Buyer Beware: Purebred Dog Myths
By Suzanne James
Every month I am approached by dog owners of my breed who
complain about how poorly behaved, how sickly, how untrainable,
and generally my breed is and how deeply they resented spending
money on this breed. I listen patiently, but time taught me not
to defend ‘good’ breeders, or explain to the angry owners how
their own ignorance caused them to become victimized.
There are many myths that abound in the dog world. Unfortunately,
each allows unscrupulous breeders to take advantage of eager,
prospective, puppy buyers.
Here are some of the most common myths:
Registered dogs are good quality. Even puppy mills register their
puppies and get the papers.
If the parents have papers, the puppy is a good one. Wrong.
Actually, if the parent’s papers do not have a blue boarder, then
the puppy's parent is registered as “Not good enough for
breeding." In many cases, these breeders show the parent's papers
to prospective buyers, but explain that the litter is not
registered in an attempt to save money. This is a lie. They
didn’t register the litter because the puppies are not purebred,
and unregisterable. It takes less than $25.00 to register a
puppy.
"You don’t need to take breeding stock to ‘dog shows,’ because it
is all political." Sorry, but I hate hearing this one from hobby
breeders. I have been in the dog world for more than 20 years and
have shown more than 4 breeds. Yes, when it comes to the BIG
shows, or the Best In Show wins, there are politics involved.
But, when it comes to getting the LOWEST award a dog can get
(which is becoming a champion) there is little to prevent any
breeder from showing and winning – unless they know their dogs
are not good quality. All the title of champion means is that
more than one judge considers the dog is good enough for
breeding.
Poor quality parents = poor quality puppies. Many people believe
they only need two purebred parents to produce good quality
puppies. This is not true. Many hereditary diseases, like joint
problems, are avoided by good breeders who understand bloodlines
and structure. If the breeder thinks they can breed different
body types together, and get consistently healthy puppies, they
shouldn’t be breeding.
If both parents are champions, the puppies are good. Again, buyer
beware. It is relatively easy to make a good dog a champion.
Hobby and unscrupulous breeders know this, so they finish one or
two dogs (not most of them), and then con new buyers into
believing that ‘championship’ is the pinnacle of a dog’s career,
instead of the lowest award it can achieve.
So, how can you protect yourself? Here are some helpful hints
that will help you avoid ending up with a puppy you cannot live
with.
Visit at least 10 breeders, before looking at a puppy.
Never let a breeder put a puppy in your hands, or tell you it
will be gone tomorrow if you don’t buy it now. In fact, most good
breeders will not let you have the puppy after a first visit.
Most good puppy owners do not take money on the first visit.
Never take your children when looking at puppies.
Contact the national breed association and ask questions.
Make sure the breeder does not consistently use males and females
from their own kennel. The males most good kennels use come from
top winning stock.
A health guarantee is only valuable if you, the puppy buyer, is
willing to go to court. In many cases, they are not worth the
paper they are written on. Instead, ask for the names of 5 – 10
people who owns one of these dog's puppies for more than a year.
Ask the breeder for vet records showing when the breeder had the
parents checked for hereditary defects.
Don’t buy from breeders who always have puppies. Also, when it
comes to kennels, bigger is not better. Large operations, even
'show' ones, are businesses. They are more concerned with income
than the relationship between you and your new puppy.
Don’t buy a cheap puppy. Find the average price of a puppy, and
look for puppies in that price range. It is expensive, ‘properly’
raising a litter of puppies. And, it is easy for a good breeder
to sell puppies. So, if a breeder is selling bargain puppies,
then something is wrong.
Beware of breeders who breed their female pet. Rarely do they
possess the knowledge needed to breed a good litter. More
important, I have known about entire networks of people selling
puppies, believing they are helping a breeder. Instead, these
people are selling puppies for a puppy mill. No one will go to a
stinky farm and select their puppy from dozen’s of litters. No
one is that naïve anymore. So, puppy mills have become very
savvy, even buying ‘show ribbons’, to make themselves appear more
legit.
If you can avoid these mistakes, you will reduce the risk of
buying a poor quality puppy.
There are some facts I can give you. All the reputable, concerned
breeders I have met have three things in common.
1. They love to talk about their breed.
2. They are not in any hurry to sell a puppy.
3. They only breed 1 – 5 litters a year.
Suzanne James is instructor of the online course “Pick the right
dog for you” at http://www.universalclass.com. She ran a dog
training school, and has shown and bred 4 breeds of dogs.
Currently she breeds Chinese Crested dogs under the name Orchid
Kennels
http://www.inspiredauthor.com/ChineseCresteds
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