What Is A Responsible Breeder?
Things you should know before you buy!
What distinguishes the Responsible breeder from the Backyard Breeder? or the Commercial Breeder? or even worse a "PUPPYMILL"?
An Responsible breeder is one that chooses good health ,contuining breeder Education and good judement over puppy sales. To follow this path they most likely did it with the advice and assistance of a " Maltese mentor". A mentor may be the person they purchased their first Maltese from or it may be another established breeder, each of who is knowledgeable in the breed -- who gives of their time and advice to help other learn the ropes. Breeders who mentor others in the breed are almost always willing to help and teach those who display their willingness to learn - by their attention, their intelligent questions, their participation in dog related activities. This insures that there is a continuous progression of new breeders in a breed as the elders retire.
A Responsible Breeder will have had all possible health clearances for their female before considering to breed her. The breeder will be honest with themselves about the faults of the female that they wish to breed, and will search for a mate who is exceptionally strong in those areas. While the ideal mate may be of the breeder's own Maltese, they will also consider breeding to someone else's dog. The pedigrees of the dogs to be bred are studied for compatibility and incompatibilities. Breeding of certain "lines" of dogs together, may result in excellent puppies, or doubling up on certain ancestors could give undesired results. The Responsible breeder is one that knows the breed standard well and constantly looks to improve this by selecting the best dog to bred to their bitch. A knowledgeable Breeder will be able to tell you why they chose to breed the dogs that produced the puppies you are interested in.
A breeder should first and foremost be concerned with the health and well being to the mother and her puppies. The dam's pregnancy should be monitored with a veterinarian for planning for emergency deliveries. The breeder should be present and assist at the whelping. Puppies should be handled frequently to socialize them. Their progress should include daily weigh checks ensure that all puppies are gaining evenly; their dam is regularly checked to insure that she is doing well also. Puppies should receive vaccinations based on accepted veterinary schedules.
An Responsible Breeder is not in a hurry to sell their puppies -- in fact many times they will have just as many questions for you as you will have about their puppies. The better breeders keep a waiting list for their puppies. The Responsible Breeder will follow the American Maltese Association (AMA) guidelines and not allow puppies to leave for new homes until 12 weeks of age. However, it is typical that many breeders will require a refundable deposits for puppies which are born in advance.
Responsible Breeder should provide a written sales agreement on your puppy. You should also receive written instructions regarding feeding, vaccinations and health concerns. Many also supply you with a puppy starter pack. Your Breeder will be available almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if you have any problems with your puppy and will want to be called for advice.Typically a period of time (usually 48 to 72 hours) is offered for you to have your puppy checked by your own veterinarian and a full refund if you aren't happy with the vets findings. Your breeder should state in writing any health guarantees and a return policy stating they are willing to take back dogs that they have bred if the owner is unable to keep them. any time in their life.
When you speak to breeders remember the number of champions owned and finished over the years is a good indication of their commitment to breeding the best Maltese that they can. AKC Champions have been judged to to of Champion quality before being bred. Just because a dog has 'Been Shown" does not make it a champion or show quality -- anyone with a full registered Maltese can enter a dog show -- becoming a champion takes much hard work. Just as only having having champions 2 or 3 generations back in a pedigree does not make the Maltese champion quality. Champion titles, specialty awards, and group placements, are much better indicators of the quality of a breeders dogs.
All About Pedigrees
Your breeder will supply you with a Pedigree of your dog. This is simply a family tree, it is not a registration with the American Kennel Club. Registration forms are printed by the AKC. What a pedigree does is give you a listing of the dogs in the background of your puppy.
Looking at the pedigree will tell you many things though. First it will tell you which dogs have completed Championship requirements and for which countries. A Ch. in front of a dogs name means it is a champion and usually refers to the country the dog is a Champion in, e.g. Ch. to a US breeder means a US Champion, while a UK Ch. would refer to a champion in the United Kingdom. When a dogs is a Champion in multiple countries, the countries are usually listed, such as Am/Can/Mex. Ch. - would refer to a dog who is a champion in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The BIS designation in front of the name usually means that the dog has won Best in Show at an All-Breed dog show, which is quite an honor. A BISS, usually refers to a Specialty Best in Show (or Best in Specialty Show), where only dogs of that breed are shown -- again this is quite an honor to win such a designation.
Champion Lines - What Does This Mean
A good breeding is usually one where at least 70% of the dogs in the pedigree have achieved Championship titles. The knowledgeable breeder should be able to discuss the various important dogs in the pedigree with you, their strengths and weaknesses, and possibly even supply pictures. Its not just about selling puppies it's about breeding quality dogs.
A "hypothetical" pedigree from a Backyard breeder or puppy mill might have only one Champion in several generations. This is an indication of breeding only to sell the puppies..
Don't be fooled by a breeder that claims this to be champion quality or champion lines -- just because a Maltese has one or two champions several generations back does not mean it was breed by Responsible breeder who is breeding to preserve or improve the Breed. . Champion sired is just that ,the sire and or dam are AKC Champions no less.
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Show Quality versus Pet Quality
"Show Quality" is a frequently misused and often misunderstood phrase. Puppy buyers naturally want the best quality puppies available and unknowing Back-Yard-Breeders take advantage of potential buyers by describing their puppies as show quality or from champion lines (see above on Champion lines). Responsible show breeders will tell you Show quality puppies are only sold to Show Homes and not sold as pets.
Show dog breeders study their puppies from birth in hopes of choosing the best show prospect. The puppy finding process is more of an art than a science. It's just not an easy thing to do. Sometimes a puppy that looks great at 3 months of age can mature and have qualities that are not something a breeder would consider show quality. As an example, a Maltese can have a good bite (scissors) at 3 months and when the permanent teeth come in the bite has gone undershot and therefore not considered show quality. In choosing the "pick of the litter", even the most experienced dog breeders will admit that they have occasionally picked the wrong puppy.
"Pet quality" refers to a puppy that the show dog breeder has eliminated as a show prospect, for one reason or another. Here are a few examples of what a breeder might say about a pet prospect
The puppy might grow too big or small based on the standard of 4 to 7 pounds.
The head may have a little more nose than a breeder likes, the eyes may be a little smaller than the breeder likes
The puppy might have a bite that will be undershot as opposed to the preferred scissor bite; or the puppy could have fewer than the number of desired teeth
As you can see there could be a number of factors a breeder will consider a Maltese from a show breeding program PET QUALITY. however none of these issue keep the puppy fro being a beautiful example of the breed and a healthy pet.
In most cases you will find that the pet puppy from a show breeding program is away's of higher quality than that found at puppy mills pet shops or back yard breeders or brokers. remember they are only in this to sell those puppies fast.
If you are buying a puppy for a family pet how the puppies fits and his personality should be your first priority when choosing your next family pet. The most important thing is to buy a healthy, genetically sound puppy that meets breed standards in both appearance and temperament. It is important to understand that there is nothing low quality about pet quality from a responsible show breeder. A pet quality puppy from a responsible breeder is far superior to a "show quality" puppy from a puppy mill.
Reading the Ads -- What About "Teacups" or "Tiny's"
There is no such thing as Teacups or Tiny's -- ads that advertise this are just trying to take advantage of unsuspecting buyers. The AKC Maltese standard for the breed calls for a Maltese to be 4 to 7 pounds. Occasionally when two smaller Maltese are breed together there may be a Maltese less than 4 pounds produced. But this is by far the exception. Breeders that purposefully try to bred these type of Maltese are doing you and the breed no favors. Many real Tiny Maltese come this way with many hidden health issue due to their size. A breeder should ALWAYS strive to breed for the breed standard.
And likewise be very careful about a breeder than sells and ships puppies under 12 weeks old and "claims" the puppy to be older than it really is so that the size seems smaller -- yes, there are irresponsible breeders that do this, especially with buyers that are seeking "tiny's or teacups". Knowledgeable breeders typically double a puppies weight at 3 months of age to determine adult weight -- potentially a little more for males, a little less for females. A puppy that weights 2 1/2 pounds at 3 months will mature to 5 pounds or more as an adult.
Extra"tiny" means abnormally small and is usually that way because of unseen health issues, buyer beware!.
Not all papers are equal-
A registration certificate is proof that your dog is purebred, that its parents are registered with the AKC and that it is eligible to compete in AKC sanctioned events. Be ware of advertisements in newspapers , carefully examined ads that read CKC ABC etc --Canadian Kennel Club is the legitimate CKC. Beware there are many new registries now that merely register any dog for people who can not meet the minimum standard of record keeping and good care and custody to register with their dogs with the American Kennel Club.
Any registration other than the AKC is meaningless and hold no value.
The AKC provides breeders with the opportunity to register puppies with "limited registration". Breeders will choose this to protect puppies they place as pets from becoming breeders sold into backyard breeding program. In fact, many breeders may ask you to sign a contract that you agree to have the puppy neutered or spayed before by 6 months old before transferring AKC registration to you. This is a common practice among responsible breeders who care and want to protect their dogs well being.
The bottom line -- you have the best chance of purchasing a Maltese that will be a loving and healthy companion for years to come if you go see it in person and buy from an AKC Responsible breeder. A breeder who abides by a code of ethics which places more importance on breed educations . This breeder will ask questions to make sure they are finding the proper homes for each of their puppies. They will not be just interested in making the sale and getting your money.
