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SO
YOU WANT TO BUY A DOG?
Dr.
Regina R. Allen, DVM
You and all the members of your family decided on the
correct breed of dog for your lifestyle. Everyone in the
family agrees that they want the dog and will share in
the responsibility of caring for it. Money is set aside
for veterinary costs associated with routine care and
emergencies. You know about health and behavior problems
that your breed is prone to, and you are dedicated to
finding a healthy puppy that will live to a ripe old
age. You have read the breed standard and are familiar
with your breed's normal characteristics, sizes,
weights, and colors. (If you don't know what I mean by
the "breed standard," then you haven't done
enough homework yet!) Since you live in a rural area,
there aren't any local "breeders" that you
would consider going to. Sure, Bubba down the road
breeds Labs and has done so for many years, but he
scratches his head
and looks confused when you mention the words hip
dysplasia and progressive retinal
atrophy. Bubba keeps his dogs in muddy pens in the yard,
and many of them have gone their entire lifetime without
visiting the vet. Also, Mrs. Jones bought a Lab from
Bubba a few years ago, and now the poor dog has
seizures. Buying locally is clearly not an option.
You open up the
latest issue of Dog World and find that there are no
less than 27 different breeders listed for your chosen
breed! How do you sort out who is a "Bubba"
from who is legitimate?
Not all
advertisements are created equal. A large ad with glossy
photos may be appealing but carry no real information.
Alternately, a short classified ad with strange
lingo such as OFA or CERF may be loaded with all the
right stuff. Here is my guide to decoding dog lingo.
This information can be used to sort out ads, interview
breeders, and assist you in finding a dog or puppy that
comes from a reputable source.
What
to Avoid:
Puppies Always
Available! - Stay away from these folks! They just want
to make money and don't really care about their dogs. A
real breeder breeds to improve the breed and not to have
a steady cash flow. Real breeders rarely have more than
a couple litters per year, and put more money into
caring for and raising the pups then they could ever
make in sales.
We Ship
Anywhere! - These are the same as the "puppies
always available" folks. Breeders that put time and
love into their puppies would never mail them off to an
unknown situation in exchange for a check.
Extra-Large or
Extra-Small - This is where your knowledge of the breed
standard comes in. Dogs that are oversized or very tiny
for their breed are more prone to health problems.
Breeding for extremes is not a sound practice, and
responsible breeders do not select for these traits.
Rare Colors -
Again, know your breed standard. Some "rare"
colors are legitimate, whereas other (e.g. white
Dobermans) are listed in the standard as a
disqualification because they are linked to certain
health problems. Reputable breeders do not select for
disqualifying colors (and health problems) because they
want something different or exotic to sell.
No Papers -
Unregistered dogs, even if they are representative of
the breed, should never be bred. The biggest reason for
this is that the medical history of the dog's ancestors
cannot be traced. Genetic diseases may show up in the
puppies because the unregistered parent is a carrier,
but no one knew because there was no pedigree to
research. There is also no guarantee that the puppies
are actually purebred.
What
Doesn't Mean Anything:
Health Checked -
Who checked the health of these puppies? The vet? The
breeder? The 16-year old who works the cash register?
Anyone at all? Also, a puppy that looks perfectly fine
at 8 weeks old may develop crippling hip dysplasia just
a few months later.
Written
Guarantee - The guarantee is only as good as the person
it comes from. Some agreements (such as those that come
from pet stores) only guarantee the puppy for 48 hours.
Others simply state the puppy had its first shots, but
make no provision for return or exchange if something is
found to be wrong the next day. Another bad deal is that
if the dog ever develops hip dysplasia (or cataracts or
seizures or whatever), then you will receive another
puppy of the same or similar breeding. So you will have
two sick dogs to take care of instead of one!
AKC Registered -
This should be a given (except for rare breeds that the
AKC doesn't register). Anyone who lists AKC registration
as their only selling point wants you to think that AKC
papers guarantee something special. In reality, any
idiot can throw together two badly bred dogs to produce
sickly "AKC" puppies. The AKC relies on
breeder honesty to register litters, so the puppies may
not be purebred anyway.
What
May Be Good:
Parents OFA -
OFA stands for the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals,
which certifies hips, elbows, etc. as free or affected
with diseases such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia,
etc. There are several grades for hips, but the dog will
only be assisged a number if the hips pass as fair,
good, or excellent. Fair hips are just that - not great,
just fair. A dog that scores as a fair at 2 years old
(the minimum age) may worsen and develop hip dysplasia
later on. The fact that a breeder OFA's his or her dogs
is a good sign, but be sure to ask what the rating of
both parents is. Ideally, both parents should be good or
excellent.
Parents PennHIP
- PennHIP is another hip registry, but unlike OFA, they
do not assign a rating. PennHip scores dogs based on the
laxity (looseness) of the hip joint and assigns a
percentile based how that dog compares to others in its
breed. Ideally, both parents should score 0.3 or less
for each hip, or be in the 75th percentile or higher for
their breed.
Parents CERF -
CERF stands for the Canine Eye Registration Foundation,
which screens breeding stock for heritable eye diseases.
Dogs need to be screened yearly, so make sure both the
sire and the dam are up-to-date.
Health and
Temperament Guarantee - Like I stated earlier, a
guarantee is only as good as the breeder it comes from.
Some good things to look for are a breeder who
stipulates that the dog be returned to him or her if you
are unable to care for it in the future, a breeder who
will refund a significant portion of the purchase price
if the dog develops hereditary health problems in its
lifetime, a breeder who requires you to take the dog to
obedience classes, and a breeder who requires that all
puppies sold as pets be spayed or neutered. Breeders who
give you a meaningful guarantee are concerned about the
health and temperament of the puppies that they produce,
and want to be sure that their puppy doesn't end up in
the shelter if the home doesn't work out.
Show Quality -
Breeders who breed for show generally have puppies that
are good Examples of the breed, and screen for
hereditary problems. Even if you are not interested in a
show dog, not every puppy in the litter is a future
champion. The advantage of buying from a show breeder is
that the pet quality puppies generally come from
excellent bloodlines, so the health and temperament
screenings are there. The puppy may be designated as pet
quality because of a minor fault such as an incorrect
bite, but otherwise is a wonderful example of the breed.
Pet quality puppies are generally sold for much less
than their show littermates, but you still have the
advantage of a thoughtfully planned breeding. However,
some unsavory characters may point to champions several
generations back and call the puppies show quality. Even
breeding a beautiful
champion to a
miserable dog may not produce greatness, so carefully
investigate exactly what this breeder's definition of
"show quality" is.
Home Raised -
This indicates that the puppies were raised in a house
and not a kennel. Although not all kennel dogs turn out
to be shy and un-socialized, the advantage of home-reared
pups is that constant contact with humans prepares
these pups better for life with a family.
Working Lines -
This is similar to "show quality." Breeders
who compete with their dogs in activities appropriate
for the breed are generally serious about producing good
examples. Again, carefully research what the breeder's
definition of "working" is, because one great
dog several generations back has little impact on your
puppy.
Member of Parent
Club - In general, breeders who join the parent club for
their breed are serious about it. The parent club sets
the breed standard and generally makes the important
descisions about that breed. "Bubbas" who
breed dogs just to make money don't really care about
much organized activities, and usually won't put in the
effort to join and go to meetings. However, the
standards for joining a breed club vary, so membership
may be as simple as sending a check. Membership in a
parent club does not guarantee a good breeder, but it
may indicate a level of dedication.
What
to Look For:
Puppies
Available Occasionally - As I stated earlier, reputable
breeders rarely have more than a couple of litters each
year.
References
Available - A breeder who will give you a list of owners
who he or she sold the last litter of puppies to
probably isn't hiding anything. Take the list and
actually call everyone to verify that the breeder is
honest and fair.
References
and/or Home Visit Required - A breeder that requires
references from you or checks your home before selling
you a puppy is serious about sending her puppies to a
good place. After all, the breeder has put a lot into
these puppies, and wants to be sure they will be well
cared for!
Parents Health
Screened - A breeder who makes sure both parents are
clear of genetic disease before breeding them is someone
you want to get a puppy from. When you do your breed
research, make a list of common genetic diseases that
your breed suffers from, and make sure that both parents
have passed the screening tests.
Pet Quality
Puppies Sold on Limited Registration - A limited
registration means that although the pup is AKC
registered, no offspring from this dog can be
registered. This ensures that pups that are sold as pets
are not used for breeding. A good breeder will do this
to prevent people from misrepresenting their intentions
when purchasing pet puppies.
Puppies Already
Spayed or Neutered - A breeder who does this has a high
level of dedication to preventing unwanted litters and
should be applauded!
Rescue Dogs
Available - A breeder who rescues dogs from bad
situations and places them in good homes cares about the
breed above and beyond his or her own puppies. This sort
of breeder has the highest level of dedication to the
breed, because rescue is often a difficult job. Although
this person may not have puppies on a regular basis, he
or she can help you find the perfect rescue dog for you
and your family.
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