Your Ideal Breeder...

I have no idea if we will rescue our next dog ir get one from a breeder, but I am always thinking about what I want in a breeder if we go to one. At this time, the most likely breeds would be a lab or whippet (I'm also interested in Newfs and GSDs but DH says no right now).

My goals for the dog would be companion first, and hopefully dabbling in agility, rally, or coursing if it's a whippet.

My ideal breeder:

-all recommended health tests
-some sort of proof of temperament-test, therapy dog, something
-titles on both ends of breeding dogs
-a breeder that feeds high quality food
-in labs breeders that had a combination of hunting and bench lines and and emphasis on moderate, functional dogs
-in whippets I'm not as knowledgeable, but I'm thinking a combo of show and racing lines
-an open, honest relationship with the breeder, and one happy to answer questions
-dogs raised indoors
-one or two litters a year

So what is your ideal?

My ideal breeder apparently has no life outside of their puppies.

• Someone I trust
• Health tests
• Takes amazing pictures
• Avoids kennel blindness
• Has no spay/neuter contract
• Answers all my inquires fast and with lots and lots of detail.
• Stands by their dogs
• Feeds a well formulated raw diet
• Minimal vaccines
• Easy to communicate with
• Works their dogs
• Competes in sports (or buyers go off to do well in sports)
• Temperament tests and matches dogs
• Does all the fun environmental exposure stuff and socializing
• Supportive
• Most of all has dogs I love and produces dogs I love.

- Health testing up the wazoo
- All dogs live inside the home/puppies are raised inside
- ENS
- Friendly, kind breeder I am comfortable with
- Great communication skills
- Facebookly active/likes updates and pictures
- Priorities are as follows: Health, temperament then activity. Hopefully that activity is obedience or showing
- Natural rearing (healthy food, minimal vaccinations etc..)
- Titles/versatility in the dogs (some sports, therapy dogs, show champs, etc..)
- EXTENSIVE socialization with puppies. I believe a bright start is awesome!
- Good health contract
- 1-3 litters per year
- Part of the breed club
- Never merlexmerle and certainly puts very little emphasis on color
- Passionate about their breed and HONEST about the dogs they produce
- Has a clear understanding of the breed standard and what they are breeding towards and can tell you the differences between those two
- Do not have blanket requirements of future homes (like MUST have fences or MUST not have children or MUST have stay at home someone) takes homes on a case by case basis
- Thorough puppy application
- Puppies start basic training (crate/clicker)
- Offer shipping
- Will take any dog/puppy back at any time
- Offers support but doesn't smother. As in educates but leaves decisions to the owner ultimately on small things like what to feed, equipment to use etc..
- Encourages buyers/puts in contract not to spay/neuter before 1 year
- Picks the puppy FOR the buyer (just a sign of good breeders in general to do matching process IMO)
- Offers dog sitting if you go out of town
- Has another breeder/breed savvy person evaluate litters as well
- Has a solid lengthy temperament test
- Strongly believes in the dogs she/he is producing but without kennel blindness.
- Keeps the breeder/show/club/sport drama to a minimum. This is a small thing but ugh.. I just don't like the cut throat attitude and mean spiritedness of some sports and would love to not buy a puppy from someone who is a part of that
- Versatility. Dogs that can be agility stars but also show. Have the drive for disc but also the calmness to be therapy dogs..
- Decent photographer lol
-When it comes to the dogs living in his/her home..I look for that just right healthy balance where the dogs are first loved pets/part of the family and SECOND show dogs/agility champs/therapy dogs/sires/dams. Of course I expect a breeder to have proven dogs but more than stats.. I want those dogs to be loved pets as well. I'm not interested in a breeder that doesn't know her dogs favorite toys or odd little quirks as WELL as his show stats


erm..I think that's it lol

my breeder has no life and a full time staff :rofl1:

Ideal for me for papillons
- Health tests
- Actually lives with their dogs as pets - not in a kennel
- Has an actual selection criteria for their dogs beyond who'll finish in the ring
- can acknowledge the weaknesses a dog brings to a pairing as well as the strengths
- cares as much about the mental well being of their dogs as a complete animal rather than what ribbons they'll garner.
- Has a sane contract

It's funny, I guess I've never really made a list. I guess with this last breeder I really liked it just gave me a good feeling.

• Breeds dogs for working ability first and foremost,
  and of course physical soundness and temperament (it can't have a good worker w/o those, anyway)
• Is easy to communicate with and checks email/phone regularly.
• Has been involved with the breed for a while before beginning to breed
• Will answer every single question I have, regardless of how 'silly'
• Does health testing
• Takes lots of pictures of the puppies
• Will send me photos of their dogs before I meet them (hehe)
• Has a reason for every breeding that takes place
• Has a waiting list before breeding
• Is honest about their dog's strengths and weaknesses
• Doesn't match up owners to puppies until at least 6 weeks old
• Advises as to which puppy suits you, but you get final choice
• Puppies are raised and kept inside the home
• Does vet checks with puppies right before going to new homes
• Socializes their puppies to different people and situations
• Does not send puppies to their new homes before 7 weeks old
• Does not have a spay/neuter contract, or will bend it to suit my needs.
• Can provide vet/past buyer references
• Has puppies going and doing well in agility, sports, and companion homes as well as puppies who are working sheepdogs
• Is willing to support me throughout the dog's life, and wants to take the puppy back should something happen
• Asks me just as many questions about myself, as I ask of them

The breeder I am in contact isn't really aren't far off from my ideal, if at all, reading through this. Kinda funny how that works out.

I'm pretty basic.

-Health tests
-Puppy (and adults) indoors, lots of socialization
-Involved with their dogs; I don't care about titles or showing, but do something with your dogs whether it be therapy work or just hundreds of agility and obed classes....
-Knowledgeable about the breed
-Open and honest

That's all I can think of. The breeder thing is always weird to me. I don't really know what I want outside of a nice, healthy dog. Like I know communication is important to a lot of people but.... I don't really care to contact my breeder lol unless I need something.

-Works their dogs on stock
-Has extensive knowledge on structure and movement
-Health tests (CEA/CL/TNS, OFA, CERF, BAER)
-Extensive knowledge of pedigrees
-BCs from British lines, ISDS or KC
-1-2 litters a year
-Does not breed bitches more than 4 times
-Does not breed bitches after age 7
-Friendly- I like to think of Fiona and Wesley's breeders as family members
-Ethical (hard to explain)
-Working knowledge of genetics
-Produces nice puppies (structure, temperament, type, instinct, and drive)
-Lifetime support
-Passionate

(in no particular order)

Both our breeders are almost perfect in the sense of our personal wants.

First off, I want a dog that is bred to work. This means that the dog comes off a ranch, has parents who are extremely capable of handling cattle. It also means that puppies get early exposure to livestock of some sort. Herding instinct is vital. Videos of parents and previous litters working is extremely important. DH's lines must be proven in the field with both retrieving and point.

Second, I want a health tested dog who is bred towards breed standard. I also want a stable temperament. I usually prefer to choose my own pup, however, with my breeder being in Wyoming, that just isn't possible. However, even with the recommendation of the breeder, I can still have the final choice.

Thirdly, I want a breeder that is open, honest, and willing to answer any questions, give me any information, supply me with videos and pictures, as well as be willing to take their pup back if anything happens. Also, flexibility on the spay/neuter contract is nice, as well as the time frame for a pup if anything changes. I also like someone who says "Come over whenever!" And has dogs who are well socialized and raised in the home.

Early training and a lot of the socialization I can do, and many times prefer to do... So that isn't a major deal breaker for me if they don't get ENS or a wide variety of socialization.

This is basically my list in a nutshell (besides the Border Collie reference - they're not a breed I'm considering at this time).

For me, the health testing is a big thing. There was one breeder who was basically everything I was looking for except she only had hip prelims done on two bitches ( who were over 2 years old) and both had litters on the ground. That just didn't sit right with me.

I'm not too picky when it comes to breeders, when I am looking into getting a puppy I find myself looking more at individual litters and dogs. That said, I'd like to see

- Health testing (I only require the bare minimum OFA hips and possibly elbows, anything else is a bonus).
- Personally works and knows their dogs, along with their progeny/the dogs they have produced.
- Willingness to share information regarding their dog's longevity, health, temperament, etc.
- Honesty and both the experience and knowledge to unbiasedly judge and relay their dog's faults.
- Ability to read and assess pedigrees and breeding combinations.
- Ability to assess and evaluate individual puppies, and match them to the most appropriate homes.
- No spay/neuter contract, or a willingness to forgo one.
- Full registration.
- NOTHING dictating what I should feed, how I should train, how I should raise the puppy, etc.
- Breeder can't be a total psycho.

Primarily traits that will assure me that the breeder has the expertise and experience to know what they have and what they are producing in terms of the dogs. I want to know that the breeder can properly assess the dogs and evaluate the puppies and know enough (and be honest enough) to give me what I want. Otherwise, as long as there is nothing limiting what I can or cannot do with the dog, I am okay .

Pretty much this.

This is more for the breeds I am interested in for Nextdog.

- Breeds dogs that can work or perform in some aspect. I am really looking more for working temperament and working drive than any one particular sport. I think if you've got drive and the right temperament then you should have a dog that can compete well enough in whatever I want to do

- Breeds dogs with a sense of the whole dog rather than just one aspect. I got very frustrated with the amount of breeders that breed just for herding trials or just flyball or just conformation. I know people are sometimes wary of the 'do it all' dogs but I realize it is very important to me that my breeder is focused on a well rounded dog.

- Does not breed dogs with health problems, which is a no brainer but I've seen it enough. Of course most of that is not something the breeder will say outright which makes it tricky

- Does all necessary health tests for their breed. Has a good understanding of dog health and genetics

- Does not breed merle x merle or to a double merle stud (not applicable in all breeds but is applicable in all 3 I've looked at for Nextdog)

- Will let me register AKC. No compromise there. I live in an area where AKC is the one choice for agility.

- Parents have titles or are actual working dogs. Videos of the dogs working/see them in person are very much preferred.

- Will let me wait on altering until after 2 years or even better will let me choose when/if to alter

- Does not require me to feed anything in specific or follow any specific vaccination protocols. I want to decide that for myself. They can recommend but no contracts.

- Is very willing to talk to me about the how and why of specific pairings.

- Very knowledgeable on the breed.

- Has pups/relative competing in sports is a bonus

- Makes sure they match dogs to homes as well as possible and also stands by their dogs they produce.

I did forget to list contract details. I don't want to be told how I must train or feed the pup. I have no interest in keeping a perminently intact dog unless it will be seriously competed with, but I do want the freedom to wait until the dog is mature to alter.

My perfect, ideal, mythical breeder:
- breeds a well balanced dog, physically and mentally
- preforms at least the bare minimum health tests (OFA, CERF, and other breed specific testing such as PRA; not as worried about EIC, thyroid, etc.)
- has titles on both end of the dog
- socializes the puppies from day one, starts crate training/housebreaking, introduces to new environments/gunshots/water/etc.
- requires just as much discrimination in breeding their bitches as they do their dogs
- stands by their dogs, especially by their health (aka, offers a very nice health guarantee)
- doesn't require a S/N contract, doesn't require yearly vaccines, doesn't require X food be fed, etc., etc...
- easy to get in touch with, communicates in a timely fashion, isn't afraid to answer your questions and gives you straight answers without beating around the bush
- knows their dogs and their breedings to tell me if they will be producing what I want, and then help me pick out the puppy that would be best suited for me

And this wouldn't be an issue if I weren't a student just starting out in life, but I can't afford to spend a lot on the initial purchase price of a pup, so unfortunately I'm having to really narrow my search by the price their asking...I'm really hoping to find a dog in the $500-$800 range. Not the $1000-$1500 range.