Submitted by: Shannon MacBeth,
Shakespeare's Legacy Labradors facebook.com/orangestonelabradors
"Empowering puppies to be all they can be with and for their forever families."
“Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them and filling an emptiness we didn’t even know we had.” ~ Thom Jones
In the last chapter of The Adventures of a Maritime Dog Breeder we discussed the different avenues of acquiring your forever dog. In this chapter, we are going to take a closer look at what to look for in a breeder. While I understand there are often negative connotations to the word “breeder” in a world of “adopt, don’t shop” rhetoric, please allow me a few minutes to stand on my soapbox and share my point of view based on my experience as a dog breeder.
Shakespeare's Legacy Labradors facebook.com/orangestonelabradors
"Empowering puppies to be all they can be with and for their forever families."
“Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them and filling an emptiness we didn’t even know we had.” ~ Thom Jones
In the last chapter of The Adventures of a Maritime Dog Breeder we discussed the different avenues of acquiring your forever dog. In this chapter, we are going to take a closer look at what to look for in a breeder. While I understand there are often negative connotations to the word “breeder” in a world of “adopt, don’t shop” rhetoric, please allow me a few minutes to stand on my soapbox and share my point of view based on my experience as a dog breeder.
Let me start by raising the following questions. What if we didn’t need dog rescues? What if we held breeders to a higher standard and made them more accountable to the puppies they are producing? What if we could change the narrative? This is something ethical breeders are attempting to accomplish. We are not puppy mills. We are not back yard breeders. We are going the extra mile to ensure only health tested, genetically cleared, conformationally sound and temperament desired dogs are being bred. We raise our dogs in our homes as part of our family, use a puppy raising curriculum during their first 8 – 12 weeks with us and we are responsible for each puppy produced for their entire life, welcoming them into our family if their family is no longer able to or willing to care for them, no matter their age, no questions asked.
So how do we find these types of breeders? How do we weed through the various offers of puppies we see on social media and buy and sell apps? We need to start asking questions, doing our research, looking at reviews and asking for references. We need to have a conversation with the breeder that extends beyond “how much?”.
Let’s take a look at where to start and what type of questions to ask of the breeders you’re contacting.
Now this is a very extensive list and not all breeders are able to or will do everything on this list. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are a poor breeder, it just means there is room for improvement in their breeding program. The objective of breeding is to produce dogs that will complete families and/or hold very important roles as service or therapy dogs. Unless we are putting in the effort to produce and raise quality puppies, we are failing to produce dogs worthy of these roles. The most important role for me, in my opinion as a breeder, is to ensure the puppies I’m placing with families are healthy, temperamentally sound and a match for the lifestyle and role they will be placed in. I’m not able to do this without following the guidelines listed above. When missing these vital pieces, we inadvertently place ill matched dogs with families. If an extremely high energy breed is placed with an extremely low energy family it’s going to result in a lot of frustration just as on the other side of the spectrum, placing a timid puppy with a loud, high energy family could cause fear reactions in the puppy. We wouldn’t want to place a puppy that doesn’t enjoy touch in a therapy or facility role where everyone is going to expect a cuddly and loveable dog, who will melt into them offering comfort. Similarly we wouldn’t want to place a highly distracted dog in the role of leading the blind.
So how do we find breeders who follow these guidelines? Unfortunately there aren’t a lot currently in the Maritimes that follow them, but there are a few and the list is ever growing. We at Shakespeare’s Legacy Labradors follow them and are happy to discuss any and all of the above points. The following is a short list of others I’m aware of that also follow these guidelines and are offering premium puppies in their respective breeds.
While I’m sure there are others that are following these same guidelines, I’m just not aware of their program at the time this article was written. If you’re looking for a puppy, raise your list of wants and challenge the breeder to ensure you are getting the most compatible, healthy puppy for your lifestyle. If you are a like-minded breeder, please contact me as we’d love to welcome you to our group and add you to this list. If you’re a breeder and you recognize there are gaps in your program that you’d like to fill, please contact me and I will point you in the right direction. If you are thinking of becoming a breeder, also contact me as our group can offer mentorship and share the tried and true experiences we’ve all gone through to get to where we are now. Together we can change breeding for the better and reduce the frequency of discarded dogs and puppies, ultimately saving the lives of our most trusting companions.
So how do we find these types of breeders? How do we weed through the various offers of puppies we see on social media and buy and sell apps? We need to start asking questions, doing our research, looking at reviews and asking for references. We need to have a conversation with the breeder that extends beyond “how much?”.
Let’s take a look at where to start and what type of questions to ask of the breeders you’re contacting.
- Ask about genetic testing - Every ethical breeder will be able to provide results from genetic testing and be able to explain the results. Some will be cleared through parentage and this is ok, but ask to see the parents’ results if this is the case. Each breed will have their own list of genetics to test as there are breed specific conditions as well as an overall panel.
- Ask about a health guarantee – Does the puppy come with a contract regarding their health? Discuss the stipulations for this guarantee and if they have ever had to replace a puppy for a family due to a health issue.
- Ask about conformation testing - This would be completed by one of two tests; Pennhip or Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). These tests will ensure the breeding pair are sound and not passing on unwanted joint disorders. While some joint conditions are environmental, we do our best to avoid them, by retiring or removing a dog from our program should they have a condition that could be passed to puppies. These conditions would include hip dysplasia and cruciate ligament disease (knees).
- Ask where the adult dogs and puppies are housed and raised – Do they live in the home with the family? Are the puppies in a clean and safe environment in the home? A heated and clean kennel within a close proximity to the breeders home is also acceptable. Be wary of outdoor kennels and barns as well as detached, unheated garages and puppies in cardboard boxes.
- Ask about the temperament of the breeding pair – An ethical breeder can and will understand the personality of each of their dogs and be able to speak to them.
- Ask about the breed – An ethical breeder understands and will be excited to relay everything about their breed. They will share everything from their grooming and feeding requirements to their lifestyle and innate needs. If you are looking at a mixed breed, the breeder will be able to speak to both breeds involved.
- Ask about puppy curriculum – Do they use a program like Empowered Puppy, Puppy Culture or Baxter and Bella? Do they do any type of socialization, early scent introduction or early neurological stimulation? Do they do a temperament evaluation to ensure families are aware of the temperament and needs of the puppy they are picking?
- Ask about their return policy – No, we don’t go into getting a puppy with the thought of having to return the puppy, but sometimes circumstances decide this for us. An ethical breeder will have a return policy because they have promised to be responsible for each life they bring into the world, for the extent of their life. They have included the return policy in their contract, not allowing any of their puppies to add to the over populated rescue situation.
Now this is a very extensive list and not all breeders are able to or will do everything on this list. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are a poor breeder, it just means there is room for improvement in their breeding program. The objective of breeding is to produce dogs that will complete families and/or hold very important roles as service or therapy dogs. Unless we are putting in the effort to produce and raise quality puppies, we are failing to produce dogs worthy of these roles. The most important role for me, in my opinion as a breeder, is to ensure the puppies I’m placing with families are healthy, temperamentally sound and a match for the lifestyle and role they will be placed in. I’m not able to do this without following the guidelines listed above. When missing these vital pieces, we inadvertently place ill matched dogs with families. If an extremely high energy breed is placed with an extremely low energy family it’s going to result in a lot of frustration just as on the other side of the spectrum, placing a timid puppy with a loud, high energy family could cause fear reactions in the puppy. We wouldn’t want to place a puppy that doesn’t enjoy touch in a therapy or facility role where everyone is going to expect a cuddly and loveable dog, who will melt into them offering comfort. Similarly we wouldn’t want to place a highly distracted dog in the role of leading the blind.
So how do we find breeders who follow these guidelines? Unfortunately there aren’t a lot currently in the Maritimes that follow them, but there are a few and the list is ever growing. We at Shakespeare’s Legacy Labradors follow them and are happy to discuss any and all of the above points. The following is a short list of others I’m aware of that also follow these guidelines and are offering premium puppies in their respective breeds.
- Sue and Rob Cormier – Gilbert’s Golden Retrievers, Riverview, New Brunswick
- Melissa Peabody – Homegrown Doodles, Woodstock, New Brunswick
- Marie-Eve Westfield – Better with a Bernedoodle, Moncton, New Brunswick
While I’m sure there are others that are following these same guidelines, I’m just not aware of their program at the time this article was written. If you’re looking for a puppy, raise your list of wants and challenge the breeder to ensure you are getting the most compatible, healthy puppy for your lifestyle. If you are a like-minded breeder, please contact me as we’d love to welcome you to our group and add you to this list. If you’re a breeder and you recognize there are gaps in your program that you’d like to fill, please contact me and I will point you in the right direction. If you are thinking of becoming a breeder, also contact me as our group can offer mentorship and share the tried and true experiences we’ve all gone through to get to where we are now. Together we can change breeding for the better and reduce the frequency of discarded dogs and puppies, ultimately saving the lives of our most trusting companions.
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