WreckitWhippet

did you buy that from a BH distributor ?

speechless

I'd be curious to know if there are any breeders reading the thread who have never had a dog returned and how they screen their buyers. From Centitout's post, even her detailed process, one that to me sounds really good, isn't foolproof. I've never had one come back and to the best of my knowledge no one has dumped their dog in a pound or rehomed it. I think it was more luck in the beginning but now I think I've got fit right. I have a few things that I go through and check off in the course of a conversation. I try and avoid any outright questions and those that I do ask, I keep as open questions. You learn so much in the course of a conversation, just keep them talking and encourage them to expand on what they are telling you. I encourage the contact and visits to meet the pups before they head for their new homes. I talk about and provide as much information as I can before hand ( crate training, house training, feeding, kids and pets etc etc ). I think it's an awful lot for someone to take in from a puppy pack or during the time they collect their puppy. They should be armed with the info and preparing weeks in advance, where possible. The one thing I do and I will never lie about or gloss over is explaining about the temperaments of the parents, grandparents and every dog I know that's in the lines and related. I freely admitt that my girls are nutters, they are high drive, high energy and if that's not what you want or think you can live with, then these aren't the pups/dogs for you. Creating reasonable expectations is important. Staffords ( for example ) eat anything and everything, as youngsters and often their entire lives they are full on destruction machines. They eat and wreck your garden, furniture, car, door frames and anything that could and can be chewed. If you breed a breed that's not sedate, is prone to acting like a canon ball, backhoe or anything else, then potential buyers need to know the absolute worst of it. Buyers need to make informed and educated decisions and it's the breeders job to make sure they have done that. As I said previously, I have a pup that may be coming back to me. I'm working with the owner and if I can help them get through the current situation and keep their dog, it's win win all round. If the dog comes back to me, it's not the end of the world, it will be safe and rehomed. I also said before, sending your dog back to the breeder or rehoming it responsibly should have no stigma attached.

We've focused a lot on preventing an owner from dumping/surrendering a dog but haven't focused much on the "breeders" and how they can be helped or assisted to screen buyers. Everyone has their own method and the longer you;ve been doing it the easier it is and the more liekly you are to know if you;ve been successfull. For new breeders starting out, screening can be hard work, it would be nice to have some basics in place for them.

don't tell me you are going to fly a Pit Bull as an Amstaff...

That's a Poodle cross

Make a banana cake with cream cheese icing or a plain vanilla cake with icing. I've not killed a dog yet and it's only once a year, not an every day treat

Depends on how your keep and maintain your property. You can also snake proof your kennels.

What measures have you taken or will you take to ensure your next dog is not able to kill cats ? Chase the horses ? or be bitten by a snake

remove the stigma attached to rehoming a dog., not to make it easier but to encourage owners to talk to pounds, rescue, their vet, breeder or anyone else that might be able to help. Just being able to talk to someone might help those who have a problem to find a solution. of course there will still be a-holes in the world who simply dump their dogs but I think there are those who genuinely can't cope , find themselves in over their heads and have made the wrong choices when it comes to their pets

I'm faced with that at the moment and as a breeder, although it may not be my responsibility I feel I have an obligation to the dog, to make sure that it doesn't end up in a pound, dumped or somewhere unsuitable. The ethical breeders with the resources, contacts and ability will take care of their own but what about all of those dogs who don't come from such a source ?

just some random thoughts but there seems to be dogs that are "dumped" dropped off on the side of a road, chucked in the river or whatever " dumped" in the night pens of pounds/shelter "surrendered" due to changes in housing, moving to nursing home, retirement, apartment whatever "surrendered" due to behavioural issues, not meeting expectations "failure to collect" from a pound or a shelter "cannot be reunited" no chip or up to date contact details there's not a one size fits all solution

Totally agree. I think if we can work out where they are coming from and why they are ending up there. It may also help to clear up or solve some of the other issues, such as the sale of puppies from pet shops. It could well be that the % of dogs sold by pet shops, is only a fraction of the total number and if that's the case, some of the objections to pet shop sales, will be blown out of the water. I see all of the questions raised so far by Steve, have common concerns and issues and we can't solve one without looking at the picture as a whole. Increased legisalation is not going to be the answer, for any or all of the issues.

I don't think you can tackle that problem head on, without knowing where the dogs are coming from, who is breeding them, who is selling them and why the are failing to remain in their homes or to be collected from pounds if they end up there . I think the community desexing programs, pet education, raising awareness and media campaings can only be effective if you know WHO to target.

We currently refer everyone that comes into work, looking for a puppy to DOL, unless we know someone with the breed that we can suggest they contact.

That concerns me too. I know how attached to me and how my pups recognise me at an early age. They certainly know, even as very young babies, that a stranger is handling them. I have a select group of friends that I encourage to visit and are hands on from the time they are born. Some will argue that a good temperament and well bred parents will be enough to get pups through, but I think you can never give them too much of a head start when it comes to socialisation.

It will depend on the breeder. We do not vaccinate until the puppies are 8 weeks of age, so I will let people visit. It's not every Tom Dick and Harry and the tyre kickers, just the serious puppy purchasers and friends. If a breeder was really serious about that kind of thing, they wouldn't allow you into the home until two weeks after their first vacc, which would pretty mush be the day you picked up a pup vacc'd at 6 weeks. I'm pretty much convinced that a vaccination at 6 weeks is next to useless and offers little if any protection for a pup.

When looking at pups for myself. I pick the nutter

I can picture Boo in a back pack or a D&G handbag

I can picture Boo in a back pack or a D&G handbag

It's short sighted not to look at the bigger picture. If someone were to complian to Hawkesbury Council, over the release of a Restricted Breed or cross , that could well see the pounds hands tied and unable to release any further dogs. If the BA & TT process is followed, no one can come back and complain that the pound has released a " dangerous animal ". Once the process is complete and both BA & TT ( if required ) have been passed, there is then no need to ship a dog interstate, unless of course there was an adopter wanting that particular dog.

Mine go for walks down the street, sticking to the concrete and the road. It's a calculated risk but one I'll take too

Dont agree with this at all There is too much important socialisation that needs to happen between 8-12 weeks It is entirely up to the owner, do you want to 'risk' exposure to illnesses that can happen even if the dog is fully vaccinated or do you want to risk your dogs temperament being damaged? You can still socialise your dog to the world before they are fully vaccinated, if you carry him/her in your arms. We took our pup to heaps of places before she was fully vaccinated but we carried her everywhere. Seven day after the second vax would be 9 weeks old anyway (usually) so still plenty of time They sepnd the first few days settling into the home anyway. Puppies usually have a 3 course vaccination at 6,8 and 12 weeks, so even after the second vax they are not fully protected. Not sure what vacc schedule you are thinking of but even on the old 6/10/14 regime, the pup would not have had a second vacc. We vacc at 8 plus weeks, they have a second but not a third vacc.

I agree with that, however there is already a shortage of well bred pedigree dogs. We can't keep up with the demand as it is in most breeds

Yep and I'd be the first to put my name to it