"Reputable & Ethical Breeder" What does that mean? Why not buy a cheap puppy off Kijiji? Valid question, and let me tell you, I want to buy them all. However, we are not talking about rescues (I will post about this another time). We are talking about buying from puppy mills or people who have bred their family pet without doing the proper health testing of the parent dogs.
What follows is a list of steps and qualities of a reputable and ethical breeder in which you should entrust with raising your puppy from birth. A reputable breeder is someone who:
has put extensive time and money into making sure they are breeding dogs that have been genetically tested for diseases, coat traits, and inbreeding percentages to improve the genetic resiliency of puppies.
2. has invested in getting as much additional health testing as possible to reduce the chances of hereditary health problems in the puppies. For example, hip and elbow x-rays can assess for risk of hip dysplasia through the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). There is cardiac, thyroid, and eye testing that can also be pursued.
3. decides parent pairings based also on the personality of the parents so that certain desirable traits are carried through to future generations (ie. intelligence, easygoingness).
4. spends time working with the puppies from an early age with puppy handling exercises, socialization, desensitization, potty training, crate exposure, puppy manners, and basic training as best as possible. The goal is to produce confident puppies who are resilient, compliant, easygoing, and easy to train.
5. whether through the hours of time spent with each puppy or actually through temperament testing (of which their are a few similar methods), ethical breeders know the strengths and weaknesses of each their puppies so they can better prepare families to work with them.
6. interviews families extensively to decide suitability to puppy ownership and to assist with puppy choice. Ethical breeders want to honour their puppies as much as the owners with the right match. This sets both the owners and the puppies up for success.
7. has a purchase contract in place for all puppies sold (this is a red flag for me if a breeder does not have a contract).
8. provides a health guarantee for genetic or congenital illness that arise in the early year(s).
9. supports families for the lifetime of the dog in an effort to provide assistance or resources wherever possible. Also, a breeder who wants to hear updates, whether good or bad about their puppies. If health problems arise even 5 years later we want to know about it.
10. takes responsibility for all puppies produced by accepting them back in the event owners can no longer care for them. At Boreal Puppies when you sign the contract and take home a puppy it means they cannot be sold later on FB, kijiji or dropped off at a shelter. Owners can do their part in trying to find a suitable new home for the dog (ie, a trusted family member, a neighbour); but if unable to, the dog is returned to Boreal Puppies where we will take the responsibility of finding it a new home. This way, our puppies will NEVER fall into the wrong hands or worse, be picked up by a puppy mill and bred inhumanely.
Two last points! 1. An ethical breeder will not over-produce. We have litter lists established and our goal is to produce where there is a need and a desire for puppies, and not be irresponsible with over-production. 2. reputable means that past clients, or families that currently own dogs from the breeder can attest to the quality of puppies produced and to their experience working with the breeder.
While I would be thrilled if you chose to get your next dog from Boreal Puppies, my ultimate wish, above all else, is when you decide who to buy your puppy from, please make sure they are an ethical, responsible, and reputable breeder. That way we can work to reduce the number of dogs in shelters and PUT PUPPY MILLS OUT OF BUSINESS.
And of course, do not exclude adopting from a rescue or shelter. There are lots of dogs needing good homes. If only we can prevent them ever getting there!!
Thanks for pawzing on my blog! ~ Jillian
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