# List of Questions to ask a Breeder?



## Konotashi

I want to start e-mailing some breeders now so I can weed out some of the less reputable ones. Plus, I'm sure there's no harm in keeping friendly contact with a breeder.









Here are some questions I thought up myself. Let me know what you think? Also, any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.









1) Are all of your dogs OFA certified (or had their hips and elbows checked) prior to breeding?
2) How do you place puppies? (Do you give them whichever one catches their eye, match the puppy's temperament to a prospective owner, etc.?)
3) Is a health guarantee offered with puppies?
4) What comes with the puppy, regarding guarantees, pedigree, and other papers?
5) How often do puppies become available?
6) At what age do you let puppies go to their new homes?


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## Amaruq

I would ask questions about why they chose a particular pair (sire/dam of the pups) and what each parents strengths and weaknesses are. This should include health, temperament and working characteristics.


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## GSDSunshine

7) How are the puppies handled? Are they socialized? Have they been exposed to different people, animals, surfaces, sounds, smells, being touched, kids...you get the point.

8) Will have have their first shots.

9) What titles do the parents have? How do they decide on what dogs to pair up?

10) To add to number 3... More important than how often are puppies available is how often they breed the bitches. A breeder can have 5-6 bitches and each have about a litter a year. (6 litters available in a year) Another breeder can have 6 litters available in a year but only have 2-3 bitches. Obviously they are bred more often. Great breeders don't breed for money, they breed to better the breed and by pairing these to dogs together, the next generation will hopefully share the best traits of both parents.


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## Konotashi

I would have never thought of that one! Thanks!


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## onyx'girl

Ask them what activities they do with their dogs. 
That to me is important when choosing a good breeder, whether or not they are actively training and proving their dogs are breedworthy. 
Usually if there is a website, the contract info may be on the site.
Many breeders should have their past litters on the site as well, showing their achievements, etc.
I would ask about allergies or food sensitivities of the dam/sire(not that all would be upfront, but to me it is important to know)What are they feeding(this says a whole lot about their breeding program, IMO)
Ask if they would provide references of past puppy buyers, so you can ask them about the health & temperament of the progeny the breeder is producing.
If you already have visited this <u>site</u> and all the great info on it, I apologize but it is so worth checking out!


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## Northern GSDs

Great questions here!! 

If there isn't already one, this would maybe make a great "sticky"?


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## Jason L

Ask them what they want to know about you? 

Good breeders should want to know lots. Bad ones want to know how you'll pay.


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## onyx'girl

Oh, yeah, good point Jason!!


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## TitonsDad

> Originally Posted By: Jason LinAsk them what they want to know about you?
> 
> Good breeders should want to know lots. Bad ones want to *know how you'll pay.*












Sounds like the Petsmart near me...


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## Konotashi

The site I'm most interested in shows that they do Schutzhund with their dogs, at the very least, and says they feed Royal Canin. I'm not sure if that's a good food or not, since on DogFoodAnalysis, it says it's a 2 star dry food, then when I look it up on the "Rate My Dog Food" every site says it's an A+ food.


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## Konotashi

<span style="color: #FF0000">Oh - I should probably add: What answers should someone be looking for when these questions are asked, like how the dogs are paired?</span>


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## Amaruq

> Originally Posted By: Konotashi<span style="color: #FF0000">Oh - I should probably add: What answers should someone be looking for when these questions are asked, like how the dogs are paired?</span>


Basically the longer the answer the better the answer.

If they answer "well he was the closest male that wasn't neutered" or "he was blue and my girl was pink so they should have blue and pink pups" or "the male is 130# and my female is 110# so the pups should be the 'old stlye' LARGE type" not good answers. 

If they discuss in detail pros and cons of each parents nerve, temperament, working ability, drive, and structure; it might not all make sense to you but THESE are the qualities a good breeder will discuss. 

Take notes on their answers and anything you do not understand ask them to clarify AND research what they tell you. There are some breeders out there who CAN answer the questions listed in this post and be feeding you a line of garbage but make is sound good. Does not make them reputable breeder just a good sales person because they can tell you what they think you want to hear.

Feel free to bring any questions here are there are a LOT of people that know their stuff.


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## onyx'girl

> Originally Posted By: KonotashiThe site I'm most interested in shows that they do Schutzhund with their dogs, at the very least, and says they feed Royal Canin. I'm not sure if that's a good food or not, since on DogFoodAnalysis, it says it's a 2 star dry food, then when I look it up on the "Rate My Dog Food" every site says it's an A+ food.


There are better and worse kibbles. A breeder feeding a grocery store brand raises a red flag. 

Do they actually do SchH or are the dogs just titled?
Some breeders will buy dogs titled, or send them out for titles, so those are questions that can be answered easily. 
You can ask what club they are affiliated with, too, maybe ask to visit the club to watch their dogs in action!


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## valkyriegsd

> Originally Posted By: Amaruq If they discuss in detail pros and cons of each parents nerve, temperament, working ability, drive, and structure;


I think this is a key point: _can_ they tell you their dogs' weak points and what they are doing to correct them in the next generation. Many breeders don't/can't see faults in their own dogs, or don't want to admit to them. If they can't see them, how can they choose a mate to compensate for these weaknesses?? There are no completely perfect dogs, so beware of a breeder who thinks theirs ARE!


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## lhczth

Just a quick note. No breeder can offer a guarantee. They can tell you what they will do if a puppy gets sick or develops ED/HD, etc, but they can not guarantee that these things will never happen. I would instead ask the breeder if they have a contract.


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## Castlemaid

I would also ask to see a copy of their contract and ask for clarification for items that are not clear of confusing. Be sure you understand what you will be agreeing to, and what the breeder is expecting from you in his/her contract. 

For example, some breeders will only refund/replace a pup if it develops "crippling hip displasia" - no real explanation as to what constitutes "crippling" (limps heavily? can't even stand and walk?) 

I remember one poster looking for more info from a breeder, asked for a copy of the contract, and the seller emailed back that they can only see the contract AFTER they have bought the puppy (paid in full). Not a good situation to be in.


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## DianaM

-Did you work and title your own dogs or did you purchase them titled? Did you pay someone else to title your dogs?

-If you worked your dogs, what have you seen in the training that you LIKED. What did you see in the training that you did NOT like?

-Are your dogs trialed on strange fields with strange helpers?

-If not worked in schutzhund, what do you do to fully test the dog's temperament, nerve, ability, training, and thinking? 

-How do the dogs react under pressure? What sort of pressure?

-If this is a repeat litter or if this is a bitch that has produced before, what are the offspring like? What have they accomplished? How is the health? Can any be seen in person or can owners be contacted?

-What do you do for socialization? How do you raise and handle the litter to ensure the best stimulation for brain development?

-What can you tell me about dogs in the bitch's and sire's pedigrees? What are they known for producing? What are their qualities and what are their negatives?

-Based on this breeding combination, what do you expect from this litter? For what should the dogs from this breeding be best suited? What type of handler would be a good match for these dogs? What type of training would be best for these dogs? 

-Why are these dogs good examples of the German shepherd dog breed? What is your goal for your breeding program? Do you plan to keep a dog or bitch back from this breeding? Why or why not? If not, have you kept dogs back from previous breedings? (To me, if a breeder is not breeding to keep back progeny, I would question whether they have a real breeding program with a true goal in mind or are just breeding because they can, regardless of quality of breeding dogs).


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## Jason L

This goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: you yourself need have to a good idea of what you want in a dog. All the info that a good breeder can give you about her dogs is not going to mean anything to you if you don't know what you are looking for. What qualities are important to you? What qualities are not as important. What are your plans for this dog? Things like that.


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## holland

Yes and if you ask yourself some of those questions then you will decide which of those questions are important to ask


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## gagrady

Few points, if they are not already mentioned:
1. Avoid the trap of qualifying breeders based on 'template answers' - there are some standard answers that you will get from many breeders e.g. temperament is the most important aspect of our breeding program etc. So, basing your selection purely on answers from breeders involves a level risk. 
2. In addition to asking questions, I personally prefer to see it for myself although I am not an expert by any measure. So, instead of or in addition to asking all questions to the breeders, I would ask for references of people who bought from the breeder in the past. Try to connect with those people, visit local clubs and see how those dogs are doing.
3. About the sire and the dam - both may be just outstanding but what about their siblings? Was their a consistency or the sire and dam are just outliers?
4. Finally, there are no objective measurements on any of the parameters - watch out for translation errors and avoid immediate judgements. 

So, in short - IMHO, building a list of questions is fine but experience the related dogs yourself - you know what you want; do you see that in the dogs you are looking at?


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## robinhuerta

Heres another couple of questions......
Out of the litters that they have produced.....what have they kept themselves?
What have some of the dogs they produced accomplished?


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