Breeder Horror Stories / Success Stories

[TrishB]

We've all heard of stories where people dealt with 'flaky' breeders. I was thinking that maybe, if we shared our stories, we'd be able to help others which are dealing with, or may deal with a 'flaky' breeder in the future.

A friend found a breeder she liked. The dogs are spectacular (not Rotties, but the breed isn't important in this thread). What went wrong?

1. The female wasn't bred to the male specified on the contract.
2. The puppy owners weren't contacted until AFTER she had been bred to an alternate male (yes he's nice, but he's not the male they had agreed to).
3. The due date has changed (seems the breeding dates are in question).
4. Her phone calls have not been returned for 3 weeks.

Now, heartbroken, she's looking for a new breeder and isn't sure she'll get her deposit back (it's tough to get a refund from someone you can't get a hold of). :(

~

My breeder on the other hand called me to tell me that the female had a split heat. There was a possibility that when / if she came back in, the male wouldn't be available (away on vacation with his owners).

We discussed it and it was decided that we would wait until her next heat cycle. Disappointing? Yes. But we're going to get the right puppy, not just any puppy. ;) So I'll have lots of cute puppy-playing-in-autumn-leaves pics for you this fall. :D

I think my breeder is great and am thrilled to have found them. The open, honest approach, the contact before there's a real issue - only proves to me that I've made the right decision. :D

So what were your experiences with the breeders of your pup(s)? Good? Bad? Ugly? I think if we explain our experiences, we may be able to help those looking to know the warning signs and the great signs, of the type of breeder they've found. :)

[Justice]

This Topic is fine, as long as members do not post breeder names, websites, and/or phone numbers. General discriptions are fine. Thank you.

[TrishB]

Originally posted by Justice
This Topic is fine, as long as members do not post breeder names, websites, and/or phone numbers. General discriptions are fine. Thank you.

Whoops! I'm sorry Justice - I meant to add that! Very true - I don't want this to become a slam-fest. No names should be posted.

I just wanted to know the signs of a good / bad breeder experience so that others can learn from our experience. :)

[Trinitii]

We havn't had too bad of experiences but not too great either. Of course both of our dogs are wonderful and would not be traded for the world.

Our first breeder we went with socialized wonderfully but the pup was ill with lupus we believe from the start. He didn't show the signs till he was almost two but the bright red eyes should of gave us a hint.

The second bred beautiful dogs and had many awards on all the dogs, wasn't too organized as far as the pictures, but the biggest thing was our girl wasn't socialized with humans. She was the meanest little booger and when I asked for suggestions to help with the behavior and when I got her schedule back it turned out she spent 8 hours a day out in the pens with the large dogs.

I could never breed though, I would have to keep all my pups and would just be crushed if one died. They are stronger than I am.


Trinitii

[rottlove]

I'm really happy with Viva's breeder. I guess the thing that impressed me most was that when Viva's low-grade heart murmur was detected, she called everyone who got a puppy from that litter and asked them to get their pup's heart checked right away. She owns the stud and he is getting pretty well-known but she didn't mind spreading the potentially bad news out of concern for the pups and the owners. But while I was researching breeders, I liked that the ONLY reason I was able to get in on her litter was because she decided this one woman who had been on her waiting list was too flaky and I got her spot! And, the pups were home raised with lots of kids around. Oh, and although she took my deposit, she said that if I got there and the time wasn't right (I was still grieving over my last girl) she would give me my deposit back, no problem-- she didn't even cash the deposit check til way after I picked up Viva. I also liked that she asked ME questions!

As an aside, my vet likes Viva a lot and asked for the breeder name so she could refer people researching rottie pups, even though her kennel is a few states away.

Sorry, this sounds like a brag!!!

On the other hand, my last girl came from breeders that had all the right health clearances and nice temperaments on the parents, but they were new at breeding (and I was new at purebreds). I didn't call them when I was looking this time.

[Rajah'sMom]

What are the symptoms of Lupus? I did a little research on it and didn't come up with much. Rajah's eyes have started looking like a bloodhounds--they are a little droopy and red. We are going to ask the vet about this soon. Thanks.

[TrishB]

Originally posted by Rajah'sMom
What are the symptoms of Lupus? I did a little research on it and didn't come up with much. Rajah's eyes have started looking like a bloodhounds--they are a little droopy and red. We are going to ask the vet about this soon. Thanks.

All you ever wanted (and never wanted) to know about lupus:

http://www.vetinfo.com/dlupus.html

[Rajah'sMom]

Thanks once again, Trish. That is the same link I checked out and didn't find what I was looking for. I guess I just didn't understand it all.

[Goniella]

Well I havent had an experience with a bad breeder yet, so I will just relay my good experience. Kizmet's breeder has been 100% honest with me about everything in her lines... about her HD ratio,medical problems, where her previous litters are etc.She gave me the email or phone number of her previous puppy buyers,friends and even her parents! She either called me or I called her everyday since about 3 weeks before Kizmet was whelped and we still do today.She has allowed me to tag along with her to every dog show she has attended so that I can learn the ropes and shares with me the knowledge she possesses. She also says that we are family now and that her house is my house and that I can call her ANY time I need to.She is very involved and very in love with her puppies and I know she cried for hours when Kizmet left. She has the most gorgeous and well behaved dogs I have ever met! Kizmet is the spitting image in looks and temperment of his grand-dam who I have met and feel lucky to have gotten a little piece of her :) She chose the right puppy for my household based on temperment and personality because I have 3 young children and we didn't want a too dominant or too aloof personality. I must say I couldn't be happier with Kizmet!!! I know no one is going to really believe me about this..but as doG is my witness it is the truth. Kizmet just turned 12 weeks yesterday and has been in our home for 1 week and 5 days.... He has already learned sit,down, no bite and speak... and is in the process of learning release. AS I told his breeder Kizzy is Einstein puppy! I couldnt be more pleased with my choice of breeder or my puppy!

[LORHEL]

After our nightmare last year with our male, we found a reputable breeder, and put down a deposit on a female. The litter was born in late October. We were due to get the puppy in early December. I wrote to the behavioralist who had helped us with our first male. It just so happened a female rottie girl was there, and her owner had brought her in after being hit by a car, but never "claimed" her after that. I got a call asking if I would be interested in her. They told me she was a sweet heart and everyone there just loved her. I told her I would stop by and take a look and at least meet her, but I had a puppy coming very soon and no way could I handle both... I went in thinking I would just meet her and go on, not really putting much into it (emotionally)...we spent almost two hours with her, she came limping in, but with courage and was so laid back and friendly. I brought my husband and brother in law, to make sure she hadn't been abused, as at that point, I was not experienced enough to be able to help a dog in that type of situation...this girl went right up to my husband, loved on him, my brother in law, and was so comfortable with us, it was amazing.

I had a hard decision to make. Get a puppy from this breeder who had our deposit already, or take a chance on this wonderful girl we met.....It was extremely difficult, but I went with my heart. I didn't care if I got the deposit back, I just wanted to do the right thing for us. I called the breeder that night, luckily she was on the west coast and still up, I was worried sick she would be mad at us, for cancelling, but I had to go with this girl. The breeder was EXTREMELY understanding and applauded us for rescuing. She said no problem, she couldn't be upset when we were saving another rottweiler.

She demonstrated to me that she truly cared about the BREED. It turned out that she also had to turn away someone who had wanted a female puppy earlier, so I think that worked out too for her....

In August I went through the hell of putting a dog down that I loved like my own child. I will never be over that ever, but we have been blessed with an absolute angel, now, and I couldn't be happier. I never expected the same place where we lost so much that night, would bring us so much happiness several months later. It was definitely fate.

:)

[Rottnlove]

I have found what I believe to be a very nice and responsible breeder. Like TrishB, my puppy will hopefully be with me this fall. I'll be putting my deposit down shortly. I'll be getting my puppy contract in the mail any day now. I'm hoping that all will work out well. I read these horror stories here about the parvo and other diseases and it sickens me. A good breeder should know when to vaccinate. It also scares me to hear that some puppies weren't properly socialized...how sad.

I'm quite confident that my breeder will do everything to make sure the pups are healthy and socialized properly. If there are any problems, I would think they would address them to me ASAP. I am impressed with the time and effort my breeder puts into the dogs and how willing they are to answer any and all my questions so patiently...I can be difficult to deal with, I'm quite picky. :D

[Sak2]

I have been in the same situation as some of the following people. My first breeder seemed to be fine at first, but after I got my dog I seem to find problems. First with the health issues which are explained in the "Vet Corner", under "perfect but...".
Second is when I had questions about training he told me that dogs will be dogs, and that is was okay if your puppy nipped at you it shows confidence. He also said it was okay to put a pinch collar on a 3 month puppy. (If I'm wrong on any of these things and they agree with the breeder, please say so.) With my friend dog, she got from the same person, he bred the female, with a known eye problem, and now my friends dog has it too. In his words "I'm breeding for the aggressive dog, I can't get them to be aggressive enough."
With my second breeder, I have to say that she is awesome! She is not afraid to tell the truth and she shows me what they are breeding to get and what they have already achieved. I have spent 6 hours talking about this breed. (Heaven!)
I feel that we aren't just clients, but friends for life!
To me I wish every breeder was like her.

[Alaskan]

I've been reading these stories over the last week that everyone has had and a friend of mine just informed me of something that happened to her years ago with a breeder.

She said that she called this breeder explained what she was looking for in a pup and the breeder explained key lines and how it worked. He said that he'd be breeding a particular stud at his kennel that spring with a certain female so she was happy to go on the waiting list and received the contract in the mail a week or so later which outlined the agreement for the future pup as far as health, temperment and what the owner must do. She signed it and sent it back fully expecting to get a pup from the breeding they'd agreed to which by the way wasn't on the contract at that time. Well when the time came for the pups to be born then passed she contacted them and they were told the breeding didn't take so still under the impression they were' still using the same sire for the next breeding she agreed to wait.

They sent her pics and a short typed note a couple of weeks later saying these are two pairs of dogs were just bred and this is what your pup will come out of. It wasn't the same stud in either pair bred. :rolleyes So about a week before they were born she contacted them again letting them know she had thought a lot on it and didn't want a pup from the unexpected breeding they'd done without asking her if she still wished to have one from the litters. They told her that they were confident that there'd be several of what she looked for in the litter for her to pick from but would refund all but the deposit if she chose not to take a pup. She had by this time already paid in full for the pup. She decided to wait trusting the breeder whom talked about pedigrees and such. When the pups were born she contacted them and found out there was only one out of both litters that came close to what she wanted and if she chose not to take it they'd just put her back on the list for a future litter since in their words they worked so hard and had so many problems due to her. She was very upset by this point because they'd lied and hadn't used the stud they'd planned on using for the litter, then she hadn't had a choice of pups in the two born within a week of each other because there was only one the breeder deemed what she was looking for despite their boasting. I guess this breeder from what I understand had been very confident that just because the pedigree had certain dogs on it they'd get several pups inheriting those traits even though none of the parents of both litters showed any sign of them.

[cucciolone]

One thing I've experienced with a potential breeder is total paranoia and bizzarreness!

A few months ago I was researching Spinone Italiano breeders, and I called, among others, an establishment that was advertised in a dog magazine and in several places on the net. I called three times over the space of about five hours, but there was never any answer. Right after the third fruitless call, my own phone rang. And when I answered, a panicked, neurotic voice yelled: "WHO IS THIS??!! YOU'VE CALLED ME THREE TIMES- WHAT DO YOU WANT??!!!"

I ignored her tone and introduced myself in a pleasant voice, asking for information reguarding her puppies. "NO!! I DON'T HAVE ANY DOGS FOR YOU!"

I just thanked her and hung up. It was very strange.

[TrishB]

Originally posted by cucciolone
"WHO IS THIS??!! YOU'VE CALLED ME THREE TIMES- WHAT DO YOU WANT??!!!"

I ignored her tone and introduced myself in a pleasant voice, asking for information reguarding her puppies. "NO!! I DON'T HAVE ANY DOGS FOR YOU!"

I just thanked her and hung up. It was very strange.

How bizzare!! Geez, if that's the way they do business, I'd be terrified to think of how they operate their kennel! :p Consider yourself lucky that they showed their true colours right off the bat - before you got involved with them! ;)