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Permalink Reply by Sam on July 12, 2008 at 8:16pm

I did review the site. Here would be some questions I would have. Report dogs are health tested for OFA, CERF yet no where is that listed on a dogs pedigree. Continental Kennel Club is a registry preferred by high production breeders, generally a dog with this sort of registration comes from a pet shop. In reviewing the offered pedigrees I see no offer of information of CH heritage as suggested in the code of ethics. It does appear that breeding a working dog is of importance here. Do keep in mind that a dog that is bred to work generally needs a good bit of mental and physical stimulation.

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Permalink Reply by Epinephrine "Epi" and Carly too! on July 13, 2008 at 5:23pm

Thanks for the great info. We are definitely going to be picky when choosing a new dog. Our little girl, Epi, has unfortunately inherited some joint problems and skin conditions form her parents. We love her very much, but want to be a little more careful selecting a breeder this time. If you are aware of any reputable breeders in California, please let us know. Thanks for your time!

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Permalink Reply by Nikon on July 23, 2008 at 10:53pm

i got my lil boy from them.

i haven't had any problems with him so far.

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Permalink Reply by Charlie on July 23, 2008 at 11:43pm

That looks like a fairly average backyard breeder. I might give them an above average if they are in fact doing Cerf, OFA, and vWD testing on their dogs before breeding, and would want to see the paperwork.

I would start calling the list of California members of the PWCCA and ask when they are planning litters, and/or if they can refer you to someone who is planning a litter soon or currently has puppies. Most of the reputable breeders know each other from shows, so you can tell by talking to several of them which one's have a good reputation and which maybe not so much. At least as members of the PWCCA they are bound by a high code of breeding ethics. There are about 48 on the list for your state. Hope you have some free cell phone minutes! :) Good luck.

http://www.pembrokecorgi.org/memberlistaction.cfm

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Permalink Reply by CorgiLover on July 23, 2008 at 11:50pm

eek. my breeder was byb. :(!!!! I hope Chloe's parents are healthy. It will destroy me if they arent. Should I call the breeder? I am so paranoid now...

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Permalink Reply by Charlie on July 24, 2008 at 1:37am

No, don't freak out. LOL The majority of AKC dogs come from backyard breeders. You just have to know and be OK with the risks.

In a perfect world, backyard breeders would do the same health testing and have the same amount of knowledge/education about genetics and animal husbandry that the reputable breeders have. Unfortunately they have a bad reputation because of a general lack of consideration for these things. Many are only in it for the pocket-change profit. The flip-of-the-coin risk is you may get a dog from strong lines, or one from weak lines.

The other side of the coin is that reputable breeders breed to perfect their line. They aren't breeding to supply us pet owners with puppies, so only 10% of pure-bred dogs come from reputable breeders. 60% of us get backyard breeder dogs, and 30% from puppy mill/pet stores.

You do take a higher risk of health, genetic, temperament problems buying from the 90% "supply-side" versus the 10% pool of top-quality pups. Puppy buyers should know that risk, then decide whether to go through a reputable breeder with the possibility of a long waiting list to get a pup, or get a pup faster with higher risks over the life of the dog. Charlie is a "horse ranch" dog (nice name for backyard breeder, huh?) so he has a higher chance of health issues later on in life. I still tried to be choosey, and there are byb's in my area who I certainly would not buy from. But I had to balance getting an "average" Corgi when I wanted one last fall, or waiting almost a year in my area for a reputable breeder to hopefully have a litter. I couldn't go a year without a dog. Plus what would I ever do without my Charlie?

I'm impatient...I don't recommend impatience to other folks who want better "known" genetics and breeding from guaranteed strong lines. :) Sounds like your Chloe is healthy so far. Good food, exercise and a great home life can make up to some extent for unknown genetic lines.

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Permalink Reply by CorgiLover on July 24, 2008 at 10:36am

You always have a great answer.. Are there such things as low-class byb's and high-class byb's? Lol! When I went to the breeders, she had a big pen outside with all the males in it (No cover, I think). All the females were in another set of gated pens (With a cover on top of it). The breeder said Chloe lived in the barn and went to the bathroom on the other side of the barn. There were probably only a 6-12 (I wasnt really paying attention since I was focused on Chloe in my arms)males and not sure about females. The breeder wasnt trying to hide anything.. Are there worse case scenarios?

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Permalink Reply by Charlie on July 24, 2008 at 11:37am

Sure there are low-end and high-end byb's. Unfortunately, most are on the lower-end and it takes some effort to find a slightly above-average BYB. You'd see little difference between the worst BYB and the "best" puppy mill (if you can even use the word "best" and "puppy mill" in the same sentence...gag.) You may also see little difference in the best BYB and the "worst" reputable breeder who breeds only for show and not temperament. Breeding is a totally unregulated "industry".

You or I could go buy the cheapest pups in horrible health, that only loosely look like Corgis, and if their body parts work, "poof", we are breeders. Who cares about the puppies' health or the customers...we're in it for the money. We could also love Corgis, find the best stock we can get, learn about genetics, follow the entire PWCCA breeding code of ethics. "Poof", we're breeders again...now we're not making so much profit, but we are maintaining breed standards and care about the pups, where they go, and guarantee their health. I think the few BYB's on the high-end eventually start showing and going for championship titles. Why not? If you've got great dogs, you want to show them off.

I get on a soapbox about breeding (as many have probably noticed) because of the lack of education on the part of both BYB breeders and puppy buyers. I would love to see BYB's raise their standards. The only way that will happen is if puppy buyers get more educated and demand more quality in health and appearance. At minimum, if buyers required health testing, then breeders would start health testing or go out of business if no one bought their pups. The tests are not that expensive so I don't see it as an unreasonable demand.

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