs should be bred. Minimally the parents of the puppies you are looking to buy should be tested. Even better if every dog down the lineage is tested. Health tests should be verifiable either through documentation or a public database. Some breeders even go beyond and test for optional genetic diseases as well. A good place to check for the list of recommended health tests are the OFA, or the specific breed clubs such as this page from the National Labrador Retriever Breed Council Australia where they list out the different required health tests.
2. Breeder proves their breeding stock in competitive arenas and/or working ability
Breeders that compete in avenues like conformation, agility, obedience, retrieving etc. allows their dogs to be assessed by a third party (judges of the event) against other dogs in the ring. A dog needs to win consistently under different judges in order to get points, and they have to accumulate enough points to be crowned as a champion. In conformation, dogs are evaluated based on their structure and movement, and only the best male and best female of every breed get points to be counted towards their championship title. Dogs that compete often have stable temperaments although I've seen dogs with shit temperament at shows but that's a story for another day.
There are also good breeders who do not compete in the different arenas but work their dogs in the farm. For this you'll have to look at the working abilities of their dogs and the consistency of the dogs they produce in this aspect.
Proving dogs that is suitable for breeding through the above mentioned points is IMHO a major aspect of what it takes to be ethical and producing good pet dogs is a natural side effect of ethical breeding.
*not all champion dogs are good dogs as in some countries dogs can be titled even without any competition in their breed. This is why having a basic understanding of the breed standard will help.
3. Breeder does some form of early socialisation or stimulation to prepare the puppies
Some breeders follow a curriculum of early socialising and training such as Puppy Culture
or Avidog, which helps to prepare the puppies for the world to come. Some experienced breeders do not follow a set curriculum but they do early socialisation and stimulation based on their experience to achieve the same thing; and that is exposing the puppy to the various sights and sounds through positive experiences. This can help the puppy develop into a confident adult and lessens behavioural problems.
4. Breeder assigns puppies to the different homes instead of letting the buyer pick
Now, this might be hard to understand for most new puppy owners but allow me to explain. The breeder has looked at the puppies since their first day in the world and have a much better idea of their personalities and how they can suit your lifestyle. For instance, the breeder will pick a puppy with lower energy levels for someone living in an apartment, or picking a puppy with the right structure and aptitude for a show home. But for this to work, the breeder must know his or her shit. I've had an experience with a breeder who either doesn't know his shit, or chose to smoke his way around. He blindly picked a puppy and sent a hopeful newbie a dog with an average conformation and a wrong aptitude for shows. Although that dog went on to achieve his championship title through sheer hardwork from the owner, that dog is now being retired for shows as he didn't develop well. *this is why I mentioned above that not all titled dogs are good dogs
Knowing the breed standard well helps a breeder to consistently produce sound puppies
Yellow Flags Now this is a pretty much grey area so navigate at your own risk, or ask someone knowledgeable enough to look through.
1. Breeder does not compete in any sports with their dogs Some people may consider this as a red flag but personally I look at this as a yellow flag. A breeder may not compete and it could be due to a wide variety of reasons such as physically unable to do so, lack of motivation, can't be bothered, lack of funds, politics or even simply laziness. If the breeder has a good understanding of the breed standard, and consistently produces sound puppies with good temperament and/or work aptitude (basically knowing their shit), then that's fine. But some breeders do masquerade their lack of participation in competitive sports for whatever reasons and this is where we need to be careful. If their breeding programme is to only breed for pets, then they may be putting profits ahead other more important factors. Personally I'm not against anyone trying to put food on the table through doing something they are good at (which in this case could be breeding dogs), but they got to do it the right way. A lack of participation in competitive sports means that there isn't any form of evaluation done on their breeding stock.
2. Breeder doesn't seem to make an effort to want to know you
Many breeders want to know where and what kind of homes their puppies go to, and would appreciate if you would give a good introduction of yourself when you express interest in their puppies. If a breeder does not ask you many questions about yourself and your experiences, it could be that the breeder is not good with words, or they just simply do not care.
And guys, please give an introduction of yourself, your family and any experiences you may have when emailing a breeder. By starting your email with "How much are your puppies?", you are very likely to be ignored by ethical breeders. Many good breeders are proud of what they do and can be picky in who they send their puppies to.
3. Breeder allows you to pick your puppies
Reputable breeders may allow a buyer to pick their puppies only if they are satisfied that they have the necessary knowledge. A breeder may also select a few puppies that may suit your lifestyle for you to pick, but no good breeders will allow pet buyers to freely pick from the litter. The risk is that a pet buyer may insist on picking a puppy with a personality that does not suit their lifestyle and/or needs, and it can create a lot of frustration for both the buyer and the owner.
Proving dogs in a competitive setting is an important aspect of ethical breeding
Red Flags This is where I would suggest you run away from the breeder as far as possible. Any signs of a red flag is non negotiable for me.
1. No health testing done Health testing allows the breeder to produce healthy and sound puppies. Even though it cannot 100% remove all chances of a puppy developing health problems, but by doing the appropriate tests we can identify any potential problems before breeding and therefore giving the puppy the best chance there is into growing well without any major problems. There are of course limitation to some of the health tests but not doing any of them is totally irresponsible. Do a little reading on the types of required health tests to understand more on what they are meant to test for.
2. Breeder assigns a puppy to you within a week of the birth of the litter
Some breeders act ethical by assigning a puppy to you instead of allowing you to choose but they do so when the puppy is still very young. Excuse my language but how the f@ck will they know how the puppy will turn out when they have not even started walking?!?!? Breeders who do this either don't know their shit, don't care, or are just trying to smoke you.
3. Breeders of mixed breeds I've talked about this issue in a previous blog entry this can't be said enough. Unless the breeder has clear goals on why they mix breeds, does full health tests, and is able to prove their dogs in any form of competition or evaluation, it is better to run far away.
4. Breeder breeds for unusual or rare colours Colours that are allowed by breed clubs are usually based on the history of the breed. For instance, silver labradors have only popped up in the last few decades. In the breed history of Labrador Retrievers since the early 1800s, there is not a single silver lab that was produced and we know this through the extensive notes left from the early breeders of Labrador Retrievers. This can only mean that the breed was crossed with another breed to introduce the colour. This is the same thing for merle Frenchies and panda Pugs; they have to be crossed with other breeds to get that colour. Often these "purebreds with rare colours" are the result of breeders chasing for profits, and these dogs often lack of breed type and don't have any health testing done on the parents.
Concluding on this topic... There are other points that can be red flags to others such as a breeder not belonging to any breed clubs, pushing MLM products onto puppy buyers, and breeder talking about price as the priority, among many other factors. There's too many to list all of them out and therefore the above mentioned are the points that I feel it is absolutely necessary to understand more while picking the breeder to get your puppy from.
Yes puppies are so cute and many people can't wait to bring puppies back home the moment they decide to get one. But please do your research and reading before deciding on which source to get your puppy from and do not fuel unethical breeders.
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