Finding the perfect purebred puppy
When looking for a purebred puppy, get in touch with dog breeders through specialized magazine or newspaper ads, kennel clubs, trainers, veterinarians and referral companies. Look for someone who works to enhance the breed. This person should really interview you as thoroughly as you do him or her. Some prospective puppy buyers are taken aback or insulted when breeders ask about their knowledge of the breed or their life-style and living conditions, but you should be suspicious of any breeder who doesn’t wish to know where you live, the amount of space you have, how much exercise you get, how much time you may spend in your house and what you know or don’t know about the type of dog you think you want.
Whenever you talk with breeders, look for honest answers, caring tips, open invitations to visit, a willingness to allow you to bring experts such as trainers into the selection process, and, based on the breed, documentation of factors such as the condition of the parents’ hips, eyes or other health issues.
Make sure to understand the breed’s most common health problems. Congenital defects in dogs include hernias, cataracts, glaucoma, epilepsy, hemophilia, spinal deformities, kidney disease, liver disease, deafness, diabetes, circulatory problems, excessive or missing teeth, nerve defects, obstructed breathing, weak skin, abnormal aggression, heart defects, malformed elbows, dwarfism, susceptibility to distemper, retinal atrophy, joint problems and hip dysplasia. Some problems can be improved with a well-balanced natural diet or controlled with medicinal herbs or other holistic therapies, but serious genetic defects cannot.
To become familiar with common problems in a breed, get in touch with breed clubs, kennel clubs and veterinarians. Check the breeder ads in dog magazines for references to medical rests, such as “heart tested, “eyes clear” or “OFA hips and elbows.” Any condition mentioned in ads is likely to be common in the breed. Individual breeders may not be forthcoming and may nor even have this information, but responsible breeders know the complete medical histories of their own dogs and their dogs’ close relatives. They research the medical histories of potential mates, spay or neuter any dogs that carry genetic defects and work hard to prevent inherited problems in their puppies. Knowing about your favorite breed’s most common problems will help you ask the right questions. Have the parents’ hips and eyes been checked? What about other close relatives? Ask what the breeder has done to prevent problems in the line. The more knowledge-able and responsible the breeder, the more information and documentation he or she will be able to provide
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