The beautiful thing about dogs is that most of us own the best one on the planet. Statistically, that shouldn’t be possible, but somehow the math always works out. Heavy bias toward our current dogs pushes a lot of us in a familiar direction when it’s time to add a new pup to the mix.
We simply go back to the last breeder. But what if that breeder isn’t in the game anymore? What if your old dog has some health issues that you’d rather avoid? What if, despite the fact that you love your golden retriever more than anything, you kind of want a little more hunting horsepower under the hood of your next one?
Then it’s time to expand your search. This is something that can be easy, but definitely can’t be rushed.
Time & Location
The enemy of making a good decision with a puppy is impatience. Or maybe impulsiveness. Either way, give yourself time to find the right breeder. You don’t want to do a quick search and lock into the first Labrador retriever litter you run across.
Avoiding this mistake often means just expanding your search radius. A lot of folks will look for a puppy in their town, or their county, but getting a new bird dog is a big commitment. You might need to drive a few hours to get to the right breeder, but if it is the right breeder, that will be worth it.
Remember that, and remember that you can learn an awful lot about someone with rudimentary sleuthing skills. Any breeder worth consideration will have a website, and that website will have pictures of the puppies, and the sires and dams. Forget the puppy pics, because all puppies are adorable. You can’t learn anything by looking at them.
The parents and grandparents of the litters are different, though. Are they in good shape? Or, are they the size you want? Fifty-pounders can throw a litter with a 90-pound behemoth in the mix, but that’s not too likely. Mostly, they’ll have pups that end up pretty close in size.
Pay attention to the owners of the litters, too. You can find out enough about people to know if they have a criminal record or have been sued multiple times. That might seem overly paranoid, but the dog game isn’t immune to unscrupulous people. This is especially true when you’re dealing with high-demand or rare breeds. Due diligence is your friend here.
Ask A Lot of Questions
Once you narrow your search down, make contact with the breeder. A good breeder will make time for you and will be happy to answer your questions. Ask them about health, drive, size, personality, and anything else you might want to know about the pups.
Then ask them about vaccines, genetic testing, socialization, and anything they should be doing with the pups before they head to their forever homes. This is a good start, but it’s only half of the battle for finding the best breeder.
The second half is what they ask you.
A breeder who really cares about dogs is also going to really care who gets their dogs. This means they are going to interview you, as well. They don’t want their high-drive German shorthairs going to someone who lives in a 17th-story apartment in downtown Chicago. They don’t want their dogs going into a situation where they’ll be underutilized, mistreated, or generally just not truly cared for.
If you talk to a breeder who doesn’t seem to care a lick about who you are or what you plan to do with the pup, keep looking. These are often the folks who are just producing puppies for a paycheck, and they often sell puppies cheaper than the competition. They also often don’t have a waiting list for their dogs.
While this isn’t always a deal breaker, a well-bred hunting dog is likely to come from a breeder that won’t produce 50 litters a year. They’ll have a few, and they’ll be in demand. They’ll also be more expensive than some of the pups you’ll run across because they are worth it.
All of this takes time and some effort. But the good news is, if you go about it the right way, you’ll end up with the best dog in the whole world (again).
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