Originally Posted by MaryAndDobes

It is for me.

First of all, I want to get to know my owners and I prefer to do that face to face.

If the placement goes badly, I want to be able to get to my puppy easily and bring it back. In my rescue work, for instance, I had a breeder in Florida contact me about one of their puppies here in Ontario. The owners no longer wanted it, and although they signed a contract promising to return it, when it got down to reality, they wouldn't spend the money to put it on a plane and send it back. Even with the breeder offering to pay the shipping, the owners wouldn't take the time and trouble to get it to the airport. And let's face it, there are also shipping embargoes to consider. If the owner no longer wants the dog in July, it might be IMPOSSIBLE to send the dog back then. I want to be able to get in my car and retrieve my puppy if I have to.

Thirdly, it's always been my contention that I can't move forward with my breeding program if I can't see what I've done, and I can't see/touch/experience what I've done if I shipped them all away. I love it when my owners come by to show off their puppies/dogs.

In my 11 years of breeding, I've shipped only 2 puppies. Both went to homes that were highly recommended by people I know who knew the homes well. Both were owners who had owned Dobermans for their whole lives (the dogs, not the owners). Both were experienced Doberman owners who didn't need hands on help with ear taping, nail clipping, or training, etc. IMO, it just makes no sense to ship a puppy to a novice owner, in particular. IMO, they need a breeder's hands on help.