Roova

Good on you for standing up for the defenceless! Its distressing when you see people acting in way they should know better. I hope to goodness that family don't have pets at home, although it doesn't seem the father is an animal lover to allow his children to behave that way.

Wouldn't the problem of tyre kickers and lots of questions about temperament be answered by really informative ads? I've seen lots of ads on DOL with bare minimum information and the price rarely mentioned. I don't know why price is such a secret? If the price was mentioned, and maybe a bit about the temperament of each puppy and who they'd suit along with ' price not negotiable', wouldn't that help avoid people who don't suit? Especially if it was followed by a short description of the parents both being health tested (where necessary) and what socialisation has happened to make the price unnegotiable. It would certainly show that person has put more effort into raising great puppies than Joe Bloggs down the street who dropped their price when asked. I saw a great ad on Gumtree a while back where the seller had a picture of each pup and what they were like. Each comment mentioned what type of family that pup might best suit. For example it said something like 'I'm Ted. I'm adventurous and bold and am the first in to everything. I would suit someone who wants to do agility or dog obedience so I don't end up ruling your family' etc. At a minimum it could let those uneducated (about dogs) know there's more to buying a puppy than which one looks the cutest.

I would have responded to your first post with agreement if it was worded as above. It must be hard trying to judge people who want one of your puppies, I don't envy you that job. On the other side of the coin, hopefully all the posts showed there are a lot of people who work full-time who do make an effort and do their best to provide a great home from puppyhood into adulthood. :)

Just out of curiosity, and not being said in an antagonistic way, but when you say 'can give them the time they need', what exactly do you mean? Do you mean there for companionship so they simply aren't alone, or do you mean constant interaction and doing things with the dog all day? If someone was home all day what would you want to see happening to make you happy as a breeder? Maybe there's confusion over the statement full time workers shouldn't have a puppy because its not clear what interaction is expected?

No, I apply the same criteria to all enquiries. That is whether they can give the dog a suitable home or not. As you can see from the previous post, "a suitable home" can be different in each situation. What is important is company, socialisation, training, affection, care. I am over this thread now. Some of you can't read, or wanted to have a go, or are offended. karly 101 didn't need to be offended, my post didn't refer to her. I have to wonder why people who fall very far outside the category are offended. If you didn't want to offend maybe you should have just posted 'if you don't plan on providing consistent care, training and socialising, rethink buying a puppy'. You instead inferred anyone who works full time shouldn't buy a single puppy because they won't take care of it. Easy to take offence to that.

Im sure there's plenty of people who work full-time who manage to rearrange what they need to, to ensure their puppy is neither bored nor untrained. A large percentage of the population work full-time and that extra money not only allows them to purchase a potentially more expensive purebred but allows easier access to quality food and vet care. I for one wouldn't like to be discounted simply for working full-time! In my case my partner who also works fulltime, leavse extremely early for work and arrives home early so there would actually be a small window of no human contact in a week day. Someone who is not going to manage a puppy with training and boredom busters through the day would probably make a poor owner whether they worked full-time or not. Not that I have a puppy but now I feel I want to defend the full-time workers!

You'd have to think the only way you can make profits like that is to charge your customer much more than you're paying out. Im sure overheads are much the same for each clinic as any other. I know the aim of any business is to make money but most people have to believe their Vet when they say the charges are necessary. I wonder how a partnership with PetBarn would go in the future? Would kittens dumped at the vets be sold in the pet stores??

She looks (and sounds ) like such a sweetie. She's a very lucky dog to have been rescued by you!

I've joined, thanks so much for the link! Even if you only get one or two ideas from something it's more than you started with :laugh:

He is definitely quite happy to accept a stud fee and Im sure that played a big part in him keeping his dog entire! He said he paid full price for the puppy and wasn't given a discount. Surely she wouldn't have offered a stud fee is she felt entitled to use him? I feel a bit sorry for him because as the one with experience of what can happen on the breeding end, she should have spoken about all the details before using his boy. What the fee would be, when she would pay it and if it was dependant on puppy numbers etc. I can't see its his fault the bitch required a caesarian? It made it an expensive venture for the breeder but he's kept his pet dog entire for a couple of years for her use. From his perspective his biggest concern was she hadn't paid him or discussed any details about it. Any red flags were happening in my head only Im sure. I have to say though, if any other frieds talked about studding out their pet dog who had never been shown or health tested, I'd probably ask the same questions again. Only since being a member of DOL and reading different stories about registered breeders though! :laugh: Either way, without knowing the full story its all guess work and as he's a big boy, Im sure he can work it out between the two breeders.

I work with a nice guy who bought a purebred Weimeraner as a pet a few years back from a registered breeder. He doesn't show and isnt involved with that side of things at all. I've seen photos of his boy over the years and he's a nice looking dog. (I wouldn't know if he matches the standard or not though). I noticed a while back he was entire and I asked him if there was some reason he didn't desex him. He told me the breeder had asked him to keep the dog entire in case she wanted to use him for breeding in the future. He was quite chuffed to think this so had happily kept him entire. Fast forward to today and he showed me a phone message with a photo of two newborn puppies, both with coloured collars on. He said his dog has now been used twice as a stud, once for the breeder and once for a friend of theirs. The breeder mentioned a stud fee but not how much or when it would be paid. Along with the phone message it was mentioned how much it had cost the breeder for this litter because of a caesarian, vet costs and a still birth along with only two puppies. Im not sure if she wants him to say don't worry about a stud fee? Also is it normal to coloured code two puppies? Im suspicious there were more but she wants him to think there were only two. I asked if she was keeping one for showing but he said no, they're for sale. He then said 'how can she keep every puppy from every litter she has, she'd be over-run by dogs!'. I also asked him if his boy had been tested or x-rayed for any genetic problems but he said no, I didn't know I had to. (In saying this are there even recommended tests for Weimeraners?) I suspect Im being too cynical in thinking this guy is being used for his good, and dare I say naive and trusting nature? Does this situation go against what a registered breeder might normally suggest to a pet owner, or is it all down to individual ethics?

If there are bingles at a dog park the owners are right there to intervene. Where were supervisors whilst two staffies were killing another dog?

Gawd! I could think of ten things to say about that ad, none of them nice. I hope those pups find a decent home

Oh my gosh, he's a big boy now! What happened to puppy Hank? :laugh:

Theres a very simple book which is quite old now called 'wonder dog'. It was written by Dr Katrina Warren back in her Harry's practice days and features her border collie Toby. There's 20 'tricks' to learn like beg, shake hands, sad face, take a bow, find a person etc. The instructions are very simple and a kid could easily read the book and carry out the instructions I'd think. There's other information at the back of the book about raising dogs too. :)

Awwww so cute! It's funny how when dogs are playing with cats they ignore all the warning signs cats give out. The flattened ears, big starey eyes, thrashing tail etc. I wouldn't be game to put my hand or self near a cat in that mood but a dog is like let me at 'em, this looks like fun :laugh:

They look in really great condition, is it hard to keep a greyhound at the right weight? I did notice your parsley might need a drink though... :D

Gorgeous! Something veeery interesting looks like it's happening just out of view there lol.

I'm not sure you've read the other posts in this thread? Most breeders are saying they make the choice of which pups go to which family based on best suitability. The future of the pups are very important to them and they feel they can judge better than an outsider which puppy will suit which lifestyle better. Someone with no dog or training experience may not suit the most dominant puppy, but they may want it because it ran to them first. In most cases a breeder knows their own lines better than anyone so will make a more informed choice. As long as you're upfront about what you're looking for I'm sure they can tell you if they can help you or not, and then you're free to go elsewhere if you wish.

Do many breeders have specific temperament tests they carry out or are decisions mostly made on natural day to day behaviour and interacting? One of the chapters of 'the focused puppy' talks about choosing your next puppy and it runs through 10 temperament tests to do on each puppy in the litter and how to mark and assess the results. The tests are on handling, restraint, following, sound and sight sensitivity, fetching, startle, food motivation, curiosity and social interaction. Would most breeders allow you to do this type of testing if they're going to choose a puppy for you? Has anyone used these tests themselves to see how helpful they are? I guess it would only work if you could visit the pups yourself, but I can see it would be handy if there's only one pup left and you want to be very sure it's the right one for you.

This has been an interesting topic and hopefully might answer a few things I've been curious about. In a litter of say five or six puppies can you have five or six distinctly different personalities, or are the differences only minimal? What type of family or home situation best suits those personalities from most dominant to say most anxious? Does being last on the waiting list mean you're at risk of being unknowingly offered the puppy which didn't suit anyone else, or who wasn't chosen by anyone else, or do breeders keep the most anxious, smallest or most submissive puppy (for example)? Does it get difficult to place all puppy personality types?

What a lovely series of photos of a beautiful girl. Thank you for sharing and I'm very sorry for your loss

He's really growing up and losing that puppy look isn't he? How's the size of those paws! You can see glimpses of what his adult face might look like in some shots, I think he's going to be utterly gorgeous! Your Frenchie is just divine too, does Hank try to get picked up or sit on laps too?

He's like a Frenchie sized Dalmatian :laugh:

I'm not sure where you're coming from but it sounds like a really crappy space. Thanks, everyone, for your replies - especially to dancinbcs. You've given me a lot to think about :) I don't think there's anything wrong with your topic or questions but your reply here makes it sound like you're having a go at someone who suggests health, confirmation and type is of higher priority. At least that's the jist I got...