Vetting Breeders

SteveRicky

SteveRicky

New member
Looking to put a deposit down on a spring litter. I want to do the best due diligence I can but unsure of what the right questions to be asking are, and what questions I wouldn't know to ask.

Thanks!
 
Both of my dogs has one parent who hunted.They both have montana lineage going back several generations. That's what I look for.Both have a yellow lab dad.
 
I never buy dogs from a breeder. I always look for a trainer that breeds a litter every year or so. I want my puppy coming from someone that trains dogs for a living and has a plenty of birds on hand. And from someone who know that a puppy should not leave til 8 weeks, that is on a high quality food, that is micro chipped, that is started on crate training, that is exposed to birds, that is very well socialized, that has been properly vaccinated, that has parents will all health clearances, and has parents that are both titled.
 
None of my labs have come from a breeder.They all have montana history going back 50 years.I have had 5.Some have had papers.They have all had thousands of hours of hunting time.You don't need to train them,just hunt a lot.They are natural retrievers, but I do throw a retrieving jimmy when they are puppies. They are great swimmers, and love water.They can hunt big water,swift rivers,thick cover,very versatile. Pointers are not versatile in general, and are not great swimmers.
 
When I am buying a serious bird dog, I only buy from reputable breeders. By that I don't mean large kennel operations but people that have a litter a year or two and consistently produce quality hunting dogs when they have a litter. I want a smart, healthy, biddable pup and the %'s are better from a reputable breeder that has a proven track record. I've hunted behind dogs that came from a shelter and they did fine but I'm getting too old to mess around with pups that have issues.

I look for kennels that consistently produce dogs that are successful in confirmation, hunt tests and field trials. I look at both sides of the pedigree but don't really concern myself more than 3 generations back. I have adopted an old school philosophy and the most important dog on the pedigree is the dad of the mom of the litter. I want that dog to be really strong. I think they get more from the mom than the dad but I want both to be proven hunters.

Questions I ask: How long have they been breeding dogs? How many litters do they have a year? Do they breed more than one breed? Do they hunt, run trials or hunt tests with their dogs? Are their dogs titled? Are they breeding close working or big running dogs? Do they provide a health guarantee? I also prefer certain body types and like to see the parents first hand, if possible....especially the mom.

Good luck.
 
Goosemaster said:
None of my labs have come from a breeder.They all have montana history going back 50 years.I have had 5.Some have had papers.They have all had thousands of hours of hunting time.You don't need to train them,just hunt a lot.They are natural retrievers, but I do throw a retrieving jimmy when they are puppies. They are great swimmers, and love water.They can hunt big water,swift rivers,thick cover,very versatile. Pointers are not versatile in general, and are not great swimmers.
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Think you would ever buy a dog from Wyoming?
 
westksbowhunter said:
I never buy dogs from a breeder. I always look for a trainer that breeds a litter every year or so. I want my puppy coming from someone that trains dogs for a living and has a plenty of birds on hand. And from someone who know that a puppy should not leave til 8 weeks, that is on a high quality food, that is micro chipped, that is started on crate training, that is exposed to birds, that is very well socialized, that has been properly vaccinated, that has parents will all health clearances, and has parents that are both titled.
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Im afraid your qualifications should require you to buy from a legistimate breeder and not from a trainer. I m pretty sure you are confused about a breeder and a back yard breeder. There is a big difference.
 
Red Ryder said:
Im afraid your qualifications should require you to buy from a legistimate breeder and not from a trainer. I m pretty sure you are confused about a breeder and a back yard breeder. There is a big difference.
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That trainer that breeds once every year is still a breeder haha just because they don't have 6 dogs and are constantly raising pups doesn't make them any less of one.

A good, quality breeder is important. A puppy mill breeder should be avoided. My breed club has a rule that females must skip a cycle between pregnancies. In doing so, they can only realistically have one litter a year. Unless they have multiple females of course.
 
Red Ryder said:
Im afraid your qualifications should require you to buy from a legistimate breeder and not from a trainer. I m pretty sure you are confused about a breeder and a back yard breeder. There is a big difference.
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Lol. No mine always come from a kennel where training is the priority. Not from someone who produces the occasional champion but makes champions on a consistent basis. Stefani Lathom at Riverview Farms is about as good as it gets if you want a dog. Riverview Farms is where my last dog came from. And I helped someone else on here get a pup from there. Winans Retrievers is another and I helped a member on here get a pup from Blaine. Both kennels will tell you they are training facilities. It will cost you $2500 or more for a pup but well worth it. You won't get breeding rights. So what I look for in searching for a puppy is to seek out a kennel that makes their living from training dogs, not breeding them. As far as your bold letter comment of back yard breeder, there are back yard breeders and puppy mills. I stay away from both and go to those that have a full kennel of dogs from clients getting trained daily, a kennel that is producing and training British Field Champions, GMHRCH, MH, GMPR, and FC dogs, and the best hunting dogs available. If someone is producing dogs for the sole purpose of making a profit they are a puppy mill.
 
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I would start by going to my breed of choices website and see what they require for health clearances. Next I would check out their website, personally big fancy websites scare me off as usually they are loaded with fluff and little substance. I would then want to meet the sire and Dam. I do not care for large breeding operations, I like the smaller breeder that has a litter every year or two and raises them with the family. I would ask why they paired these dogs together? A good answer would be they are both strong hunters but Trixie is a bit soft so we bred her to Diesel to add a bit more bottom etc. A bad answer would be we bred Trixie because my cousin has a nice male and we wanted a puppy. This may not pertain to your breed but anyone that breeds for a specific color i.e. sliver labs, or English crème goldens....run away fast. Or another red flag if they sell their pups by not telling you how good their dogs are but by telling you how bad other dogs are. Many British lab breeders did this for years and it damaged the British labs reputation (Robert Milner is a great example) thankfully the new generation seems more genuine. I would ask about allergies, while I believe allergies are somewhat over hyped (to sell expensive dog food) real cases can be a bitch. Ask about dew claws, there is a movement towards leaving dew claws on. I don't know what the correct answer is but I have never had a dog with dew claws and I have never had an injury. Plus my vet removes them from all his litters. I would inquire about their health guarantee, most of them give about a 26 month guarantee with a replacement pup from a future litter if an issue should arise. I love studying pedigrees but I know that more than a generation or two back means little except good dogs tend to get bred to other good dogs etc.

Sorry for the rambling post, I just wrote as things popped in my head.
 
Gatzby said:
I would start by going to my breed of choices website and see what they require for health clearances. Next I would check out their website, personally big fancy websites scare me off as usually they are loaded with fluff and little substance. I would then want to meet the sire and Dam. I do not care for large breeding operations, I like the smaller breeder that has a litter every year or two and raises them with the family. I would ask why they paired these dogs together? A good answer would be they are both strong hunters but Trixie is a bit soft so we bred her to Diesel to add a bit more bottom etc. A bad answer would be we bred Trixie because my cousin has a nice male and we wanted a puppy. This may not pertain to your breed but anyone that breeds for a specific color i.e. sliver labs, or English crème goldens....run away fast. Or another red flag if they sell their pups by not telling you how good their dogs are but by telling you how bad other dogs are. Many British lab breeders did this for years and it damaged the British labs reputation (Robert Milner is a great example) thankfully the new generation seems more genuine. I would ask about allergies, while I believe allergies are somewhat over hyped (to sell expensive dog food) real cases can be a bitch. Ask about dew claws, there is a movement towards leaving dew claws on. I don't know what the correct answer is but I have never had a dog with dew claws and I have never had an injury. Plus my vet removes them from all his litters. I would inquire about their health guarantee, most of them give about a 26 month guarantee with a replacement pup from a future litter if an issue should arise. I love studying pedigrees but I know that more than a generation or two back means little except good dogs tend to get bred to other good dogs etc.

Sorry for the rambling post, I just wrote as things popped in my head.
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My wife does the pedigree work and she spends weeks if not month determining who to breed with
 
SteveRicky said:
Looking to put a deposit down on a spring litter. I want to do the best due diligence I can but unsure of what the right questions to be asking are, and what questions I wouldn't know to ask.

Thanks!
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Give me a call. I can give you lots of questions to ask and things to look for when choosing a breeder or a pup. I do breed dogs and have developed a great group of friends over the years who have dogs from me. You are doing it right by doing your homework right now. Take the whole cute puppy lets get it now out of the equation. 763-360-5673 nelsonretrievers.com
 
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