SearchLooking For Further Insight Into Buying
Hi Everyone,
Im new to this forum after my girlfriend discovered it while looking into & researching buying a dobie pup. Ive found it very informative & knowledgeable, but now I wanted to get some opinions on my current situation. Me & my girlfriend have wanted to add another member to our family as we already have a year & a half old Mini Pin. My girlfriend has been fascinated with Dobermans for a very long time & convinced me of the idea to getting one as well. So we started looking recently and it wasnt too long before we found one. Now after reading some threads on here about certain types of breeders that have a negative impact on the breed itself, I have some concerns myself. Mainly due to the fact that after making contact with said person and conversing over a period of a few days they have dropped the asking price on the remaining pups. They have however agreed to include papers with a 2 year health guarantee, they have docked the tail & removed dew(sp) claws. They have parents on site. And seem to somewhat know what theyre talking about. What I need from you guys besides your opinions is any questions that I could ask to maybe get more information or to address some issues that would maybe clarify more things for me. Either way, whatever you can contribute to helping me out would be appreciated. Thank you.
I appreciate the response Kevin, you have given me a good basis for some questions I can ask to get further clarification.
Thanks again.
Kevin is right and I belive that Fitzmar or Rnd posted a list of health tests that should be done if the person is a reputable breeder and how to check to see if they are reputable, you might want to look back at some of their posts for that info.....
Please spend some time on this resource
http://www.dpca.org/BreedEd/index.php/articles/43-miscellaneous/362-buying-a-doberman-pinscher
You need to know what you're asking and talking about before you can really tell if someone else does, and that resource should help.
I also forgot to mention I live in Canada, but thanks for your replies.
I really can't add much more - I will say that the information you have been given is good for USA or Canada... and probably anyplace else. Glengate is Canadian.
Being from Canada is not any different as far as looking for a good breeder and what you should expect. You should expect the same from breeders in both countries. I would also like to add the link that Glengate has on her website I've found it to be one of the most complete informational sites that I've found, spend some time looking into it and comparing the breeder you are looking at to what should be this will answer your questions. I also totally agree with Glengate in the fact that unless you spend some time looking into the link that she provided you will not be able to tell if you have found a good breeder or not.
Pet Profiles
Thanks for doing some research! A few things to keep in mind, most good breeders don't have both parents on site. That's usually a breeding of convenience, not necessarily the best mates. As far as papers, keep in mind that papers don't have anything to do with quality, they simply mean the dog is not a mix. Many dogs come with a health guarantee, but the most common problems in doberman don't usually arise until after 2 years of age. That, in and of itself is not a problem, as far as the 2 year guarantee. But I would definitely want to know what kind of health testing was done on the parents, and I would also ask what makes them breed-worthy. Things like "good temperement" "handsome" etc. without anything to back it up is nothing but words, imo. Dobermans tend to be a pretty unhealthy breed, even when all of the precautions are taken, so it's not something I would ever risk without some solid proof of testing. Also, I would want to know how old the parents are. These are some of the things I would look into.