butbeyedoersoftheword
New member
Hi all! I am looking for some insight and found this community! I'd love to hear from you and if you think I'm overthinking this whole thing...I have been looking into and researching dogs to get for quite a while (we also do actively keep an eye out in the local shelters). I previously had been wanting a shiba inu however last year I was injured in an accident, and realized I probably need a more mellow dog now that I am less active. So we have settled on a zuchon / shicon (bichon and shih tzu mix). There are a handful of great breeders in my region but with long waitlists (I consider that a good thing) , however last week I came across a breeder that had an available litter. I went to visit, and put a deposit down after falling in love with one.However I am wondering if I should have waited, as now a number of red flags have come to light that I didn't give proper consideration to at the time. The dogs seems happy/healthy and facilities were fine, and I realize that maybe I'm overthinking it - not all people are purebreed show-dog breeders so they might not meet the standards I'm used to seeing with a shiba breeder for example. A few things gave me heartburn:
- The property was nice, big, clean and warm facilities for the dogs BUT they mentioned they have around 40 adult dogs. That seemed like a lot for how few people seemed to work there.
- There was no screening/application process for me either before visiting or putting down the deposit
- They let me visit the puppies and hold them even tho they were only 2 1/2 weeks old
- They let me negotiate the price
- They said their dogs are genetically tested, however conveniently the parents "just had theirs done and still in the mail" so they bred them BEFORE testing
- They supposedly have 3 year health guarantee but it turns out, they don't actually ever get the puppies cleared by an actual Vet, they only take them to the vet if something is wrong. She said they do that themselves "but are really experienced!" I get doing all the shots and everything themselves is fine but seems weird to NEVER be seen by a vet. She also made an offhand comment about potential for puppies to come home with giardia or worms...I know that is more common in shelter dogs but I would hope it's unlikely for a legit breeder, or maybe it is common? I don't know for certain.
- The worst thing, there are a number of super scary reviews online, mostly pertaining to health issues - like young dogs getting cancer, or having severe allergies. When I asked about these, she said that it was a disgruntled former employee and they were all fake. I don't buy that bc they were all very specific and very different periods of time.