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1) Questions about breeders and 2) English Bulldog owners
A friend of H's is interested in buying an English Bulldog, even after all my 'rescue a dog' advocating. I've been volunteering at a shelter for many years, I thought I had all my friends convinced to only adopt!
Anyway... I don't know anything about buying dogs. I'd like him to find at least a reputable breeder, as I know these dogs are already prone to so many medical issues, I'd like to make sure he's at least getting it from somewhere decent.
Question for those who have gone through reputable breeders: what should I tell him to look for? I have read a little on these boards that if the breeder will fly out a dog to you without you coming to see it, that's a bad sign, right? Are there other bad signs that he should be on the lookout for?
He told me he 'found a breeder' that is selling puppies for less than $1k. (no, I don't know the website, but I do want to get it from him when I see him next to take a look at it's 'legitness'- word?!) My first question regarding English Bulldogs specifically: doesn't that seem low for an English Bulldog? Again, I have zero experience buying dogs, but I thought these were a high demand/high priced dog, so finding a reputable breeder that is selling them for under $1k already seems fishy to me. What do you think is a standard price for buying an English Bulldog puppy from a reputable breeder?
Does anyone have any knowledge of reputable breeders/websites I can give him? We live in the Chicagoland area if that makes a difference.
Also, medically/financially speaking... I'd like to give him an idea of what to expect to pay (either monthly, or yearly) for this type of breed. A friend of mine, her sister had one. She had to buy it special food, go to monthly check up's for GI issues, etc, but it was years ago and she didn't really remember what everything cost.
I don't love the idea of him buying a dog. But it's what he has his heart set on. I would at least like to make sure he has all his facts before just going out and making a mistake he can't afford.
Re: 1) Questions about breeders and 2) English Bulldog owners
Honestly, the money thing isn't a red flag for me. It's hard to judge someone based solely on the price of the dog. This is what I would look for:
He has to go pick up his puppy himself - see the place were the puppy was raised and the parent dogs (or sometimes the mother dog only if the breeder used a stud from another kennel).
Does he want this dog as a companion or to show? I'd make sure the breeder has a contract with a limited registration for a companion puppy - which means it has to be neutered and no "puppies" from that dog can ever be registered if there should be some.
Also an important thing in the contract is the willingness of the breeder to take the puppy/dog back at any time if it does not work out in his home.
The breeder should be breeding champions, maintaining puppies from litters and going to lots of breed specific shows to develop more champions. They should be very knowledgable about the breed and have lots of connections with other reputible breeders.
I'd say one litter a year is pretty standard, sometimes less. I wouldn't see a red flag for two litters a year.
Health testing and pedigree investigation before the breeder decides to breed her pup. That way they can eliminate any bad qualities they do not want. This is important.
Overall the goal of the breeder is to better the breed standard. I hope this helps, there are other ladies who might have more useful information.
It's nice of you to help him out. Why does he want one? I can only assume he's done next to no research about them, based on your desire to give him some idea of their health problems/costs. If he'd done any homework, he'd probably already know this. And yes, I think that's probably a very low price for an EBD.
The first place he should probably go is to a local and/or national EBD club website. In addition to possibly providing links to reputable breeders, there will probably be a wealth of information about the challenges and costs associated with owning that breed.
Good luck, I hope he takes your advice!
I don't know anything about breeders, but doesn't someone on here have a super freaking adorable English bulldog mix foster? You should show him those pictures. He is the cutest thing ever. It might convince him to adopt.
Snow!
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home DHe wants a companion dog, not a show dog. So if he tells the breeder he wants a companion dog, he should make sure the contract says he will get the dog neutered?
Do breeder websites specifically tell you how many litters a year they have? Or is that something you have to contact the breeder about? Are there ususally long waits for this breed then if they 'should' only have 1-2 litters a year?
His family had a rescue dog who passed away just a few months ago. I've only known this guy for 3 years, but H said he's always really liked EBD's. I'm very positive he's done ZERO research in regards to all of this. And as a crazy dog lover, I want to make sure he does his homework before he just falls in love with a cute face. I'll check out an EBD national club website. Thanks.
http://www.thebca.org/
I just googled Bulldog club... Is this a good website to get breeder referrals?
See, I know NOTHING about this. Give me a stray mutt from the shelter, and I'm good... Haha.
I'd ask for OFA numbers and walk if they said they don't have them, or worse, ask what that is. Some good breeders will ship, but I'd be very wary in the case of brachycephalic (squish faced) breeds like bulldogs, especially with summer coming p.
Bulldogs are one of the most expensive dogs out there. Due to medical issues, cost of OFA testing, and difficulty breeding....they're expensive to purchase, and even more expensive to own. Past bully owners here have easily spent over 10k on their dogs. Even on well bred dogs. They're prone to skin problems, joint problems, and breathing problems. Those adorable wrinkly folds should be cleaned daily. They snore, and are champion drool slingers.
Has he gone to any dog shows to talk to owners/breeders? Thats a goodlace to start, but there's also shady folk there, so he still needs to look around.
Have you seen my monkey?
Nital has some great advice. The price you gave on the litter he is looking at is really low to me for a bulldog so it's probably not a responsible situation (for all the reasons she gave - I agree too).
If he is truly interested in taking the time and research it takes to work with a responsible breeder, first I would start with the national breed club list. Then I would see if there are local breed clubs that they can contact for help. Both should have lists of breeders who meet the criteria for AKC Responsible Breeder as well as sign their national breed club's ethics statements. Then I absolutely would go to local breed club events (often they are with dogs so you can meet them and make sure that it's a good breed for you) and go to dog shows to meet up with the people they have contacted and see the dogs in person.
From there, he will need to contact breeders and inquire on health of dogs, how they are raised, OFA and necessary health tests for the breed, temperaments, what they look for a home, contacts (should have limited registration for a companion), etc. You should be able to find some good questionnaires by google but if you need more help on questions please ask. It's not black and white for every answer but it's a matter of the whole picture.
If nothing else, just try to convince him to spend at least an hour online reading up on these dogs, and to very seriously consider if this is something he wants to get himself into. When I first got interested in Swissies, I read the short little blurbs about them and thought one would be perfect for us. Then I dug deeper, started talking to breeders, and got the real dirt about how they're prone to incontinence, impossible to house train before 6 months (at the earliest), no breeder will let you neuter a male until he's 18-24 mos old, epilepsy, massive shedding, BOSSY, the list goes on. And we still decided to get one, but at least we went into it with our eyes wide open, you know? And even after all that, the reality was a bit of a shock. I love my dog and wouldn't trade him for the world, but if I had known first-hand how much work owning this breed would be, back when we were first looking, I might have chosen a different one.
Relay all that to him, if you want to give him a cautionary tale.
Lurker with an english bulldog -
I honestly don't know anything about finding a reputable breeder because I now know that I got my dog from a BYB. He's fully papered and came from a very nice family but still. However, I would be very wary of any breeder who advertises them for $1,000.
We have been very, very lucky with our dog. He does have hip dysplasia, but we just make sure to keep his weight down and he does really well.
We've had very minor issues with allergies and his ears, but nothing that we couldn't fix by changing is food.
They are not an easy breed. They are pretty high maintenance, and not easy to train. Conan knows commands, but his stubborn streak prevents him from following them if he doesn't want to. Honestly, his stobborn streak out lasts my determination to train him properly .
My cousin has an EB and she had so many recurring ear infections that they ended up removing something in her ears (I want to say the drums but I can't be sure) and sewing her hears shut. She also had her ACL operated on twice I think. She has horrible allergy problems. They have thousand and thousands of dollars into the dog.
Would I get another english bulldog? Nope, not unless it was a rescue and I could put the money I saved by not buying one toward the potential medical bills. I love my dog so much, and I can't imagine him not sneezing in my face every morning, stinking up the house with his gas, and snoring so loud I can't hear the TV. But we got very, very lucky with him. Especially considering my lack of knowledge about breeders, picking pups etc when I got him. It wouldn't be worth the risk of the health problems to me to get another.
Me: 32 | He: 35
TTC since Sept 2011
DX: Unexplained
1st round of clomid: Jan 2013 BFP - M/C 8 weeks
surprise BFP Apr 2013 - M/C 9 weeks
IUI #1 clomid Jul 2013 = BFN
IUI #2 clomid Aug 2013 = BFN
IUI #3 injects Oct 2013 = BFN
IUI #4 injects Dec 2013 = BFN
IVF #1 March 2014 - 12R/12F, one perfect day 5 blast transferred
BFP!! Beta#1 = 431 Beta#2 = 914 Beta#3 = 2207 HB = 166!!
Depends on the breeder and how much they use the interwebz. Lots of great breeders have crappy websites, either because they're not web savvy, they don't need to advertise, or they don't have time because showing/breeding responsibly is a very expensive hobby and they need real jobs to support it.
Good breeders often have wait lists, (the breeder I stalk was taking name's for her 2012 litters in 2010), but sometimes they will have a dog available because another buyer fell through.
Ideally I like to see a female bred only every other year, but some breeders wait until their dogs are a little older to breed, and may breed once a year for 2-3 years and then retire the dam. A breeder may also have multiple females, so 2 litters a year isn't necessarily a warning sign. The breeder I stalk mentions ALL litters from her dogs, even of they're owned by other people. So while we might see 3 litters in year, they're from all over the country and 3 different dams.
Breeding responsibly is a very gray area even among responsible breeders, so it's honestly not easy to tell good breeders from mediocre breeders without talking to them extensively. The health of the dogs is of utmost importance to me, which is why I use OFA as a prelim screening. Good breeders are also very picky about who gets their dogs, so another good "test" is to call them and say you want a puppy, where can you send the deposit. A bad breeder will immediately tell you how to pay them. A good breeder will tell you to slow down and make sure the breed is right for you, and that you will be a good owner.
Have you seen my monkey?