Breeders: The good, the bad and the ugly
RULE #1 Do not ever under any circumstances buy from a pet store. The mated dogs live in kennels piled on top of each other, they get pee/poop all over them, also they are born sick, every one you buy makes room for them to continue breeding. They are the bane of the dog world.
If you decide to buy a purebred dog ~ Any fancy crossbreeds like Goldendoodle is not a purebred dog and often the breeders aren’t familiar enough with either breed to know the pitfalls of what they’re doing. Mixed breeds are considered mutts they have no place in AKC or any other breed registry except maybe Canada titles. People for some reason pay thousands for a mutt. It’s a MUTT.
That’s over-was hard to say because so many people like the mutts. You don’t want a chiweenie or any foolish make believe breed if the breeder has no clue what lines have cancer, deafness, vision issues, or allergies. Also they’ll tell you the dogs have less wrong with them than a purebred when that’s wrong. You can get the worst traits of both breeds and you’ll see the vet a lot-you may luck out and get no issues but that would be rare. Small dogs are often nippy, they also shouldn’t be left alone on furniture so they won’t break any body parts – if you want the dog on a couch or bed supply stairs.
So now moving to backyard breeders. These are families or a couple wanting to make money off litters. They have no idea about bad traits or lineage or anything resembling a healthy breed dog. Most kids of 20+ breed pit bulls and have no clue about aggression issues. They barely know about raising a litter of pups and get frustrated then sell them too young. Before 8 weeks is too young and against the law, the mom and littermates need to teach each other no bite, how to play etc and this is valuable growing up time. Great breeders don’t let their pups go before 10-12 weeks unless you are an experienced owner they may leave at 8 weeks.
Some Bernese Mt Dogs get bred and no one is going to tell you they were once so bad the dogs died of cancer before their 3rd birthday. It has gotten better because breeders are waiting until the dog is mature at 6 or 7 then breed cuz so far no cancer. If you buy a Bernese mix you may end up with a dog for only a short time. These family breeders don’t know anything about any breed at all. They don’t earn any sport, herding, Schutzhund, show titles. Some not even an obedience title. You want a reputable breeder, that means training (should have titles for that) and shows or competitions of some kind proving the dog is worth being bred. Otherwise they should NOT be breeding their female to the neighbors male. Both these dogs should be altered.
Also a tip here. If you desire 2 dogs don’t get them from the same litter. One will dominate the other, they will argue all the time and the submissive dog will have no life to speak of. He/she will be picked on by the dominant dog. Find 2 different litters to buy 2 pups at the same time.
I brushed over generally ‘bad breeders’ so how can you tell a good breeder? They title their dogs or show them in obedience, tracking, Schutzhund (a rigorous platform to prove to a German judge the dogs are proofed and ready to be bred.) herding or the reason for their existence “rat terriers catch rats”.
There are all kinds of ways to find a good breeder and always see more than one before buying. The AKC registry can help find the breed you like and where (AKC.com). Also there are breed rescues if you want to rescue a purebred type in the browser: “Leonberger rescue+Mytown” Find someone trustworthy who supplies a contract saying that for any reason you can return the dog to the breeder. Breeders are responsible for every life they bring into the world. Get your dog chipped if the breeder hasn’t already. When looking at the lineage paperwork which you get from AKC look for titled dogs in the background.
If looking for a German titled dog, Malinois, Shepherd, Rottie, Doberman, look at the parents background carefully to see what titles the lineage dogs have. You can look titles up online if you ask for a copy of the paperwork. This is YOUR due diligence.
Be wary of breeders representing more than one breed. A breeder can be very knowledgable about one breed but it’s hard to know everything about 2 breeds, if responsible-they only represent ONE breed of dog and show, title, prove its breed worthiness and you’ll end up with a good, healthy, trainable dog.
I probably skipped over a ton of stuff you don’t need to know but if you have questions ask them here.