Lately I have had a huge increase of people contacting me asking questions about puppies from other breeders. Let me first start off by saying I know that I am not the breeder for everyone and that is ok. The one thing that I do care about though is that when buying from a “Breeder” that you are choosing a reputable one. Let’s be honest even if they are only breeding one litter they have now entered into the breeder category. Just because they have chosen to breed one litter doesn’t exclude them from the basic things that every breeder should do. Next let me say these things are my opinion built over the course of 12 years of breeding experience. Tune in weekly for each new part of the list.
Purpose. Every breeder should have a purpose and each individual litter should have a purpose. The biggest thing is why did they choose the breed/breeds that they chose? What makes that breed/breeds special to them.
Once you establish why the breed/breeds were decided then you look at the following. How are the parents of a litter selected? How does structure effect their breeding decisions? Is temperament of those parents considered? Do the health testing results effect decisions? For me I breed with the ultimate goal of producing service dog temperaments with structure and health also a priority. The chances of one stud being suitable for every female in a breeders program is very unlikely. We use outside studs often for this exact reason. I love my boys but I am also very aware of which of my girls would not pair well with some of them whether that be for structure reasons, prey drive, or energy levels. A breeders purpose should be backed up with puppies that prove that purpose. For me I am proud to say I have a service dog come out of most every litter I breed. Having a Service Dog myself, service dogs hold a very special place in my heart as I know first hand how one can change your life for the better. One thing I also know is if breeding for a temperament that can handle service dog work they also can be amazing family dogs so no breeding is “wasted” should I not have a family needing a service dog for a litter.