There are differences between quality breeders, backyard breeders and puppy mills. Here is a short list of what you should expect of good, responsible breeders.
1. Quality breeders are usually members of their breed Club and participate in Club events.
2. Quality breeders breed to improve the breed.
3. Quality breeders know their breed, including the breed standard, correct temperament, the pedigrees of their dogs and most others of their breed, the purpose of their breed and genetic issues of their breed, among other things.
4. Quality breeders have an objective in mind when breeding and plan litters withthat objective in mind.
5. Quality breeders welcome your questions and are more than happy for you to visit with them and their dogs.
6. Quality breeders will ask you many questions to be sure your home will be a good one for one of their puppies.
With this in mind, here are some helpful hints when looking for a breeder:
1. Don't limit yourself to one or two breeders or breeders in your area only. Call around, get alot of information from many breeders. Then shorten the list.
2. If a breeder can't or won't answer your questions, move on. A reputable, knowledgable breeder is well versed in their breed. Every breeder was a beginner once but even beginner breeders should know their breed well. If not, they shouldn't be breeding until they do.
3. If a breeder's goals don't match your criteria, move on. For instance, if you are looking for a puppy out of hunting lines and the breeder doesn't hunt, you may want to look elsewhere.
4. Check references. Good breeders will have plenty and will be happy to give them to you.
5. Ask breeders how many litters they have per year and how long they have breeding (not how long they have had Chesapeakes, experience is important!). A breeder that has many litters a year may be doing so for the money. Breeders that have a few litters a year are usually breeding because they care about bettering the breed, not their wallets.
6. Ask breeders if they have health clearances on their dogs. Having health clearances on breeding stock is highly important. It can be costly but key to producing healthy pups.
7. Ask breeders if they have a written health guarantee on their pups and ask to see a copy. Read it carefully.
8. Depending on what "type" pf puppy you are looking for, be sure the breeder breeds for what you are looking for (hunting, conformation, field trials, hunt tests....).
9. And last, but in my opinion, most important, be sure to buy a puppy from a breeder that you fell comfortable with, one that you feel you can have a long term relationship with. You should expect the breeder of your puppy to be there for the lifetime of your puppy to answer any questions and help when needed. This is why it is important to buy from experienced and knowledgable breeders.
