The Small Professional Breeder – Part 1

If your new puppy hasn’t eaten as much as you think he should, if he sneezes once too often for your liking, if he howls all night when you think he should be adjusted to his new surroundings – then you can thank your lucky stars that you purchased the little guy from a small professional breeder.

Help is usually just a simple phone call away. Small professional breeders are like the Doctors back in the days whom, just like in those old television shows, would rush right over if anyone in the family had a cold, always ready and available with a sympathetic ear and good solid advice!

Small professional breeders are usually true and devoted dog lovers in every sense of the word. They are normally very active in breed clubs whose goal is the betterment of the breed. These devoted animal lovers literally eat, sleep, breath, and live for dogs! You can find them ringside at local dog shows and at dog matches. They are professionals, but the smaller breeder is lucky if he or she financially breaks even at the end of the year. For them, it is not about the money at all, it is for the dogs.

Small Professional Breeders Are Very Careful About Selecting New Owners

In dealing with a larger breeder, one gets the feeling that they really care where their puppies wind up; but be prepared when taking on the small professional breeder, because specific questioning they may make you feel like the FBI or the CIA are all conspiring to gather as much information about you as possible!

At times, prospective buyers have found this to be offensive, but actually, it is to be admired. These breeders breed on an average scale. Chances are they have only five or six dogs in their kennel. Some small breeders have only two – the male and the female.

The small professional breeder usually will have one or two litters a year, which are products of carefully planned breeding, infinite care, and patience. To place these puppies with the right people becomes the breeder’s sole reason for being. Some small breeders make baby adoption agencies seem pale by comparison.

Be prepared for such questions as: “Do you have a fenced in yard?” “Are there any other dogs in your house?” “How many and how old are they?” “What are their sexes?” “Where are they kept?” “Where are you planning to put your new puppy?” “How much time during the day are you able to spend with your new puppy?” “What about the weekends?”

These questions make a good deal more sense than the novice puppy buyers can sometimes understand. Many buyers do not give sufficient thought to the proper adjustments that the new puppy will have to make in his different surroundings. He will be in a new home, having left the only one he has ever known, plus the people who loved and cared for him, as well as his littermates.