Buying From A Breeder

[Guest Tess32]

Recommendations are great, especially for newbie dog owners, but the demanding a type of food is arrogance and control freakish and it isn't in any dog's best interest anyway (as they have no idea if that 8 week old puppy will continue to thrive on the food).

[SwaY]

Hmm, I do find it strange that they specify it *has* to be fed a particular diet.

I don't find it strange at all. Take my breed if you feed them a diet to high in protein which most puppy foods are, you end up with a badly knuckled over puppy that can lead to permanent growth issues if it's not corrected quickly.

I know many breeders who won't sell you a puppy if you don't feed the diet they specified - Im one of them.

Most breeders know their lines and what works best for them diet and exercise wise.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

Recommendations are great, especially for newbie dog owners, but the demanding a type of food is arrogance and control freakish and it isn't in any dog's best interest anyway (as they have no idea if that 8 week old puppy will continue to thrive on the food).

not only that but how on earth do they monitor what a dog is fed? seems to me that its not a good idea to ask for something that cant be enforced

[SwaY]

not only that but how on earth do they monitor what a dog is fed? seems to me that its not a good idea to ask for something that cant be enforced

Whilst i doubt it can be enforced, like everything if they say no I won't feed that - The breeder says no I won't sell you one.

Like every puppy sale you are hoping your research of the puppy buyers is going to last the life time of the puppy, and everything they told you is going to be followed through.

[Dogsfevr]

Recommendations are great, especially for newbie dog owners, but the demanding a type of food is arrogance and control freakish and it isn't in any dog's best interest anyway (as they have no idea if that 8 week old puppy will continue to thrive on the food).

not only that but how on earth do they monitor what a dog is fed? seems to me that its not a good idea to ask for something that cant be enforced

We groom/board alot of our pups & we can tell very easy those who have changed there diets & for the worse.

The last phone call we had from a previous puppy owner was to tell us there 5yr old had passed away from pancreatitis which our breed is highly pre disposed too & as such the diet suggested is for the welfare of the dog

When asked what they feed was an moment,Sadly the dog didn't stand a chance & in our case we where very lucky the vet they used told these people each visit to address the diet /phone the breeder or follow there suggested chart but they decided to do there own thing.They dog in there words was also obese

They now want a another pup from us & we have to seriously think about whether that is path we wish to head down

[poodlemum]

We don't do deposit.

We encourage all our buyers to vet check pup within 48 hrs

We also advise the food that should be feed & any changes must be done with consultation or we will void what we guarantee in our puppy contract.

Diet can create many evils & not all brands suit each breed for varying reasons.

If people wish to change diet then it would be very simple to discuss what they wish to use & there reasons behind.

To many vets will sway puppy owners mind on a diet they sell without understanding that product or even the breed in question & A good breeder is very knowledgeable about what suits there breed & pups for the long term future

This is a MAJOR factor that I try to impress on my puppy buyers - there is a particular dry food that vets LOVE to push (because they make a huge mark-up on it) which, IMO, is not good for medium to large puppies like Standard Poodles. It is problematical whether a breeder could enforce conditions as to diet etc and I certainly wouldn't be using the heavy-handed tactics this particular breeder is using, all we can do is try to steer puppy buyers in the right direction for their puppy.

[SwaY]

To many vets will sway puppy owners mind on a diet they sell without understanding that product or even the breed in question & A good breeder is very knowledgeable about what suits there breed & pups for the long term future

Agreed!

I had vets tell my puppy buyers to put Dane babies on puppy food, and to give calcium.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

To many vets will sway puppy owners mind on a diet they sell without understanding that product or even the breed in question & A good breeder is very knowledgeable about what suits there breed & pups for the long term future

Agreed!

I had vets tell my puppy buyers to put Dane babies on puppy food, and to give calcium.

ah yes, i forgot that some people may not be as knowledgeable as other, point taken.

i do take very good care of my dog and have sought out lots of info on diet but i have a small dog and whilst diet is important it is nowhere near as important as a the diet for a giant breed puppy.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

We don't do deposit.

We encourage all our buyers to vet check pup within 48 hrs

We also advise the food that should be feed & any changes must be done with consultation or we will void what we guarantee in our puppy contract.

Diet can create many evils & not all brands suit each breed for varying reasons.

If people wish to change diet then it would be very simple to discuss what they wish to use & there reasons behind.

To many vets will sway puppy owners mind on a diet they sell without understanding that product or even the breed in question & A good breeder is very knowledgeable about what suits there breed & pups for the long term future

This is a MAJOR factor that I try to impress on my puppy buyers - there is a particular dry food that vets LOVE to push (because they make a huge mark-up on it) which, IMO, is not good for medium to large puppies like Standard Poodles. It is problematical whether a breeder could enforce conditions as to diet etc and I certainly wouldn't be using the heavy-handed tactics this particular breeder is using, all we can do is try to steer puppy buyers in the right direction for their puppy.

i totally agree PM. educate, explain and make sure the puppy buyer understands the ramifications of changing diet and what a good diet is for that breed.

ets my vet doesnt even try this on me any more and he says that vets dont always know everything about nutrition and diet

Edited August 15, 2010 by Jaxx'sBuddy

[Exaltare]

Hi I am a Boston breeder in QLD and president of the QLD Boston club please feel free to message me or contact me with any questions about Bostons and I will be happy to help.

I would never ask for a non refundable deposit, not saying its wrong just not something I would do.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

Hi I am a Boston breeder in QLD and president of the QLD Boston club please feel free to message me or contact me with any questions about Bostons and I will be happy to help.

I would never ask for a non refundable deposit, not saying its wrong just not something I would do.

excellent offer, i am sure the OP will appreciate it!!

[PeiPei]

Actually a breeder specifying a diet is quite common practice and one of the most frequent response here when someone asks - what should I feed my puppy is 'ask your breeder'. A breeder knows which food works best for their lines (there was always be some pups which it does not suit).

Whether you actually follow that diet is your own choice but what the breeder is saying is that if you choice to feed say PAL instead if Advance then they cannot be responsible for the puppy's health (other than latent or genetic defects) - for example if the dog developed something like pano.

A non-refundable deposit is reasonable provided it only represents a small portion of the purchase price. It is designed to stop time wasters and stop people telling multiple breeders they'll take a puppy and then pull out and leaving a breeder to find new buyers (which can be time consuming). It also demonstrates your commitment to getting a puppy.

Transport - that's the buyer's responsibility and costs but you'll need to obviously fit in with the breeder's schedule.

Vet check - that's to protect both parties - stop you claiming something happened to the puppy when really it fell off the couch on Day 3 and stop the breeder claiming it was fine when it was sent (unless something happened in flight). I would take the puppy to the vet the same day.

I was just about to write a few paragraphs but agree 100% with Danois. Well said