Buying adult dog from a breeder

[user1489844432]

I am looking to get a dog but don't want a puppy. I found a breeder who is selling of of the bitches. She's 4 years old and had three litters.

Is there anything to look out for, any questions to ask or I shouldn't even look at her? She's french bulldog with all DNA tests and apparently no breathing issues.

Sorry, missed your update whilst replying. They want £1000? They have no interest in this poor dog's health and happiness, just money grabbing b^&(;.
Walk away Op.

Look at www.champdogs.co.uk They list a lot of information on breeds. Size, general characteristics, history of the breed etc. As well as owners, breeders, puppies available. Any breeders you contact will ask loads of questions to make sure you are the right home for one of their precious puppies.
Once you have chosen a breed, contact a breeder or the Breed Club for more information. They will be happy to answer questions from a responsible prospective owner. If you are looking for an older dog, any decent breeder will take back a dog if circumstances change & will look to rehome to a suitable family.

Start with what you can offer.
How much exercise and training? How much grooming?
If you don’t want a puppy you will need to rely on rescue. There are breed rescue clubs. Contact the breed club for info.

Look at many tears rescue. That’ll give you an idea if the usages ex breeding bitches have.

They should be paying you to take her on and show her some love now she’s not useful to them. Agree this isn’t downsizing. They can’t use any more litters from her. At 1k their target and almost certainly not spayed they are marketing her at puppy farms to breed some more. 😩

Meet your Dog Kim Brophy a must read for all prospectus dog owners. It will explain dog breeds needs and which ones may fit into your lifestyle.

@Wolfiefan

Start with what you can offer. How much exercise and training? How much grooming? If you don’t want a puppy you will need to rely on rescue. There are breed rescue clubs. Contact the breed club for info.

I can offer 60-90min a day across three walks plus a small garden and playing at home. We would be taking out dog for longer walks to parks or forest over the weekend as our little one is quite active.

Ideally I am looking for a dog that needs less than above just in case if there are days or weeks when we can't deliver the above just to make sure the dog doesn't suffer. On a grooming front as little as possible.

The trouble is that if you won’t take on a puppy and can’t rescue then I don’t know what you can do.
Research different breeds? Contact the breed club and plan for when you can cope with a rescue or puppy?
You need to look at what exercise you can manage day in and day out.
Also do you want a hardy terrier or a lapdog breed?

They want £1000?!? For a dog that's probably already made them 30k. That's actually despicable.
This dog has not had any normal socialisation, and will certainly have health problems.
They're not downsizing, they're getting rid as they can't KC register any more litters from her.
Are they even going to spay her so the buyer doesn't use her for more breeding?

If a breeder is responsibly trying to downsize and rehome their ex breeding dogs then they shouldn’t/wouldn’t be asking that much for one.

I help rehome ex breeding dogs directly from the breeders and it’s not about the money, it’s about making sure they go to a good home. We usually recommend a nominal fee (£200-500 depending on breed) to make sure the new owner is serious and not just looking for a free dog.

Also, if it’s a responsible breeder the dog should have had health checks before breeding from her so health problems aren’t such a concern if they can show the paperwork, however they are probably not use to a house so you may have toilet training to do. Most do settle in and thrive on the individual attention they receive.
You may have to do some socialisation and training though.

Have you considered a westie or border terrier?

I like the look of border terrier. Haven't come across them before. Going to do some more research on them.

The feedback I got from breeder was that they move dogs between kennel and house. I decided to walk away although I would love to give that dog a good home. Unfortunately it feels she would require more commitment than I could give her right now with little one around.

A cockapoo needs daily exercise but would easily fit your requirements. They are expensive as puppies, but will probably be much cheaper to buy if older.

Cockatoos need loads of exercise, lots and lots of grooming and are highly likely to come from the kind of set up you’re walking away from now!!

Frying pan to fire recommending a cockerpoo.

Havanese are gorgeous little dogs as someone else recommended but it's a rarer breed so you aren't likely to find an adult. What you could do is once you figure out the breed, approach some of the breeders on champ dogs to find out if they have any dogs that aren't going to make the grade as show dogs.

They'll be probably around a year old by that point so over the puppy stages, and you can ask all the questions you've been recommended here.

My dog was used for breeding before I got her (although not a registered breeder). I wouldn’t be paying them £1,000! They’ve already profited hugely from her and at some point she is likely to cost you a fortune in vet fees in future so be prepared for that.

Ex breeders are usually nervous and don’t know how to be dogs. It’s so sad that people profit off them then offload them on to others . Having said all that, mine is the most loving , sweetest natured dog I’ve ever had. I’d suggest looking at many tears rescue who won’t charge £1,000 and will be completely honest about any health/behavioural issues.

Sorry about the recommendation for a Cockapoo above. I was just going on the amount of exercise they needed. I've just looked at all the potential health issues and the reason why short walks are recommended, very sad.

OP, if you can decide what breed(s) would work for you, it might be worth joining things like breed FB pages and making yourself known to those involved in breed rescue. They will rehome to families with children if the dog is known to be good with DC. Dogs can require rehoming for all sorts of legitimate reasons - divorce, housing issues, a sick child or one who has developed an allergy to the dog, owner illness.

We have just rescued a 4 year old ex breeding bitch. She is a cross breed (bull breeds) and the breeder was certainly not reputable by all accounts. We got her from a rescue.
We have found her to be incredibly loving but so clingy. She wasn't socialised so the strangest things scare her - small dogs, heaps of rubbish outside a house that is being renovated, etc etc. She doesn't like strangers but this is improving.
On the other hand, seeing her experience the woods, a stream, a pigs ear, the beach for the first time is a thing of total beauty.
It makes me sad that this poor little dog has pumped out litters, living a crappy life and still she needs to earn them money. I hope she ends up with a sofa somewhere.

@Lolalovesroses

Sorry about the recommendation for a Cockapoo above. I was just going on the amount of exercise they needed. I've just looked at all the potential health issues and the reason why short walks are recommended, very sad.

My friend has 2 cockapoos, (one from a puppy, one a rescue) and she runs marathon distances with them. Both spaniels and poodles and their crosses are all perfectly suitable for running