How do you check if a dog breeder is reputable?
Discussion
We lost our dog at the weekend. He was a dog that we got aged 6 years, a family member was going to have him put to sleep as they were emigrating and the dog had behaviour issues others weren't prepared to put up with. We bit the bullet and had 4 amazing years with him.
We'd never had a dog before and hadn't considered getting one, but didn't want him put to sleep so ended up as dog owners by accident. My wife misses her shadow like crazy already and is frantically looking for a replacement. I will be the voice of reason in this process and just want to make sure we use reputable breeder, what checks do I need to do? Most of the dogs my wife is looking at are from the pets4homes website.
Thank you.
We'd never had a dog before and hadn't considered getting one, but didn't want him put to sleep so ended up as dog owners by accident. My wife misses her shadow like crazy already and is frantically looking for a replacement. I will be the voice of reason in this process and just want to make sure we use reputable breeder, what checks do I need to do? Most of the dogs my wife is looking at are from the pets4homes website.
Thank you.
Shaw Tarse said:
Would/cold you consider rescue?
This.Given you took on a dog with behaviour issues, and made it work, you would be well placed to take on a rescue. I am certainly not saying that a rescue dog will have issues but if it did you could help with any issues it may have.
Please consider taking on a rescue from a good rehoming charity.
(Sorry to hear about your recent loss)
Edited by muppets_mate on Tuesday 31st March 21:46
So many rescue dogs need homes, I'd seriously suggest this given your background.
I would however say don't rush into another dog, you can't replace your old friend and a new dog will always be compared unfavourably.
We didn't replace our old girl (had her 16 years) for 2 years, and were very glad we didn't. Our new boy got into our hearts on his own merits
I would however say don't rush into another dog, you can't replace your old friend and a new dog will always be compared unfavourably.
We didn't replace our old girl (had her 16 years) for 2 years, and were very glad we didn't. Our new boy got into our hearts on his own merits
ked up animals some produce down the generations? Breeders can lie. I totally agree with the comments about rescue dogs, the difficulty is that they are all closed. And we wouldn't normally rush into such a thing, but there is unlikely to be a more perfect time than now to bring a dog into our home - both kids and myself are at home permanently and my wife is down to 4 days a week. Once we're over the current pandemic that will never happen again.
GT72 said:
I totally agree with the comments about rescue dogs, the difficulty is that they are all closed. And we wouldn't normally rush into such a thing, but there is unlikely to be a more perfect time than now to bring a dog into our home - both kids and myself are at home permanently and my wife is down to 4 days a week. Once we're over the current pandemic that will never happen again.
COI is Coefficient of Inbreeding. We keep to less than 1% but then again we tend to lose at least 3k for each litter we breed..... But any reputable breeder will not be allowing you to view or collect a puppy right now.... That does not mean you can't go through the process to see if they will sell you one but obviously collection will be in due course.
They are not for everyone but they are good family dogs: the Elkhound Rescue Fund is a great charity run by the responsible breeders who work together to ensure that somewhere can be found for elkhounds that need rehoming for whatever reason.
I got mine from them because his owner had a series of strokes and was unable to care for him.
Sadly no longer with us, but I had some fantastic years with him.
I got mine from them because his owner had a series of strokes and was unable to care for him.
Sadly no longer with us, but I had some fantastic years with him.
Anyone selling puppies at the moment wouldn’t be classed as reputable IMO, quite the opposite.
Many dogs are being given up as people are concerned about their household finances. Many good dogs will end up in rescue centres through no fault of their own and these rescue centres will need all the help and assistance they can get.
https://www.rescueremediesdogrescue.co.uk/
Have a look on here and I’m sure the rescue will be able to accommodate but be patient. Other great dog rescues are available.
Many dogs are being given up as people are concerned about their household finances. Many good dogs will end up in rescue centres through no fault of their own and these rescue centres will need all the help and assistance they can get.
https://www.rescueremediesdogrescue.co.uk/
Have a look on here and I’m sure the rescue will be able to accommodate but be patient. Other great dog rescues are available.
Pets at home have no vetting or verification over the advertisers on there, the breeder my rescue shiba did some stud work for is still advertising on there despite loosing local authority licence, please don’t be fooled that because it’s a household name it’s a reputable site. It’s been raised to them many times and still no action
Piha said:
Anyone selling puppies at the moment wouldn’t be classed as reputable IMO, quite the opposite.
I work in a rescue shelter so I'm certainly not a big fan of breeders, but some of them might be forced into situations re selling puppies. Add in the time from deciding to breed a dog, to puppies being old enough to be sold and they've started on this path long before the disaster arrived. They probably don't have anywhere to keep a dozen puppies and will be forced to sell them, give them away free or dump them
Daveb257 said:
Pets at home have no vetting or verification over the advertisers on there, the breeder my rescue shiba did some stud work for is still advertising on there despite loosing local authority licence, please don’t be fooled that because it’s a household name it’s a reputable site. It’s been raised to them many times and still no action
Pets4homes??Pets At Home is the shop.
Chester draws said:
Daveb257 said:
Pets at home have no vetting or verification over the advertisers on there, the breeder my rescue shiba did some stud work for is still advertising on there despite loosing local authority licence, please don’t be fooled that because it’s a household name it’s a reputable site. It’s been raised to them many times and still no action
Pets4homes??Pets At Home is the shop.
My advice to you would be to avoid pets4homes as there are no safeguards whatsoever for you as the buyer. For a rescue dog the best starting point in my opinion is to call the breed specific welfare rescue (just Google it). The people running these have the dogs interests at heart and even if you decide you want a puppy some of them will be breeders themselves or have very close contacts in the breeding world. Good luck.
Cheers for the advice.
We’ve decided we’re not going to get one during the lockdown. My wife is desperate for a new dog but we had a good chat and agree that anyone prepared to trade right now is not someone we want to deal with. Plus training the dog during the lockdown may lead to separation anxiety when we’re back at work.
So we’ll bide our time and look at either adopting a Staffie or getting a Boston Terrier from a reputable breeder once things are back to normal.
The Elkhound is a great suggestion, the dog we rescued actually came from Iceland and only understood Icelandic. Always got a few funny looks when out with him. I’ll keep and eye on the rescue page to see if any come up.
We’ve decided we’re not going to get one during the lockdown. My wife is desperate for a new dog but we had a good chat and agree that anyone prepared to trade right now is not someone we want to deal with. Plus training the dog during the lockdown may lead to separation anxiety when we’re back at work.
So we’ll bide our time and look at either adopting a Staffie or getting a Boston Terrier from a reputable breeder once things are back to normal.
The Elkhound is a great suggestion, the dog we rescued actually came from Iceland and only understood Icelandic. Always got a few funny looks when out with him. I’ll keep and eye on the rescue page to see if any come up.
Edited by GT72 on Saturday 4th April 22:42
GT72 said:
SNIP
The Elkhound is a great suggestion, the dog we rescued actually came from Iceland and only understood Icelandic. Always got a few funny looks when out with him. I’ll keep and eye on the rescue page to see if any come up.
The Elkhound is a great suggestion, the dog we rescued actually came from Iceland and only understood Icelandic. Always got a few funny looks when out with him. I’ll keep and eye on the rescue page to see if any come up.
Edited by GT72 on Saturday 4th April 22:42
They are a good mob. And I am biased but elkhounds are great animals!
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