Recognize a Good Breeder
When choosing a breeder look for one who does the following:
1. Ideally, keeps his or her pets as part of the family.
2. Encourages you to meet and spend time with your puppy's parents, and allows you to see where they spend most of their time. Area is clean and well maintained.
3. Insists on meeting potential adoptive families. Will not sell their dogs to just anyone.
4. Doesn't sell animals too young - sells puppies only after they are 8 to 12 weeks old.
5. Can provide references from other families who have purchased puppies.
6. Keeps breeding dogs healthy, well fed, and well socialized.
7. Provides professional veterinary care for all their animals.
8. Performs health tests on fathers and mothers prior to breeding to ensure their puppies do not have genetic defects.
9. Has a good relationship with a local veterinarian and can show you records of visits.
10. Bases breeding frequency on mother's health, age, condition and recuperative abilities.
11. Does not breed extremely young or old animals.
12. Discusses positive and negative aspects of particular animals and breeds with potential owners.
13. Encourages multiple visits to meet the puppy.
14. Will take back any of their animals, at any time and for any reason.
Traffic Lights of a Good Breeder
A well-written article about choosing a breeder!
A Breeder…
A Breeder is one who thirsts for knowledge and never really knows
it all and doesn’t pretend they do…
One who wrestles with decisions of conscience, convenience, and commitment...
A breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests, finances, time, fancy furniture, and deep pile carpets…
She gives up the dreams of long, luxurious vacation in favor of turning that spare room into a wonderful puppy room… besides, who would watch the dogs while she was gone…
She goes without sleep (but never without caffeine) in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously over the birth process and afterwards, over every little sneeze, wiggle, or cry…
She skips dinner parties because that litter is due or the babies have to be fed at 8:00…
She disregards birth fluids and does mouth to mouth to save a gasping newborn, literally blowing life into a tiny, helpless creature that she knows will fulfill someone’s dreams…
Her lap is a marvelous place where generations of happy healthy and much adored fur babies have snoozed… And still do…
Her hands are strong and firm, but ever so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of a puppy’s wet nose…
Her back and knees are usually arthritic from stooping, bending, and sitting in the birthing box, but are strong enough to enable her to play on the floor with that rascally bunch at 5 weeks old…
Her shoulders are stooped and often heaped with abuse from unkind words of those who don’t understand, but they are wide enough to support the weight of a thousand thank you’s from happy new families…
Her arms are always able to hold a map, support an armful of puppies or lend a helping hand to newcomers…but can’t hold grudges or onto unpleasant ridicule…
Her ears are wonderous things, sometimes red (from being talked about) or strangely shaped (from being pressed against a phone receiver), yet always fine-tuned to the whimper of a sick puppy or the distant rain that urges her to get the fur babies in and out of the upcoming weather…
Her eyes may be blurred from pedigree research, but they are ever so keen to what a healthy, happy puppy looks and acts like…
Her mind it’s so full of knowledge that sometimes it blows a fuse, it catalogues thousands of colors, sizes, and perfect temperaments…
Her heart is sometimes broken but it beats strongly with hope everlasting, and it’s always in the right place!
Oh yes, there are breeders, and then there are BREEDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
AUTHOR UNKNOWN
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