Importing Dogs?

[Amstaffer]

There are several breeds out there that are best found in their home countries as the USA can mess up a breed.

How do people find reputable breeders in other countries and what hassles do people go through to bring the puppy home with them?

Have any of you done it? Please share any experiences you have had.

 

[skyeboxer]

I can't really tell you what had to be done to get the dog or how he found a good one but I just heard on the grapevine that an old friend of mine recently imported a Staffy from the UK into Hong Kong. He's always been a staffy nut and I'm sure he researched very thoroughly. In fact i wouldn't be surprised if he'd actually used his leave to go tp the UK to find the right dog/breeder.

 

[Novel_Weims]

A couple options:
Start by making connections in the US. Find a breeder who has what you like and follow their lines back. If they're not importing, well, maybe their line alone would be good. If they are importing, you can ask them for contact info.
Contact the kennel club in the country you are interested in. Breeder referral will get you lots of people that you need to weed through.
Finally, use the web. Many breeders overseas have websites and maintain them nicely. Not as many as in the US, but it's definitely growing in popularity.

 

[whatszmatter]

i've been very lucky in that my experiences have been with very good people (mostly) that already have the connections. I didn't know that right away, it took years of working with them and seeing the dogs they'd get in to know, that they knew who they were dealing with. And they spent months at a time sometimes over seas in germany and belgium making contacts and creating relationships.

Basically you have to create those relationships do research.

 

[Spiritus]

Ditto what everyone else said.

I have imported two dogs from overseas, and I have another one coming. I haven't been disappointed with any of my dealings with overseas breeders. I have heard though, in some breeds, buying from overseas can be terribly risky if you don't really "know" who your buying from. Things like dogs arriving that were nothing like they were promised to be, disqualifying colours (in my breed, that would be amounts/location of white), even dogs that are actually mixes, not purebred. Also, if you are looking at a breed that is traditionally docked or cropped in North America, you must keep in mind that this is illegal to do in FCI countries unless it is done by a vet, so most breeders don't. There are a lot of natural earred Dobes with long tails, Schipperkes with tails, terriers with full tails.