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Registered breeders?

5 replies

40andlovelife · 13/08/2025 08:19

We have recently lost our boxer to a heart condition. We know we will want another boxer in the future and will be looking to buy from a registered breeder.

Are there any pitfalls or concerns with breeders I need to look out for? How can I tell if they are above board and ethical? Any advice or signposting to websites welcome!

OP posts:
LandSharksAnonymous · 13/08/2025 10:33

@40andlovelife - the main thing is just because a breeder is KC assured, or recommended by their breed club, it does not mean they are ethical. There have been a few 'breeders' that people have asked about recently that have been recommended by the local breed club that have been puppy farms (and very obviously so).

A good breeder will (typically);

  • Only have one breeding bitch (breeding well takes time and effort and realistically is not something you can do that often - if you are having 2-3 litters a year, or even every few years then chances are you are churning through breeding bitches like there's no tomorrow).
  • More than one generation likely grandma or great-grandma. I have a very low opinion of breeders who dump their dogs once they can no longer be bred from.
  • Have fully health tested dogs - anything less means they have something to hide. Health testing is cheap as chips. No excuse not to do it. A good breeder will also be able to show you generational health testing (really important for things like dysplasia, or eyes).
  • Ask you as many questions as you ask them.
  • Probably not have puppies available right away. They may have one or two, but an entire litter free usually is a red flag to me - people shouldn't really be breeding randomly. There should be a purpose to why they bred that litter, and part of that is having suitable homes lined up
  • Won't go on about their '5 star council licence' - anyone who does is usually a puppy farmer. No good breeder boasts about it, because we all know it means nothing

My recommendation would be to use your local breed club, although recognising that you may have to use other regional ones if there are no suitable breeders near you, and then cross-check against the KC website to make sure any health tests they say they have had on their dogs are genuine.

I'm really sorry for your loss, it's heartbreaking when they go!

40andlovelife · 13/08/2025 11:08

Thank you all. Is it best to go with a breeder ? What about buying from a family? What should I look out for?

OP posts:
LandSharksAnonymous · 13/08/2025 12:28

@40andlovelife - I think the main difference between a breeder (i.e. someone who owns generations of the dog) vs. a family (Bob down the road just breeding for fun or because their dog is 'nice') is that family types are far more of a risk when you buy from them.

'Breeders' will almost certainly be able to devote more time, energy and resources into ensuring the puppies are raised appropriately (raising a puppy well from 0-8 weeks is bloody hard and involves far more than socialising them with a few kids and the hoover), come from the healthiest lines (they should have spent months finding the best stud, for example), and also will be able to guide you to an appropriate puppy in the litter because they know the breed so well.

The main risk you take buying from a family is that they almost certainly won't have used the healthiest stud or bitch to breed from. That isn't because they don't care, but rather because they just think breeding is easy and it's easy to find a stud- and there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes when you're trying to breed a health animal. Because of their lack of care over finding the right stud that means higher chances of dysplasia, heart conditions, eye issues etc.

For example, there's a very popular stud that I have used for one of my litters - and his owner doesn't breed him with bitches that aren't KC registered or from good lines. They have a set of hip scores, for example, and if the bitches hip scores are too high they absolutely will not let their dog be used as a stud. That is because using a good stud on a 'weaker' bitch (i.e. one that isn't healthy, or Bobs dog down the road i.e. the family pet) not only makes the breed worse off - and good breeders care about the breed as well as their own dog - it also ultimately devalues the stud.

What I will say, is I am a breeder (Goldies - so I do have a vested interested in seeing people buy healthy puppies). And I see a lot of Goldie litters come up near me all the time - be that Pets4Homes, KC, ChampDogs, and rarely do I look at a litter and think 'Yes, I'd buy from that family' and very very often, the people I flinch away from most are 'family' breeders because the dogs health tests are abysmal (if they are done at all).

This link: https://www.dogbreedhealth.com/boxer/ gives you a breakdown of the test you should want to see.

Ultimately, you should want to buy the puppy that comes from the parents with the best health tests because that means your puppy has had the best possible start to life - and, hopefully, will live a long and happy life. Finding the right breeder is really hard, and can take months or even a year+ but ultimately it's worth it for the peace of mind that comes from buying a puppy and knowing that a horribly health condition, or life-limiting condition, isn't right around the corner.

Boxer - Lifestyle Needs, Temperament and Health Information - Dog Breed Health

Information about the Boxer puppy and adult dog temperament and lifestyle needs, COI and EPS values, DNA tests and common health issues.

https://www.dogbreedhealth.com/boxer

currahee · 13/08/2025 12:29

There isn't really such a thing as a 'registered breeder'. The KC Assured Breeder Scheme no longer exists, and it fell short in many ways in any case; there are breeders that register their puppies with the Kennel Club, and those that obtain a licence from the local council depending on various factors such as the number of litters they are breeding or if they are running a breeding business. Neither are sole indicators of an ethical breeder.

The local breed club can be a good starting point but you will still need to do due diligence on checking the health status of their breeding dogs. The Kennel Club recommendations for boxers are:

Elbow testing (for elbow dysplasia) using the BVA/KC Elbow Dysplasia Scheme
Eye testing using the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme
Hip testing (for hip dysplasia) using the BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme

Breed club health testing schemes and information about heart testing: www.boxerbreedcouncil.co.uk/as.html

Points of concern for their conformation are:

  • Pinched nostrils
  • Excessively short muzzle

The current key priorities for the breed are:

  • Heart conditions (particularly aortic stenosis and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy)
  • Cancers
  • Juvenile kidney disease (JKD)
  • Skin conditions

Breeders should be able to evidence that they are making use of all the available health testing schemes to inform their breeding practices (and especially the heart testing, in this breed).

Elbow dysplasia scheme | Dog health | The Kennel Club

The BVA/KC Elbow Dysplasia Scheme screens your dog’s x-rays to look for abnormalities in elbow joints, giving them a grade of 0 to 3.

https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/health-and-dog-care/health/getting-started-with-health-testing-and-screening/elbow-dysplasia-screening-scheme/

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