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

I don't think being imported is in itself a bad thing. It's often done to help widen the gene pool. But the breeders should have had them health tested in the UK before breeding them.

I am very new to the finer details. For my breed, it is not good news because the dogs they get from Poland and some Ukraine are prone to legs breaking and aren't quite up to the norms of the breed. They are used by commercial breeders quite extensively to produce a certain colour (thank you instagram and tik Tok). Having looked at the KC details, a lot are from Poland and they are not used by reputable breeders (if we go by the assumption that only club breeders are reputable). I am bracing for impact here, but Serbia well mmmm.

@ACavalierDream I suppose it's like every other aspect of dog breeding. Some good breeders do it, and some bad ones do.
I have working cockers and I know the FT Champions and/or their sperm are often imported/exported.

That is what my mother told me and she had cocker spaniels (pedigrees). The most beautiful one she had and she was exceptional came from Belgium. Maybe it depends on the breed. For mine, it is not good news.

Thanks for the tags, @ToddlerTornado @ACavalierDream!

Importing depends on the breed, the purpose of the puppy, and the country - you’d be mad, for example, if you wanted a Goldie to use in shows (like Crufts) to get a puppy with import lines from Eastern Europe or US, because British Goldies are built very different.

Eastern Europe is also not particularly well known for its animal welfare, so personally I would avoid as I wouldn’t want to inadvertently support poor practice. Some ‘kennels’ overseas (usually with studs) are excellent - but you need to thoroughly research them.

I definitely wouldn’t be happy with multiple litters a year. I just got rid of mine a few weeks ago, and I am genuinely exhausted - doing it well is honestly soul destroying, and also impossibly hard to adequately care if your other dogs for the first few weeks. To do it properly more than once a year or so is impossible.

Champdogs is fine. But it’s like the KC - just because someone is on it, doesn’t mean they are good. But it is far more reliable than Pets4Homes, particularly if you want fully health tested parents as it makes it easier to find that information 😊