Congrats on deciding that you want to add a puppy to your family!  Now, how do you find the right breeder? Any breeder can “talk the talk”, but to really know if they can “walk the walk”, you’ll need to do further investigation.

​​

Of course, you want to buy the healthiest and happiest puppy from a legitimate breeder, but how do you know which breeder to trust and which breeder to avoid?

​

Unfortunately the dog breeding industry is not regulated as much as it should be in certain states of Australia, so it’s important to do your homework before purchasing a puppy and ensure you are supporting from an ethical breeder. No one wants to support puppy farms!  In this day and age, they can be cleverly disguised, so the best you can do is do your research before adopting your new best friend.

​

We have put together some information and questions to ask any breeder, which will help you decide on where to purchase your next puppy (even if it’s not us!).

​

Be are strong believers that you should at least consider a rescue first before purchasing from a breeder. Some people promote “adopt, don’t shop”, and there are many situations where adopting a rescue is totally appropriate and wonderful for many people. Sometimes, people are wary of adopting a dog where not too much is known about their background or traits, especially older dogs who may have developed difficult behavioural issues.  In saying that, this is not always the case and there can be many amazing dogs that end up being great family pets and companions. There are valid reasons for adopting as well as valid reasons for buying a puppy from a reputable breeder.  At the end of the day, it’s entirely up to you.

​​​

Having assisted in rescue and fostered dogs through rescue organisations over the years, we understand the current problem with shelters and rescue organisations being overrun with surrendered dogs due to irresponsible breeding and breeders not taking responsibility for the puppies they originally bred.  We have never contributed to this unfortunate problem and will always find the right homes for our dogs - for their entire lives.  This is written in to our puppy sale contracts.

​

Even as a small scale breeder (we are classified as a "microbreeder"), we are very selective on what dogs can or should be bred from and the genuine purpose of fulfilling our goals for breed development.

​

If you decide upon a puppy from a breeder, you should at least be aware of how to 'SCREEN' a breeder

​

Anyone can say they health test dogs and be a member of any breeding organisation and appear ethical at first glance, BUT what separates a good breeder from a not-so-good one? 

​

​​Good and serious breeders:

 

- Breed dogs for a legitimate purpose or goal, with the main purpose being breed development and producing notable working dogs bred for a specific purpose  (not 'designer dogs' for the pet market)

​

-  Allow you to meet their puppies and dogs. There is no legitimate excuse why you can't meet them before purchase. This is a really important one!​

​​​

- Do not have a constant flow of puppies available. Focus on quality, not quantity. To check how often a breeder produces pups, check their social media pages (if they have one)

​

- Sell their puppies under a fair and legally enforceable contracts where both parties mutually agree to any amendments, which also includes a return/re-homing clause (so the dogs don't end up in a rescue or shelter). Contracts should also include desexing clauses and breeding conditions

​

-  Do not breed for the purpose of financial gain and their only source of income. You can see this usually by the volume of puppies being produced/advertised

​

-  Ensure health testing (hips/elbows and DNA testing)

​

- Know the health behind their bloodlines and track and keep health data in a breed-specific database

 

- Breeding dogs that are temperamentally sound and have been assessed by someone in some kind of authority (i.e. a breed club representative or trainer)

​​

- Breeding to a Breed Standard, knowing their dogs faults and virtues and where they need improvement

​​

-  Good breeders are experienced with canine behaviour and training so they can guide and mentor and assist their puppy owners when needed

​

-  Puts a lot of effort into training their own dogs to be good representatives of the breed

​

- Put a lot of time and effort into developing their dogs to be good representations of the breed, with training and  enrichment

​​​​

I have always had strong opinions on how dogs should be part of the family and how they should live their lives. I am passionately against breeders who collect dozens of dogs where they have to live most of their lives in enclosures. I believe that there is no way that dogs can live fulfilling lives in such an environment. While laws vary from State to State, dogs who are kept in enclosures are only permitted to exercised at least and only 10 minutes twice a day outside their enclosure. For working breeds especially, I feel that this not good enough in terms of animal welfare. Inmates in jail are allowed more time outside their cell! There is no way that any governing authority can check whether a breeder is letting dogs out for exercise, even at such minimal periods.

 

Some people don't like to show you how they keep their dogs, especially if they have dozens who locked in small enclosures/pens.  It is my hope that all states of Australia legislate this much better one day.

​​

To me, dog breeding is a passionate hobby and huge responsibility with an ethical purpose.  Dogs are known as “man’s best friend” for a reason. Bringing new life into the world is a sacred responsibility, and should be done for the right reasons.

​​​

QUESTIONS TO ASK BREEDERS

How many dogs do you keep on your property?

We can’t stress this enough - always visit the breeder’s property. Are their dogs in cages or enclosures most of the time? Some breeders live rural and have neighbouring livestock so it’s not unreasonable to have dogs in an enclosure for their own safety while unsupervised…. but how does this look? Are the enclosures clean, a good size where the dogs can run around? What do their enclosures look like?  How many dogs do they own?  Small, communal enclosures often are very unhygienic environments. It’s not uncommon to have puppies get sick from infections and disease, and even die. If it's not a place where you'd like to be spending most of your time if you were a dog, walk the other way.

​

Breeders who allow all their dogs to live in the home and backyard and be part of the family (and also raise pups this way), tend who have puppies with much more stable and balanced temperaments, especially if the parents are both sound in temperament (which you should check in person).

​​

Can I visit your property to see your dogs and pups?

​​

Getting a puppy is a big decision and a lifetime responsibility, so you do not want to make such an important decision over the phone or via email without even talking to the breeder or seeing their dogs or puppies in person.

 

Even if you live interstate to a breeder, they can still do video calls with you so you can see the puppies and their other dogs and property. Don't just ask to see mum and pups - ask to see the rest of their dogs too. Get a little virtual tour of the premises to see how the adult dogs are kept and puppies are raised.

​

If you are told you can't visit, and the breeder make excuses, this is a huge red flag. What do they have to hide? There is absolutely no legitimate reason in our mind why you cannot check out the breeder, their dogs and pups in person. If I'm spending thousands of dollars on my new best mate, there's no way I'm selecting one without at least vetting the breeder. 

 

(A) you need to make sure they are are legitimate and not a scammer;

(B) you want to make sure that the puppies and dogs are happy, healthy and being cared for properly;

(C) you should check the temperaments of the parents (at least the mother), given the high heritability of temperament traits.

 

For security reasons, some breeders may ask for proof of ID before your visit and get to know you over the phone and build a good rapport with you first. A careful breeder does not give their address out to anyone they haven’t gotten to know or do not trust.  It's important for both breeders and applicants to spend time building a trusting relationship with each other. It certainly should not be a 'transaction' done over the internet or text message with blind trust!

​

​If their dogs are aggressive, constantly screaming or barking loudly, overly fearful of you or out of control, this may mean the breeder (a) has too many dogs, (b) does not spend enough time training their dogs or (c) has dogs that are not really suitable for breeding due to temperament issues. It can also indicate the dog's environment is causing them stress. These behaviours will likely be picked up by your puppy if raised in this kind of environment.

 

Are they free roaming in a house/backyard (suburban) or are they in a respectable large yard (if rural) with toys, enrichment and things for them to do when they can't be inside with the breeder? You are not a realtor and nothing needs to look perfect, it just shouldn’t be filthy and messy and look like a puppy farm.

 

We feel that dogs deserve:

• to be part of the family and allowed indoors

• to be regularly socialised in public and trained

• to have their own backyard or in the case of rural homes, a large yard where they are kept

• their physical and mental well-being prioritised and met

• to have adequate of exercise and stimulation

• lots of individual attention

• enrichment

• regular grooming

• having an all-round, inclusive family lifestyle on a day-to-day basis

​

How do you raise, train and socialise your puppies?

It's important for pups to have met and be gently handed various people - including children. At what age do the puppies move out of their whelping box into larger indoor puppy areas? At what age are they allowed outside? What exercises do you do with them and how does it assist in their development? How often do you spend one on one time with your puppies? Note: Puppies that are outgoing when with their littermates can sometimes be very timid as soon as they are removed from them. It's a true test of character when a puppy spends time one on one time with people (this is why we do temperament testing and assessments on our puppies - which incorporates many tests). Does the breeder spend time toilet training the puppies or teaching them to do their business in a specific toileting area? If the breeder has laid the groundwork out and done this, you'll find it much easier to toilet train your puppy when you take it home.

​

Are the puppies forcibly separated from their mothers?

Young puppies learn important behavioural lessons about 'being a dog' from their mothers, which include gentle and appropriate discipline for inappropriate behaviour. Forcibly separating a mother from puppies can lead to puppies who, (like children) lack control, boundaries, are rough, excessively nip and have too much 'attitude'. A pup's mum (if a good one) will teach puppies how to behave appropriately with them. A breeder should also be doing work with the pups and handling them often to teach them what behaviours are acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Also forcible separation can cause a lot of stress for both mum and pups. We do not ever forcibly separate or "wean" our puppies - nature's way is always best.

​

What things do you do with your dogs?

Do they partake in training, sports or other activities with their own dogs? How do their dogs behave in public, with new people and other dogs? How often do their dogs get out and about?  How is their dog’s obedience level, especially around distractions? Do they take instruction from their owner well? When you visit, you will be able to decide for yourself.

​

Do they take their other dogs off the property when they have a litter on the ground?

When breeders have a litter under 8 weeks old, it is highly risky to:

- Allow people to bring other dogs onto their property

- Take their other dogs off their property to public places

-  Take mum off the property to public places

When we have a litter, all our dogs are kept mentally and physically active and stimulated and are not taken off the property. It's not easy as we do take our dogs out all the time. Once in 24 years, we broke this golden rule once a few years back and ended up bringing back canine gastro from a quiet coastal path trail.  The gastro virus was picked up on our dog's feet and bought back to our home. One of our 5 week old puppies from a litter got unwell and so did our adult dogs - never again will we risk it. We always ask that if people visit our puppies that they come directly from their home and not stop off to any public parks along the way.

 

​What are your goals and reasons for breeding?

Finding out the breeder’s true goals in breeding and how they achieve them is an interesting question to ask. Ask them how and where they got their dogs from. Do they breed dogs to a specific Breed Standard and how are they achieving this? (A Breed Standard is the blue print of how the breed should look, behave and their proportions, structure, height and weight).  If they do not breed to a standard, this can be a sign of a backyard breeder or “designer dog breeder”. Responsible breeders breed within a Breed Standard, not just breed 'nice' looking dogs.

 

Do they know their dog’s faults? No dog is “perfect”, and there is always room for improvement. What are they doing in their breeding program to correct or improve any faults? Faults can be anything that is outside of a breed standard, a higher hip or elbow score or a carrier of a disease (via DNA).

 

Do they know the history of their bloodlines? If they do not know the history of their dogs or display their pedigrees, there is no way to really know what exactly what to expect in terms of health/temperament/behaviour.

​

Does the breeder have a job or is dog breeding their 'job'/only source of income?

It’s our personal opinion that dogs should not be bred as an income/job. We can understand breeders who breed dogs for working or security (police etc), but you can determine a difference mainly based on the amount of puppies they breed.  In that case, how successful are their puppies who are doing the job they were bred for? 

 

An ethical breeder does not expect dogs to earn their keep through puppy sales.

 

Personally, we have a full time job in the interiors industry and a couple of other businesses of our own (photography/digital design).

​

There are dogs overflowing shelters and rescues at the moment, so no breeder should be breeding for the pet or commercial market.

​

Breeders who have large numbers of dogs and who constantly pump out pet puppies are signs of a puppy farm.  The ethical breeder lives for their dogs – not off their dogs.  We feel that man’s best friend deserves much more than being used as a source of income and flooding the already flooded pet 'market'.

​

What is a puppy farm?

"A puppy farm is a large-scale commercial dog breeding facility that operates in inadequate conditions that fail to meet the dogs' needs. Puppy farms are also known as puppy mills or puppy factories."

​​

In addition to the overflowing pet market problem, when breeders collect large numbers of dogs to breed for the commercial reasons, a common problem is that the dog’s welfare is not sufficiently prioritised. When someone has dozens of dogs to look after, as well as puppies, it’s not uncommon to have welfare standards drop.  After all, even one puppy (or dog) takes a lot of commitment to raise and train correctly. Can you imagine 30 kept in enclosures on a farm? Not a good sign.

​

Here at Lykosia, we have a very small and selective breeding program. We have 2 older desexed females and 2 entire females and 1 male dog (total of 5). We seamlessly incorporate them with our family life with children, as well work. We spend a lot of time engaging with our puppies and teaching them important developmental skills which will help set them up for success with their new owners. We are lucky that we can work from home, which allows us to spend a lot of time looking after puppies (when we have them) with the highest of standards.

 

We support the development of the breed and our bloodlines by occasionally selling a pick of the litter puppy to a family home where they may work with us in having one litter with their dog. We believe in quality, not quantity! The 5 dogs we have are a lot of work - getting them out and about, training and ensuring all their needs are met!

​

Can I view the pups and mother of the pups?

See if the mother looks healthy and clean and pay attention to how she behaves with the puppies. Most mothers will be  protective of her puppies but if she seems unreasonably fearful or aggressive with you, this could be a sign that you should look for another breeder, especially if you are looking for a well-adjusted family pet. It's one thing for dogs to have a good nature with the breeder - but unless you see what they are like with other people, there's no way to know.

​

​​When you visit the breeder’s property, you can check for yourself the type of environment they are being raised in, and what they have been exposed to in terms of other animals, people, children and other dogs. See how they interact and react in person, don’t just trust the 'word' of the breeder who might just be trying to make a "sale".

​

When a breeder has had multiple cases of puppies with disease, especially those which have resulted in death - it's usually an indication of something wrong seriously wrong with the environment and poor welfare and hygiene standards. This can also be from having so many dogs/pups in such a small space. This is very common in puppy farms.

​

As a quick recap, a good breeder will:

• Allow you to visit the puppies and meet the parents and check their property

• Have their puppies regularly interact with people and children 

• Expose puppies to various sounds, surfaces, and obstacles and work on their individual development

• Have their dogs registered with their local council, follow all council laws and State Legislation pertaining to dogs and breeding

• Have an ethical reason for breeding (to a Breed Standard) and not breed for the commercial pet market

• Have a good reason (goal) for pairing the mother and father, in terms of aligning to breed improvement

• Have a nice set up, clean and stimulating environment

• Do regular training and other activities with their adult dogs

• Take care in the way they raise their puppies and what they expose them to

• Start training with the basics such as sit, drop, waiting for food and toilet training

• Not forcibly separate mum and pups (unless there is a medical reason for doing so)

• Understand canine behaviour so they can carefully assess temperaments of puppies to match puppies to the new owner's lifestyle and level of experience. 

​

Not every breeder is passionate and ethical enough to go the extra mile in breeding. There are some which do and unfortunately those kind of breeders are a minority. Do your homework, screen the breeder and ask the hard questions!

 

​​​​​