Important Questions to Ask a Pekingese Breeder

Buying a Pekingese? Be Careful and Be Informed

Adopting a Pekingese responsibly is a little more involved than grabbing a cute puppy from a cage and plopping it on the checkout counter. There are caveats. On the practical side, you may be acquiring a dog that has been bred poorly or treated poorly during their time with their breeder. This can amount to a huge burden and possibly huge veterinary expenses you would otherwise not need to deal with. On the philosophical side, you may unknowingly be helping to perpetuate the problem of puppy mills and backyard breeders, while all the animal organizations in America are trying to eradicate them.

Before buying a dog, arm yourself with a bit of knowledge by perusing the following list of things you should check with a breeder. The following is most probably not a comprehensive checklist, but it will give you a good amount of information to get you going.

A Primer on The Ethics of Breeding

Ethical dog breeders are not in it for the money; they have other jobs for primary income. Rather, they're experienced hobbyists with a passion for animals, whose intensions are the advancement of the breed without ulterior motive. They treat the dogs they breed as if they were their own pets until they can find proper homes for them. They have a rigorous screening process, in order to be sure their clients will be able to provide the proper care and living conditions. If a buyer fails to meet the criteria, they will fail to acquire the dog. If a buyer does buy a dog but decides they can no longer care for it, an ethical breeder will take the dog back at a loss, even 10 years later.

A responsible breeder will also be open to anything you wish to talk about, so do not be afraid to heave questions at them, as this is what they expect of a good dog owner. If they seem defensive or ignorant, it's probably a sign that they're not entirely keen on the ethics of breeding, and we strongly urge you to consider a different breeder. Be suspicious of a breeder who seems to have more of an interest in closing a sale than in a rightful adoption.

Ask to See Their Place of Operation

In my opinion, being able to see the actual living conditions of the dogs is the most important thing to find out. If you've ever seen what takes place in a puppy mill -- there was a good segment on it done on the Oprah show -- you would know the quite mind numbing and perverse way dogs are not bred, but farmed. These mill dogs are never allowed out of their cages, not even to eliminate. Many of the dogs don't even know how to walk, because they just never had. They are never given veterinary care; the more severe the vet needs are, the easier it becomes to throw the dogs out and just make brand new ones. Bitches are bred repeatedly and endlessly, in a cage, until they grow old and are finally euthanized.

This was probably a worst case scenario. But if a breeder is unwilling to show you their place of operation, you have every logical reason to be unconvinced they are not trying to hide something from you. Typical evasion would be insisting on delivering the dog to your home or meeting you halfway in some intermediate site like a parking lot to deliver the dog to you. If you were running a puppy mill, this would be the obvious thing to do. As a buyer, insist that you must see their place and their dogs in their current living environment. As long as they're doing everything right, they should have no reason to object.

What you should expect to see is a nice home, suitable for a good happy doggy life, just like you would provide. The dogs should be being fed, bathed, groomed, walked, trained, played with, and perhaps allowed to watch TV on the sofa. Why? Because unless you've owned a dog, and even if you have, good breeders know and care about dogs probably a whole lot more than you do.

Ask If They Have Any Requirements of You As an Owner

If they have little interest in your living conditions or overall situation as it relates to your ability to provide an excellent environment for a pet, do not trust that they operate an ethical practice. Good breeders will give you a long questionaire. Don't be peeved about it, because every question you must answer is a reason to have confidence that your dog is coming from an honest, reliable breeder. They will often even investigate your home to be sure you're telling them the truth, just like with a child adoption.

Ask If They Have Relationships With Puppy Stores

If a breeder sells his dogs to a store or a broker, he'll have no way of knowing where the dogs will end up. This is a clear indication that dogs are perceived as a commodity rather than living creatures that should be regarded with concern and respect. We recommend not supporting his practice by giving him your business.

If you're thinking of purchasing a dog from a store, please reconsider. All puppy stores, every one on Earth, get their dogs from inethical sources. Many dog store owners are not even aware of it, so don't be illusioned by their false innocence. Even though the dogs are irresistable -- the business is designed to thrive on our impulses -- by buying a dog from a store, you are only helping to perpetuate the practice of inethical breeding. In terms of the big picture, dog stores, brokers, and their suppliers need to be legislated and eliminated, not just "frowned upon" as they are now. Boycotting and stirring up taboo about it with people you know will help to gradually make that a reality.

Ask For What Reason They Breed Their Dogs

Good breeders think more like scientists than entrepreneurs. The only really right answer is that their dogs will make an ideal genetic contribution to the future of the breed. Any answer terribly off this path signifies ignorance, indifference, and / or potential cruelty.

Ask If They Are Registered, and With Whom

A breeder being registered with a major club is not really a sign of anything. There are a couple of loose guarantees that come with a registered breeder, like a code of ethics and the fact that their dogs are purebred. But these are not enforced by any means. It is what not being registered with a major club but instead being registered with a less known, second rate organization tacitly indicates.

It is clear that breeders in this group are keen on reputation by club endorsement. So what this situation probably tells is they did, or didn't do, something that meritted not being accepted by any of the major clubs, like being a puppy mill, and had registered with anyone who would take them because they felt they ought to be endorsed by someone.

Long story short, there is usually no good reason a breeder will be registered with an unknown company instead of being registered with a major club; it just sends the message that they failed to establish a membership with major registry. If this is the case, we recommend suspicion and that you find another breeder.

The major dog clubs include:
• American Kennel Club
• Canadian Kennel Club
• The Kennel Club
• United Kennel Club

Again, keep in mind that being registered with a major club is not necessarily a sign of quality. It just means they've met the bare minimum requirements and are not a complete disaster.

Ask Them About Payment Flexibility

The truth is a good breeder will be more flexible with a buyer if they truly believe they are the best prospective owner. This is simply a reflection on their desire to provide the best possible life for their dogs. A breeder that hardballs you like a car salesman is probably not that kind of a breeder. The exception is when a breeder has already acquired a list of worthy clients who are able to offer the dog more than you are. Generally though, if dogs are dollar signs, then consider the breeder a question mark.

Be Sure They're Not Manufacturing Dogs

Are they mass producing? You would have to see their place of business or try to find many ads they placed for the many different dogs they have for sale. If you discover they're producing puppies in mass, that's a great way for them to keep costs down and maximize profit. Why should a commercial breeder spend $10 on maintaining one dog when he could spend $5 each on two, $1 on ten, or even 50 cents on twenty? If they can get away with the bare minimum, they will try. Nothing of great quality is that abundantly produced by a small organization such as a breeder. A good breeder will only have a handful of dogs at a time.

Ask If They Are USDA Licensed

If they proceed to nod and pull out a certificate for you to verify, raise a brow. A USDA license is required of all breeders who transact in large quantities of dog sales. Although this is not always true, it is often the giveaway of a puppy mill.

Again, good breeders will rarely have more than a handful of pups available at any given time. This is because they can only properly take care of so many pups at a time.

Be Sure They're Not Pitching You Dogs as a Business Opportunity

Buy a dog from us, breed her, and get quadruple your money back! They don't know you, and they expect you to breed? Surely they have no interest in what is to happen with future generations of their dogs. How do they know you're not going to run off and start a puppy mill? If they don't care about what you're going to do, this is surely a reflection on how they operate their own practice.

A good breeder will typically encourage spaying or neutering. Some will insist upon it, or include the cost of the surgery in their pricing. They have no interest in pitching you anything. As a matter of fact, you will most likely feel more like the salesman, as good breeders are the ones that need to be convinced that you are the best possible owner for their canine babies.

Finally, Pass This Page on to Your Friends and Family

Some people you know have probably already acquired a dog through a puppy mill without knowing about it. It's not because they're bad people. It's because they were never educated on what goes on in the dog market. Lets change that!

The second button in the toolbar below will allow you to email this page to your friends. Next to that is the Link button that will provide you with the HTML code to link to us from your blog or website. Get this to as many people as you can, even those who are not currently dog owners, because one day they may wish to be!

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