Edit: Didn't mean to hit the Submit button, still going through the pages:
IF the puppies aren't raised WITH the family, I'd pass. That early socialization is SOOO important. No matter how good they take care of their dogs, if they are too good to let the puppies into their home, I wouldn't support them. Puppies should NOT be raised in an outdoor kennel with human interaction just a few times a day.
The puppies are raised in doors. For one, it's entirely too hot outside for the puppies and they would drown in the pool he has in the kennel for the adults.
Do you mean you'd pay 1/2 for the parents to be xrayed.............or are you talking about the pups? I am a little confused about that last part, LOL
Parents. Doesn't do much good to x-ray a puppy for HD (not to my knowledge, at least, but I don't know all the ins and outs of the process). And the x-ray shouldn't be too much I wouldn't think. My vet charges $70 for two views, which is all you'd need I'd imagine (lateral and ventral).
If you want a purebred dog but don't want to support someone who does it ethically then rescue. If these dogs are so great why are the selling them so cheap?
Like I said it was an accidental breeding, he wasn't planning to have 6 puppies hanging around at the moment. Guy just went through a divorce too so that's one more thing he has to deal with (or doesn't want to deal with).
GO, you would buy one of these pups if the parents aren't health tested and don't 'do' anything (show, sport, whatever)?
If you do. Just. . .wow.
Uh, no I wouldn't buy them if they're not health tested (thus me asking about the health records and HD). Yes I would buy them if the dogs don't 'do' anything. My dogs don't 'do' anything in the way of agility or show and they're perfectly fine and, to my knowledge, happy as a clam.
What concerns me most here is that (well, besides him not being sure that they are health tested) is that the PUPPIES ARE BEING RAISED OUTDOORS!!! BIIIIIG BIIIIG BIIIG NO NO! I'd run away at teh very thought of that. Ugh. Puppies NEED to be raised IN a home with the family for early socialization, NOT IN A KENNEL
No, they are not. The puppies are inside. They were outside playing with the family when I went by, they aren't in the kennel. I've walked by and looked and they're no where out there, just the parents.
Save the impulse buys for chocolate candy and condoms.
This is not an impulse buy. I have the means and the ability to acquire them and have been wanting a GSD for quite some time now. It's an opportunity, not an impulse.
I guess if you are bent on getting from this breeder, just do the "right" thing and research like crazy about the worst case scenarios and be prepared for all of them.
That's what I'm looking for with this thread but all I'm getting is flak.
GO - you said that he's a BYB. What's your definition of a BYB? By my definition of a BYB, I would never buy from one. But you might be using the term differently.
My definition of a BYB I suppose would be one that has two good dogs to their knowledge and breeds them. Kind of like this guy did. A puppy mill is where they do it purely for profit.
If he's unaware of the need to x-ray prior to breeding, then he shouldn't be breeding. If that's the case, educate him and leave without buying.
I've no idea if he's X-rayed before or not. The vet I go to is a pretty good one and I wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't recommended it to him in the past. Though I'm not sure at what age HD disposition shows up (the mother is 1.5, the father is 5). Again, I'm going to ask (probably going to walk over there soon as I get done replying to all this stuff).
At 15 I expect deafness. At 2 I don't hun. Even early teens I wouldn't be so floored.
Sometimes it's just poor genetics coming out. Or physical damage. You can have stellar parents but the dog still have problems. I'm only 22 and have to wear hearing aids and I think I come from pretty good stock...and deafness in a dog isn't the end of the world. They can rely heavily on smell. Same for blindness. Lay down a 'trail' of lavender or something, and get the dog to associate that with where they need to go (positive reinforcement of the smell) and the dog will do just fine.
Do you want the dog? Do you feel it would be unethical to purchase one of these puppies? If no, the get the pup, be happy and D*MN what a bunch of people on an internet forum are getting their panties in a twist over.
Yes. No. And I didn't plan to have anyone here stop me from buying the dog, I just came for advice on what I should ask/check into.
I mean shouldn't someone going to vet school know better?
Yes, I know BYB is a problem and I see the results of it pretty much every day that I'm at work, or helping out at the shelter. BUT to
my current knowledge this is not your typical BYB, but actually a genuine accidental breeding of two good dogs. You can paint BYBs all in one color if you'd like but to me, there's degrees of it.
This idea that many of you seem to have that if a dog doesn't have titles then it isn't worthy to breed is BS IMO
This. I would never choose to breed either of my current dogs (though Leo is a full blooded labrador) but that's just because I've no interest in it. I think Leo would make a good sire in someone else's hands but he's missing a few crucial parts, so the point is nil. Anyhow, he doesn't have his titles, nor do any 'work' aside from playing with us when we go outside/for walks/etc.
Does have severe separation anxiety but I don't know that that's genetic, unless it's a psychological trait that's caused from a genetic defect/hormonal imbalance (which could be the result of the neuter).