What Is A Responsible Breeder?
What
exactly is a breeder? Isn't anyone who brings a litter of puppies into
this world a breeder? What distinguishes the Responsible breeder from the Backyard
Breeder? or the Commercial Breeder? or even worse a "PUPPYMILL"?
An Responsible breeder is one that chooses to follow this
path most likely did it with the advice and assistance of a "mentor".
A mentor may be the person they purchased their first Maltese from or it may be another
established breed, each of who is knowledgeable in the breed -- who gives of their
time and advice to help other learn the ropes. Many of us who mentor others
in the breed are almost always willing to help and teach those who display their
willingness to learn - by their attention, their intelligent questions, their
participation in dog related activities. This insures that there is a
continuous progression of new breeders in a breed as the elders retire.
A
Responsible Breeder will have had all possible health clearances for their female before
looking to breed her. The breeder will be honest with themselves about
the faults of the female that they wish to breed, and will search for a mate who is
exceptionally strong in those areas. While the ideal mate may be of the breeder's
own Maltese, they will also consider breeding to someone else's dog. The
pedigrees of the dogs to be bred are studied for compatibility and
incompatibilities. Breeding of certain "lines" of dogs
together, may result in excellent puppies, or doubling up on certain ancestors could
give undesired results. The Responsible breeder is one that knows the breed
standard well and constantly looks to improve this by selecting the best dog to bred to
their bitch. A knowledgeable Breeder will be able to tell you why they chose to
breed the dogs that produced the puppies you are interested in.
A breeder should first and foremost be concerned with the
health and well being to the mother and her puppies. The dam's pregnancy should be
monitored starting with being feed a nutritious diet through consultations with a
veterinarian for planning for emergency deliveries. The breeder should be present
and assist at the whelping. Puppies should be handled frequently to
socialize them. Their progress should include daily weigh checks ensure that all
puppies are gaining evenly; their dam is regularly checked to insure that she is doing
well also. Puppies should receive vaccinations based on accepted
veterinary schedules.
An Responsible Breeder is not in a hurry to sell
their puppies -- in fact many times they may have a waiting list for their puppies. The
Responsible Breeder will follow the American Maltese Association (AMA) guidelines and
not allow puppies to leave for new homes until 12 weeks of age. However, it is
typical that many breeders will take deposits for litter just born or shortly due to be
whelped. Many Breeders work full time to support this very expensive
hobby, because they realize that there is no money to be made in breeding dogs.
Your Breeder should provide you with a
pedigree on your puppy. You should also receive written instructions regarding
feeding and health concerns. Many also supply you with a puppy pack. Your Breeder
will be available almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if you have any problems with
your puppy. Typically a period of time (usally 24 to 72 hours) is offered for you
to have your puppy checked by your own veterinarian and a full refund if you aren't
happy with the vets findings. Breeders will take back dogs that they
have bred if the owner is unable to keep them.
When you speak to breeders remember the length of time
breeding or the number of champions finished in one year or many years of time spent
breeding dogs does not necessarily indicate quality. Just because a dog has 'Been
Shown" does not make it a champion or show quality -- anyone with a full registered
Maltese can enter a dog show -- becoming a champion takes much hard work. Just as
only having having champions 2 or 3 generations back in a pedigree does not make the
Maltese champion quality. Champion titles, specialty awards, and group placements,
are much better indicators of the quality of a breeders dogs.
All About Pedigrees
Your breeder will supply you with a Pedigree of your dog.
This is simply a family tree, it is not a registration with the American Kennel Club.
Registration forms are printed by the AKC. A pedigree does is give you a listing
of the dogs in the background of your puppy.
Looking
at the pedigree will tell you many things though. First it will tell you
which dogs have completed Championship requirements and for which countries.
A Ch. in front of a dogs name means it is a champion and usually refers to the
country the dog is a Champion in, e.g. Ch. to a US breeder means a US Champion,
while a UK Ch. would refer to a champion in the United Kingdom. When a dogs is a
Champion in multiple countries, the countries are usually listed, such as
Am/Can/Mex. Ch. - would refer to a dog who is a champion in Canada, the United
States and Mexico. The BIS designation in front of the name usually means
that the dog has won Best in Show at an All-Breed dog show, which is quite an
honor. A BISS, usually refers to a Specialty Best in Show (or Best in
Specialty Show), where only dogs of that breed are shown -- again this is quite an honor
to win such a designation.
Many Maltese pedigree will also carry the designation of
ROM -- this means Register Of Merit. This is an honorary designation given by the
American Maltese Association (AMA) for top producers -- Maltese that have produced
champions. A Male needs to have produced 5 champions and a female needs to have
produced 3 champions. A pedigree with Maltese with ROM designations indicates that
the puppy has come from a breeding background that has produced quality champions.
Unfortunately not everyone who has Maltese that are ROM eligible actually apply for the
ROM designation. Additionally, a breeder must also be a member of the AMA to
receive the ROM designation of their Maltese.
Champion Lines - What Does This Mean
A good breeding is usually one where at least 70%
of the dogs in the pedigree have achieved a Conformation titles. The
breeder should be able to discuss the various dogs in the pedigree with you, their
strengths and weaknesses, and possibly even supply pictures. Below is a 4
generation pedigree of a dog I bred (Ch. Bhe-Jei's Toy Tycoon) that recently finished
his championship. This pedigree has 83% champions and a number of ROM producers.
.
. .
CH Windsong White Tie'N Tails (ROM)
. .
CH Wesglyn Don't Toy With Me (ROM)
. .
.
CH Wesglyn Windsong April Lover
. CH Wesglyn
Corporate Raider
. .
| CH Wesglyn
Hot Pursuit (ROM)
. .
CH Wesglyn Corporate Report
. .
. CH Kibet's
Duplicate Copy
Ch. Bhe-Jei's Toy Tycoon
.
.
. CH Marcris
Marshmallow Showoff (ROM)
. .
CH Two Be's Sugar Frosted(ROM elig)
. .
. CH Two Be's Hooked On Sugar
. Bhe-Jei
M'Lane Unforgettable
. .
.
BIS CH Melodylane Little Bit Of Luv (ROM elig)
. .
CH Melodylane Somewhere My Luv
. .
. CH
Melodylane Say No More Luv
A "hypothetical" pedigree from a Backyard
breeder or puppy mill might look like the 3 generation pedigree below.
Don't be fooled by a breeder that claims this to be
champion quality or champion lines -- just because a Maltese has champions several
generations back does not mean it was breed by Responsible breeder.
.
. .
Ch. Top Show Dog
.
.
Ch. Mr. Wonderful
.
.
.
Suzie Q
.
Sir White Night
.
.
.
CH Great Show Dog
.
. Blanco de Blanc
.
. . White Little Angel
Snowy's White Fluff
.
.
.
CH Show Kennel's Top Stud
.
.
White Tornado
.
.
. White Princess XIV
.
Snowy's Gidgit
.
.
. Ch.
Bill's Mr. Big Guy
.
.
Little Princess Gidgit
.
.
.
Gigi Girl
Show Quality versus Pet Quality
"Show Quality" is a frequently misused and
often misunderstood phrase. Puppy buyers naturally want the best quality puppies
available and unknowing Back-Yard-Breeders take advantage of potential buyers by
describing their puppies as show quality or from champion lines (see above on Champion
lines). Responsible show breeders will tell you however that the term show quality is
virtually meaningless.
Show dog breeders study their puppies from birth in hopes of choosing
the best show prospect. The puppy finding process is more of an art than a science.
It's just not an easy thing to do. Sometimes a puppy that looks great at 3 months of age
can mature and have qualities that are not something a breeder would consider show
quality. As an example, a Maltese can have a good bite (scissors) at 3 months and
when the permanent teeth come in the bite has gone undershot and therefore not
considered show quality. In choosing the "pick of the litter", even the
most experienced dog breeders will admit that they have occasionally picked the wrong
puppy.
"Pet quality" refers to a puppy that the show dog breeder has
eliminated as a show prospect, for one reason or another. Here are a few examples of
what a breeder might say about a pet prospect
1. The puppy might grow too big or small based on the standard of 4 to 7
pounds.
2 The coat texture could be too wooly or curly
3. The shoulder angle is a little too straight.
4. The top line is not perfect.
5. The puppy might not be "square" and therefore have a little
longer back than the breeder desires.
6. The head may have a little more nose than a breeder likes, the
eyes may be a little smaller than the breeder likes
7. The puppy might have a bite that will be undershot as opposed
to the preferred scissor bite; or the puppy could have fewer than the number of desired
teeth (should be 6 lower and upper incisors - many show breeders will not keep or show a
puppy with less than this number)
As
you can see there could be a number of factors a breeder will consider a Maltese from a
show breeding program PET QUALITY. However, in most cases you will find that the
pet puppy from a show breeding program is every bit as nice, if not nicer, than what you
will purchase from a Back-Yard-Breeder or from a pet store.
If you are buying a puppy for a family pet do not be concerned with such
minor issues. The most important thing is to buy a healthy, genetically sound puppy that
meets breed standards in both appearance and temperament. It is important to understand
that there is nothing low quality about pet quality from a responsible show breeder. A
pet quality puppy from a responsible breeder is far superior to a "show
quality" puppy from a puppy mill.
Reading the Ads -- What About "Teacups" or
"Tinys"
There is no such thing as Teacups or Tinys -- ads that advertise
this are just trying to take advantage of unsuspecting buyers. The AKC Maltese
standard for the breed calls for a Maltese to be 4 to 7 pounds. Occasionally when
two smaller Maltese -- such as a 4 1/2 female and a 4 1/2 pound male are breed together
there may be a Maltese less than 4 pounds produced. But this is by far the
exception. Breeders that purposefully try to bred these type of Maltese are doing
you and the breed no favors. A breeder should ALWAYS strive to breed for the breed
standard.
And likewise be very careful about a breeder than sells you a young
puppy and "claims" the puppy to be older than it really is so that the size
seems smaller -- yes, there are irresponsible breeders that do this, especially with
buyers that are seeking "tiny's or teapcups". Please see a web page that
I have on puppy development -- there you will find
pictures and descriptions of Maltese from 1 day old until 5 months of age. Maltese
breeders typically take the weight at 3 months of age and double it to determine
adult weight -- potentially a little more for males, a little less for females. A
puppy that weights 3 1/2 pounds at 3 months will mature to 7 pounds or more as an adult.
All About Rgistrations
A registration is a proof that your dog is purebred, that its parents
are registered with the AKC and that it is eligible to compete in AKC sanctioned
events. Sadly a registration is not a guarantee of quality. No matter how
poor an example of its breed a dog is, it can be registered with the American Kennel
Club as long as its parents were registered. All advertisements that
in newspapers should be carefully examined. And do be careful with ads that read
CKC --Canadian Kennel Club is the legitimate CKC. There is a group called the
"Continental Kennel Club" that is merely a front for people who can not obtain
legitimate registrations on their dogs. You need to learn to read the pedigree of
the puppy you are looking to purchase if you are looking for an indication of
quality.
The AKC has provided breeders with the opportunity to
designate there puppies with "limited registration". Breeders will
choose to use this so that they can insure that puppies they place as pets are not
subsequently sold into a puppy mill or backyard breeding program. In fact, many
breeders may ask you to sign a contract that you agree to have the puppy neutered or
spayed before receiving the blue slip registration.
The bottom line -- you have the best chance of purchasing
a Maltese that will be you loving and healthy companion for years to come if you buy
from an Responsible breeder.
Shown With Pride
