STACKING THE DECK

What I Look for in a Breeder

For starters, this is what I look for, I am not saying this is what everyone should look for. We all have different things we need or want, which influence what we look for in a breeder. There may be things I have not considered due to having had a different set of experiences from another person.

While I have owned well bred dogs, poorly bred dogs and shelter mutts and have mostly been very lucky, it is best to do the leg work well before you are ready to bring home a dog.

When I am considering purchase of a pure bred dog here are some things I look for.

The Obvious Things:

If you are reading this I can only assume you are either interested in my opinion on this, and/or you are looking for a responsible, ethical breeder. So this first part might echo others' thoughts on this topic.

PURPOSE:

We have to start somewhere, and for me I think ultimate success begins here. It is important to think about what you want for your future life with your dog before you select a breeder. For me, I like to participate in Conformation showing, and in various dog sports. So it is important to me to have a dog that has potential to be successful in the show ring, and is biddable and people oriented in order to make sports training fun for both myself and the dog, and for me lure drive is important. I also have limited access to most dog sport venues, so though I want a dog who is capable of having success in various venues, I also would look for a breeder who understands that my journey will be a slower one than if I had more access. A pet owner who is looking for a quiet calm house companion would not necessarily be as happy with the busier dogs I like. There is often a range within a litter, and you can have the whole spectrum in a litter, but in general you stack the deck in your favor by selecting a breeder who purposefully selects for traits that make a dog successful in venues you are interested in. If the only purpose for the litter being bred is to be sold, I would choose another breeder.

HEALTH:

Unless you adopt a dog with known health issues, most people do not envision life with their new dog being an endless series of vet visits, medical interventions or ending in an early death. Barring accidents, we all expect our life journey with our puppies to be 10+ years long. One way we can do our part to stack the deck in our favor is to select a breeder who fully health tests their breeding stock, and is transparent with those results, and who selects pairs for breeding with health and genetic diversity in mind.

All established dog breeds have breed Parent Clubs. These breed clubs will have a lot of information about the breed, and included will be health information, including common health issues in the breed and any testing recommended by the breed club. A responsible ethical breeder will complete recommended testing of all breeding stock prior to breeding, and will repeat tests as appropriate, and make the results public.

One thing to remember, is that sometimes health issues pop up unexpectedly, in spite of the best efforts of all. A breeder who produces a dog with a health problem is not necessarily a "bad breeder". What is done with the information is what makes the difference, do they try to bury the information? Or do they take that information and use it to re-evaluate their program and make some difficult decisions?

For Silkens, the recommended testing is found on the OFA WEBSITE. Any test that is not a DNA based test should be repeated every 2-3 years throughout the life of the dog.

Dogs who have an incorrect temperament should not be bred.

Silken Windhounds have a small genetic pool and as a result most have a high percentage of inbreeding. In order to ensure that this does not cause adverse health effects for individual dogs or the breed as a whole, it is important for breeders to keep genetic diversity in mind when choosing pairings. This is not a simple or straightforward task, and it is important for a potential puppy buyer to have conversations with the breeder if they have questions regarding the selection of breeding pairs.

HUSBANDRY:

There are a lot of ways of raising and keeping dogs, and many of those may or may not line up with what I consider ethical.

Dogs should be kept in safe, secure and sanitary living conditions, they must be fed an appropriate diet, and receive regular veterinary care.

I look for a breeder whose dogs live in the home with them, although I am not opposed to breeders placing dogs in appropriate co-ownerships. The dogs living spaces and yard should be clean and sanitary. Dogs should not be allowed to wander at large, ride unsecured in the back of a truck, or otherwise be put in unnecessarily dangerous situations. Dogs should be kept safe from household accidents or dog fights utilizing crates if necessary. If you are looking into a breeder and they have "lost" a large number of dogs due to accidents, escapes etc. look elsewhere.

Dogs should be fed an appropriate diet. This might be a balanced raw diet or a commercial diet. The diet should be balanced and nutritionally complete and support the health of the dog at each stage of its life. Dogs should have healthy coats and skin and be at an appropriate weight.

Dogs should see a veterinarian yearly for a check up just like people should. Dogs should be kept up to date on their vaccinations as well as heartworm preventative for those in areas prone to heartworm or for those who travel to areas prone to heartworm. Dogs should also be seen by a vet when they suffer accidents or illness.

Finally I would like to add that dogs should also have the opportunity to lead mentally enriched lives. It would be possible for a breeder to keep dogs in crates for the majority of their lives and check off every item mentioned above, and that would not be what I would consider good husbandry. Dogs should have the opportunity to be mentally enriched through toys and play and training as well as socially enriched through interactions with people and other dogs.

A responsible dog owner, or breeder will only keep the number of animals they can care for in reference to the items mentioned above.

Husbandry above all is why it is important to develop a relationship with your breeder. It is really easy in the age of social media to create a false narrative online. It is much harder to do so in person.

BREEDING PRACTICES & PUPPY REARING:

I look for breeders who prioritize health and welfare of their dogs and resulting offspring above all else. To ensure this, as stated above, all breed specific health testing should be done prior to breeding. Some testing cannot be done prior to 2 years of age, and many dogs are not physically mature before this age, thus dogs should not be bred prior to this age. Conversely most ethical breeders will not breed a dog after 7 years of age, due to an increase in potential health complications. This is another good place to have a conversation with the breeder of a litter if you have questions about the timing of a litter.

Like I mentioned previously, Silken Windhounds have smaller genetic pool, having longer intervals between generations can benefit the breed as a whole in the long run, reducing genetic bottlenecks and allowing for more information on health an longevity when breeding future generations.

Another considerations is to look at how often the dogs in a breeding program are bred. Again, in Silkens, the small gene pool means that is is irresponsible to allow one individual dog to reproduce too many litters. This could lead to a genetic bottleneck within the breed, and if that individual develops a health concern after producing a large number of offspring this could lead to breed wide health crisis. Most agree that ideally individuals should produce 1-3 litters with a few exceptions.

Can the breeder explain why they choose a breeding pair, do they know how the dogs compliment each other conformationally according to the breed standard? If they cannot answer this question, it might be best to move on.

Bitches in season should be housed properly to ensure unplanned litters do not happen, and once bred they should receive proper vet care and nutrition to support a pregnancy. Bitches should whelp indoors ideally under the supervision of the breeder.

Puppy rearing, there is a lot to raising a litter. For me it comes down to these things, early socialization, vet care, and husbandry. I prefer to bring home puppies who have been raised indoors, specifically inside the home, using a puppy socialization program such as puppy culture or avidog. These programs lay out for breeders, a plan for introducing puppies to novel experience and can help develop them into dogs who approach new places, people and experience with confidence.

In addition to early socialization, I look for breeders who have a third party help to evaluate puppies temperament and conformation, a breeder may or may not choose to publicize the results beyond the hopeful puppy buyers. Many breeders will choose a puppy for you based on these evaluations and it makes me more comfortable to know they were done by a non-biased 3rd party.

Puppies should remain with their litter until a minimum of 8 weeks of age, but can benefit from staying with their litter until 10-12 weeks in order to continue to learn social skills and receive additional vaccinations.

Puppies should see the vet at least once before being placed with their new families. Many breeders administer their own vaccines at home, however puppies should still be examined by a vet before being sold. It is also good to keep in mind that some vets will not honor vaccines given outside of a vet clinic. This is because the vaccines are extremely sensitive to fluctuations in temperature which could render them ineffective. This means a vet may require you to start your vaccination protocol over.

One thing that sometimes shocks people who are new to well bred dogs is a puppy contract. It is my opinion that a good contract is essential. A good puppy contract is fair to both parties, and should at its very core protect the puppy. It is a written agreement that clearly lays out the responsibilities of both parties. It should include a health guarantee, a guarantee of parentage, and a first right of refusal in the even that a puppy buyer cannot keep the dog for its entire life. Some contracts are quite extensive and some are quite short. If you do not understand the contract you should ask the breeder to clarify, and you should also ask if any of the terms are open to negotiation. If you are not comfortable with a contract even after discussing it with a breeder, it might be best to look elsewhere.

The LESS Obvious Things:

When choosing a breeder, we often become focused on the wonderful dog we will be bringing home. We start checking off all of the boxes and making all of the plans and we overlook something that can make all the difference. The breeder. Not their dogs. The human behind the dogs. This is a person you are agreeing to have a relationship with for at least a decade. What does your gut say?

In a small breed community it can be hard to check out the credentials of a breeder discretely, everyone knows everyone and there are biases. But it is worth asking around, check with their puppy buyers, co-breeders and those who have sold puppies to the breeder. You can also search for online reviews (though that is not always the most accurate picture). An ethical responsible breeder will not be threatened by your diligence.

Here are some questions to consider:

• Is the breeder experienced in the breed? If this is their first litter consider looking into their mentors.

• Is the breeder easy to communicate with, do you get reasonable response time for questions? Are your questions encouraged?

• Do they seem transparent or evasive when you ask questions?

• Have they been caught misrepresenting their breeding program?

• What is their reputation in the breed?

• Do they disparage others in the breed unprompted and without cause?

• Do they avoid letting you see their property or dogs?

If you are experiencing second thoughts (or just have a "bad feeling") due to these less obvious things, it may be best to find a different breeder. Especially if this is your first dog, or fist of this breed.

As much as you are checking out the breeder, you should expect the same from them, they should deeply interested in you, your lifestyle, your living situation, what you do with your current dogs and former dogs, and your reputation. If all they want is your money and seem uninterested in developing a relationship with you, it might be better to look elsewhere.

Final Thoughts:

Finally it is important to understand, purchasing a dog from an ethical breeder stacks the deck in your favor, but it is not a guarantee of a perfect dog. Sometimes dogs get sick, or they do not grow into the potential they had as puppies. Dogs develop fears and sometimes become reactive in spite of the efforts made to prevent such things. And unfortunately sometimes a breeder who looks good online, does not line up with your personal ethics or goals, or they were unethical or irresponsible and went undetected until it was too late.