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Questions To Breeder


TheCheekyMonster
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I am very sure a thread has been started about this but I can not for the life of me find it, I'm sure some kind of a list was compiled as to what to ask a breeder before making the decision to purchase from them.

My aunty is getting a dog and it is a mutt and I have talked myself blue trying to convince her otherwise to purchase something else, but no luck WHAT so ever and im sick of talking myself blue... so to make sure she is getting the right information with the options she has I want to give her a list of things she should know.... also what health tests are required for labs and poodles?? (I think we can all guess what mutt is on the agenda here)..... replied would be appreciated THANK YOU!! :)

P.S how freaking annoying is it when family members go against all your ethical beliefs re dogs... OMG its so hard not to rip their head off.

Hopefully if the "breeder" cant answer any of the questions she will think twice

Edited by TheCheekyMonster
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you can start with hip and elbow scores.

but suspect Hybrid vigor. will be quoted as the guarantee of good health unfortunately.

you could ask how often does it need clipping. if told none, what a mess that one will end up in.

if she doesnt intend to learn clipping it herself, im told its costs my friend $90 a session. more if she doesnt make sure is washed and no knots before she takes it there.

hip pocket pain might slow the decision down maybe?

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PRA

Hipscores.

Hope your aunty is ready for the fact that 70% of these crosses shed, many are a nightmare to groom and many are far larger and more energetic than their owners are expecting.

Edited by Haredown Whippets
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Apart from hip and elbow scoring all Lab and Poodle breeding stock need annual eye exams from a specialist ophthalmologist for a variety of eye condition that do not have DNA tests available.

DNA tests currently available from GTG in Aust

For Labradors:

• Cystinuria

• Exercise Induced Collapse

• Progressive Retinal Atrophy

For Poodles:

• Degenerative Myelopathy

• Neonatal Encephalopathy

• Von Willebrand's Disease (Type 1)

• Progressive Retinal Atrophy

Optigen in the US also have these tests listed as available.

Labrador Retrievers - OptiGen® prcd-PRA test & RD/OSD test &* NARC tests

Labradoodles - OptiGen® IC test, PFK test , prcd-PRA test & RD/OSD test

Labradoodles, Australian - OptiGen® IC test, PFK test , prcd-PRA & RD/OSD tests

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PRA

Hipscores.

Hope your aunty is ready for the fact that 70% of these crosses shed, many are a nightmare to groom and many are far larger and more energetic than their owners are expecting.

I said that, I told you you can not guarentee its height, coat or ANYTHING so whatever image you have in your head forget about it...... i had tears swell up in my eyes because last christmas they got the same mut for 4 weeks before that they had a jack russle for 2 weeks it makes me sooooo god damn mad!! but atleast I will be more involved with this one i.e if she doesnt want it any more ILL find it a home....bloody morons

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and thanks guys much appreciated this is the list so far

Food:

What food is given

Desexing:

Why are they desexing so young (8 weeks), are they aware that premature deesexing can lead to impared growth in medium, large, extra large and giant breeds

Socialisation:

What type of socialisation do they get, have they been exposed to lawn mowers, children, doors slaming, is the dog responsive to people/other dogs how much human interaction do they get what basic training is given

what age are they being released at.

Health Testing:

Hip & Elbow scoring and DNA testing for the following:

DNA tests currently available from GTG in Aust

For Labradors:

Cystinuria

Exercise Induced Collapse

Progressive Retinal Atrophy

For Poodles:

Degenerative Myelopathy

Neonatal Encephalopathy

Von Willebrand's Disease (Type 1)

Progressive Retinal Atrophy

Optigen in the US also have these tests listed as available.

Labrador Retrievers - OptiGen® prcd-PRA test & RD/OSD test &* NARC tests

Labradoodles - OptiGen® IC test, PFK test , prcd-PRA test & RD/OSD test

Labradoodles, Australian - OptiGen® IC test, PFK test , prcd-PRA & RD/OSD tests

Grooming + Shedding

How much grooming do they require

How much do they shed 70% of mixed breeds do shed.

Edited by TheCheekyMonster
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Is the breeder desexing him? Sounds like their heart might be in the right place, not letting the pups go to new homes with any chance of them being used for breeding, they just need a bit if further education!

Or maybe they simply don't want their pups used to breed in opposition to them.

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My aunty is getting a dog and it is a mutt and I have talked myself blue trying to convince her otherwise to purchase something else, but no luck WHAT so ever and im sick of talking myself blue... so to make sure she is getting the right information with the options she has I want to give her a list of things she should know.... also what health tests are required for labs and poodles?? (I think we can all guess what mutt is on the agenda here)..... replied would be appreciated THANK YOU!! :)

The difficulty is that if you have already talked this situation blue, then you will probably find that no amount of information will help because positions are entrenched. People don't like to feel judged or bossed about, and will often go ahead and make their own choice just to prove a point.

There is an art to steering people away from making bad choices, and even then you can't always do it. My approach is usually to look encouraging and say something like "great you are getting a dog - yeah those [whatevers] are really cute - I'd be worried about the [unpredictability of the coat/mad energy/conditions the parents are kept in/whatever] tho'" and then drop it. You've seeded the concern but not put anyone's back up. If they want to keep talking, they will, then you can suggest other options.

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Okay we board & Groom alot of these & only one is a dog that i could actually live with

Many have freaky temps,coat textures area a nightmare.

Many have been caught with the "size issue"

One was as big as a great dane ,most are Lab sise .

Some have hairy front or back ends & the other part smooth (look really weird) .

Some are hairy as poodles but still shed .

The natures are very different ,there ofetn neither of the breed .

The one good one we groom would be what the ideally planned to create but aftre 20 plus years of being in this industry thats a poor number of good versus not what people expected .

Nearly all brought from the east sight unseen & got often what they didn't want considering there reasons for going to the expense in the first place.

Testing most didn't , alot we deal with have very bad HD ,a number have also bloated (which can happen in either breed )

Mind you it sounds a good thing its coming spayed given there lack of actually ever owning these dogs & this is a classic example why people do spay early

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Not sure it will have much effect.

I have some friends who got the same type of mutt a couple of months ago. They've done fostering and owned dogs before, so they're familiar with how many unwanted dogs there are around. So when they told me the breed they'd chosen I checked out the breeders website, thinking maybe they'd picked a good one (meaning one that wants the mix to be recognised as a breed and therefore does the right thing). There was no mention of any health tests, and specifically hip and elbow scoring, so I brought this up with my friends. Their response was that they were aware that the dog should be health tested, and they had asked the breeder about it. The breeder had informed them that he/she doesn't check hips or elbows, and my friends decided to go ahead with the purchase anyway.

The dog is a very nice dog, she's cute and placid and seems quite stable, but it's obvious that the breeder did nothing to socialise her and has done absolutely no basic training (like housetraining).

So these people know about overpopulation, they know about hip and elbow testing, they know the breeder should be doing it, and they still chose a mutt from someone who doesn't do the necessary tests.

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Sorry, OT - but there was a radio quiz on yesterday at work and one of the questions was 'what is the puppy of a poodle and a labrador called' - I failed to resist yelling out "A MUTT".

All the women in the office fell over themselves laughing :D

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The major thing to think about can't be tested for - what if the pup has the deep, heavy boned chest of a lab, but the finer boned rump and legs of a poodle? I'm not talking about looks here but the physical health of a dog. A dog that isn't structurally sound can suffer in pain all its life, even if the dog doesn't show it.

My boy is an oodle cross breed and has the deep, strong chest of a mini schnauzer and the rest of his build is like a slight mini poodle. I'm pretty sure his back soreness could be a result of this unbalance. When I compare him to my purebred mini schnauzer, she is a lot more 'balanced' and stable.

I will get flamed for this but there are breeders of this cross-breed who do health test, socialise their dogs, breed for structure and temp and are working towards getting the breed recognised etc etc, but they are very few and far between.

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I just found out at training yesterday that a member of another club I frequent has a young dog of this cross that has been diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia :( It was going to be their next agility dog. Their previous dog was a Weimeraner, not sure why they changed, I think because they now have young children, though I tried to present alternative breeds.

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Why is it yet again this forum is disgussing mongrel bred dogs. ?

she is trying to find out what questions someone should ask a breeder - not promoting cross breeding at all. The forum rules say that people are allowed to discuss their cross bred dogs too.

This thread can hardly be read as a 'woe is me' or promotion of cross breeds.

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Why is it yet again this forum is disgussing mongrel bred dogs. ?

she is trying to find out what questions someone should ask a breeder - not promoting cross breeding at all. The forum rules say that people are allowed to discuss their cross bred dogs too.

This thread can hardly be read as a 'woe is me' or promotion of cross breeds.

A "breeder" of cross bred mutts. The people have already gone down this path before, it's their decision, leave them to it. If they cared at all they would do their own research. The OP isn't talking about their own mutt, big difference.

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