Dog breeders - what to look out for

[tiredofthisshit21]

Going to see a large family run breeder next weekend, has been recommended to us by a friend. We're looking to get a Cavachon puppy. First time dog owners and a bit clueless. Thought I'd ask you experts on here what we should be looking out for? We've been thinking about this for months and it's not a snap decision. Fully aware of the commitment etc. But any advice would be appreciated.

Did you look at Galgos del Sol @tiredofthisshit21
We recently adopted a dog (not from there though) and it was surprisingly easy.

I did briefly @PotatoPie888, but I have to admit I didn't really understand how it works as they're based in Spain. Am finding the whole adoption thing overwhelming and ridiculously competitive. Am not saying it's right but you can see why people buy puppies without fully knowing their backgrounds.

They rehome in the UK. In fact their dogs are rehomed all over the place.

If you look on their website there is an email address for their UK contact. They transport the dogs to the UK for rehoming. If you look on the pups and teens page, there are loads of puppies looking for homes on there.

Thanks, I'll take another look.

The problem is with those though, you have no idea what size they're going to grow to. There's no info on breed / cross breed whatever. I don't want to take on a dog which is going to grow too big for our household or have more exercise requirements than we're able to give. Feels like it's a total lottery.

Dogs from abroad are frequently hound mixes although it's possible to get smaller dogs too. My friend has a Jack Russell from Cyprus and there are plenty mini poodle types too (they are typically very small). You'll know the rough size by the time they've had all their vaccines required to fly and have their passport ready

Greyhound types of dogs like the Spanish ones, tend to sleep a lot to be honest. All dogs come with different personalities and needs. There is never a guarantee.

Dogs from abroad also often have diseases that we don’t have here. I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole personally, but if you do, don’t be fobbed off by ‘yes, he has leishmaniasis, but it’s been treated’ . Ditto heart worm, etc etc

There are lots of Spanish rescues round here and tend to be podenco or a cross. Tons of energy - nothing like greyhounds. Often quite nervy too

Reputable overseas rescues would probably be dismayed by some of these tweets. They would never take chances with diseased dogs and they know the breeds inside out and could give lots of advice as to whether you are a suitable family or not.

Oh and @@liveforsummer Galgos are Spanish greyhounds. Their temperament are generally sweet natured and affectionate.

@PotatoPie888 thing is a lot of overseas rescues are just puppy farms. The good ones exist but a lot aren’t and just a way for people to say they’ve rescued when they absolutely haven’t!

@lastqueenofscotland read my posts and look at the specific rescue I have suggested. They take dogs from the streets and from their owners when they are no longer wanted. They are not a puppy farm

@PotatoPie888 OP has stated that she wants a small lap dog type though so recommending a galgos isn't particularly helpful

@liveforsummer. She also was wanting a puppy and was considering buy one from what is clearly a puppy farm. I make no apologies for pointing her in the direction of a reputable rescue who have lots of puppies who need homes. Also, greyhounds are just giant lapdogs.

@liveforsummer you're completely correct. The overseas option isn't for us. I'm coming to the conclusion that rescues in general aren't for us, either.

You clearly want to get a fluffy puppy and don’t care where it’s from. Crack on, but do so in the knowledge the chances are there is an abused dog behind the facade.

@PotatoPie888

People need to be aware of what a murky world dog breeding is these days. Lots of drug dealers are doing it, because the profits are so huge. They often use it as a way of laundering money. Anybody who pays thousands for a puppy is contributing to this.

If you want a quick oversight go onto the bbc news site and do a search for dog breeders. The stories are horrific, from extreme cruelty eg illegal docking tails and ears, to unconcern about the breeding bitches welfare ( I read of one who was making bitches breed less than a year after a c section, they made millions) , it all comes down to greed and viewing the dogs as a commercial commodity, like a machine in a factory.

Every single person who buys a puppy from these people , for whatever reason, is contributing to the pain and suffering. The only way to stop them is to make buying from them as socially unacceptable as drink driving.

@PotatoPie888 no not at all and I resent the attempt to try and guilt me into something I don't want. Of course I care where it comes from. Why do you think I'm on here and doing various other bits of research? If I really didn't care I would have just gone to the puppy farm. What a ridiculous accusation.

Exactly @viques But people want to bury their heads in the sand and convince themselves that rescues are full of diseased dogs and (worryingly) spread other nonsense about them. Having had two former breeding dogs I would like these people to open their eyes to the utter suffering and misery their fluffy puppy came from.

@PotatoPie888

Reputable overseas rescues would probably be dismayed by some of these tweets. They would never take chances with diseased dogs and they know the breeds inside out and could give lots of advice as to whether you are a suitable family or not.

Unfortunately there are a lot of well meaning but appaling foreign rescues. Dogs are put into totally unsuitable homes and then no back up is offered at all.

Ancedotal but a recent client two children under 3 were allowed to rehome a dog from abroad - that noone in the UK has assessed. They said it was fine with cats and children. They collected it from a ferry terminal, the dog had been travelling for 72 hours, had never had a collar or lead on, was totally traumatised and put straight into a noisey home in a small terraced house. After the dog unsuprisingly bite the child the rescue are now not contactable and the dog will either have to be pts or put into the uk rescue system.

I know in my line of work I do see the cases that do not work out or that have issues but there are way too many of them - this incident is not a one off.

Never ever ever offer a home to a dog that you have not physically see on several occasions before you rehome

I know @PollyRoulllson which is exactly why I suggested one, reputable rescue centre. Such a shame that they may suffer because of others behaviour and people’s inability to distinguish between good and bad.

@tiredofthisshit21, it really is all very hard at the moment to do it right.

I don't think posters claiming that all breeders are evil, and that any buyer who doesn't rescue is clearly going to hell (bonus points for foreign dogs) help matters at all, but hey ho. I suspect if anything their rants just send buyers in the opposite direction, to just buy a nice puppy that's in front of them, when they have seen numerous friends do it and end up with nice family dogs.

Focus on what kind of dog works for your family, educate yourself on how to avoid the obvious puppy farms and on the scams that others pull to try and get past buyers who now know the major things to avoid.

Accepting that no advertising medium is perfect, and it is human nature that some people can still pull the wool over our eyes - I think Champdogs and breed clubs are probably still the best way for the uninitiated. Yes, this excludes chosen crossbreeds, but honestly the majority of breeders of crossbreeds SHOULD be avoided, so perhaps it's no bad thing to go for the relative certainty of a breed. It is also true that you shouldn't buy a cross of two breeds if you don't like the breeds they are made from - so far better buy a properly bred pedigree of one of them.

Champdogs does at least insist on a level of health testing, and to some extent you can see their history.

For what it's worth, although we may not have knowledge of specific breeds, I am sure there are plenty of posters here that you could send a link to an advert and they would tell you whether it looks OK on the surface, or to not touch with a bargepole.

For those who say that no reputable breeders advertise on Pets4Homes, that is not specifically true - and to be honest, there is a good argument that more decent breeders SHOULD advertise there and make it obvious in their adverts why their pups are better (and not always more expensive either).

It's also not true that good breeders never have puppies to advertise either - many people on waiting lists buy elsewhere without ever informing the breeder, litters often have the wrong balance of sex/colour for the buyers waiting. I have personally just bought a (long researched) puppy of a numerically small breed that I thought I would have to wait a year or two for, but got lucky phoning the right breeder at the right time.

It isn’t ranting. Don’t be so reductive in your argument. Puppy farming is a real thing and if pointing that out sends people in ‘the opposite direction’ they are the ones with the problem, not those of us that go hate the practice.