Dogs

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For those of us that love animals and take joy in their company, it seems natural that we live with pets. When folks who love breeding livestock also have pets, those pets have a way of becoming breeding animals too. It’s just our way of spreading the joy one puppy at a time! With us, first came the corgis and then came the bulldog.

Corgis
When Chelsea Spencer first brought puppies by the trailer at the cattle show in Perry, I said “Oh no, we don’t need another dog”….. Famous last words! We considered it a little and loaded up George that day and brought him home. As he grew and we learned more about Corgis, we realized we had a very nice dog on our hands. Thus began the search for George’s mate. It took almost 18 months, but eventually we found Ginger  and then a year later we found Paula. George has sired several litters of puppies for other breeders, as well as litters with both Ginger and Paula.

Rox George 01 Jab's Stetson Cowboy x TH Bailey Cowgirl	BHR Gingersnap Early's Mr. Buster Brown x Early's Miss Lilly Anne
BHR Buttermilk	BHR Paula

Stud Services
George is available for stud. Please call to discuss details, timing and arrangements, click here to view my stud agreement. Click here to see puppies sired by George.

I was so pleased with Ginger that I reserved a female from Cheryl Early's spring 07 litter sired by Cooper out of Sammi. As a result we also have Paula who has become Ginger’s 2nd in command. It's kind of a "Devil Wears Prada" sort of relationship some days, but they have their pecking order worked out with Buttermilk being the baby of the group and when Bella is here it's quite the herd. The ruckus in the back yard when they all play with an empty Tide bottle is something to behold.

Corgi Puppies
We will update the blog with photos and info on puppies. Click here to see a sample copy of my puppy agreement & guarantee and also of my shipping information for those of you who may need to have a puppy shipped from me to you.

English Bulldogs
When Erica has a project, she is relentless in doing research and scouring the countryside to find just the right animal – steers, heifers, bulls, or bulldogs – the search for “the one” is one of Erica’s favorite projects. Since high school Erica had been saying, “Someday I’ll have a bulldog”. After seriously looking and researching for a little over two years, Erica found Bella. Bella has been a super addition to the Boyer home - more of a first child than a pet and although Mr. Boyer agreed to a dog to humor Erica, the tables have been turned on him a bit. Bella didn't give Matt much choice in whether he would love her or not....he's one of her people. Bella's first litter of puppies were born 2007. A litter of 8 - 5 females and 3 males sired by Harley. Her second litter is due January 2009. Please check the bullie blog for info and updates

Bella

Finding a Good Breeder

Finding a Good Breeder
There are many sites with huge discourses on who is and isn’t a good breeder and you’ll hear lots of opinions regarding finding a puppy. Without getting off on a soapbox sermon,  here are my thoughts (for what they’re worth) on being a smart shopper.  You’ll hear lots of things like “don’t buy through the web”, “always visit the breeder”, “get references”, “make sure there is a guarantee” etc.  Lots of good advice and it will pay to follow it whenever possible, but here are some things to keep in mind:

“Never buy through the web” - The web just like any other medium of communication (including face to face) doesn’t stop a liar from lying. Perhaps it makes it easier for a liar to get away with it, but making the blanket statement “never buy from someone who sells on the internet is like saying never trust someone who is from a certain country, or of a certain race. You can’t generalize to that extent in an accurate and fair-minded way. Do be careful though, ask breeders questions, expect to be asked questions, ask for references, ask about their nutrition program, their breeding goals, why they have a particular breed of dog, are these dogs their pets as well?  

“Always visit the breeder” – Whenever you can, you should. However keep this in mind – by allowing you to visit, a breeder is allowing you to enter their home, with their dogs, their pets, their family, their children, their property etc.  You responded to an ad and the breeder probably doesn’t know you from Adam’s housecat – so don’t be surprised if you are limited to a defined area, or if an offer is made to meet you in a public place. Visitors are usually strangers and represent a certain degree of risk for those of us who breed dogs at home. So be understanding of folks who are cautious and don’t be surprised by an interview and a public meeting  before an invitation to visit the home. Once there you’ll likely encounter a security system, requests to remove your shoes etc.  These are all designed to protect breeder’s puppies both from theft and from germs carried in from outside environments.     

“Interview and get references” – you bet. Read everything the breeder has on their web site or in their brochures or ads – look for a consistent storyline, photos of the same dogs at different ages, develop a list of questions and be prepared to answer questions about yourself, your lifestyle, activities, home and facilities and the reasons you want a puppy of a particular breed. A good breeder will tell you about the good and the bad of a breed. They should be able to knowledgably speak to you about both genotype (pedigree and genetic background) and phenotype (physical attributes of each puppy). They’ll be able to give you a reference or two and tell you the name of their vet.  They should also explain their sale agreement, their health guarantee, and their reasons for having a particular breed. Make sure you ask about how they handle things and ensure you are comfortable with the breeder’s plan for dealing with unexpected problems, the mechanics of the sale, payment and, if applicable, shipping.

One last thing – a good breeder will not be a high pressure salesman. Any breeder worth their salt is looking for a new home with folks that know they want a new puppy and know what type puppy is well suited to their family – no sales pitch or convincing should be needed.  In fact, I am super careful with litters ready for new homes near Christmas time. I do not want a buyer who is all jazzed up about a new puppy for Christmas – I’m looking for the family that wants the pup no matter what time of year it is and will love the baby I’ve raised on a hot Wednesday in August just the same as they will in the rush and fun of Christmas.

The Dark Side of Puppy Shopping - Puppy Scams & Puppy Mills

Puppy Scammers
Scammers will often use a photo stolen from a reputable breeder’s website.  They post the stolen photo on a puppy sale website and then populate their own web site with photos and stories that are either entirely untrue or partially untrue. Sometimes scammers don’t even have the puppy to sell and simply want to take your money. Other times they have puppies, but they aren’t what they claim to be. They’re usually fairly skilled con-men/women and looking for folks who don’t know better than to buy from them.  In fairness they are often hard to discern and plenty of folks who are quite smart and trying to be careful have been taken advantage of – in fact my daughter has had such an experience and lost a $1000 deposit unfortunately given to a con-woman in Texas who claims to be a reputable English Bulldog breeder. Thankfully all she lost was the $1000 and she never got a dog from this woman – had she done so she would likely have regretted having a dog from her as the stories about her and her dogs are really quite horrible. This woman has even prompted an entire website authored by some folks she sold dogs to which is dedicated to outing her and her practices.  My daughter reported the woman to the Austin BBB, has written off the $1000 as an expensive lesson learned, and thankfully, found a wonderful bulldog female from a reputable breeder in OK.
Okay so enough said – be careful and good luck. 

Here’s some ideas:
Make contact by e-mail or phone, ask lots of questions, ask for references, if you live close enough ask to see the puppies in person. If not, ask for a photo of the puppy with a piece of paper  included in the photo that includes your name and the date on it to verify that the photo is legit and the puppy you are asking about is truly available and in the sellers possession. If you get to the point of committing to buy the puppy and have any doubts or simply want the added confirmation call the AKC to verify the breeder is in the records with no reports of trouble. [AKC's Phone #: (212) 696-8225], you could also call their local BBB ….whatever just be careful. One note: there is a balance between due diligence in checking a breeder out and being overly invasive of a breeder’s privacy. Keep in mind the breeder doesn’t know you either and may rightly be hesitant to give you some kinds of info for fear you are a scammer collecting info to use elsewhere.

Puppy Mills
We’ve all watched a TV show, read a report in the paper or heard something from a friend that informs us that puppy mills exist in the US. It’s a shame they are part of the landscape and certainly not a place from which you want to obtain your new pet. Of course, you’ll want to ensure you understand what puppy mills are and how to avoid purchasing a puppy from such a “business”.

Puppy mills are the source of discussion that spans a wide variety of viewpoints. When looking for a new pet, you really have to be careful, find a decent person who loves their dogs and is interested in raising superior pets in an ethical manner. Good animal husbandry is not easy, it’s not is it an occasional thing – it is a way of life, a reflection of the breeder’s values in general and specifically the value they place upon the animals they raise. Thoughtful breeding and careful planning are time consuming and require a good relationship with your veterinarian, knowledge of the breed standard for your dog and consistently selecting animals for breeding who are superior examples of their breed. I often recommend that folks look for puppy breeders who also raise another species of animals or work with their dogs. For instance a cattle rancher that raises cattle dogs, a horse breeder that raises a favorite complimentary breed, the hunter who raises retrievers etc. This is when you most often find folks who love animals in general and know and appreciate what it takes to raise and maintain good dogs.  A good breeder will be able to offer you puppies that are free of known genetic defects, have predictable temperaments, a sound health history, and were bred to be stable, long-term family members. Nothing less deserves your interest, your respect, or your financial support. 

The web site  www.canismajor.com is a good one with balanced information and links to understanding the issues surrounding puppy mills. This site also defines different kinds of dog breeders and includes the following definition of a “hobby breeder” in their list. I freely admit to being all of the things included in the description of a “hobby breeder”.

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