How to Find a Responsible Dog Breeder

Alright! If you missed Monday's video... Big yawn! On Monday, we did a video talking about, what is a backyard breeder? I said that on Wednesday, we would do a video telling you guys, how to find a responsible breeder. Again, we always suggest going to shelters or rescues first. But, we know that every once in a while, everybody wants a puppy. So, we figured by making this video, if you are going to get a puppy, this will at least help you go in the right direction to find the right puppy for you. So, one of the first things you want to ask when looking for a breeder of any breed of dog is, why are they breeding? What is the reason that they want to have puppies? A responsible breeder will breed dogs with the purpose of improving and bettering the breed. They're going to look at the history of both the mom and the dad. And, they're going to look at, you know, do they meet breed standards? Are they shaped the right way? Are they free from genetic defects? Things like that. They're going to make sure that the two dogs that they're breeding together are good compatible dogs and that they're going to uphold the history and the breed standard of whatever the breed is. We should just use Huskies as examples because you know, it's easiest. Another thing that you're going to want to look into when looking for a breeder is, do the mother and father of the puppy you're looking at have what's called a surf certification? Basically what that is, is it's a test that you can give to your dogs and it determines whether or not they're going to have genetic eye diseases. Like Huskies for example, they can have juvenile cataracts. It's very common in the breed. So, having the mother and father be surf certified, will help minimize the chance of the dogs having genetic eye diseases. Another certification you want them to have is their OFA certifications. That has to do with hip dysplasia and basically that means that they can show that they've had lines and lines of dogs that have bred that don't have hip dysplasia. Which again is a genetic defect that you know, bad breeding leads to these defects. So responsible breeders will do everything they can to make sure that these genetic defects don't happen. Which if you've ever had a dog with hip dysplasia, it's not very comfortable for the dog. It's very painful. So, trying to make sure to breed dogs that don't have it and won't pass it down to their puppies is very important to a responsible breeder. Another thing that a responsible breeder will do, is they will have you fill out an application for one of their puppies. They won't just let you walk up, give them some money and take the puppy. They're going to want to know what experience you have with dogs in general. What experience you may have with that certain breed. How often, how long are you gone each day? What is your work schedule like? A lot of times they'll want to know who, if you have a dog or if you've had a dog, who your vet is. Can they contact your vet? How many animals do you have in your house? Do you have a fenced in backyard? There's usually a lot of questions that are in these applications. Because a responsible breeder is looking for that person who is going to be the forever home of that dog. They're not just looking for somebody to, oh here's a puppy, take it and whatever. They want to be sure that that dog is going to it's forever home. A lot of times also to go along with the application, a responsible breeder will require you to sign a contract when you buy a dog from them. A lot of times these contracts say things like, if you're buying, if it's a show home and you're buying the dog for a pet or a companion pet instead of a show dog, they'll want you to sign a spay and neuter contract that you agree to make sure to get the dog spayed and neutered by a certain date, you know, by the time they're six months old or whatever. A lot of times these contracts also say, if for any reason throughout the life of the dog, if something happens and you can no longer keep the dog, that the dog must go back to the breeder. Which is a wonderful thing that responsible breeders will do. A lot of times you go to a backyard breeder, you have a dog for a year, let's say you lose your house and now you have to get rid of this dog. A responsible breeder will help you and try to take the dog back because they want the dog to go to another good home. A backyard breeder will basically say, too bad for you, you bought the dog, I got my money, that's all that matters. Another thing about responsible breeders is a responsible breeder will be willing to pretty much answer any and all questions you have. They want to know that you are as comfortable with them as they are with you. So there's always, there will always be a good line of communication between you and the breeder and don't be afraid to ask questions. Another thing that you'll find with a responsible breeder is responsible breeders will have very well socialized puppies. They'll be socialized well with people, they'll be socialized well with other dogs. You'll also notice that a responsible breeder will not let a puppy leave its mother until at least eight weeks of age. And even then, if the breeder does not feel that the dog is socially ready to leave its mom, they will keep the puppy for even longer. I know certain people who have kept puppies until they've been 11 or 12 weeks old before they felt that that puppy was socially ready to leave its mom. And a responsible breeder will know these things and know how to pick up on these things. So there are just a few key points of what to look for when looking for a responsible breeder. Again, there's a lot of information on this out on the internet. Just type in, how do I find a responsible breeder into Google and you will come up with a lot of answers. We figured we would point out some of the more important ones, some of the bigger things you want to see. Biggest thing, if you call the people up and they don't have an application or a contract for you to sign, they're probably not a very responsible breeder. Do your research, don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be in a rush. It can take a long time to find the right breeder and the right family that you want to buy your puppy from. So don't be in a hurry. Take your time. Ask your questions. Do your research. Thanks for watching you guys. We'll see you on Friday. you