Meeting a dog breeder - what to expect?

[Solo2]

We're going away tomorrow and on Wed. will meet a golden retriever breeder who has been highly recommended to me by another helpful MNetter (thanks Midori )

What should we expect in terms of what they'll ask us?

What kinds of things should we ask them (I'm already pretty sure they're the right one for us)?

We'll see a recent litter (7 weeks old) but won't be getting a puppy from this one and are going to wait (patiently!) until she breeds again - which might not be for some time. How do we cope with the desire to scoop up and run with an armful of golden fur and pink tongue? (just joking )

Be afraid, be very, very afraid....

Obviously I'm joking...

On a more serious note, Margaret has the typical Northern charm and warmth and you won't even notice you're being questioned. She has years and years worth of experience of sussing potential owners out and she hasn't got the scary manner of some breeders. Try not to worry, the fact alone you're prepared to wait so long and do things properly already tell her a lot about what sort of owner you'll be.

My dog sitter is a show breeder, and the first thing she does with any prospective puppy buyer, before they even see the ridiculously cute litter, is to let them have a play in the garden with the grown-up, not-so-cute adult versions. If they're still keen to meet the puppies once they're covered in slobber and dog hair and mud and the pungent aroma of Hound, she reckons that's at least 30% of her questions answered.

Also, take a note of which vacuum cleaner she has.

TOTALLY IN LOVE with all this breeders dogs, bitches and puppies! We've just got back from our visit and we are ALL desperate for Rollo (we've already got his name) to come home, even though he hasn't yet been bred!

We cuddled three beautiful elderly golden retrievers; we met 7 more younger but full grown dogs/ bitches who were all amazing....Then we met 11 adorable 7 week old GR puppies and held one who was chunky and creamy coloured and snuggled and slobbered and was basically delectable!

We all smell of dog right now and it's lovely. The breeder is great and I really trust her (she's been breeding and showing golden retrievers for over 30 yrs).

She liked us and it looks probable that we'll get our puppy either in March or in May, depending on which litter we go for.

The only thing is that the one we will probably go for - in March - will be by a female belonging to the breeder but who lives elsewhere (as she prefers a single-animal family life) nearby. So we haven't met her.

She's the pale creamy colour we want but more sensitive in temperament but I guess her possible puppies will all be different and unique and their potential father (who currently lives in Spain) will add his genetic mix too.

So all being well, we'll visit again when there are puppies and choose ours (we'll get second choice of the males) and hopefully meet the mother then.

We had a good chat with the breeder and seemed to 'click' with each other (she's from the part of the UK I'm from originally and where my late father was born).

I will probably be inundating MN with questions as the time draws nearer to getting our new family member. So now I know that's why they call it puppy love!

How lovely, I've got puppy envy :o

Sounds like a great day! Just a small word of caution and bear in mind I have not meet the breeder of the dogs. I would avoid any dog that is "sensitive" myself and wait for the slightly later litter. Not wanting to put a damper on things and as I have said you have seen the situation and your gut feeling is the right one so feel very free to ignore me!

Glad you had a good day who cannot love goldies

Just want to echo what minimu has just said.

A 'sensitive' bitch/dog rings slight alarm bells for me and I would want to see the Mum before she was bred and while whelping. Why is she so sensitive? What is the fathers temperament like?

In saying that, I do wonder how you could have gone and snuggled a puppy and not snaffled it home. You must have had to steel yourself. [hgrin]

Oh, and I recommend a Dyson Animal cleaner.

Thanks for the warnings. The breeder owns 9 (I think) adult goldies and she said that this female was better in a one dog home. I siad, "Do you mean it's more sensitive?" and she agreed but this was my own word. Perhaps I should ask more about it.

Midori, this is a bitch called Layla. Would you have come across anything about her, as you also know the breeder? The potential father would be one of her kennel's dogs that now lives in Spain and would come over to 'visit'.

I did say several times to the breeder that we're happy to wait for the right dog for our family and that we're a fairly boisterous, 'loud' family. hopefully, she'd not give us a v anxious puppy therefore.

The puppies we saw were all taken. There had been 11 live births and most of them were bitches and the males went to people higher up on the waiting list. She has people coming from Bermuda and I think Germany as well as areas of the UK for her litter and is v popular.

We definitely want a male, so we declined a few weeks ago one of the bitches and knew in advance we'd have to 'steel' ourselves against 'snaffling a puppy - but it was still hard. The one we all held was a robust bouncy boy who calmed down in our arms and snuggled and I'd have LOVED to have had him - but it wasn't to be.

solo some bitches just dont get on with other bitches and maybe that is why she is in a one dog home.

Do find out more about the mum, and do go to see her pre whelping.

You sounds very sensible, a puppy that comes to your family will be blessed.

goldies are adorable (mine is now almost 9 months and snuggled up with the cat on a reclining armchair

Just had a reassuring email from the breeder last night. The potential mum lives in a family home because she's much happier with family life - ie being around people - than part of the breeder's dog pack of 9. She is gentle natured and human-orientated (lives with a family with 2 boisterous boys) and her pups will all go to family homes.

Apart from three elderly dogs, the breeder's dogs live in a special kennels/ yard etc area, although with access to the family home and a 5 acre field. If she'd brought the mum-to-be into the house, like the elderly ones, it'd have increased it's status in the 'pack' and been confusing to the others. So she lets it have a family home life in a home nearby. She's happy for us to meet it any time.

The potential dad lives in the UK, was imported from Spain and has a Spanish mother. We can see photos of him but are unlikely to be able to meet him. Is it vital to meet the dad too? We might get to see him at a show he'll be in soon I think. if we can get to that part of the UK.

Does all this sound OK, do you think?

I would try and see the Dad at a show if you can. (It is nice to go to shows and see the dogs anyway and you can meet other breeders and speak to the stud dog's owner) Is Margaret getting the stud dog on 'breeding loan' or is he coming to England to show? (sorry, slightly confused, excuse me if I am being stupid!)

I do know of Layla, but haven't seen her myself, seeing as I am stuck mainly showing in Ireland for now. I do know however, that Margaret is far more experienced than I am and an extremely reputable breeder. She has a great record and reputation for both health and temprement and I seriously doubt she would breed any bitch without serious consideration and reason. Layla does have good show results, I know that.

To be honest, the fact that Margaret has chosen to have her bitch live somewhere else suggests she is putting the bitch first. You have seen her set up, she could have quite happily just stuck her in a kennel alone or with another bitch. One of our bitches (not the one bred by Margaret) would never do well in kennels, she loves people far too much. I would probably describe her as sensitive, but out of all of ours, she is the one everyone loves the most. She is always after a belly rub or cuddle and just loves humans so much more than other dogs. On walks she always wants to say hello to owners before dogs.

I also know that Margaret has two perfectly good stud dogs of her own she could have chosen to use on her bitch, but instead she has (presumably) gone to great lengths to get the right stud dog, not just a convenient one. I know she recently took a bitch to France for a mating (this litter maybe) and also had Layla's father for six months from Norway to introduce new blood lines.

I do get what people mean by being wary of 'sensitive' but I genuinely believe if it were any sort of problem, Margaret would breed from her. Plus, she has been shown and done well (one class first out of 23, which is some going!) and temprement is paramount for Goldens.

Hi Midori I agree. From what I can tell, Margaret is really renowned as a breeder and show-dog person. I like that she's going to great lengths to breed the best temperament dogs, and yes, the litter we saw was bred from a stud dog they visited in France purely for the 'match'.

Presumably there's a v good reason why she's aiming for this half-Spanish stud dog rather than one of her own. I'll see if we can meet him at the show. I think but am not sure that she's going to get him on breeding loan and she emailed me that he's imported from Spain with a Spanish mother originally.

I am now getting 'withdrawal symptoms' from the 'high' of meeting her dogs and puppies, especially the puppies. There's an empty feeling in my arms and our house just waiting to be filled by a little bundle of furry gold!

Thanks v v much Midori for recommneding this breeder