How doomed are we?

[ashp]

My fiancee has found a boxer puppy up in Maine that she wants to buy, and I wanted to ask you guys about it. First, it's basically a backyard breeder. No matter how I want to twist things, that's the case.

I don't have much information about the breeder, other than my fiancee went to visit them and they were very nice, indoor kennels, etc, but they didn't give her any pedigree information.

The mother is 1.5 years old so they haven't done testing, yet my research found there's a few bits you can do before 2 years. The father was a 'paid stud' and they didn't know his genetic history offhand, but I'm still waiting to hear back on them on it.

While they were open and friendly and knew about genetic testing and how much is done at 24 months, it still makes me feel this is a terrible plan and it's all going to end badly.

The trouble is my fiancee has, of course, fallen in love with the puppy and it's going to be very hard for me to say no, and she'll be very resentful. How bad is the risk in reality, I know there's an element of risk with all dogs, regardless of testing.

Also, if you know any breeders in Maine with puppies soon that do have all the genetic testing done, let me know fast! (Or new hampshire, potentially, if it wasn't far over the border).

 

[gmacleod]

I agree with you that it would be a much better idea to take a pass on this pup, and get one from a responsible breeder instead. A big factor is the greater risks you'd be taking, in terms of the dog suffering from debilitating and very expensive conditions. But another big a factor is outright ethics.

What you've got there is a breeder that knows about the genetically inherited conditions that affect this breed, and who knows they should be screening for them - but isn't bothering. Does that mean that they don't care about producing dogs that are going to live long and healthy lives? Or they're quite happy to put out animals that will be crippled by dysplasia by age 3? And quite happy for the new owners to have to shell out thousands for hip replacement surgery, or to go through the heartbreak of the dog suddenly dropping dead at a young age from an inherited heart condition? Screening doesn't guarantee unaffected pups, but it dramatically decreases the risk of those conditions.

They've also bred an underage puppy. Boxers don't even finish growing skeletally until about 18 months, yet this poor bitch has been made to whelp a litter by that age. If this person cares so little for the health and wellbeing of their own dogs, it really doesn't give any confidence that they might care in the slightest for the health of the one they're trying to sell to you.

Do you really want to support this person financially? If you do, the likelihood of them producing another unscreened litter from an underage pup is very high. But if you refuse to buy because of their unethical practices - there is a small chance that they might actually change their ways. If it's not profitable, there's a lot less incentive to do it.

As for finding a responsible breeder, Boxerworld does not allow solicitations or promotion of individual breeders. The best place to start looking is your nearest boxer club (or an all-breeds club, should there not be a boxer club near you). Not everyone who's a member is necessarily going to be doing proper screening, so you still need to check and see test results. But it's still a good starting place, since a club should be able to point you in the direction of any breeder members who DO follow an appropriate screening programme. And if those people don't happen to have upcoming litters, they may well be able to refer you to another who does. You can find a list of boxer clubs at: http://www.americanboxerclub.org/us-boxer-clubs.html

 

[Biff]

GMac has said it all.

You could be lucky, and this poor pup could have a long, healthy happy life with you both, but I wouldn't put odds on that being the case

Please convince your fiancee NOT to buy this poor pup, thus supporting these unscrupulous BYB's.

We are currently looking for a wee sister for Biff, and as GMac says, you'll find the list of reputable breeders quite easily.

Good luck!

The mother is 1.5 years old

:eek: I am shocked!!!!! She is still a baby! :eek:

 

[ashp]

GMac has said it all.

You could be lucky, and this poor pup could have a long, healthy happy life with you both, but I wouldn't put odds on that being the case

Please convince your fiancee NOT to buy this poor pup, thus supporting these unscrupulous BYB's.

We are currently looking for a wee sister for Biff, and as GMac says, you'll find the list of reputable breeders quite easily.

Good luck!

:eek: I am shocked!!!!! She is still a baby! :eek:

:( I haven't found any decent clubs in maine for breeders yet, maybe I'm not looking in the right places but I haven't found anything good at all.

I'll keep looking however!

 

[ELubas]

You may find you have to go further a field to find a pup that at least has the odds in his favor of having a long healthy life. I drove five hours and across two states for my last girl. Also, good breeders are not producing pups constantly . They breed very discriminately and not often so it is not unusual to wait a year or more for a sound pup. As the Mom of a SAS boy please wait -aside from the expense-which has been HUGE with him, it is the suffering the dog goes through that will break your heart. Syncope, epliletic seizures, thyroid problems that presented as aggression. I could go on and on. Of course there are no guaruntees but you got to give it your best shot. Your fiancee sounds like she has a big heart and tell her you would hate to see that heart broken if , God forbid, she ended up with the sweetest pup in the world, like I did, only to have her literally collpase and die in my arms at three years old. These BYB are not standing by then to offer comfort, believe me. Best of luck in your search and you may want to check out rescue as well.

 

[Bodiesmom]

http://www.americanboxerclub.org/usboxersites.html

This is a link to boxer breeders. I found it on the AKC website, but it is a link to the ABC.

As previous posters stated you may have to travel outside of your area to find a good breeder. You may also have to wait a while for a puppy. When we first started looking we e-mailed every breeder in the area and let them know we were interested in a puppy. They were great about referring us to other breeders who were expecting puppies. We were told about Bodie by a friend of his breeder only an hour after she decided not to keep him for a show puppy.

IMO, it is worth the leg work and time to find the perfect puppy. Have your girlfriend come to this site and read the stories about puppies from byb. It is certainly worth the wait for a pup that will be healthy.

 

[ashp]

Well, potential good news! I've emailed a breeder down in MA who has a litter due in early August. Hopefully she'll consider me for one of the puppies!

We've only just got in contact, so there's lots of communication left to do, but they have a very nice website with lots of information on their championships, some absolutely ADORABLE boxers, and were very nice through email.

I'm going to wait to hear back from them, then persuade my fiancee it's OK to wait a month. I'm going to tell the BYB the reason we're looking at other dogs is their failure to provide genetic history, and the young age of the dog they have bred (1.5 years). While I doubt they'll change their ways, you never know!

 

[Biff]

appicon That's great news!

A month is not long to wait, it gives you lots of time to shop for puppy things!

Good luck - I'm keeping my fingers crossed here!

 

[ashp]

appicon That's great news!

A month is not long to wait, it gives you lots of time to shop for puppy things!

Good luck - I'm keeping my fingers crossed here!

That's bad news, because in a month I bet I could find thousands of dollars of puppy stuff!

 

[ashp]

I do have one quick question: The original puppy we saw, I know the bitch is 1.5 years old so she's too young to have some tests, but which of the tests should she have done?

I plan to call them tonight, but I wanted to explain our decision and tell them what tests they are supposed to have done. While it probably is, is it too late to have them do the testing now and if they both pass clear then the puppies would be technically OK?

My fiancee is devastated because she met the puppy and it's breaking my heart. :(