> An ethical breeder will allow you to see where the pup is being > raised. It is important that you be able to see the environment in > which your pup lives. Those who refuse to allow you access should > lead to the question "what do they have to hide?" I strongly
I agree with this 100%. When I started looking at puppies in person (only last week) I was surprised at what I saw. I was looking at a few different breeds. The first puppy I saw was well trained and I got to see the parents. This "breeder" had two breeds but not many dogs. Since it was the first puppy I saw and cost more than I had budgeted for. Second "breeder" had more dogs I think. They did show me some of the parents. They spoke of an upcoming litter and when I asked about color I was told they were expecting whites and that it was a "rare" color. I looked them straight in the eye and said if they can produce the color it is not rare. Some colors may be harder to come by but non are rare. (I know this because I breed cats and am working on a chocolate breeding program. Harder to get the color but it isn't rare.) Next place was at a flea market where a breeder/broker had all different breeds he was selling for local breeders. I found a puppy I was interested in but wanted to see it in its home environment and I also had someone waiting for me to look at their puppy in their home. They said that would be no problem. I called and left numerous messages. None of my calls were answered or returned. Then I called an other breeder who told me that the puppies wouldn't be cleaned up as they were puppies and got messy. These were Maltese who should look white. She had too many puppies and they were poorly presented. When I have someone coming to look at kittens I ask that they look on my website and tell me which ones they want to see. Then I make sure those cats are bathed before they get here. Finally (and I know this has been a long email) I called an AKC Chihuahua breed contact person for this area. She told me she was a show breeder. That was what I wanted. The youngest puppies she had available were at least 3 months old. I was pleased and asked if I could come over right then. She was the breeder I got Marco from. I am thrilled to have met her. > An ethical Chihuahua breeder will not allow a pup to leave until it > is at least 8 and preferably 12 weeks old. Again I agree 100%. Yesterday I saw a 6 week old puppy in Petsmart. It was so small. Poor thing. > Finally, if something don't seem right....trust your instincts! Walk > away. Always follow your gut. That is what I do and I am rarely wrong in my decisions. -- Maria Parisi Bedoroses Cattery - http://www.bedoroses.com Web Designs by Maria - http://www.webdesignsbymaria.com " Lets talk about our wonderful little friends! Join today! " Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
