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Old October 12th, 2013, 07:17 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Natural View Post
Hello,

My girlfriend and I are looking for a newfoundland dog breeder. We found one. Heaven on earth in red deer Alberta. We just filled out the questionnaire and sent it off. We are now waiting to hear back. Though talking with friends I'm being warned to make sure they're not a puppy mill simply for the amount of dogs they have.

A red flag perhaps but there's no reason a breeder cannot have lots of dogs and still be a very good breeder. Some may not be on site but be co-owned or be stud dogs they use.


They have a lot of male and females however they're ckc registered

I agree with Mina. Just as the above is not a cease and desist, this is not a green flag. CKC is merely the body that registers the pups. They do little to ensure good breeding practices in reality. However no recognized dog in Canada is purebred if it's parents are not registered with CKC and it's illegal to claim so.



and appear to have a very large living area for their animals,

You do suffer from being unable to see in person. Do the dogs spend time indoors for socialization? Newfs may indeed, with their heavy coats, be outside a lot. Is it clean, do they smell, is it noisy?


heart and hip information on their dogs

You must do your research. I'd want to see elbows and eyes as well. I don't think there is a breed that does not suffer from PRA. And by see it I mean just that, ask them to email you copies of the certificates. For hips do they OFA or Pennhip? And can they explain the difference to you? My breed is Labs so I'd want a couple of other things as well. Do you know if there are other concerns in Newfs?

We have been having a hard time finding a breeder that replies to emails.

I find lots of breeders are very busy people and some are poor at managing email and websites but good with their dogs.


It could be that they're not breeding right now or we might looking to get on a waiting list too early. 6-8 months is when we are hoping to find us a dog. But we want to find a reputable breeder now and if we have to wait so be it.

What do they do with their dogs? Conformation? Titles on the breeding pair? Carting? Google the kennel name in areas where Newfs usually compete and see what you come up with. Obedience? Agility? Rally?


Good luck. We obedience trained at a facility owned by a breeder of Newfs and Leos, a very well respected in the breeds lady. Unfortunately she died much too young.

Some other things to ask about, The health guarantee. Does it specify you must use a certain food or spay or neuter by a certain time? I'd avoid a breeder asking for spay or neuter of a large breed like a Newf before one year old because of the health concerns of neutering too soon.

What vaccinations will the pups have? What schedule does the breeder recommend? What follow up does the breeder expect from you?

Will dew claws be done? How do you feel if they are not as some don't remove the dews.

Have you searched for a Newf forum? You will get more Newf specific answers on a forum dedicated to the breed and possibly someone familiar with the breeder. Many forums will not allow you to name the breeder or comment on them, for legal purposes, but folks can PM you.

ETA: I went to their website. For me there are issues. I urge you to find a Newf forum. I have Labs not Newfs, some things should be the same but I don't know Newfs. One thing I will tell you, that is a bare bones health guarantee. It doesn't cover much for very long. And you want to check what your compensation will be. It's very, very old school to offer to replace the puppy and that's all. I would want to be offered a refund for medical expenses, or my purchase price. Because I am not going to trade in the puppy I fell in love with in 15 minutes for a new model just because he might have elbow dysplasia or whatever.

Last edited by Longblades; October 12th, 2013 at 07:40 AM.