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CHOOSING A BREEDER
CLUES TO WALK AWAY!
Let me 1st begin by saying that it is CRUCIAL to the welfare of this wonderful
Breed that you take your time and use diligence in choosing a REPUTIBLE
Breeder. One that has significant experience and NOT someone who bought a
Bulldog and thought they could make Big Bucks producing litters.
With that said, Some of the BIGGEST names in this breed are the most unethical!
By purchasing a puppy from someone less than commited (emotionally
and financially) to bettering this breed by choosing NOT to use health screenings
that are both easily available and inexpensive (compared to what you will be paying)
only allows them to continue in a poor standard of practice and
perpetuates their ability to do so.
Quite a dilima. I know.
SO,
This is why I will try to offer you a list of things to do and look for as well as
clues to walk away.
**PLEASE, contact the American Bulldog Association and familerize yourself on EACH
aspect of the "Breed Standards". This allows you to be able to look at and evaluate
the dogs (look at the parents!!) for "correctness". From eyes, ear set,
angulation of the leg, slope of the back, muzzle lenght, shape of feet,
normal feet position (not turn out to the sides), etc....
-Why is this important? Because the "Standards" were written
to help ensure the STRUCTUAL soundness of THIS breed and
for those who take short cuts here are probably the same who
will take advantage of you by not doing the VERY serious
Health Screens that I mentioned above and that I will go into in detail below.
PLEASE ALWAYS DEMAND TO SEE THE
FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS!!!!!!!
**PennHip (preferred) score must be .50/.50 or better. The PennHip,
as opposed to the OFA; the PennHip may acutally "predict" if there
my be an issue in the future! These health screening are important
both to the Hips and the Elbows.
OR
an OFA, score Good or better. BOTH parents MUST be tested!
**NCL testing. NCL is a neurological disease that when testing
"POSITIVE", ALWAYS ends in a brutal death. Dogs testing as a
"CARRIER" will NEVER develope syptoms of this disease BUT
MUST be spayed or nuetured. Breeding a CARRIER to a CARRIER
does produce "POSITIVE/AFFECTED" puppies.
** And finally, Registration on BOTH Parents. Even if the Breeder
does NOT own the Stud, they will have a copy of his documents.
CLUES TO WALK AWAY
*Dogs Kept on chains
*Unsanitary conditions
*Sores on dogs or patches of missing hair
*You cannot touch the parents - both!
*Issues of Shyness or Aggressiveness in any of the dogs
*Breeder cannot produce above mentioned Docs, NO EXCUSES!
*Anyone with more than 2 litters on the ground
or more than 2 pregnant females
OR
2 litters and a pregnant female|
*Raises more than 2 breeds
*Dogs that do not appear to be in general good health! Use
your instincts here; eye infections, ear infections, wheezing
or coughing, thin coats, irritated skin, limping, shyness.
*Litter is shy, not well socialized
* mother is dog aggressive - puppies can pick up this trait
from watching her
**Never accept; "I have been raising dogs for umpteen year and have NEVER
produced bad hip/elbows". "If you can't tell by the way they move then you're not
ready for one of "MY" dogs!!!!". OR "I've been doing this forever and NCL is
NOT in my lines!".
These are just SOME of the warning signs. To choose to ingnore them now
only means heart aches when the start falling apart. Please be an informed buyer; don't contribute to the distruction of this breed.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
BREEDER YOU HAVE FOUND, BEFORE YOU BUY. I WILL NOT TRY TO
PEDDLE YOU A PUPPY. I AM AN ETHICAL BREEDER AND I HOLD A MINIMUM
OF DEPOSITS A YEAR IN ADVANCE.
THANK YOU FOR EDUCATING YOURSELF AND BEING A
RESPONSIBLE BUYER
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