So you want a AKC Purebred Labrador Retriever, and have seen an ad from a Breeder?
- Red Flags to be aware of -
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Any Breeder that claims to have OFA certifications on Hips and C.E.R.F certifications on eyes on the Sire & Dam - But stalls about producing copies of such documents, acts insulted that you would question their word on the matter, wants to have you trust that they will produce the documents AFTER you commit to first buying the puppy with a deposit. | |
| A legitimate Breeder will be more then happy to back up their claims that they have such documents. BEWARE of switch and bait tactics - & Breeder's changing stories | ||
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Any Breeder that has puppies, but is vague about just WHAT the AKC registered names of the Sire & Dam are. Any Breeder vague on the true date the puppies were born. | |
| If you get the Sire & Dam's TRUE full AKC registered name, then you can research IF the Sire & Dam are truly AKC registered dogs by going to the American Kennel Club website. This also can be a useful tool to aid a puppy buyer in researching if the Sire & Dam have been truly OFA certified on hips. For a small fee, you can even obtain online a AKC Pedigree on the Sire's & Dam's bloodlines. Some breeders do not wish puppy buyers to be too well informed. Become informed. RUN from any breeder that refuses to show you BOTH of the Sire's & Dam's AKC registration documents until after they have your cash/check in hands. Chances are that in such cases, the documents produced after the sale are not worth the paper they are printed on. |
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Sometimes a breeder will NOT be forthcoming with the Sire & Dam's AKC registered names, because: | |
| The puppy has questionable parentage and is not truly purebred. Sire and/or Dam is AKC limited registered (thus puppies produced are NOT recognized by the AKC). The Sire and/or dam may be STOLEN and is being bred illegally, and might even be registered under another less particular "registry", due to the breeder not being able to AKC register the sire and/or dam because someone acquired the dog using nefarious means. On AKC Litter registration Applications, BOTH the AKC Registered owner of the SIRE, as well as the AKC Registered owner of the Dam - MUST have agreed to and have knowledge of such a breeding - as well as having signed and dated this document and certify WHEN the mating took place. BEWARE! There are some registries that will register a dog, regardless of whether or not that dog has been forbidden AKC registration due to the manner in which the dog was acquired - i.e. limited registration, etc. |
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No Dam present - and no pictures presented showing Sire. | |
| Ask to see the Dam (and the Sire too if the Breeder has both) - If Breeder has puppies present, but NO parents - might be a sign that the "Breeder" is in fact only a Broker - or possibly a indication of any of the Red Flags listed above. | ||
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With any puppy being presented as being AKC Registerable, the Breeder should produce BEFORE asking for any monies, the AKC Registration Certificates of BOTH Sire & Dam for viewing!!! DO NOT buy a puppy from any breeder that wants money BEFORE they will divulge the AKC's registered names of Sire & Dam AND the date their Dam was bred to the Sire, & the exact whelping date of the puppies! INSIST on that Breeder showing you all AKC documents backing up their claims! The Breeder should produce BEFORE the sale the puppies own recorded AKC DOG REGISTRATION APPLICATIONS for viewing! Each puppy's AKC DOG REGISTRATION APPLICATION document has printed on it information such as: Most of the time a breeder's "pick of the litter" puppy's AKC number will end in "01" or "02". Is that Sire & Dam that was used in producing the puppies you are looking at - themselves worthy examples of healthy, genetically sound Labrador Retrievers??? If the breeder claims that the documents haven't been sent by AKC yet, DO NOT buy that puppy! The breeder has had many weeks after the puppies were born to complete an AKC Litter Registration Application & to get an AKC Dog Registration Application back from AKC for each puppy - don't be fooled by promises of "we'll send you the *papers* later". The term: *papers*, does NOT always mean AKC registration! Make sure the "papers" the breeder produces, are indeed American Kennel Club registration documents!!! If the Sire and/or Dam are themselves AKC registered "LIMITED" - puppies produced are NOT AKC registerable! |
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| If a Breeder claims to have OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) or C.E.R.F on puppies Sire & Dam - check these web sites to examine the OFA history of Sire's & Dam's bloodlines: OFA: http://www.offa.org/ C.E.R.F: http://www.vmdb.org/history.html An example of what OFA reports look like. |
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NOTE: A word about show breeders/show handlers Just because a breeder is showing dogs and is active in the show ring - that does NOT automatically mean that show breeder/show handler should be breeding their dogs and selling puppies! You, in becoming an informed buyer - should be just as alert when buying from a show breeder/show breeder as you would with any other type of breeder. Even if a Breeder is showing their dogs in AKC confirmation dog shows, there is no guarantee that breeder has done tests on Hips, Eyes, etc. prior to producing a litter! Ask always to see true copies of any certified documents/tests on Hips, Eyes, etc. Insist on seeing such documents BEFORE paying any money for the puppy! As you would be wise to do with any type of breeder, ask the show breeder/show handler to produce proof of any testing (OFA on hips, yearly AVCO eye exams, etc.) on the Sire & Dam of the puppies. Ask the show breeder/show handler how frequently that Dam has been mated during it's life, how many litters, and at what age that Dam started being bred. If the answer is almost every heat cycle, and/or way before the age of two years - this "Show" breeder is most likely NOT producing puppies because they care about the health and well being of the dog! Breeders of AKC registered dogs are REQUIRED by AKC to have on their premises some type of record keeping of the dogs they own/co-own - such as Dog Ownership and Breeding Records. Ask the show breeder/show handler if they are currently a member of any AKC recognized Labrador Retriever Breed Club - & then go to that Club's website & verify. There are some breeders that show dogs, that might not want to be a member of any AKC recognized Labrador Retriever Breed Club. AKC does not require membership in a Labrador Retriever Breed Club, of any breeder - whether that breeder shows dogs or not. The showing & handling of dogs does NOT guarantee a breeder acceptance into an AKC recognized Breed club. Membership applicants must be approved by a club, voted upon for membership. Membership is a privilege, not a right. Most AKC Labrador Retriever Clubs have a code of ethics members must abide by. Any breeder that is mating a female almost every heat cycle, or well below two years of age, most likely would NOT be allowed membership in an AKC recognized Labrador Retriever Club. Ethical breeders would NOT be breeding their Dam every 7 or 8 months! Also, not all "show" breeders do genetic testing such as OFA on Hips and yearly AVCO/C.E.R.F - on the SIRE & DAM they use. Although Breeders may on occasion breed their Dams using a Stud dog they themselves own/co-own, breeders should be looking always for the best Sire for their puppies. Does the breeder almost always use Stud dogs the breeder themselves owns/co-owns, being bred to the Dam the breeder also owns/co-own? Is the breeder looking for the best mate for her Dam, or just using her own in-house Stud to avoid Stud fees? What was the prime motivator in that breeder producing puppies from such a in-house gene pool? Beware! Not all breeders are the same, regardless of whether or not they "show" their dogs.
BEWARE of any Breeder insisting on being paid for a puppy BEFORE allowing you to view any pedigrees, documents, & certified tests they claim to have done. Ask the breeder to verify Sire's & Dam's OFA's on Hips (X-rays examined by the breeder's veterinarian is NOT proof); Yearly eye exams by a veterinarian AVCO Optometrist (also check out the OFA/C.E.R.F history of the siblings of the Sire & Dam, as well as Grandsires & Granddames). Verify with OFA! Ask the breeder if they own more then two breeds of dogs. Go online, search engine their name, their email addresses, their phone numbers, and their Kennel name(s). Find out how many different types of animals the breeder has. Inspect where the puppies have been raised. If the breeder does not allow you to see the inside of the home where the puppies have been raised & socialized, and the backyard where the puppies have been allowed exercise - it might be to your advantage to look elsewhere for your puppy! Not all puppy-mill situations are easy to spot from outside. Look closely at the whole environment! Some breeders might be "collector" types - having many different species of animals & breeds of dogs. Any breeder should be motivated in having yearly vet exams on the their Dams to help ensure a healthy Dam, & litter. Not all breeders do this! Ask if the breeder ever took the puppies to see their veterinarian for a health checkup - if the answer is yes, ask to see a copy of the veterinarian's report. Ask the breeder just how many litters have been whelped with that Dam, how many in each litter, and the age the Dam was FIRST use to whelp puppies. Ask again in person to help gauge truthfulness for yourself. Ask to see the Dam. Breeders of AKC registered dogs are REQUIRED by AKC to have on their premises some type of record keeping of the dogs they own/co-own - such as Dog Ownership and Breeding Records. BEWARE! Some breeders might be breeding the same Dams almost every heat cycle (usually 6 - 8 months), and/or well before two years of age! A Breeder that truly cares about their Dam and the puppies, would NOT be breeding her like that. If a breeder is mating the same female almost every heat cycle, they are not doing it out of concern for the Dam's health - but to produce puppies! Not all breeders are looking out for the best interest of the breed, or the dog. Not all breeders that have a puppy-mill mentality are easy to spot - until it is too late! I have discovered browsing the internet a few breeders that claim they so HATE puppy Mills but fail to disclose that they themselves are breeding their own females every six months; are using the same at-home male on all in-home females every breeding; have their dogs living in small 6x6 or 6x12 enclosures. Use your own judgment on the truthfulness of any claims being made. If the breeder claims that they during the day have their dogs living in small pens, yet claims they bring their dogs inside their home at night - look to see if that seems plausible (how many dogs? does the breeder have different breeds?). At what time do these dogs ever get to run around and exercise? Look closely at the breeder's own contract of sale BEFORE signing it. Has the breeder made representations that they have not included in their contract? Do NOT rely on verbal representations being upheld, verbal representations are open to "misinterpretation."
With the advent of creative computer graphics & document software, it is best to verify documents. Examine just how forthcoming any breeder is in providing ALL the information needed for you to reach an informed decision! You should yourself be forthright. Remember - If you are being asked to come up with hundreds of dollars for a puppy that the Breeder claims is purebred, you have the absolute right to ask questions about the claims that Breeder makes! If your instinct is that the Breeder has NOT been truthful in some manner, it might be a DANGER sign that you may wish to heed! We ourselves have found out the hard way it is better to listen to that small uneasy voice! |
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