Great breeders will compete with their dogs in some venue.  They will compete in either conformation, obedience, rally or some other event.  They will also have achieved some titles for their dogs.  This doesn’t mean every dog bred will be a finished champion or have obedience titles, but great breeders are out with other breeders trying to always better their breeding stock through trials and tribulations.

But you don’t want a show dog you say?  That’s fine, most litters are pet puppies.  In a litter of 10 puppies only TWO may turn out to be show worthy puppies and the other 8 are perfect pets.  But when a breeder competes in any of the above venues it means they are testing their dogs temperament, comparing conformation (dogs with poor conformation get arthritis and other joint dysfunction problems earlier) or they are testing to see if their dog can do what it was bred to do.

Great breeders aren’t typically breeding as a way to supplement their income.  They are breeding because they are looking for their next show prospect or next competition dog.  They of course DO charge money for their puppies, but that money is typically invested back in via health testing, competitions and other events related to the dogs.  At the end of the day, they pursue this hobby because they believe in raising quality purebred dogs.

They are invested in each and every dog they own and they produce.

So in each of their contracts you will typically find a requirement that in the event you CAN’T keep your puppy or ADULT DOG you are required to return them to the breeder.  This is to ensure the puppy/dog NEVER ends up in a shelter, that the breeder always knows the destiny of each dog and can help to locate a new home.

Great breeders are breed enthusiasts.  That doesn’t mean they are experts in all things dogs, but they do usually know where to find the experts.  They want you to have and receive the help you need for the life of the dog.  They’ll be able to give you information for the health, feeding and caring of your dog from birth to the end.  And if they don’t know the answer they will point you in the right direction to find the information.

Great breeders want to hear from you about your puppy.  They want to know how the dog is doing, about the dog’s health and temperament and would love if you shared your funny Halloween photos.  They can’t keep ALL of the puppies in the litter.  So they rely on you to keep them up-to-date on how dogs they’ve produced are growing and aging.

Great and responsible breeders only want dogs from their lines bred if they feel they are breeding quality dogs.  We all think our own dog is near perfect, but that doesn’t mean they have what it takes to produce a sound litter of puppies.  Responsible and great breeders will INSIST on a spay and neuter contract for your puppy unless your puppy is sold on a show and breeding contract.

A breeder that sells a dog without this sort of contract often isn’t as invested in the health and well being of the breed as they should be.  They instead may be looking for that payday and will at times charge more money for “breeding rights”.

The AKC or American Kennel Club is a registration body for purebred dogs.  AKC registration papers DO NOT mean that you have a quality health tested dog.  Just like a person having a social security number doesn’t mean anything other than they are a US citizen or eligible resident. AKC papers means that the dog you’ve purchased has a known lineage of dogs that are that particular breed.

That said, you SHOULD receive AKC papers and not be charged a price to obtain the papers.  BUT, any dog quality or backyard bred, could have AKC papers if their parents were both purebred dogs.

Every time a breeder does the required health testing and submits it to the proper recording or grading agency they receive a certificate with the test results.  The test results are also then recorded on the OFA’s website under that dog’s registration name and registration number.  So you are able to check to ensure the puppy you are purchasing came from TOTALLY health tested parents.  AND you’re able to look at all of the puppy’s relatives to see if they are health tested as well and see their results.

So the steps I take to see if my puppy has all of the required health testing:

1. Look at the breed club website to see what is required in this case the PWDCA Health site or the CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) Website.  I make a checklist of what is required, what the health problem is and what I should look for.
2. I then look up the dog’s registered name or ask for the dog’s number and enter it into the search bar on the Orthopedic Foundation of America’s Website (OFA)
3. What pops up is ALL of that dog’s health testing data AND all of that dog’s relative’s data.
4. I then do the same thing with the other parent (so I check out the sire and the dam).

BEWARE of the breeder that doesn’t do the minimum required health testing or the breeder that says “my dogs have always been health for the last 10, 20 or 30 years”.  While that’s great, it could be luck.  Or it could be that that breeder didn’t check in with the puppy that went blind at 2 years old.  Or the puppy that passed away at 9 months old.

Always require copies or if not provided know that the OFA website is a tool that ANY owner or potential owner can utilize.

Great breeders send puppies home:

1. At 8 weeks or later.  It’s illegal to send home puppies younger than 8 weeks in ALL 50 states.
2. With their first round of vaccines with proof of the vaccines
3. With AKC papers
4. With some of the food they are currently on
5. Health testing paperwork (for both parents)
6. Helpful information on the breed, etc.

An application helps the breeder to know if you know what you are getting into with their breed of dog.  Not all dogs are created equal.  Some breeds were selectively bred to warm laps and others bred to retrieve all day and yet others bred to guard their owners homes.  Each breed of dog comes with a unique set of characteristics that are unique for them.  They make them a perfect dog for some and a terrible dog for others.

Just because you like the “looks” of a dog, or your friend has one, doesn’t mean they are the right breed for you.  A breeder will go over your application and have a discussion with you to see if you are a match.

Great breeders know they can’t keep them all.  Sometimes a 6 month old puppy that was kept as a show prospect has a bite that goes off (meaning instead of a perfect bite they have a snaggle tooth), sometimes a boy dog doesn’t have “both of the boys” or other things that are unimportant to a pet dog owner.  The breeder doesn’t want to pass on this quality so they opt to place them in a pet home.

This means you have the opportunity to own a dog that has a great start in life and SKIP the puppy craze!

Temperament testing is an invaluable tool in my opinion.  Basically an individual that has never met the litter before will evaluate the litter.  Many breeders use the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test.  In this testing the puppy is tested to see how social it is with people, it’s retrieving abilities, it’s play drive, how it responds to sounds, how it responds to things that are unpredictable and so on.  The testing is done in a location that is unfamiliar to the puppies.  At the end, each puppy is scored.  The score IS NOT a pass or fail.  But instead it gives you insight into the personality of the puppy.  It tells you if the puppy has outgoing tendencies or is more independent.  It doesn’t grade puppies as good or bad, but instead helps to determine which puppy would be best suited for which home.

Meaning, if a puppy scored as highly social and very confident that dog might not do as well in a novice dog owning home as the puppy will want to be every’s friend (aka every person that walks past your house) and may be more challenging.

That said, sometimes breeders say things like “I KNOW MY PUPPIES BEST.”  And while I will agree, that because we’ve raised them from 0 to 8 weeks we do know them well, we also can’t eliminate bias.  In addition to this a puppy that is very confident and outgoing in it’s home, might be shy out and about.  I have to say with my last litter the puppy that I felt was the bull in a china shop and most social actually scored the LEAST SOCIAL when removed from the comforts of her home.  She was still a very social puppy, but not as social as the rest.  This helped me to identify the BEST home for her personality.  She’s doing very well in her home and her owners were able to use the temperament test to do the best job socializing her and not overwhelming her.

In my last litter of puppies I had an all white puppy with a few black spots.  EVERYONE wanted THAT PUPPY.  But not everyone was suited to own that puppy.  If I had allowed them to choose their puppy based on LOOKS alone, they would have more than likely returned him to me.  No one returns a puppy because it is cute.  They return puppies because their temperament and activity level DON’T MATCH their lifestyle.

That white puppy was the most rambunctious, crazy puppy of the litter.  He was sassy and zippy.  He needed owners that could keep up with his antics, exercise him both mentally and physically and help him walk the straight and narrow as he grew into adulthood.  Though there were many people that wanted him and only him based on his looks, only one family struck me as the “right” home.  A young active couple that loved hiking, being outdoors, didn’t have children yet and one was a teacher.  They were perfect and I got rave reviews about their puppy.  Had I have placed this puppy in a house with young children and parents that had never had a dog they would have likely returned him by 6 months.  He was A LOT of dog and a lot to handle.

Great breeders ALWAYS want their puppies registered and therefore will always provide you with papers.  They are proud of their dogs and want you to register them.  They also won’t give you the option to pay extra for “breeding rights.”  Prior to you picking up your puppy they have already graded their litter and know who is a show and breeding prospect and who isn’t.  They don’t want pet quality dogs bred as their primary goal is to improve the breed.  That doesn’t mean pet puppies aren’t perfect pets, they just aren’t 100% the epitome of the breed in some small way.

First, it’s illegal in all 50 states.  Second, puppies that are removed from their littermates prior to 8 weeks are missing out on key socialization periods and are more likely to have biting and nipping problems down the road.