Not sure if this has been posted here before or not, but it's a good read for noob's...

Puppy Buyer Etiquette:
https://rufflyspeaking.wordpress.com...er-ettiquette/

One of my favorites and it's so true!
Don't be a Horace!!!

Lol, there are so many true things in here!

I just saw this on FB. Really good article. Should be required reading.

Awesome!

Great article brw1982 !!

I smirked at this comment - a early / common mistake by some, I am sure.
a) Bring up price either at the end of the first contact (if it’s been successful and you feel a connection to this person) or in a follow-up contact.
It’s nice to say “If you don’t mind me asking,

I'm so glad I read this prior to putting out my feelers.

Even though I knew a lot of those points already, getting a good conversation going imo can go a long way. And if you don't feel like you can talk to your breeder... well, you're going to be "stuck" with them for the next 8+ (hopefully 12+!) years, you might as well get used to it!

I stickied this. I love Ruffly Speaking - it's chock full of fantastic stuff about good breeding.

Thank you for making a Sticky of this. I agree with pretty much everything in the article.

That was a great read. I'm happy to say I researched for the breed I wanted and the breeder it took over a year. I have been in contact with my breeder choice since June and met her and her dogs in person in October. I met the mom, who was ( not sure what the proper wording is ), mated beginning of September, three ties and so on.... Waiting for Mother Nature patiently.

If all comes together hoping for a male puppy and I think by end of December or beginning of January...

I found something that took me to a spreadsheet. User jywel417 is close to me. Just hope he/she is still active.

Yeah that's true.

Good read! I have a litter at the moment and get so many emails saying 'Yeah, I'll take x colour collar' or 'How much for pick of litter?' And they go straight into the recycling bin.

It's not found anymore on that site.

Thanks for letting us know. Fixed the link. Melbrod

Thank you! What a great read. Gave me a few chuckles.

Great article! I had a question from that read.

If you only want a Doberman as a pet, rather than to show, are you now increasing the chance of receiving one with health issues? Or are the differences simply cosmetic? I understand the reason for selling only the best puppies for those who interested in showing, however.

There are pet quality puppies in every litter.

If you are buying a puppy from a reputable breeder, who is breeding to improve the breed and has done all the proper health testing on the two parents with good results, you are generally buying a puppy who is just as healthy as the rest of the puppies in the litter. Dobermans do have a lot of health problems, though, and most of them have a genetic component to them, so the puppy could inherit problems that have not shown up in the parents that may be present further back in the line.

That is why you need to look at a dog’s pedigree beyond the mother and father, because you may see a problem in the grandparents, or you may see too many breedings to the same sire. Also check the health records of pups from other breedings of the parents, and at the health of the parent's siblings, if you can find them.

It is possible that a trait might show up in a puppy that is undesirable in any doberman that will affect its health....But yes, a lot of the time it is just a matter of cosmetics.

Or there may occasionally be a puppy with a problem like a birth deformity, for example--but the breeder should point that out and tell you what the possible consequences are.

I hadn't read this in a really long time... but man, do I still love it.
Recently my friend had a bad experience with a prospective client, and at the last minute refunded her deposit and kept the puppy.

She later discovered that prospective client was talking behind her back and bitching about the breeder even before she had gotten her pup - and that's one thing that really disturbed me. If you dislike your breeder that much why are you wanting a puppy from them? She kept trying to get exceptions to certain aspects of the sales agreement/puppy contract, kept trying to butt ahead of everyone else or get information before everyone else even when my friend was specific about when information would be dispensed. (It turned out to be a good thing anyway, several of this person's friends came forward later - or character witnesses from local doberman groups saying it is a good thing the breeder didn't sell her a pup for several reasons).

To that end, I feel like one of the important points that should be outlined but isn't necessarily mentioned here is
9) make sure you align with your breeder's values and vice versa!
When I was shopping for Standard Poodle breeders for my grandmother, I even had breeders offer me to look over the sales agreement and deposit contracts as part of the information exchange. I appreciated that because right off the bat it meant we could ask questions about certain clauses and discuss with the breeder why they've outlined it so, and if it would be okay to do something else instead. BEFORE commitment. This way if the answer was no, the breeder wouldn't be annoyed with us and we wouldn't be annoyed. No one is entitled to a puppy in general, and no one is entitled to a puppy from any specific breeder. It is the breeder's right to outline what they think is best for their puppies and the arrangements. If you disagree, either comply or move along to another breeder who will.

For example, I've seen breeders state in their contracts that the dog must only be fed Raw or certain pre-approved brands of kibble. If you ask about a different kind of kibble and get told no... but absolutely want to be feeding that kind of kibble, then move along to a breeder who will agree or won't mind. Inversely I've seen owners state they want the breeder to only wean the puppy off on raw, "natural-reared", doesn't live next to a farm etc. instead of demanding that the breeder change their practices to accommodate YOU, find a breeder who already does. You might have to venture further out of state/province but with patience you will find one.