Welcome to DT. Very sorry for you loss.
Please make sure you carefully select your next breeder. Check out the link in my signature.
Thank-you for the good advice. Actually one of the reasons I came here was to do just that and I am very happy with my breeder's credentials. She only breeds occasionally ( less than one litter a year ), she does extensive health testing on the parents, gives a health guarantee against genetic diseases for the first two years and takes impeccable care of her dogs. I got my last dog (Gannon) from her after she took him back from an inappropriate home. I really respect breeders that keep track of their puppies and make sure they never end up in a less than desirable situation. Most of her dogs end up in the show ring, some excel in agility and others have done well in utility. She doesn't have to advertise her puppies as they are well spoken for before they are born . I feel very privileged to be one of the few people getting one of these beautiful dogs.
I am paying a hefty price but I know my puppy comes from great stock and both he and his mom have had the greatest prenatal care. I also love knowing that I can call her and get great advice whenever I need it. I can't count the times I called her over the last 10 years and she would always update me on all his litter mates and tell me what was wrong and often how to fix it. On at least 2 occasions she knew more than my vet did about the problem.
One was when the tips of his ears started getting a few white hairs. My vet seemed baffled so I called her and she told me it was frostbite and that I shouldn't be alarmed if it got a bit worse over the next week ( which it did )She provided me with a great coat with a built in hoodie so they would be protected on cold winter walks.
I know there are a lot of stupid and irresponsible breeders out there. It annoys the hell out of me when I see ads like this : "I have a 140 LB KING DOBE, great for breeding, no papers." I still don't know what a " king " Dobe is, maybe he loves in a castle , but I am assuming they are referring to a large European. Oh then there are breeders selling Miniature Pinschers as " Miniature
Doberman Pinschers "
Nothing against Minpins..in fact I have one..but he is not a Doberman, even though he thinks he is.