[Lycn.chan]

Hi Everyone,
When I was looking for breeders, it was hard to find a step by step review of a particular breeder, thus, hard to find a good breeder.

Here is my review/experience.. I hope it this post will help someone in the future.

Note:
1-this was my first experience with a breeder, my prior dogs were rescues, so this whole process of finding a breeder and picking a pup was really new to me, and I did as much research as I could.

2-I live in Southern California, and I wanted a breeder closer to me so I could meet the pup before buying, because I wanted to make sure the pup and I would get along. After researching and talking to some breeders, Komrad Canines seemed to be really nice and they were one of the few breeders that let me keep the ears natural. Also Komrad allowed me to meet 2 puppies first before picking one. Other breeders I talked to said I needed to pay upfront, and I wouldn't have a choice, as they would pick one for me.

The Process:

The process of emailing, texting and phone calls to several breeders lasted a few months. Then when Komrad contacted me and said the puppies were finally born and ready to be picked up at the end of Jan.

Komrad Canines website shows 2 locations, 1 in Encino (which is in Southern CA) and Anderson, CA (Up north)

When I wanted to meet the puppies, the Encino location said that the puppies are up north, and the need a $500 non-refundable deposit first before she would bring 2 puppies down for me to meet. 1 pup would be $1500.

So after she had brought the pups down, I met both. At first I was supposed to pick up a black pup, but that pup did not "click" with me. As I watched, his personality wasn't fitting for me. He was very independent and an instigator. The 2nd Red pup was very opposite in personality. He was mellow and attached himself to me very quickly. It was an instant bond, and I ended up taking the red pup instead of the black one.

I'm glad I got to meet the pups before purchasing.

However, from reading prior forums and research, the rest of the process was weird.

The Weirdness:

1- The breeder did not give me any papers. She said they are being filed at the AKC (or something) and it will take a few weeks for them to get back to me. (I dont even have a birth cert). I dont think that is very normal.

2- The red pup had really bad dandruff, not a shiny coat, and was really small and skinny. His brother, the black pup, had a really nice coat and was almost twice his size. I know pups from a good breeder are supposed to have shiny coat. I later found out from the Vet that he has mites/parasite which is causing his dandruff.

3- Also at the vet, I found out that he also has Ear mites, which is causing his ears to stink and have a dark discharge.

I do love my puppy, and I'm doing everything to make sure his mites go away ASAP.

Overall:
I'm pretty upset at Komrad Canines that had puppies living in an environment that would gave him ear mites, unequal nutrition (his small size and being very skinny) and mites that are giving in dandruff, and now he has a parasite in his GI tract (probably from eating the mites). Also, I can only hope that his papers or birth cert will ever arrive.

Komrads website - http://www.komradcanines.com/

I hope this post will help.
Ly

 

[MsMoppett]

Thank you so much for your review. I sincerely hope your pup gets over the mites. As for nutrition, what are you feeding?

 

[Sam1491]

The important thing is that you know now that this breeder is not as reputable as they seemed.

Personally I would have been turned off from asking for a deposit just to SEE a puppy I may not even want.
Then when I see that many puppies from different litters (11 in 2011 alone!) as well as that they have two locations instead of one persons home on their website I become very concerned.

As far as the health issues, I would be contacting (and its possible you already have) the breeder to pay for these things as they sold you a "healthy" puppy.

Did they ever mention health testing to you directly? Let you meet the parents and other dogs? Give you a contract?

I'm so sorry you are having to go through these things and hope your puppy is ok!

 

[sam&macksmom]

oh boy, what an ordeal. Do you have a contract stating you would receive AKC papers?

p.s. hope your boy will be ok

 

[RedFawnRising]

Welcome to the forum--we'd love to see some pics of your pup.

Did you get copies of his parents' health screenings?

Hope you get his health issues sorted soon, poor lil guy.

 

[Lycn.chan]

Thanks for the kind words. He's on the road to recovery, and getting some meat on his bones.

I'm feeding him Wellness Large puppy breed.

Yea, in hind sight I should have been turned off with these red flags. I wouldn't recommended them in the future and wouldn't get another pup from them. But from the other breeders I contacted, they were actually better, so you can image how bad the other ones in Southern CA were. Another breeder wanted a Full payment for $2000 up-front before the pups were even conceived.

I haven't asked them to pay for the vet bills for the mites. I will now.
I actually have no paperwork or legal stuff from them at all.

I'll post some pictures of his progress

week 8 (first night I took him home- you can see how bad his dandruff is), and week 9

 

[Sam1491]

He's a cute puppy regardless, and I'm glad he's on the road to recovery.
Not everyone is experienced and knows to check for all those things or be able to see faults in breeders, but you do now and thats the most important thing. Good luck in the future to you and your little guy!

 

[RedFawnRising]

Boy, he sure does look like a happy lil' spitfire

It may just be the pic and the way he's sitting, but his front assembly looks a tad wonky.

Are his legs developing okay?

I know you said you're feeding large breed puppy. You're not giving any vitamin/mineral/calcium supplements on top of that, are you? (It should not be necessary and could cause harm to your puppy, actually.)

Put some more pics up, if you have 'em, of him standing, from several angles. Like I said, maybe it's just the pics.

 

[the_discowhore]

For what it's worth Lycn.chan, not saying the other breeders you looked at were good, but it's quite common for good dog breeders to pick the puppies out for their puppy buyers, since the breeder is the one that knows the temperament of their puppies and knows what puppies are going to be good pets, working dogs or show dogs.

Hope your boy grows up healthy and strong, despite his start in life

 

[Darkevs]

he was thin when you got him wasn't he..........

just a week later he looks in much better weight!

though i can see the demo/mite spots.

never heard of these 'breeders'.

i went to their site.....question : did they encourage you to rescue/adopt instead of purchasing a puppy from them?

Hugz to your little guy!

what is his name?

 

[Rosemary]

RFR, I was thinking the same thing myself, but figured it was just the way he was sitting. After looking again, the second photo does bring to mind the other threads about the puppies who were knuckled over. If he was my pup, I would definitely talk to my vet about it, just to make sure.

He's a cute little guy. Are you going to keep him natural, or crop? Personally, I like natural ears, but if you're going to crop, it needs be done sooner, rather than later. You should let the folks on here recomend a good cropping vet if you're going to crop.

 

[CashKO]

I thought the same thing about the knuckling when I saw the 2nd pic. Very cute though

 

[Lycn.chan]

Hi everyone, thanks for the kind words.

I'm going to keep his ears natural.
His name is Bowerman, but we call him Bower. He is named after Bill Bowerman, the founder of Nike. I love running, and Bower will be a great running partner.

We haven't supplemented his diet with anything else yet. Just Wellness puppy food, and occasional training treats.

Yea I noticed his legs do look weird. The vet said it was too early to tell, but he will prob grow into them.
When we first got him his legs looked like they were much bigger than his body (still do), so he was really clumsy, he still is tripping over himself, but its gotten much better. He's grown about an inch in about a week.

Hes about 10 weeks in these photos

 

[lelise]

He looks quite small and skinny. I wouldn't be happy with a breeder who sent a puppy home in this condition. If the other puppies looked better, that could be an indication that there is something going on with this puppy. I would think a reputable breeder would look into that and at least keep the puppy in their care until he started looking healthier.

Also, as someone else said, most if not all reputable breeders do not allow buyers to choose their own pups. They are carefully matched with the environment to best fit their needs and personality.

 

[Jennie ATX]

He looks SO much better in those last pics you posted of him! (Well his skin anyways) His legs do look a bit.. hrm, maybe he is a bit bow-legged? I'll let the experts chime in. I've only had one puppy. Thanks for sharing your experience. The Komrad people sound shady.

 

[hjgrl]

I agree with everyone else about his legs but as I'm no conformation expert I'll let those who know more about it comment on that.

I will say to read up on forced running/forced exercise in puppies. He shouldn't be running on pavement, or going on any forced runs for quite a while as his bones/joints aren't fully developed.

 

[Lycn.chan]

Update -
The pup is about 20 weeks old now, and still no papers have been sent to me, and the breeder is unresponsive, with multiple excuses. And they still honestly believe they have done NO wrong, what-so-ever.

The pup is Still having diarrhea issues, and the vet believes it was transmitted through the mother.

The breeder did do 1 good thing, They did raise the pup well. He is very well socialized with dogs, people, and kids, but I wish his health was better.

We've been doing everything we can to help get rid of his diarrhea, and get him better. He's still putting on weight at a decent pace, and he isn't tired or lethargic, just has loose stools all the time.

 

[RedFawnRising]

Update -
The pup is about 20 weeks old now, and still no papers have been sent to me, and the breeder is unresponsive, with multiple excuses. And they still honestly believe they have done NO wrong, what-so-ever.

The pup is Still having diarrhea issues, and the vet believes it was transmitted through the mother.

The breeder did do 1 good thing, They did raise the pup well. He is very well socialized with dogs, people, and kids, but I wish his health was better.

We've been doing everything we can to help get rid of his diarrhea, and get him better. He's still putting on weight at a decent pace, and he isn't tired or lethargic, just has loose stools all the time.

Have you had the snap test done, for Giardia?

If not, I strongly urge you to ask your vet to do that.

Can't believe you did a puppy update without new pictures--folks here will have your head for that!

 

[Whiskey]

RFR... I'm considering head on a platter for dinner... care to join me?

Puppy pics please!

 

[Abby]

He is a cutie! Definitely work on getting some weight on that baby, he's a growing boy!

I do agree with Disco though, that it understandably seems totally weird, but its actually a huge red flag for breeders to allow puppy buyers to pick their own puppy. Except for situations where the new home may be an experienced evaluator, the breeder is the one who has been raising the puppies and working with their family members for years. It is very easy for breeders to see subtleties in personality, and often can see when puppies will grow to be like their mother, uncle, whoever- because they can see the similarities. Because of the years of work that have generally gone into the puppies and the dogs behind them, the breeder can select the perfect puppy like no one else could. I don't think I've ever heard someone complain about an ethical breeder choosing the wrong puppy, either, only that they were amazed by the breeder choosing the perfect puppy for them! Ethical breeders know best!