Questions to ask breeders

dotty west

Inactive Member
hello everyone, i must say i thank you for this very helpful information. im going threw a very rough time as of late and now starting over .
to find a newfie ,
my question is this, to find a honest breeder, one with all the qualifications that is discribed.
how do you go about finding that person.
and also ive been told to go to the NCA and ask for help locating either one or a mentor to help me , so how do i go about this as well . because i write and i do not get an answer back . thanks so much . for all your advise on this subject this helps a great deal.

Elizabeth
 

ardeagold

New member
Elizabeth...Your question comes at a good time.

Just today the NCA (Newfoundland Club of America) has put up a new page. It's called the Puppy Information Center, and gives a lot of information that you would probably be interested in...including a breeders list for different states with links to their websites, if they have one.

Here's the page. I hope it helps:

http://www.newfpuppy.com/

[ 04-12-2007, 08:53 PM: Message edited by: Ardeagold ]
 

dotty west

Inactive Member
Donna
yes this helps a great deal
thank you .so much for this
your photo is wonderful i hope to have a landseer some day i thnk they are the most beautiful dogs i have ever seen
have a good evening and thanks

Elizabeth
 

TinaM

New member
Wow, this post was amazing to read. I had no idea you cannot mention breeders. I will be more careful in the future. I was so convinced my breeder was great, but she did have a large number of dogs. Why is this bad again? More things for me to worry about.
 

ardeagold

New member
Why is this bad again?
It isn't, necessarily. But...there could be some red flags, such as:

1) Is the breeder breeding many different breeds of dogs? How many? (Most *quality* breeders only "specialize" (for lack of a better term) in one or two breeds. It takes a long time to become knowledgable about one breed, much less several different breeds.)

2) Where are the dogs kept and how are they cared for? Breeders (or anybody for that matter) with a lot of dogs usually need a lot of space so that they can get proper exercise as well as room to separate, when necessary.

3) How many intact dogs are "mingling" together? By this I mean intact dogs mixing with intact females. If there are several breeds, are the intact ones kept together or apart? (There is always the chance of an accidental mating if intact males and females are together).

I'm sure there are more reasons...but it's late and my brain isn't functioning correctly.

[ 04-19-2007, 04:43 AM: Message edited by: Ardeagold ]
 

Oliver

Inactive Member
A question I think evrybody have to ask, when you make you'r choice, is the historic of Dysplasia of the male and the female, not onley the health clearance. Sometimes a male and a female, who had exclennt hip, can have a big history of puppy with Dysplasia breeder call that "bad Mix". Usually when it's happen the breeder will not breed those 2 together again, but sometimes !! don't take any chance.

And another one too, does he have reported case of Dysplasia, some breeder say they breed 4 or 5 generation of dog free of dysplasia, that's impossible, because to be free of Dysplasia for four genaration every puppy had to be OFA certefied, for 4 generation,

If you'r breeder look to perfect, ask yourself question.

And one more thing, 1 year guarantee on Hips and Elbow Dysplasia, it's not enough.

My breeder in Canada give a lifetime guarantee, if you'r dog have dysplasia, she replace it even if he is 3 years old.
 

Charlie'sMom

New member
Just wondering if someone could PM me with a few names of good breeders in Canada ... I live in Alberta, but could travel to Ontario if needed. I just want a place to start my research for a new puppy ...
 
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lenovo

New member
Could anyone privately email me names of some good breeders you have heard of or dealt with personally in Ontario. It would help condense my search. thank you
 

Sherrie

New member
Don't forget to ask for a cardiologist report on mom and dad. Make sure the puppy is checked out by a cardiologist BEFORE picking up the puppy. There are some lines out there with heart problems. Make sure it is a cardiologist vet not just your average vet.
 

sarnewfie

New member
my vet clears my pups and so far has not produced a heart puppy yet,it still can happen and i trust she will guide us as to what to do should that happen.
so i disagree sherrie to an extent.
My vet used to work at a cardio vet clinic and has an exceptional ear as well another vet in town here.
 

BluwaterNewfs

New member
Many general vets do not have an ear trained well enough to hear some of the problems. nor do they have the equipment. NCA requires a heart to be done by board certified cardiologist before they will the heart status to the NCA database.
I personally would not take a puppy from someone who doesn't use a board certified cardiologist. JMO.
 

wrknnwf

Active member
I've been compiling a checklist of "Questions to Ask Breeders" for our club website. It's not complete yet but if anyone wants to see a rough draft send me a PM. It's a pdf file so you need Adobe Reader ver. 7 or higher. I'm open to constructive feedback but our board will have the final say, of course.
 

sarnewfie

New member
We have been over this before, of course the vet should have a well trained ear, and , many do have one, and therefore, i have trust in my own vet whome i have used for many many years and to date we have a good record, clean and clear.
Remember people, a board cert cardio does not mean your pup will not at 1 or 2 develop a problem, it means at that time, you bring the pup home, it does not have an issue, many heart issues do not show up till 1 or 2 or even 3 years.
As educated as i am and for as long as i have been in this breed, i trust the methods i use for my pups and so do the people i have developed relationships with thru the purchase of a pup from us.
 

Jeannie

Super Moderator
many heart issues do not show up till 1 or 2 or even 3 years.
This is completely different from what I was told. Whatever the heart was/is at the age of 1 is the heart they will have for life. If a problem 'developed' later is life it just was not detected before the age of 1. Just listening to the heart does not tell the whole story an echocardiogram (spelling) tells the whole story
 

Ivoryudx

New member
Yes, we have been over this issue before....buyer beware, just because I have 100 percent faith in MY VET does not mean I should trust him with ALL Veterinary problems. He is a 'General Practitioner' NOT a Specialist. He has a VERY good ear, but not as good as someone who has practiced, and trained in a specific area. I would never ask my dad to go to his regular doctor and not his Cardiologist for his heart check and I won't do it with a puppy.

SAR I'm extremely happy for you that you and your Vet have never found a heart problem with any of the 'puppies' you have produced. Thats fantastic, but what happens when one is 'missed' and found later in life? Have all the pups been checked by a Cardiologist after one year of age? If not, and given that we all know SAS can develop later in life, there is no way to know for sure you have produced 'clean and clear' without another check. No I'm not saying you have had problems, as I don't know, but neither do you, if you have not done those later checks. Mistakes can also happen and if you stay in this breed long enough it WILL happen. In my personal experience, one check by a general Vet, is not good enough for a puppy I want to purchase, so I would not expect any other puppy buyer to accept anything less either.

A Cardiologist can make mistakes to, even after a breeders Vet does an initial check. It happened to me with Lu. Her PDA was missed by the breeders Vet, who had been checking Newf hearts for over 20 years, and a Canine Cardiologist who was one of the top in the country, training others. It was also missed by MY Vet at the time, as well as two other Vets who had seen her over the almost 2 years before it was found. In my opinion there can never be enough checks, but only having one general practitioner check is not something I will ever take a chance on. Having personally lived through the scary thought that my girl could have died on the operating table while trying to save her life, I do not want to go through that again, or see anyone else go through it either. I was fortunate for a very good outcome, but had it been found earlier the surgery would not have been as dangerous, and SAS is not operable. As a breeder, I make informed decisions on the dogs I'm breeding and have them checked by a Cardiologist as an adult, and preferably by doppler. I will also have all puppies checked by my Vet as well as a Cardiologist before they go to their new homes. A letter signed by the Cardiologist will go with the puppy to its new owners, including a request for a doppler check at one year of age or older.

Having personally gone through this scare with Lu, and spoken at length with very good friends who watched a Newfoundland Puppy die from SAS, my opinion stands. It breaks my heart when I see owners come here to NewfNet or Newf-l looking for information because their puppies/dogs have a heart problem that could have been found if a Cardiologist had been consulted early on, or if the parents had been checked properly. Yes, my girls was missed initially, but another Cardiologist was the one who found it, not a regular practioner.
 

Sherrie

New member
I paid for a doppler to be done on Jasper before we left Germany. I wanted as much information as possible as this was not a cheap trip.
I am aware that even with his doppler being normal at 9 weeks doesn't mean he can't develope a heart problem later. However that is the best I could do at this time.
I will NEVER buy a puppy without a cardiologist at least listening to it. At one year Jasper will be at U of Colorado for a cardiologist to listen and hopefully sign off on his OFA papers.
FYI all breeding Newfs in Germany must be cleared by doppler. Of course that doesn't mean they can't throw heart puppies.Thats why we need that information posted.
 

Sound Bay Newfs

Active member
My vet listens to my pups hearts, and I think he has a good ear, but I still have my pups cleared by a cardiologist. I have to feel confident that any pup I sell has a healthy heart. No medical test is going to guarantee a future with no issues, but that is no reason not to do the test. They can only tell us what is happening at that time and gives a more predictable indication of the odds of less future heart problems.
 

Pipelineozzy

New member
This is completely different from what I was told. Whatever the heart was/is at the age of 1 is the heart they will have for life. If a problem 'developed' later is life it just was not detected before the age of 1. Just listening to the heart does not tell the whole story an echocardiogram (spelling) tells the whole story
Unfortunately, this is just not true for all heart issues. While it may be true when applied to SAS, Pulmonic stenosis or PDA..which are birth defects...there are a number of other things that can go wrong with the heart that do NOT exist at one year of age.

My pups are not checked by a cardiologist...simply because I do not have access to one. The nearest cardiologist to where I live is an 8 hour drive one way. I have to count on a vet with a very good ear.

Cindy
 
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