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 GREAT
DANE - PURCHASE
SO YOU WANT TO BUY A DOG?
By 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 assigned 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 Penn HIP - Penn HIP is another hip registry, but
unlike OFA, they do not assign a rating. Penn Hip 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 unsocialized, the advantage of
home-reared pups is that contestant 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 decisions 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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Copyright © 2003, Great Dane Club of America,
Inc.
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