Dont want to support show breeders

A friend of mine is very against show breeders. I have told her that they are not all "evil" like a few documentaries would leave you to believe.

she is dead set against getting a puppy from anyone who shows.

Also, she doesnt need a working line dog. She lives a pretty mellow life, and I dont see her doing agility, etc with her dog. So a drivey dog would not be right for her.

I would had suggest getting a dog from the shelter but she really says that she needs a dog that she can raise to be how she wants it to be. she has two children and has company (business company) over for dinner regularly. So she thinks she needs a puppy to raise up to be how she needs it to be.
I was wondering if maybe getting a puppy from a shelter was a good idea for her, but she likes breeds that are not found at animal shelters, and she really really wants a

Kerry Blue
Bedlington
or a Skye Terrier

any tips on how to find a good breeder that does not show OR work their dogs but isnt a BYB? and that do health test?

How old are her kids? Aren't terriers pretty intense?

My guess is the best you could hope for is to find a BYB who health tests their dogs. Not common, but they DO exist . . . when I was at the vet once there was a lady getting some cardiac tests done on her golden retriever. She had already done the CERF and OFA tests.

I asked her about her dog, figuring she must show her dog or do hunting trials or something. Nope! She wanted to breed her dog because it was "such a pretty caramel color." But . . . she was testing it and she did say she wasn't going to breed the dog if the CERF/OFA/cardiac tests were bad.

Probably much harder to find a breeder like that for a HTF breed like Kerry blues, etc, though.

My advice is to take her through the shelter often "just to see what's there" and hope she falls in love with a dog there.

yes, she knows that terriers can be a bit intense. not so much the terriers that she likes tho. they are not like the welsh, fox, manchester, parson, etc.

her kids are 11 and 14

I was a selective breeder .... mainly to keep my line going . Though I never really went into obedience or bench showing , my off spring had it in their backgrounds should buyers wanted to go that way . I did all the required tests and always had a waiting list .If you go through breed clubs , they should have recommended breedings . I did breed to others who were in my boat and carefully screened by me . Just be careful and ask A LOT of questions !!! It's not just the breeding but how they plan to handle the litter . That's why " How To Raise A Puppy You Can Live With " was my puppy Bible !

Bedlingtons can really be pretty intense as can be kerry blues from what I know. Really you're not going to find many decent breeders that don't show or work in these breeds.

I never understand some people's logic.

Yea, I dont think your going to find many terriers that arent intense... Unless you buy from a mill that has messed up dogs anyways...

A good breeder that doesn't show or work their dogs is sort of an oxymoron to me... I would agree, the best you can hope to find is somebody who is breeding without much purpose but is at least health testing.

She could try breed rescues, they do have puppies.

So she wants a puppy from working lines? Nothing wrong with getting a pet from working lines.

I was always under the assumption that Kerry Blues and Bedlingtons were pretty intense and driven terriers. I know I've seen some pics of working Bedlingtons, and they wouldn't strike me as a beginner's dog.

Those aren't the most common breeds, so I am not sure she will find a breeder that doesn't show/work/etc. And I'm not sure a carelessly bred terrier is what a beginner needs.

I second her looking at a breed rescue. She should also meet adults of the breed she's interested in, to see if they're even a fit

Thanks! i will tell her

I read it as her not wanting a dog from working lines either

she is scared a working line dog would be too drivey

I'd look into working breeders and then talk to the breeder and see if they have a puppy who is less drivey (perhaps that would be the reason they are putting the dog into a pet home instead of keeping him). Not all show bred pups are close enough to standard to be shown and not all working bred dogs are drivey enough to be worked, she'll just have to be sure she finds a breeder who really has her and the dog's best interest at heart.

I'd normally say you can easily find pups in a shelter but those breeds are not very common, I'll take a look on petfinder and check out breeders.

These are pretty uncommon breeds and not usual the 'working' terriers (i.e. you don't see them out as often as some of the other terrier breeds), but anything is possible. You can check with the parent club for each of the breeds and see what you can find in the breeder referral section.

Good luck!

I lived with a Bedlington for 15 years, and he could be just as intense as any other terrier I've met. A great dog, but certainly with issues. We were a rather novice family for most of his life, so we did a lot more management then training (he was a terrible resource guarder for instance, and bit and broke skin more than once, so we just didn't try and take stuff from him).

Like others said, I'm not sure your friend would find a non-show, non-working breeder who doesn't qualify as a BYB with such uncommon breeds. I agree that I would work on convincing her to look for a low drive dog from a working breeder if she really won't touch show breeders. Medley was a non-show quality dog from a show breeder, who was a wonderful reference for us all 15 years.

That's how I read it too.

My m-i-l breeds kerry blues and they can be a handful. The males can be dog aggressive but the girls are usually a bit better. They are a bit more laid back than some other terriers, but still full of fire. There are always exceptions to the rule, though, and she's had some fiesty girls and some laid back boys over the years. Hmmmm...while I'm the first to agree that there are some show breeders that are not nice, I'd also say that every group has some not nice/less ethical people. Those 3 breeds are really neat but not ones that you'd like to take a chance on and get an iffy temperment or health issues. Skyes are huge dogs with short legs....not pushovers! There are many reputable show breeders who see themselves as caretakers for the breed and are quite ethical.

I've handled a few of my mil's dogs and found them to be quite charming. I finally stuck with the border collies, though, because there was much less grooming involved...couldn't do the scissoring!!!

I wish your friend good luck in her search!

^ this.

I read it as she wanted to go with a working breeder.

I am conflicted here, I know many wonderful laid back terriers, some with and some without prey drives.

I also know a lot of show breeders that don't give a wit about temperament, just pedigree, structure and movement.......wait I'll take that back, they hate shy/tender and as long as the dog shows well, they wouldn't care if it ate the arse out of a lion (or person). Although bitting judges is discouraged lol.

As for real working terriers (not earth tests at trials or dog sports) those are few and far between..........and most of the ones that I know have the best temperaments and they are not over the top, intense, insane, manic or have a blood thrist.

If the person does their reseach, they will be able to find what they are looking for.

I don't know if that means she isn't interested in one or if DAB just thinks she wouldn't be suited to a working line dog, but I also read it as she isn't looking for a working line dog.