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What makes you select a certain breeder??

3K views 11 replies 11 participants last post by  Guest 
#1 ·
We all got our dogs from somewhere - some went the Reputalbe/responsible breeder route, some rescue, others pets stores and BYB.   But I just want a general consenus of what will make you in the future pick a breeder?    And has your thought process changed since the purchase or adoption of your first or other dogs?

Just wondering the general consensus of it all.   I am always facinated by what drives people to select certain things.  As Sully pointed out one time, some people put mor research in purchasing their appliances than they do when selecting a family pet?  But in hind sight which purchase should you be more concerned about when it comes to health/maintence repairs let alone safety and interaction with family?
 
#2 ·
Excellent topic!

My first boxer, I admit, came from a BYB. That was my girl Savanna (11 years ago), back then I looked for a breeder who owned both parents and had dogs that fit the AKC breed standard and had dogs that were current on any and all vaccinations and had not had any previous health problems. I looked for a breeder whose dogs were friendly, clean and kept in a 'nice' environment and who fed 'good food' (back then my idea of good food was unfortuneately Science Diet because that is what my vet fed his dogs).

NOW- I look for breeders who do health testing and I ask what their philosophy on vaccination schedules are. I expect a breeder to be very knowledgeable about the breed and their potential health issues. I look for breeders who ask me at least as many questions as I ask them and who do not constantly have puppies 'waiting' for homes. I look more for a breeder who does not own both parents, but who has put a lot of time into finding the "right" mate for their dog. I want to know what the breeder feeds their dogs and if they compete with their dogs. I want to know, not only if the parents, grandparents, etc are champions but also how long they lived and what their health was. I want to know about the interactions the puppies have before they are ready to go to homes. I want to see what the parents, grandparents and any previous pups look like to determine if they are of the physical type I am looking for.

I am so much pickier now, but then I know so much more. Imagine what I might know in another 10 years!!

I have also adopted boxers and provided a foster home for boxers, in doing that it has made me realize how many boxers are not cared for or well bred. It drives me to be even pickier about the breeder I will choose for the next boxer that I 'purchase'.
 
#3 ·
When we got Cassie I looked into it for about 3 months before trying to get as much info as I could, I didn't really understand all that much about about what food was good or bad (have learnt more from here), the breeder we ot her from wasn't one that had loads of money and def wasn't in it just to make money, she didn't answer some of my questions with what i thought she should have said but i knew the dad had come from what i considered, at the time, good stock

Then i saw a tv program on all the inter breeding and the effects of it all on the dogs and if i were to get another dog in future then i would ask to see the papers on both parents before buying. just because the parents have won in shows and are champions doesn't always means good breeding adn your getting a healthy dog
 
#4 ·
Hmm...yes very good topic.   :)

After all of the health issue experiences I went through with Buster, (who was purchased from a pet store), I  would have to say that health testing would be numero uno on my list. I would definitely want to visit the breeder and see the conditions of where and how the litter is being whelped and check out the living conditions of all the dogs. I would also question the philosophies of the breeder and also expect a ton of questions about me and my life and how the puppy will be raised.
Showing really isn't that important to me, however I would like to know that somewhere and not too far down the line that both the sire and dam's side has been shown and judged on all the physical aspects. But they do not need to be an active part of the show world. To me health is way more important.
I actually don't even know if I will ever get a pup from a breeder as I prefer to go the rescue route. Maybe (and this is real positive thinking here)...but maybe there will come a time when the rescues and shelters are not at all overcrowded with all the unwanted boxers that I may consider a pup from a breeder. But right now I would probably only rescue.  :)
 
#5 ·
Altho our first Boxer was purchased from a breeder(we found her in the paper, what does that tell you?), came from CH lines, AKC registered, knowing what I know now, I would have asked a lot more questions, like health testing and why did they decide to let this pup go? She asked literally none of us, no followups, zip....My next 2 were rescues and then I met Angel & Rhonda thru my meetup group...Now I'm learning things and know what to ask, and what to be asked by her as well.And let me tell you, Rhonda grilled me before agreeing to sell Angel to us...Altho Angel wasn't bred by her, she knows the breeder, they did a puppy swap, that's how she ended up with Angel. Rhonda explained why she wasn't shown, pointed the faults out, etc...So fast forward to last year and I've decided it's time for a new pup, the first mating didn't take, but in a way i'm soo glad, otherwise I wouldn't have been blessed with Flick, who has totally exceeded my expectations :)

I always ask questions of Rhonda and others, always picking the brain of someone as I still really don't know a lot what to look for, but I do know one thing, first and foremost to me health testing and temperment....I am understanding better why you pass on breeding one dog to wait for another...I want to be able to ask the breeder how previous litters have done, any issues that came up and know that I will get an honest answer....

I did do a lot of research before we bought, or so I thought  :) But knowledge is power, you can make a much better decision if you have a lot of information available to you.....
 
#6 ·
Great topic...Lets see, my first was from a reputable boxer breeder and her Granddad was BangAway...the next one I got was from the same breeder.  Even tho I was stil living at home I knew this was the breed for me.  Since then I have adopted/rescued all the other 12 except for Hailey.  She was the only one my OH purchased from a BYB as a surprise for me.  

I would never get one other than rescue/adopt if I couldn't afford one from a reputable breeder.  As I know...I can keep myself in boxers, and not the ones I would wear under my clothes LOL, cuz there will alwaya be ones someone is giving away because they didn't study the boxer breed.
 
#8 ·
I don't think I will go with a breeder again... I think all my future pooches are going to be rescues...

Once we get a house with a yard that I have easy access to I will definitely start to foster and stuff like that
 
#9 ·
Penny is my first boxer but not my first dog. The dogs that i have had in the past have come from the street (well the field really we live in a area that people frequently drop unwanted dogs in) or the SPCA. When we decided that we were going ot get a boxer (it was a toss up between boxer and great dane) I did as much research as I could. I spoke with breeders and talked to the vet I worked with at the time. We ended up finding Penny online on a website that ryhmes with eggsmist. I regret that I encouraged a BYB to continue doing what he was doing but I would never trade Penny for another dog. Yes she did come with some problems (worms, low weight, fleas, frequent vomiting, heart murmur, and some minor skin issues) and she does have some temperment traits that I would not have preferred but all of those things can come from the "good" breeder too.  
In the future for any dog I will find someone who does testing, is trying to preserve the breed and provides them with living conditions that I give my dogs.
 
#10 ·
I look for 1. Health Testing, 2. Conformation.  Those are the most important things to me.  But the really big thing is the breeder him/herself.  I have to get a good vibe from them, they have to answer all my questions no matter how silly, they have to be stringent about the type of home they sell their dogs to.

Our first boxer Jax (RIP) was bought by Josh from a BYB before we started dating.  He was a great dog, a little high strung though and definitely off-standard.  At 3.5 he developed epilepsy and died one day short of 5 from it (probably caused by a brain tumor).  We were heartbroken, to say the least.  Still are.

When we decided to add another dog to the mix when Jax was 3, I started doing research online and came across a boxer forum.  There I learned about health testing, conformation, the ABC, breeder referrals, etc.  I started looking in July and we brought Brody home in January.  We hadn't planned on bringing home a pup that early but I found a litter and breeder that answered all my questions, did health testing and conformation, etc.  

Our newest addition, Riley, came from the same sire as Brody.  I had known about this breeder from two years earlier when we brought Brody home and loved them.  They did everything I wanted and being the president of their state's boxer club showed their dedication to the breed.  Riley is from an awesome pedigree and has been a joy.  

For us, responsible breeders are the way to go.  I applaud everyone who rescues, but we lean toward responsible breeding.
 
#11 ·
When I decided to get a Boxer I was just going to look around this area to see if there were any breeders, I did have an idea about BYB so I knew I didn't want to do that.  I really didn't know a lot about what to look for in a breeder until I joined this website but by that time I had decided that I wanted to adopt from a rescue.  My sister and BIL had adopted a Springer and she showed me the two rescues in WI for Boxers, once I started reading their stories I was hooked.

I ever go the puppy (or older) route, I want a breeder that I can count on as a mentor, one who breeds for temperament, health tests and breeds outside of just their own dogs or has brought a new dog into their line. Someone who does not breed their bitches often or allows them to have a lot of litters.  They don't have to show but have to be heavily involved with the breed in someway (agility, Shutzland (sp?), obedience, etc).  From reading more on Euro dogs, I believe that I would like my next dog from Euro lines. I will expect a lot from a breeder and at the same time want them to expect the same from me.
 
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#12 ·
I got Eddie from a petstore. I didn't know anthing about BYB or the evils of pet stores at that time. I was planning on adopting however when I saw poor sad Eddie I couldn't leave him sitting in that kennel. A few weeks later he was in the hospital with pnemonia which the vet believes he had when we got him and he also caught parvo since he was so sick and at the vets. From now on, any dog we get we are going to adopt from either the humane society (like Kaycee) or the STL boxer rescue.
 
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