Backyard or reputable breeder?

[fkeeley]

How do you know if the breeder is a "backyard breeder" or a reputable one? What questions can I ask or how can I tell who they really are? I would imagine that just because they don't have a website, doesn't mean that they are not reputable right?

[Chris Wild]

You will probably find this stickey thread down in the Choosing a Breeder section helpful.

Things to look for in a 'Responsible' Breeder

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

I like to think of them more as puppy producers or real breeders.

There's obvious bad ones - in W/CNY there are the Mennonite and Amish dog farms. There's the oopsers - female gets out in heat and we think that the dad was our dog.

There's the people who have two pretty dogs and put them together. That you see a lot of. But ask them about OFA, CERF, etc, what titles their dogs have...and they have nothing to tell you. They have nice dogs. Maybe. But maybe if pushed their dogs aren't so nice. Maybe there's a whole line of EPI that went undiagnosed because the dogs were just put down.

Then there are the people who study the breed, the lines, the pedigrees way back, in a way that helps them to predict the health and behavior of the dogs. Who works them in some venue, understands the genetics, does health testing.

Those are the ones you want to look for. In each "type" of Shepherd you will have people who think that they are breeding to better the breed as they see the standard. So the look will be different, but those basic qualities will be the same.

I like to add values to it too - if I were going to buy from a breeder, I would look for one who felt the same way I feel about dogs. So that would mean that not only are these dogs health and temperament tested, they are included in daily life and the number of litters being produced are not excessive (for me 1-2 a year).

I will be honest and say I have seen very few (as in less than 5) real breeders in the area you've posted about. And a whole bunch of puppy producers.

I've also seen some pretty bad temperaments in some dogs from common breeders in W/CNY so feel free to PM me.

Good luck with this!

ETA - ha! Chris!

[Chicagocanine]

Originally Posted by JeanKBBMMMAAN

There's the people who have two pretty dogs and put them together. That you see a lot of. But ask them about OFA, CERF, etc, what titles their dogs have...and they have nothing to tell you. They have nice dogs. Maybe. But maybe if pushed their dogs aren't so nice. Maybe there's a whole line of EPI that went undiagnosed because the dogs were just put down.

Then there are the people who study the breed, the lines, the pedigrees way back, in a way that helps them to predict the health and behavior of the dogs. Who works them in some venue, understands the genetics, does health testing.

There is something in between those too. I know of a number of breeders who do health testing, OFA etc and breeding for health/temperament but do not show or title their dogs (or just basics like CGC, CD) and in some cases don't breed to the standard (such as breeders of 'oversized' dogs).

[Liesje]

Originally Posted by fkeeley

How do you know if the breeder is a "backyard breeder" or a reputable one? What questions can I ask or how can I tell who they really are? I would imagine that just because they don't have a website, doesn't mean that they are not reputable right?

More importantly, what is important to YOU in a breeder? Everyone has their own criteria and tends to label anything that doesn't meet it a backyard breeder. For example, to me, anyone who isn't actively involved in the breed (training, trialing, titling, participating in events) but still breeds dogs is a backyard breeder.

No, a website is not the end all or be all. Some of the best websites belong to some of the worst breeders. Many breeders have no website. I do web design myself so I'm more "into" websites but my next dog is coming from a breeder with no website.

[holland]

I like the article who is a breeder