Breeders - what convinced you you’d found the right one?

[Confuseddotcom12345]

Would love a rescue but not an option due to young kids

With people who found a good breeder what made you feel confident that their hearts were in the right place and that their approaches were sound (I’ve already done kennel club checks etc and all health check certs are there)

Thanks in advance

Be aware that some breeders, depending on the breed of dog you're looking at, will have the same young children restrictions as rescues. Puppies can be little devils.

How they treated the dog/pups.
ours were raised in a family home so well socialised with people and pets which was important to us
we could visit as often as we wanted and were asked lots of questions. encouraged to bring toys over that we could then take back with us when we brought pup home so he had familiar smells as well as a blanket they gave us

When we first contacted the breeder we had a chat about the breed and how we already had a make and wanted another one. We spoke for about an hour about the breed and what we were looking for in the new pup. That’s when she told us she’d had a litter born that day (our timing was amazing) and she would contact us in a couple of weeks with some more info.

We got sent lots of pictures of the puppies and videos and then saw them in person when they were 5 weeks old. We met her and played with her other dogs for ages then went into the house to meet her husband and the puppies. If she hadn’t liked us when she met us we wouldn’t have been able to get in the house and see the puppies.

We’ve made a lifelong friend with her, the puppy is 6 next month and she’s still as interested in how he is as she was when we first brought him home.

I was very impressed with her set up and how she treated all her dogs. I was quite prepared to walk away but she was as lovely a person as I’d been told she was. As it’s a small breed pool all the breeders know each other and she was recommended by lots of other breeders.

• We we’re able to know straight away they didn’t have puppies from a puppy farm situation etc as my partner knew them and had seen the mum and dad grow from puppies into adults from following them on social media (I understand this is rare for most people, though)
• Both dogs were the correct age before breeding and this is the only litter they will have
• The inbreeding coefficient for our pup is 0.7%, so very close to 0. We had a 5 generation KC registration history and the highest inbreeding coefficient was about 3% (yes, we spent about an hour and a half tracing the entire tree and checking each dog).
• Both mum and dad are good examples of the breed
• Puppies are being raised in their family home and are used to visitors coming and going
• We were able to meet mum and dad, able to see all the puppies and have been encouraged to come multiple times before taking puppy home
• The set up is in their living room and is absolutely spotless with plenty of room for pups and mum. Again, due to knowing them we know this is where the puppies are actually living rather than it being a facade
• We are also collecting the pup at 9 weeks rather than 8 as it is better for us (we have a week of holidays booked then) and they were more than willing to oblige
• We have already sorted out the vet clinic for their second jabs (they actually offered to get her first set done at a vet closer to us but we were more than fine with just taking her to their local vet as they have been seeing them from when they were born, but offering was nice)
• They have put together a puppy pack and are going to include things like a blanket that has the smell of mum, etc
• They also want to stay in contact and see how puppy gets on and grows up with pics etc, which we are more than willing to do. They have been very good with sending us videos/pics of puppy over the last few weeks, too, and were keen for us to visit frequently

It just felt right for us. They’re people who really care about their puppies and their two pets and for me, that is so so important. Plus the puppies are absolutely gorgeous and look very happy and healthy.

With our older dog, I spoke to the breeder on the phone and we had a good chat. When we first saw the puppies he obviously had a good bond with both his dogs, everywhere was kept clean, and he was happy to show me the pedigree info of both sire and dam. I asked about inbreeding and although he don't know about COI he was very clear on the different lines that had gone into the puppies (and I checked the COI later and it was indeed very low).

He had photos of the sire working (owned by a friend of his) and videos of the dam working. He was keen to friend me on FB for mutual checking out - he was able to see lots of photos of us with our dogs, we could see him with his. He also home-checked us.

He has kept in contact since, so I get to see our dog's mum getting old and grey...

With our younger dog, I already knew the breeder anyway.