Buying a puppy from a breeder

Menelaun

Ive my heart set on a new pup but the kennels they come from have show champuons and Im worried Ill have to show the dogs I dont have time for it and I would prefer to spend my days off walking with my dogs
Would I have to show it if asked by the breeder or can I just keep them as I have with my mongrels

Gloomtastic!

It's your dog, you make the rules. Not the person you bought it off!

Menelaun

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

It's your dog, you make the rules. Not the person you bought it off!

I would if the nreed wasnt so rare here and thats what has me worried that and the last purebreed I bought was a liveable eejit with numerous health problems

ButtersSuki

Could you possibly look at rescuing a dog instead of buying/getting from a breeder? Most of the rescues around the country will have pups too if your heart is set on a puppy.

Please consider this. If you want more info., feel free to pm me and I'll come back to you as soon as I can.

Cherry Blossom

Not all puppies in a litter will be show standard OP, just be honest with the breeder and say you are looking for a family pet. This will help the breeder match prospective owners to the right puppy.

Knine

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Not all puppies in a litter will be show standard OP, just be honest with the breeder and say you are looking for a family pet. This will help the breeder match prospective owners to the right puppy.

This definitely. I have bred litters for show and you might only one or two in a litter that would be of excellent quality and good enough to show. Sometimes you don't get any. Showing a dog that had glaring faults would just be a waste of time and money so breeders like to match up their puppies into the right home depending on whether it is pet, show, working etc.

Even if its a rare breed, make sure that the parents are health screened for the relevant breed specific health issues. Crossbreeds can also have health issues btw. One of my crossbreeds died of heart failure at only 2 years of age.

What makes you think the breeder will push you towards showing the dog? what breed of dog is it?

Menelaun

Knine wrote: »

This definitely. I have bred litters for show and you might only one or two in a litter that would be of excellent quality and good enough to show. Sometimes you don't get any. Showing a dog that had glaring faults would just be a waste of time and money so breeders like to match up their puppies into the right home depending on whether it is pet, show, working etc.

Even if its a rare breed, make sure that the parents are health screened for the relevant breed specific health issues. Crossbreeds can also have health issues btw. One of my crossbreeds died of heart failure at only 2 years of age.

What makes you think the breeder will push you towards showing the dog? what breed of dog is it?

Sorry about the late reply internet was frazzled hopefully ill be getting a leonberger.Totallt in love with the breed and big dogs too!! I was under the impression I would have to show them as the kennels seem to be very proud of their Champion showdogs.I was looking at Glen of Imaal terriers too but cant find a breeder

andreac

To be honest, most breeders dont expect you to show the dog. As someone else mentioned. Not all pups in the litter will be show quality. You would happy to get one or two in each litter that are.

Philip82

I breed and have bred alot of dogs( mostly racing greyhounds) and all I can say is if a dog is for sale the owner is looking for cash in the hand. Your cash will be spent or saved the same way as that of a champion owner. What Im saying is if the dog is for sale the owner wont really care as long as you give it a good home and he "gets paid"

Meteoric

Knine wrote: »

This definitely. I have bred litters for show and you might only one or two in a litter that would be of excellent quality and good enough to show. Sometimes you don't get any. Showing a dog that had glaring faults would just be a waste of time and money so breeders like to match up their puppies into the right home depending on whether it is pet, show, working etc.

Even if its a rare breed, make sure that the parents are health screened for the relevant breed specific health issues. Crossbreeds can also have health issues btw. One of my crossbreeds died of heart failure at only 2 years of age.

What makes you think the breeder will push you towards showing the dog? what breed of dog is it?

This above, most pups are not show quality, often because of little things that are unimportant except in the show ring, e.g. for a Lab carrying the tail a bit high (not straight off the back) or tail a bit short or teeth not being exactly in the right alignment or being slightly too small or too large when they grow up. They even might have a head that is slightly wider or thinner than the current fashion. And I can't imagine any breeder pushing owners into showing when they don't want to, I know despite wanting to show I've cost my dogs places by not showing them well enough.
The most important thing is that the parents are screened for the relevant health issues.
If they are proud of their champion dogs they will be trying to do the best possible job (nutrition of mother, feeding of pups etc.) trying to breed more champions and there will be pups in the litters that are never going to be champions who need good loving pet homes.
Essentially the breeder is looking for the dog equivalent of a super-model, it's unlikely to get more than one super-model even in a large family

Knine

Philip82 wrote: »

I breed and have bred alot of dogs( mostly racing greyhounds) and all I can say is if a dog is for sale the owner is looking for cash in the hand. Your cash will be spent or saved the same way as that of a champion owner. What Im saying is if the dog is for sale the owner wont really care as long as you give it a good home and he "gets paid"

Generally if you are reputable and breeding the right way, there won't be much cash in the hand left after expenses are paid out, especially if you show dogs!

To a certain point if I was lucky enough to have a stunner I'm not keeping I hope to sell it to a show home! I match puppies with homes based on my knowledge of potential buyers by asking them lots of questions.

Rommie

Philip82 wrote: »

I breed and have bred alot of dogs( mostly racing greyhounds) and all I can say is if a dog is for sale the owner is looking for cash in the hand. Your cash will be spent or saved the same way as that of a champion owner. What Im saying is if the dog is for sale the owner wont really care as long as you give it a good home and he "gets paid"

Not if it's a responsible breeder. A responsible breeder doesn't care about being paid, they care about making sure their pups go to a good home and they will vet any potential buyers more than just thoroughly. Expect to be asked lots of questions OP!

But like others have said, there is never going to be a litter of show quality pups and there is nothing set in stone that you have to show. Once you are giving a pup a loving and forever home, the breeder will be happy

Philip82

Rommie wrote: »

Not if it's a responsible breeder. A responsible breeder doesn't care about being paid, they care about making sure their pups go to a good home and they will vet any potential buyers more than just thoroughly. Expect to be asked lots of a questions OP!

But like others have said, there is never going to be a litter of show quality pups and there is nothing set in stone that you have to show. Once you are giving a pup a loving and forever home, the breeder will be happy

Thats exactly what I said, dog just needs to go to a good home. I
would be fairly confident in saying though that the pup wont be leaving that yard without the fee handed over after all the questions are answered!!!!!

Meteoric

Philip82 wrote: »

Thats exactly what I said, dog just needs to go to a good home. I
would be fairly confident in saying though that the pup wont be leaving that yard without the fee handed over after all the questions are answered!!!!!

You might be surprised, my aunt, the breeder I got my dogs from, has given people dogs without any fee just because they were such good homes for the dogs they previously had.

That's because she treats breeding as a quest for the best dog possible, not as a commercial enterprise. Not talking about the dogs she gave me but other people who bought a dog from her then when that dog died and they contact her or they keep in contact with her and want a companion dog because another dog died she feels they paid the cost of the second dog in how well they treated the first one and her comfort in knowing that a dog she sold had/has such a good life.

Would not happen with someone she did not know had treated the earlier pup so well, if you put a cash value on something you know by human nature that they will see it as X euros down the drain if it goes badly makes them think twice but once you know they loved their dogs the cash becomes less important, to her anyway and to me if I ever follow her footsteps.

Not good commercial sense, but dogs are not just a commodity.

I don't think she is not typical of breeders who breed for show, they know they want their superstar and know they because of that will have others that won't make the grade so they try get them the best homes possible.

Philip82

Meteoric wrote: »

You might be surprised, my aunt, the breeder I got my dogs from, has given people dogs without any fee just because they were such good homes for the dogs they previously had.

That's because she treats breeding as a quest for the best dog possible, not as a commercial enterprise. Not talking about the dogs she gave me but other people who bought a dog from her then when that dog died and they contact her or they keep in contact with her and want a companion dog because another dog died she feels they paid the cost of the second dog in how well they treated the first one and her comfort in knowing that a dog she sold had/has such a good life.

Would not happen with someone she did not know had treated the earlier pup so well, if you put a cash value on something you know by human nature that they will see it as X euros down the drain if it goes badly makes them think twice but once you know they loved their dogs the cash becomes less important, to her anyway and to me if I ever follow her footsteps.

Not good commercial sense, but dogs are not just a commodity.

I don't think she is not typical of breeders who breed for show, they know they want their superstar and know they because of that will have others that won't make the grade so they try get them the best homes possible.

Thats fair enough I can understand that.
But unfortunately Im not that well off and it wouldnt make sense to give away a pup considering the huge cost(stud fees, whelping costs, vaccinations worming etc)I never make money selling dogs. Most of the time I just cover my cost and keep a few pups, otherwise, my quest for the perfect dog would break me soon enough. Anyway back to the original thread I was just stating that Im sure the seller wont mind what she does with the pup as long as it gets a good home. In my world I need to get paid like I said just to cover costs and be able to try again but maybe her circumstances may be different.

Menelaun

Thanks for the numerous responses everyone really its helped quite a bit as I had no clue what I was going to do as the only other dog we got from a breeder was an eejit but still a lovely dog, Our current is a rescue dog and a mongrel and couldnt be shown (much to the disappointment of the 7 year old me who though I could win crufts with her.)Now that I have a better idea I'll talk to my parents about it and see where it goes from there and hopefully when the breeder has a new litters of pups we'll have a new family member!:)

Hooked

We got our Husky from a very well bred kennel (Hugos line has 4 or 5 generations of champions from many countries), with his dad being the latest - and my dad has champion bull terriers from another highly respected breeder. Both breeders are show judges - and have little interest in whether you'll 'show' their dogs. They'd probably prefer not to have competition. ;P

They are however most concerned with how the dogs will be treated! And, like other posters have said, will want to ask you questions.

And anyway - you can't tell if a pup is going to be 'show quality'. It may have potential, but lots of growing left to do... Teeth/mouth can go and both testicles may not descend. As well as lots of physical attributes that can change when growing.

Best of luck with your new pup...

Meteoric

Philip82 wrote: »

Thats fair enough I can understand that.
But unfortunately Im not that well off and it wouldnt make sense to give away a pup considering the huge cost(stud fees, whelping costs, vaccinations worming etc)I never make money selling dogs. Most of the time I just cover my cost and keep a few pups, otherwise, my quest for the perfect dog would break me soon enough. Anyway back to the original thread I was just stating that Im sure the seller wont mind what she does with the pup as long as it gets a good home. In my world I need to get paid like I said just to cover costs and be able to try again but maybe her circumstances may be different.

Oh believe me I know about the costs and I wasn't trying to suggest that others who don't do anything wrong, she is not well off either, I guess you can't be when you do things like that Anyone who thinks they will get rich from breeding responsibly is in for a short sharp shock. Particularly in Ireland you are lucky to break even on any litter.

What I was trying to say earlier is I'd be honestly amazed if anyone insisted a pup be shown, if you think a pup could be that good, you keep it or sell it to someone who wants to show who will get them a good home if they grow up not quite right. Sorry, was not meant to poke at people who just can't do it, just to say it can happen

I've known so many gorgeous dogs who have never been shown, or did not themselves want to show (yes the dog has to want to be judged, I've known a dog who would run to any stranger around the ring to not be judged, cuddling up and hiding behind complete strangers having slipped the lead, loved everyone except being in the ring)
So OP really don't worry about showing, if you do want to do it it can be fun especially at Open shows, I dislike the new Championship show rules, but that's just me. I had a lot of fun getting my Dog his Junior Diploma (at the time a mixture of Open and Championship shows) and since he is now 8 that was a long time ago.