A Comprehensive Guide to Finding the Best Dog Breeder
Are you trying to find a great dog breeder to add a perfect little puppy to your family? When researching breeders, it is important to keep in mind that not all are the same. In this article we will provide you with as much information as possible to help you find a breeder. Finding a good breeder will provide you with an excellent experience. It will also give you a dog that you can love for the rest of their precious life.
In addition, we will give you tips for bringing home your dog from the breeder. If you are wondering what breed of dog you should get or which puppy from the litter, check out our article on how to pick the right puppy for your family.
Breeder to Watch Out For!
There are so many back yard dog breeders and puppy mills out there that you want to make sure that you avoid. Getting dogs from these breeders results in higher potential for birth defects and medical issues later on in the puppy's life. Following the steps in this article you can find a quality breeder!
How to Know if a Dog Breeder is Reputable
Just because an individual calls themselves a breeder does not mean they are the right fit for your family. Make sure to find a responsible breeder by doing your homework. The first step to knowing if a breeder is reputable is meeting them. This starts the relationship process. Which is crucial to getting a puppy that will make you and your family happy for life.
MEET YOUR DOG BREEDER
We typically recommend calling breeders first before driving out to see them. This allows you to get lots of questions about their breeding operation answered quickly. You won't have to spend a bunch of time driving around. Get your top breeder picks narrowed down. Then plan in person visits with those breeders.
Here are a bunch of questions for you to ask during your phone screening. You can pick and choose which questions you think are important to you on your puppy search. Honestly the most important thing is that you open a conversation with the different breeders and get an idea of the type of experience they will provide you when getting a puppy from them.
PHONE SCREENING A DOG BREEDER
Here is a list of questions along with some suggestions for the type of answers you are looking for:
- How long have you been breeding dogs?
- If the breeder has not been doing it for long, you can utilize the questions below about goals for breeding to better understand why they started breeding dogs. If you like those answers I would look pasted the short time in breeding field.
- How many breeding dogs do you have?
- This question can help weed out high volume breeders that aren't as focused on the pup's overall health and wellness. I would generally look for a breeder with no more than 6 active females.
- How many litters do you breed for each year?
- Do you have any references that I may speak to?
- Veterinarian
- Prior families
- Do your puppies come with a health guarantee from all genetic defects?
- Most reputable breeders will provide some form of health guarantee
- What would you say your goal is for breeding your dogs?
- This question can help you understand what is important to a breeder and you can use that to determine if it is important to you. Here are some examples of what a breeder might answer:
- Temperament
- Structure
- Soundness
- Breed standard
- Quality pet
- This question can help you understand what is important to a breeder and you can use that to determine if it is important to you. Here are some examples of what a breeder might answer:
- Do you screen interested families?
- What is your application process like?
- Most reputable breeders have an application process
- Is there a contract for approved families?
- Just like an application the best dog breeders will have a contract that they want you to sign. If they have one, ask if they will send it over to you so that you can review it before making an in-person visit.
- What is your application process like?
- Do you have any requirements that families have to meet after getting the dog?
- Do you require/restrict certain types of training or activities?
Additional Questions that might come up at this stage of the process:
- What do you feed the puppies as they are raised and weaning?
- Will you accept a puppy or dog back if a family comes into hard times?
- With behavioral issues?
- Health issues?
- Written in contract?
- At what age do you start breeding females?
- How many litters does a specific female have before retiring?
- Do all adults have their clearances?
- OFA
- Elbows
- Eyes
- Heart
- Genetics
- Embark
- Paw print genetics
- Do you “pet out” retired breeding dogs or keep them as pets?
IN PERSON/VIRTUAL TOUR OF DOG BREEDER FACILITIES
After the phone screening we would strongly suggest that you perform an in-person visit, complete with a tour of where the dogs are bred and meeting the parents of the puppies. This is typically done ahead of time and long before the litter that you are selecting from has been birthed. During this visit make sure to:
- Meet the parents for the litter that you will choose from
- How do they react to you?
- Friendly?
- Aloof?
- Are you allowed to interact with them?
- Does the breeder know their personalities?
- Ask for their certifications?
- CGC
- CGCA
- CGCU
- TDI
- How do they react to you?
- View where the puppy litters are typically raised.
- Check how clean is the whelping area is
- Ask if they are familiar with the Volhard Puppy Aptitude test
Discuss the Choosing Process
- Families choose vs breeder choosing
- If families choose, can a trainer come along to help?
- We highly recommend finding a breeder that allows for the family to choose and has no issue with outside help coming to help with the choosing process.
- Is a Deposit required?
- First to inquire is First to Choose?
- This is a typical setup, however sometimes a breeder will sell the rights to first choice or take first choice themselves. Make sure you understand how the choosing order is determined as it can have a major impact on the quality of puppies available to you.
- At what age will Families or the Breeder choose?
Going Home
- At What Age do you get to take Your Puppy Home?
- Pick up
- In-person or will they provide transportation for the puppies
- Paperwork
- Vaccinations
- Worming
- What is included in the go home packets
Where to find Reputable Breeders near you
A great place to start your search for a reputable puppy breeder is at the AKC Marketplace for Puppies. Unfortunately, we have found that there are a ton of great breeders out there that aren't currently on this AKC marketplace, even though they have AKC certified dogs. So, the next great place to look is through a google search for the breed that you are most interested in.
Local Breeders vs National/International
At this stage it is important to decide if you are looking for a good breeder around you or great breeders around the world. Many breeders that are nationally known or world renowned have programs for transporting the puppies to you. However, as we discussed we feel it is important to meet the breeders in person and have the ability to see and choose a puppy from the litter. If you do not have the means to travel to the breeder multiple times in order to get the right dog, I would suggest choosing a breeder on the local level instead of a high priced national/international option.
What to search for online when looking for a breeder
If looking on the local level I would suggest using a search like; "Best Golden Retriever Breeder Near Me". Alternatively, if looking nationally I would suggest; "Award Winning Golden Retriever Breeder". Within the search results, I wouldn't just look at the breeder pages and advertisements in the search results.
Breed Message Boards
A great resource that you can usually find are message boards where people discuss different breeders for the different breeds of dogs. The message boards are generally breed specific, so on top of helping in your breeder search it will likely be a great resource to join to get more information on the breed you are interested in. This is a great way to get first hand knowledge from people who have adopted from a breeder.
Dog Breeders to Avoid
When looking for a dog breeder you typically want to avoid breeders that are difficult to deal with. I know that this might sound overly simple, but if they make the process of getting a puppy hard for you, we would say that it generally isn't worth it. Within that there are some additional things to look out for. As you can see in the rest of the article we are big on breeders having a relationship with the people that are getting their pups. The first step in this is being able to meet the breeder.
The breeder should also be willing to show you their breeding facility, even if it is just a room in their house. In addition, you should be able to meet at least one if not both of the puppy's parents. If you find a breeder that resists any of these things, I would see it as a major red flag and move on to a breeder that is willing and nice to deal with.
