Murreydobe

It's not really that much of a crap shoot if you know the lines and are conservative and realistic when the litters are graded. An experienced breeder might make an occasional mistake, but they're generally pretty good at grading their litters.

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CH. Birchrun Who's On First, aka Razzle
Foxfire N KO Simply Madness WAC, aka Connor

jdd

You can usually tell if you know your line. The one puppy I kept and then placed that was from Tamora's litter never really was what I wanted her to be as a puppy. I was always looking and doubting, she was a little long as a youngster. BUT! She was lucky to be alive cause when she was born her cord was cut to short and blood was pumping out of her. I'll never know how I got it tied off but I did and from then on she was a little "special" to me. Also, I didn't have a pet home for a red female so I just hung on to her. I think I knew deep down that she wasn't going to finish. I also really wasn't wanting another red girl right then cause River was just a year old. Here again is that word FATE. I think she stayed for a reason because at the exact time I decided I was ready to place her IF I found that perfect home, I got a call from people who had a dog from us that had just died at 13 yrs of age. They had 3 young kids and they were lost without their dog. The day they called, I told them about Tru and they went right then, got the kids out of school and drove from Memphis TN (just to look). They said up front that they weren't going to buy her that day but wanted to meet her. They didn't want to buy on impulse. It was pretty amazing. Tru had never been around kids and she was a bit of a wild one. I've never seen a dog so gentle with kids in my life. She was so careful!! It was amazing to watch. They loved her. Before they even got home they called back and said they wanted her. They were going on vacation and would we get her spayed so she could heal and they'd come get her as soon as they got back from vacation. I think she was meant for them and I just had to hang onto her till they were ready. I couldn't place her any younger cause she hurt her knee and it took quite a while to heel. Nothing was torn but it was pretty bad. It was really hard keeping the wild thing calm.

Man....I'm not used to being home on weekends and I'm way too much into telling stories today. Sorry for boring everyone and writing my books!
Anyway, if you have an eye, more often than not, you can pick out the right puppy from your litter when you know the background.

thea2003

Dont worry JDD, we like stories!!

Murreydobe

A good breeder will have one term that would be included in both: that the dog is to be returned to them in the event the buyer is unable/unwilling to keep the dog any longer.

A pet contract will usually specify that the dog has to be spayed/neutered by a certain age. Registration papers may be held until proof of spay/neuter is provided.

Show contracts generally specify the dog has to be shown..it might specify how many shows the buyer is obligated to enter, it might specify that a professional handler has to be used, it might specify the breeder can select the handler. There usually is a clause that explains what the breeder will do in the event the puppy doesn't turn out to be competitive-maybe a refund to pet price, maybe a replacement puppy.

Contracts can vary between breeders.

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CH. Birchrun Who's On First, aka Razzle
Foxfire N KO Simply Madness WAC, aka Connor

GunnersMum

Awesome question and really great answers.

JDD, based on the story I just read, I could probably sit and read them all day! So IMO you're not boring in the least.

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If you want to make a small fortune breeding dogs, start with a large fortune.

Lexxsmom

some breeders charge more for a show puppy, i'mnot sure i'm in agreement with that. what do you guys think?

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Leanne and Lexx


Dragon Slaying Dobermans Incorporated, member #001, President.
" I don't need to sit for the cookie, I hunt dragons all day dammit!"
Lexxington's blog: http://lexxslife.blogspot.com/

Murreydobe

I don't have any problem with that, I think it's the norm. You'll find an occasional breeder who charges the same price for all their puppies, but it's far more common for show prospects to sell for more than the pets. As long as there's some provision for how the breeder is going to make it right if the show puppy doesn't turn out, it works for me.

You've also got to consider that MANY show puppies are placed for free or for a greatly reduced price to proven show homes. I've been offered more free puppies than I can count, and have never paid the going rate for a show prospect.

I'd rather see people charge more for show puppies than they do, and less for pet quality puppies.

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CH. Birchrun Who's On First, aka Razzle
Foxfire N KO Simply Madness WAC, aka Connor

tranquility

Ok, so it seems that 'Show' and 'Pet' are both great quality dogs, just that 'Show' has something 'more' that the breeder believes would make them slightly better to meet the std. For lack of a better term, even though 'Pets' are not "2nd-tier(ed)", they are still not as 'good' as the 'Show'. Assuming this to be the case and that I wanted the best there is, would it be possible for me to get a 'Show' but just to have as a pet? Or is that a no-no as breeders would want what they believe to be 'Show' quality to be shown, bred, etc?

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Striving to become the most educated future 'yellow eyebrow dog' (aka Doberman) owner.

lolonurse

JDD - I think your story was wonderful, and I agree that it would be delightful to hear stories like that more often!

I just wanted to add my 2 cents about the show vs pet issue. When someone works really diligently to improve the breed's overall health, conformation and temperament, then they really want the progeny of their best dogs to "prove" that the breeding program is working. Even if you didn't necessarily plan to breed your show-quality dog, the breeder would want you to show it at least to get it titled, because that title substantiates the quality of the parents and their lineage - which helps to validate their value and ability to produce reliably superior pups. The more titled progeny, the more substantial and valued the parents. Also, a lot of people also value dogs who then also get obedience titles, agility or Rally titles, Therapy Dog certification, S&R (Search and Rescue) cert, Canine Good Citizen, etc. These all show that the dog is not just a pretty bauble, but an intelligent working dog, as well - you know - smart AND pretty!

Really good breeders don't want a show quality dog to go to a pet home, because it's kind of like taking a really talented child and sticking it in front of a TV all day, and killing its brain cells. The world will never know how smart the kid was, because it never got to prove itself.

We are really looking forward to becoming new "show" owners. I used to show when I was a teen, but then I only did obedience since. We want to title a pup, and then go on to other things - I like obedience competition. lois

tranquility

^Thanks for the explanation. Makes perfect sense. (I'll keep my hands off any 'Shows' for now then.)

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Striving to become the most educated future 'yellow eyebrow dog' (aka Doberman) owner.