Aurelia Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Hi everyone I'm hoping to get some advice about finding a breeder and knowing if they're the right one for us to go to, as well as general advice to know what to look for when visiting breeders to see the dogs/puppies. The thread that's stickied, I'm working my way through but I have a couple of specific questions that have been niggling at me lately... We contacted a breeder in New Mexico, USA last year and my other half went to visit her when he went home (to NM) for a week.. (just a sideline here, we're looking for breeders in America because when we are married next year I will be immigrating to the US - he has just been reposted there as of last month. He's in the USAF.) So yes, we contacted the NM breeder and she seemed....well my other half found her helpful and he liked what he saw on the visit there, that unfortunately I couldn't go to as I was still in the UK, but I've just felt a little off about her for some reason. I think maybe it's because it feels more like we're being told how to raise and love our future puppies (if we go with her as a breeder) with absolutely no flexibility for us to have any say in the matter. They show most of their dogs but the puppies they sell aren't sold as show dogs, nor as breeding dogs but they say they will not give you the AKC registration certificate if you don't have the puppies neutered/spayed in 6 months. Is this normal practice? We don't want to be breeding the dogs so that was something we would have had done at some point anyway, but it does feel like we're being dictated to that we have to do it so early on, which as far as I'm aware can cause hormonal imbalances and stunted growth if done before 1 year old. As my other half has been stationed in Florida now and not NM, I almost felt like it wasn't an issue to dwell on for now but have just looked on the AKC website and was directed to the SHCA (Siberian Husky Club of America) breeder referral list...which looked very amateur to begin with, but the breeders in Florida seem to state the same thing, that they will not hand over the AKC registration papers unless the puppy is spayed/neutered within 6 months. So now I'm really curious why this is and what effect it would have on the dog if we did do it that early - it just seems very dictatorial. These breeders do all seem to be show dogs doing the breeding, where else could we look to find AKC registered (ie: reputable) husky breeders whose dogs are clear from things like hip dysplasia and eye defects? I've googled for "husky breeders florida" and get pretty much nothing other than a couple of puppy listing sites but they can have any dodgy people posting on there too. Any advice and help is appreciated, we're really looking forward to having 2 puppy additions to the family and want to make sure they're as healthy as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arooroomom Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 There are very FEW Husky breeders in FL. I know... we live here :] As for the spay/neuter contract... yes it is pretty common. For the breeders i've talked to and rescues as well they say (correct me if this is incorrect) that they don't want just anyone breeding these dogs. They want you to buy the Husky as a pet. And that's all. Which i can totally understand. They are quite beautiful and many people are captivated by that. The SHCA is a good website to find rep breeders (eyes/hips cert.) Unfortunately, Just because they're AKC reg. doesn't mean they came from good stock or a responsible breeder. Go with your gut and check the place out. If you get a bad vibe, i wouldn't buy a puppy from them. And just as another note... a lot of the animal controls/shelters in Fl have quite a few Huskies as is. If you're interested. About the early spaying/neutering... I had Mickey done at 8 months Cheyenne done at 4 months (done for special reasons), & Mishka was just done a week ago at 6 months. We've always gotten our dogs done before the year mark. Some people may disagree... but my dogs are pets. It doesn't matter to me if they never look like the Huskies in the ring. And i'd rather get them "done" prior to their heats anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted December 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Thanks for that information. Do you have any recommendations of breeders in Florida, or ones that you've talked to? There are 4 on the SHCA list but only 3 state that they offer puppies. Obviously it's a good sign to get a word-of-mouth recommendation from someone who actually has huskies though. Ours would definitely be just pets, I was just concerned about the early neutering in case it gave them issues later in life with bones not having grown properly or muscular issues. If that isn't the case then I feel a little less worried about it happening earlier than 1 year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arooroomom Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 None of my Huskies were from breeders. Mickey from animal control, Cheyenne dumped out of a car, and Mishka left next to the airport. So i really have no insider opinion on Fl Husky breeders. SHCA does a good job. Email those who do have puppies available. Ask for pictures of the stud dogs and bitches (as i didn't see any websites listed)their compound, how to go about buying one of these pups. And get them on the phone. That's the best advice i can give. There are also plentiful Husky rescues here. But they are difficult to adopt from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arooroomom Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 I located 2 of the 4 Fl breeders websites: http://www.cheuvront.com/mileka.html http://www.veleahsiberians.com/welcome.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahNukka&Shadow Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 "Dictatorial" Breeders as you say, from everything I have read and seen would in my opinion be a good thing... it means they SHOULD care very much about their pups and the familys they are going to. A breeder who doesnt ask a million questions about you, your home, your family and general circustances might turn out not to care about the welfare of their dogs and then wont be very helpful after you've gone home. So I'd say if they want to know everything about how your going to care for the pup they SHOULD be a good breeder, however as has been said it best to go on your gut feeling and if it just doesnt feel right for you walk away, if they are a good breeder then you can always go back to them at a later date. As for speying/neutering at 6months.... I dont know about vets in the U.S but a good vet over here wont touch a pup till its had at least one season for a girl or before 8-12 months for a boy. This is because of the hormonal development wont be complete until that time and the dog might have hormone issues/behaviour problems if done to early.... of course again there are always varried opinions on this so if its common practise over in the U.S then thats just how it goes I guess. I personally am waiting till my girls had AT LEAST one season, possibley even two just to make sure shes fully developed and healthy before I put her through that op! Maybe if you find a breeder you like and they want to make sure your not going to breed from the pup you could offer to sign a document saying you wont and that you are going to have them fixed but would prefer to wait a little longer? Im sure any good breeder will see the sense in this and wont object.... although if your deffinatly not interested in showing/breeding then the AKC details are just a piece of paper really and it doesnt matter that much if they withhold them anyway! Lol! Hope that helps anyways and Im sure they're be some others come and give their opinions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Great question and great answers - added to reps. Anyone can make a website these days so I wouldn't solely rely on how nice the pics are etc.... by all means brows them and check them out but - make sure you visit once twice even three times before you make your mind up. I'm presuming that breeders will have similar ethics all over the world. For them to in a way dictate to you about the pup, I would see it as a good thing. A back yard breeder wouldn't do this, they would just hand over the pup and send you on your way. Basically, keep an open mind and ask loads of questions ( as you already are doing) You'll know when one feels right Or - could always adopt a husky as has already been said, there are lots in shelters etc which will carry out home checks but at the end of the day, the breeder and shelters ask lots of questions etc because they care about the pup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted December 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 Thanks for the replies everyone! Arooroomom: Thank you for finding those sites for me. SarahAndNukka: I have absolutely no problem with breeders asking a lot of questions, if any of them didn't then a red flag would go off in my head. Same goes for if any of them don't answer the things I ask (believe me I ask a lot lol!). It's just the fact of the neutering/spaying being so early on and it being a requirement before they'll even consider us for having a puppy - I guess what's been niggling at me the most is it felt as though the 6 month neutering/spaying requirement was of bigger importance to them than the actual welfare of the dog. In fact, as I'm typing this, yes that's what I've been trying to put my finger on and that is what has been bothering me so much. Surely, if we neuter/spay the puppies at 12 months then other than giving the dog more health benefits it doesn't make any difference to them, but they all seem more caught up in the "MUST NOT BREED OUR PUPPIES AND MAKE MONEY FROM THEM!" more than the dogs health and welfare. All of them ask for a contract to be signed to say that you will get the puppies neutered/spayed at 6 months, if they were flexible with that and could have a contract saying "within 12 months" instead then I feel that would be much better and more accommodating to the dogs needs. The breeders we have already talked to we have asked that question to, one said "fine, but you won't get the AKC papers until I see proof that it's happened" (sounded a bit gorey to me!) and the others all have skipped over that question completely. So yeah, alarm bells have gone off in my head a bit :/ Sarah: Agreed about the website issue! I like to email the breeders so that we can see from their reply if they're actually taking an interest in us as potential owners, or just send a very brief reply of "we have puppies, come and get 'em!" ...well, not that but you get the idea hehehe! As a general thing, I think it's interesting that there does seem to be this difference in timing to have a puppy spayed/neutered. I'm going to do a bit more research into it because so far I only have the information from my vet to go off, so it'll be good to see why it's a lower age in the US (as it seems to be). All of the breeders seem to have a set standard for food but they all differ from each other lol! So as we don't have to sign a contract over what food to feed them then I'll look deeper into the Food & Diet section here, when the time comes. Oh yes, another point the breeders tend to bring up is that some will do vaccinations (or one of them) before you collect the puppies and others won't. I'm not sure which vaccinations they say they'll do because I haven't had a reply for that question yet either, but is it better for them to have done vaccinations before hand, or doesn't it make any difference if we're going to take the puppies to the vet to get them done as soon as possible? Thanks again everyone for your thoughts on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqwidge Posted December 7, 2009 Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 i can only answer about the vaccinations. We got Eika at 9 weeks and we did all her vaccines...so i personally don't think it matters... Good luck in your search xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csavinski Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Aurelia, Most breeders that have a Spay/neuter contract are only asking that because they don't want people breeding the line that they have developed in there breeding program. I (like you) did a lot of research to find the right breeder and everyone that I have found has almost the same statement in there contracts about having the puppy spayed /neutered between 6-8 months mostly because a dog can have there first heat at around 6mo., and they wan to avoid any unwanted pregnancies. I have read a lot of contracts and most of the ones that I liked also contained info stating something like "if for any reason you are unable to care for your puppy/dog for whatever reason to contact them and they will help you place the dog in a approved household" I like this statement because this shows that they care for the stock that they produce and dont want to see them end up on Craigs List or at a rescue shelter. Hope I was some help to you and best of luck when shoosing your breeder... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raindog Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Here in the UK, very few sibe breeders have spey/neuter contracts. I can't say they don't exist, but in 20 years I haven't come across any. Having said that, I can fully understand why they would do that. Too many completely inexperienced owners end up breeding from their first dog and, inadvertently adding to the huge rescue problem we have in the UK. I don't know whether we would be regarded as "dictator breeders" but this is the standard contract which we use for our occasional litters. Puppy Sales Contract Between Dreamcatcher Siberians (Breeder) and the Purchaser Name:………………………………………… Address………………………………………………………………………………………………………… We agree to sell to the purchaser the puppy detailed below. The puppy is in good health, has been vet-checked and micro-chipped. The puppy has been wormed at 2 weeks 4 weeks and 6weeks and the first vaccination has been carried out. The second vaccination has already been paid for and the purchaser should take the puppy to our veterinary surgeon for its second vaccination at the age of 12 weeks. (Vet details on attached paperwork). The parents of the puppy have been hip scored and eye tested for relevant conditions under the BVA schemes. Copies of tests results are in the attached paperwork. Puppy KC name applied for is Dreamcatcher…………………………….. Pet name is ………………………… Date of birth Colour Sex Micro chip number……………………. …………………………KC registration number……………………….. Paid in full £……. The purchaser agrees to andunderstands the following conditions. · The puppy is sold to the purchaser as a pet. No guarantee can be given that the dog/bitch will be of sufficient quality for show or breeding purposes. · The puppy has the following restrictions on its Kennel Club registration papers “Progeny not to be registered†and “Export pedigree not allowed. This means that any offspring of the above dog can not be registered by the Kennel Club of Great Britain and that the dog cannot be exported from the UK unless the breeder instructs the Kennel Club to lift these restrictions.. · If in the future the purchaser wishes to breed from the above dog,this restriction can only be lifted at the discretion of the breeder. · In the case of breeding no consideration will be given to lifting the restrictions until the above dog is over 2 years old and has had the following hereditary tests carried out under the BVA scheme and the breeder agrees that both the above dog and its intended breeding partner are of sufficient quality to merit breeding. Tests are Eyes: Cataracts. PRA. Glaucoma Hips: Combined score to be under 12. · The breeder must be informed of any address or contact changes. The above dog cannot be rehomed, sold, given away, or donated to any other person without the full knowledge and express permission of the breeder. In the event of the purchaser being unable to keep the above dog for any reason it must be returned to the breeder with all relevant paper work. (KC reg: vaccination card. Hip and eye tests if done. Micro chip papers) It is also agreed by the purchaser that the puppy: · Will be kept in the appropriate conditions for its welfare and health. · Will be fed on a suitable diet for its age and condition · That it will receive all necessary veterinary care to maintain its good health It is also understood that if the purchaser fails to keep any part of this contract or if the puppy in anyway is neglected or maltreated the purchaser will surrender the above dog back to the breeder with all paperwork. This will be without financial restitution or compensation. Signed (breeder)……………………………….. Signedpurchaser …………………………………………………. Date:……………… Mick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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