Definition of a good breeder

I posted this on another thread here. I'm sure that others will be along to add to it as well.

I do not agree with someone breeding their dog unless they have done:

• all the proper research about their breed of choice
  
• have done all appropriate testing (a vet's nod of approval does NOT count)
  
• have shown your dog and proven him/her to be an excellent example of the breed
  
• have researched and selected a great match in a sire/dame (one that will help better the breed when bred with yours)
  
• already have homes lined up for all the potential puppies before you let the dogs do the deed
  
• have helped with another reputable breeder's pups being born so you know what to expect. Also have read all the things that could happen when your pups are being born so you know what to do if something happens.
  
• anything else that I'm sure I'm forgetting because I have not done all the things that are required to be a reputable breeder.

Some of it does not apply here, but you get the picture.

As for pet quality, they are not less sound than the others. They might just deviate from the standard a little bit, and therefore can't be shown in competition. Usually, the price is a little lower and reputable breeders will sell them with a spay/neuter contract.

Hope this helps.

My definition of a good breeder...

1) .... is breeding for the improvement of the breed and NO other reason.
2) .... is transparent, meaning they gladly provide (and openly offer) ALL paperwork/proof of DNA tests and other health certs, pedigrees, tours of their kennels, meeting their dogs, regular inspections by governing bodies, are easy to contact, answer questions truthfully (often meaning they will refer someone to a different breeder or tell someone their dogs are not a good match), and provide plenty of references.
3) .... matches the puppy to the customer and doesn't let any person pick any puppy.  They would have a lengthy application and probably want to meet or at least speak to the customer beforehand, and then the breeder would decide which puppy matches which families.  I respect a breeder that will deny a customer even when there are puppies available.
4) .... breeds dogs that have been "tested" and certified.  By "tested" I mean in the show ring for conformation dogs or in trials/coursing/field tests/etc for working dogs and by certified I mean the breeder has chosen dogs that have been DNA tested, CERF, OFA, etc.
5) .... socializes puppies and doesn't just lock them in kennels and crates.  They have a certain program they go through with each litter, like having kids pet them, having them come into contact with male adults, hearing cars, guns, and other loud noises, some basic training, etc.

Those are my five criteria.  I would not ever consider buying from someone who didn't meet all five.

When I read "pet quality" I assume there is something non-standard like color, markings, shape of ears, etc. or a genetic defect such as iris problems, hernia, etc. These puppies shouldn't be used for breeding and should come with a spay/neuter contract.  Honestly, pet quality is good enough for most people unless they intend to do conformation.  I personally don't care if a breeder I get a puppy from has shown in a conformation ring and has won titles. I'm looking more for personality than anything. However, I do want to know the health history of the parents and if there are histories of genetic disorders in the family tree.
 
Most good breeders will have a waiting list for puppies and will help match a puppy to the family. The breeder will ask what type of temperment you are looking for and what you intend to do with the dog (work, agility, couch potatoe, etc.) then help direct the family to a puppy with that personality. Or if that breed doesn't match the family at all, the breeder will turn the buyer away.
 
Another sign of a good breeder is one who lets you come visit their home, meet the doggy parents and come see the puppies as they develop. Assuming you live near enough. They should have clean pens and *hopefully* be part of the family instead of kept in a kennel/dog run outside and used for breeding only.  The breeders #1 priority should be the health of the parents and puppies, socialization and enrichment.

Good Breeder -
 
Will interview you to make sure you are right for their dog!
Does hearing, vision and knee testing (for luxating patella) on the parents of the puppies.
Uses contracts.
Doesn't let the dog leave the mother until at least 8 weeks old.
 
Not good breeder = Wyatt Bostons.  I have the surgery bills to prove it and e-mails with false information about my my dog's mother's medical history.

Pet quality means it doesn't have show dog potential, usually due to markings, head structure, etc. It doesn't mean defective health.

To me pet quality is a dog whose characteristics that deviate from the standard out weigh the areas where it meets or exceeds the standard.  Therefore it doesn't have anything to add to a breeding program.  That doesn't mean the dog that meets the standard and is considered breeding quality will excel in the conformation ring.  There are a lot of politics and fads in the show ring.  Now the standard I am referring to is the standard applied for the organization the dog is registered in.  See the standard for an AKC border collie (barbie collie) is much different than the standard that is applied to the working Border Collie.  This really isn't simple and a good knowledge of the standard is required to make this determination. I know the standard for my breed but if you asked me about another breed I wouldn't know without researching it. 
 
It is interesting that in the Sheltie world that the dogs that show people consider to be pet quality and wouldn't excel in the breed ring are the very ones that do very well in performance areas and the breed champions don't excel in performance.  Thank goodness that the people that breed for performance don't have such a narrow view as the show people.
 
 

http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/Good_breeder.pdf
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/breeders.html
http://members.tripod.com/GWDalmatianClub/Dalinfo/repbreeder.htm
http://siriusdog.com/articles/hereditary-congenital-diseases-dog.htm (List of genetic diseases by breed - reputable breeders test for any genetic disease that there is a test for at the pup'd age when they sell it to you)

A good breeder:
 
Someone who does not breed for profit, but for the love of the breed itself, and every single litter they breed is produced with the sole aim of improving the breed in general.
 
Someone who has homes for all (or many) of the pups before they are even conceived.
 
Someone who not only places a lifetime guarantee on each pup, but INSISTS it is returned to them if the new owners cannot (or don't want to) for any reason keep the dog in the future.
 
Someone who is OK with you visiting their premises to view their dogs with no obligation to buy and will happily set aside time to introduce you to their dogs, offer you advice, answer your questions and WILL NOT in any way try to "push a sale".
 
Someone who is honest about the faults of every pup and dog they own as well as their virtues.
 
Pet quality:  Just a dog that deviates from the standard enough that it cannot be shown and should not be bred - not necessarily unhealthy or of unsound temperament, just not breedingg stock.

My quick tests are this:

Does (and has available the paperwork) the relavant health tests for the breed- for example, very few dane people check patellas, as far as I know, and I wouldn't expect a Cardi breeder to have all their breeding stock checked for heart problems beyond what a normal vet exam would show up- but I expect that patella test from a breeder of say, papillons, and I want to see that heart test that I can't remember the name of if I'm talking to a golden or boxer breeder. Check the breed club site. And the non-testable hereditary health problems- is the breeder knowlegable abuot them? (Megaescophagus in GSDs, cancer in goldens, epilepsy in collies, bloat in danes, bad teeth/shallow roots in papillons- for a few examples)

ALWAYS takes puppies back if you can't keep them and in fact REQUIRES they be returned, not placed in rescue/shelter or re-homed without notification/approval by the breeder.

Health guarantee is longer than a year for congenital problems, and pups are sold on a spay/neuter contract as PETS.

Breeder is not breeding her dogs to exhaustion- moms may look a LITTLE run down (out of coat, on the thin side) but everyone is clean, bright eyes, and in good health overall- and you should be able to meet ALL their dogs, not just mom. If they're a newish breeder and don't own any relatives, they should be able to tell you about the relatives of the dog that made them pick this bitch to breed- thus proving, coincidentally, that they PLANNED this litter.

Sire is usually NOT on site, or if he is, he's not used with every bitch they own, every time they have a litter. They should have pictures though.

Breeder is doing SOMETHING with her dogs- not just having pups- whether that's competing in conformation, obedience, herding trials, actually hunts or herds with them (and if it's herding, I want a demo or a video) and has the titles to prove it. Verify legs or points for unfinished titles with AKC or UKC or titling org. She's breeding for a purpose- not just to make more puppies to sell, and can give more than a nebulous 'improving the breed'- she can give specific ways which she is working to do that.


Pet quality differs by breeder, but generally means a pup that is healthy but doesn't have the qualities the breeder considers important in a breeding dog- for example, someone who shows will rate a pup pet quality for having a nose that's too pointy or too broad, ears too low on the head, angulation that's too shallow or too steep, or a bite that's not the correct bite for the breed. Someone who trials might rate a pup pet quality for being laid back and lacking drive, and someone who does obedience might rate a pup pet quality for being too independent. Lastly, pet quality can mean "This dog *could* do that, but there's better ones in the litter for this purpose and I don't have that many show homes on my waiting list"- that's how I ended up with Mal- I was looking for a performance prospect, the show homes made their picks, and there were two show-potential pups left (but not as nice as the two who had left already- Mal's head is nice but could be nicer), one of whom happened to be Mal. I've shown in the past and it's fun, so I asked if I could show him, and his breeder said sure, why not. He's not guaranteed to finish (which is fine, I paid pet price for him) but I *can* show him and he's got no DQ faults.

[linkhttp://www.woodhavenlabs.com/articles.html]http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/articles.html[/link]
 
There is an entire section here on how to choose a breeder, locate one, etc.
 
This site also has other great articles and the formula for the ear rinse that so many of us swear by.

I agree with all of the above and would like to add a few points.
 
A reputable breeder won't produce a lot of puppies and certainly won't be producing a lot of different breeds.  Maybe 2 or 3 different breeds max.
 
A good breeder doesn't push or breed for unusual colors in the breed.
 
A good breeder will often participate in rescue and will often suggest you look at rescued dogs of your chosen breed before suggesting one of her pups.
 
Also, a good breeder will have a thoughtful response to the question "Why this stud for that bitch?"  A response of "well, they're both AKC labs" is NOT NOT NOT a thoughtful answer.  "Princess is so sweet and everyone wanted a puppy from her and Fido is such an unusual color for the breed" is also a HUGE red X.
 
A good breeder is also able to point out pluses and drawbacks of the sire, dam and each pup.  For example, when I went to pick out my new pup (and yes the breeder let me pick between the two female pups.  This was a HUGE plus in my book since what I'm doing with my basenjis, agility and obedience (in addition to coursing conformation therapy) is unfamiliar to my most basenji breeders.)   I was mainly looking for a certain willingness to work with me and good structure.  Both pups had good structure and were overall nice pups.  I noticed some structure differences and my breeder pointed out some other differences that I overlooked.  This helps me develop my eye for a nice basenji.  She didn't run down either pup (or any dog) but just pointed out the good and bad of each.