Questions to ask a breeder
Anyone looking for a high quality dog or puppy will have to interview breeders. For information on how to choose the breeders to interview read HERE. And try your best to get out to dog-events to meet dog enthusiasts and get first-hand recommendations and meet breeders directly.
If your breeder doesn’t interview you right back buyer beware. A good breeder has people lined up around the block (figuratively) for his/her pups and so can be very selective about who gets their pups.
Be wary of the breeder that doesn’t answer emails or gives evasive or one-sentence answers to the majority of questions. If they can refer you via link to a location where their personal answers are already written that is fine. Do the breeder a favor and peruse their site(s) to ensure you don’t ask questions they’ve already answered.
You’re paying for the breeder’s time when you choose one of their dogs and they should be willing to talk to you. Good breeders get excited when they see potential owners that ask these fabulous questions. Puppy seekers that do their research make the most amazing pet owners and are the kind of family I personally sell dogs to.
Cease communication with a breeder that doesn’t take the time to educate you about their practices, the dog breed and dog handling/training. You need an open line of communication with your breeder and they should be a wonderful resource for your family for the life of your dog (and longer).
Read below and click the links to get explanations and insight into which answers are acceptable. Know which answers are "deal breakers" and which questions are just a piece of the overall picture.
If you'd like a condensed, quick, email-able list of questions look HERE and if you'd like to see my answers to these questions look HERE.
If your breeder doesn’t interview you right back buyer beware. A good breeder has people lined up around the block (figuratively) for his/her pups and so can be very selective about who gets their pups.
Be wary of the breeder that doesn’t answer emails or gives evasive or one-sentence answers to the majority of questions. If they can refer you via link to a location where their personal answers are already written that is fine. Do the breeder a favor and peruse their site(s) to ensure you don’t ask questions they’ve already answered.
You’re paying for the breeder’s time when you choose one of their dogs and they should be willing to talk to you. Good breeders get excited when they see potential owners that ask these fabulous questions. Puppy seekers that do their research make the most amazing pet owners and are the kind of family I personally sell dogs to.
Cease communication with a breeder that doesn’t take the time to educate you about their practices, the dog breed and dog handling/training. You need an open line of communication with your breeder and they should be a wonderful resource for your family for the life of your dog (and longer).
Read below and click the links to get explanations and insight into which answers are acceptable. Know which answers are "deal breakers" and which questions are just a piece of the overall picture.
If you'd like a condensed, quick, email-able list of questions look HERE and if you'd like to see my answers to these questions look HERE.
The Biggest Question
The answer to this question will tell you what to expect from a pup from this breeder and from the breeder him/herself.
Why do you breed dogs?
Why do you breed dogs?
General Breed Questions
1. What breeds do you currently breed and what others have you bred in the past? How long have you been in Cockapoos (or whatever breed you’re looking at). Read HERE
2. What health problems are present in the breed? Which of these are genetic? What do you do to breed away from these problems? Read HERE
3. What traits do you breed for specifically? What are your goals in breeding? Read HERE
2. What health problems are present in the breed? Which of these are genetic? What do you do to breed away from these problems? Read HERE
3. What traits do you breed for specifically? What are your goals in breeding? Read HERE
Personal Practices Interview
1) What kinds of activities do you do with your dogs? Read HERE
2) How many dogs do you own (guardian dogs included) and how many of them are breeding dogs? Read HERE (scroll down)
3) Are your dogs kenneled outside or do they live in your home or someone else’s home? Read HERE
4) How many litters do you have per year? Read HERE
5) Where are your litters raised? If in the house where is they nursery located? Read HERE
6) What early training do you do with the puppies and how do you socialize them? Read HERE (scroll down)
7) When can I visit a litter and at what age do the puppies go home? Read HERE
8) How many puppies are usually in a litter? Read HERE
9) Are your adult dogs house-trained? If so how long did they take to potty/house train? Read HERE
10) What are the good traits of your breeding dogs? Read HERE
11) What are the faults and/or limitations of your breeding dogs? Read HERE
12) What do you feed your dogs? Read HERE
13) Can I meet the parents? Read HERE
14) Does the breeder ever have rescue dogs available for adoption? Read HERE
2) How many dogs do you own (guardian dogs included) and how many of them are breeding dogs? Read HERE (scroll down)
3) Are your dogs kenneled outside or do they live in your home or someone else’s home? Read HERE
4) How many litters do you have per year? Read HERE
5) Where are your litters raised? If in the house where is they nursery located? Read HERE
6) What early training do you do with the puppies and how do you socialize them? Read HERE (scroll down)
7) When can I visit a litter and at what age do the puppies go home? Read HERE
8) How many puppies are usually in a litter? Read HERE
9) Are your adult dogs house-trained? If so how long did they take to potty/house train? Read HERE
10) What are the good traits of your breeding dogs? Read HERE
11) What are the faults and/or limitations of your breeding dogs? Read HERE
12) What do you feed your dogs? Read HERE
13) Can I meet the parents? Read HERE
14) Does the breeder ever have rescue dogs available for adoption? Read HERE
Bottom Line
The breeder’s bottom line shouldn’t be all that matters to said breeder. In all your interviewing you should have a very real, very good picture of who this breeder is as a dog-person and how available and willing they are to educate the public and work individually with new puppy parents. You should feel comfortable with the breeder and like him/her in general. And once you narrow down your search to 1-2 breeders you can begin waiting for and choosing your new best friend.
Is this a ton of work? Yes. Getting a high-quality dog is a very involved process. If you really don’t feel committed to this kind of work please go and take a rescue dog or a shelter dog. You can jump right to the dog-interviewing process at that point and get a dog much faster. There are health and behavior trade-offs, naturally. There is no such thing as a dog without any problems in rescue. People don’t give up “good” dogs. Even in the event of a death or divorce someone takes the “good” dog of a friend or family member. This is just fact but it doesn’t mean you can’t get a wonderful pal from a rescue or shelter. Just because a dog has a medical or temperament or training problem does not mean you can’t work with that. And there is nothing wrong with preferring a well-bred dog of a specific age and/or breed, either.
Is this a ton of work? Yes. Getting a high-quality dog is a very involved process. If you really don’t feel committed to this kind of work please go and take a rescue dog or a shelter dog. You can jump right to the dog-interviewing process at that point and get a dog much faster. There are health and behavior trade-offs, naturally. There is no such thing as a dog without any problems in rescue. People don’t give up “good” dogs. Even in the event of a death or divorce someone takes the “good” dog of a friend or family member. This is just fact but it doesn’t mean you can’t get a wonderful pal from a rescue or shelter. Just because a dog has a medical or temperament or training problem does not mean you can’t work with that. And there is nothing wrong with preferring a well-bred dog of a specific age and/or breed, either.
