Where to find reputable mixed breeders?

[ToddlerTornado]

A family member is looking for a Maltese and Bichon mix puppy.

Is there a website where you can find reputable breeders?

Thanks

No

Reputable breeders … 🤔

A mongrel then?

No chance. Why don't they choose one of the two and research a proper breed?

Unfortunately not really

Ideally word of mouth , and you can also ask your vet if they know of anyone locally

You may have yo go through a big website, and to your due diligence- talk to breeder, see mum with pups, check any vet documents etc.

It is tricky as many people try to pass off farmed puppies as family bred puppies. Don't be afraid to ask Qs and they should be more than happy to to answer them all.

Reputable breeder of mongrels? Doesn't exist. They could try rescues.

@ToddlerTornado To try and be constructive, what is it about the individual breeds your family members don’t like? Or what makes the want the mix? And please don’t say appearance.

Dog genetics are tricky. I just bred my Golden Retriever (colour: Golden), with another Golden Retriever (colour: Golden). Both sets of grandparents and great-grandparents were also colour: Golden. But the puppies? I had Gold, Golden and Cream.

In my last litter, all were Golden. And the sizes of the dogs ranged from 30kg-42Kg - both of them were girls and the heavier one was not fat. Just built.

So, even within breeds everything can vary. And within litters, everything can vary. So I’m not sure why you would purposefully cross two breeds - particularly if the reason why is because there is an aspect of one breed you don’t like and hope to remove (which so often seems to be the case).

Mongrels don’t necessarily give you the perfect dog, particularly as their form and temperament might end up confirming to neither breed. It’s seems a bit foolish to take a gamble - because what if, as is often likely, you end up with the worst traits of both dogs.

But I would also add, good breeders with healthy dogs don’t breed the sort of dog your relatives after. So your rataoves already starting from a less than stellar baseline in this quest. That makes the chances of undesirable behaviour, poor temperament and poor health a lot higher.

No reputable breeder will cross breed with the possible exception of guide dogs for the blind.

You have two options, but an actual breed or go to a shelter and get one with a temperament to match your family.

@sashh not the point of this thread, but the GD think it’s acceptable for a bitch to have two litters in 12 months and to have four litters in her lifetime. I think it’s rather a stretch to call them reputable!

you won't find a reputable mixed breeder. the puppies produced from this disaster will inevitably have some sort of bully breed mixed in and will be acting out every one of it's 20 breeds whilst you attempt to train an aggressive mess with a screw or two loose . good luck op

Thanks for the info, I relayed all of this info to my aunt. Having researched various breeds. She would like to get a Maltese . Would the kennel Club be a good place to look ?

Kennel Club to find breeders with 'Fully Health Tested' dogs only. Cross-check with Champ Dogs as sometimes people advertise on one but not the other.

You can also check the breed club, but not all breed clubs will point you towards litters.

Your aunt may have to wait a while though. Maltese aren't the most popular, and finding a puppy from parents that are both fully health tested can take a while - and fully health tested parents is really essentially when you're looking at dogs that can have serious health issues.

She should speak to a couple of breeders and check that she's happy with the sorts of breeder they are - do they keep the bitch when she can no longer have puppies, why do they breed, how many litters does the bitch have, etc. etc. and she should expect to be quizzed in return. It can be a lengthy process! Best of luck to her. Maltese are lovely little dogs.😊

@LandSharksAnonymousthanks for this info! How would you know if the parents are health tested? Is there a cert they can show?

@ToddlerTornado It should say on the KC website next to the litter. It'll say the breeders name and the under that what they offer, (pet insurance, fully health tested parents etc).

Some breeds don't 'require' any health tests because they are healthy in terms of particular issues (i.e. dysplasia, which tends to affect retrievers).

But, unfortunately, for with the breeds that don't require health tests...the issues they do have cannot be screened for so it's a bit of a matter of luck.

It's worth checking for Maltese (I have to confess I know nothing about the breed other than all the ones I've met are fiesty!) as I'm not sure what tests they do require 😊I think you can find the details on what health tests they should have on Champ Dogs (just search for Champ Dogs and Maltese - you may need to create an account).

Can anyone help me with a dog advert? Iam still looking for my aunt and iam not sure what to ask the breeder. Its on Pets4homes. Could anyone look over the listing?

If its on Pets4homes its unlikely to be a decent breeder but feel free to copy and paste it on here

@ToddlerTornado , the Pets4Homes site is open to everyone. I wouldn't recommend buying from there.

Is this a wind up? Surely no one is this stupid?

@Freysimowhat is your problem? You are rude…. Go away please

@Hoppinggreen@BettyTurpinPiesI will leave Pets4homes. Have you heard of the champdogs site?

I have been researching for several weeks and my eyes have been opened to the horrors of dog breeding. I would agree not to do pets4homes. I reported a litter I saw where the bitch of the breed I was looking at had 12 puppies. The advert went off for a day then back up. It is not possible for that breed to have 12 puppies. Avoid them.

I am equally weary of champ dogs. One breeder I was looking at uses another affix on that site. She is a puppy farmer.

So my conclusions and here I would love if @LandSharksAnonymous could confirm as they seem very knowledgeable, is that the only way to have a pedigree pup is through the club, which is easier said than done.

I am left with having to turn up to dog shows, which is not an easy task when you have a family.

https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/litter-adverts/published-litter-advert/?AdvertId=fb3a0a05-7d4c-f011-877b-7c1e5265e49b&Distance=0 this breeder said to me they have no more puppies left, but another in december potentially. They said they have 2 females and one male they breed from. They are called “Maltese Happy Kennel” on instagram. As I mentioned I'm not knowledgeable in this area, but does this sound like too much breeding with the same dogs? @LandSharksAnonymous

If I am correct and IMP means imported, this can also be a problem as I have been it was for one of the breeds I am looking at (sighthound). A lot are being imported from Poland. And if SRB is Serbia I would question if their health checks are on par what is expected in the uk.

@ACavalierDream Good spot!! I would prefer parents from the UK. Thanks for checking this, you are right that is exactly what it means.

I know how difficult the whole thing is. I am doing research too. I have left my details with the breed's club and will go and visit a show in November. There is no much more I can do and now leaving it in the lap of the gods. I am getting sick and tired of all the crap I keep on uncovering.