# Concerned about breed / breeder



## Meili (Apr 26, 2015)

I am having a hard time about this. I was suppose to meet a breeder and pick up my puppy tomorrow. I had him show me pics of the parents. The 1st one is the dad, a poodle and the 2nd one is mom, a cocker spaniel. I'm not sure about the dad because he looks like he's shaved. The mom doesn't really even look like a cocker spaniel to me. 

I am very torn and sad about this. The puppy looks very much like a cockapoo, but that doesn't mean it is. I need some expert advise. Should I follow through with the purchase. It seems like I'm buying a puppy from a backyard breeder. I either forget about the parents and the breeder and move forward with a beautiful puppy and bring him up to be a member of my family, or I have to forego getting this little guy (3rd photo).

Any advise?


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

More than what breed the parents are I would be concerned by the photos showing sad shut down looking dogs not the happy dogs I would want to see as the parents of my pup 

The mum in particular looks like she has just been dragged out of wherever she may be kept for a photo  they could be perfectly happy pets and bad photos - but on that evidence I don't think I would be happy - have you met the people, the pup and the mother?


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## Meili (Apr 26, 2015)

That is my exact thought when I saw the pics of the parents, they book look so sad and run down. Like miserable and exhausted. I feel bad for them.

No, I have not met them personally. That's what I was suppose to do tomorrow, was meet and possibly pick up the puppy because he is 10 weeks old.


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Oh dear, I agree , unless they're bad pictures they don't look great do they . He looks rather unkempt , his feet look chewed. I know the picture of the bitch doesn't show much but I wonder if she has infact just had pups, she looks small and young .
Have you asked about health tests ? Have you googled the breeder ? Who are they ?


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## Meili (Apr 26, 2015)

No I didn't ask about the parents, health. I guess I'm an inexperience cockapoo-buyer. LOL! 
I asked about the puppy's health, he said they provided a one year guarantee against major health issues, and all shots / worming are up to date and he will provide shot records. 
I am sad that I have to make the decision, but I'm not going to purchase this puppy.  It is not his (the puppy's) fault, but rather I feel I would be encouraging a bad backyard breeder who doesn't seem to care about the health of his adult dogs. Heartbreaking!


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## petentialpete (Mar 9, 2015)

So sad for you but I'm inclined to believe you have come to the right conclusion


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

A hard decision but you need to feel right about it . Take a look at these links, hopefully they'll help x 


http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=8339

http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=10510


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Well done - I think that is probably a good decision.

If the parents are health tested against at least some of the possible hereditary diseases it gives you a greater chance of having a healthy pup. Future problems can cause huge amounts of pain and heartache as well as cost you a fortune in time and money.

Molly has a problem with her knees which is quite possibly inherited from her poodle dad. So far it has probably cost me almost £1000 in x-rays and physio and she is likely to need surgery at some point which could well be up to a few thousand pounds per leg. She will also need to be crated during her recovery which is going to be difficult for her and for me.

Hope you are able to find a good breeder who has done some tests and raises the pups well. I would always want to see the pups with the mum before commiting to buy.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Poor you - it is easy to see why you would fall in love with the pup, he looks gorgeous. However I think that you have done the right thing, because if people buy pups from breeders like this (and I am making a judgement solely by looking at the pictures of those sad parent dogs) then they get money which means they will breed (or buy in) more puppies to sell.
Would you consider reporting your concerns to the RSPCA - at least that way the breeder will be visited and the conditions that the pups are being bred in and the other dogs kept will be assessed.


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## Meili (Apr 26, 2015)

Thanks everyone for your support, as well as encouragement. Had to take a moment to clear my head. And my search continues...this time with more knowledge and better questions to ask. I'm sure my puppy is somewhere out there...LOL!

As for reporting to the SPCA, I did do some research. I will contact them, but I have no evidence of abuse. Right now, I just have photos of a couple of miserable looking adults, and a cute puppy. I did not visit, so I did not see neglect in person.


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Well done, it is hard to turn away from a puppy but hopefully the harder they find selling the pups the less they are likely to do it, am I the only one who also thinks that puppy looks quite large at 10 weeks to have come from those parents? my dog is bigger than both of his parents but was much much smaller than them at 10 weeks. I also walked away from one breeder during my initial search, even after puppy cuddles.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Yes, I thought he looked big, but then I wondered if the person was small.
I walked away from puppy JRs a long time ago. I did report to the RSPCA and although they did not prosecute for cruelty as the dogs did have food and water, they did give advice and eventually the person was prosecuted for running a business from a residential address.
By reporting you are at least raising a concern and yours might not be the first concern.


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Here's the problem. We are all agree she should not take that pup for all the stated reasons, so then who will? Either we agree it has to be euthenized through absolutely no fault of its own or it will be sold, perhaps cheaply, to an uneducated owner. Someone who probably won't have it neutered or spayed, who won't know how to train it properly or be able to afford puppy school. Someone who won't feed it nutritious food and who won't be able to afford the costs associated with health problems that might come with such dubious parentage. Worst is that they'll probably decide to let it have/make puppies because "the dog or their kids deserved to have this experience" thus perpetuating the problem. We're creating a revolving door system for dogs. If they are lucky the puppies that are passed over by good homes will come back to be rehomed through the rescue system, unsocialized, untrained, unhousebroken. Poor little brown and tan pup, my heart breaks for him/her. 

Lament over. Sorry.


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

fairlie said:


> Here's the problem. We are all agree she should not take that pup for all the stated reasons, so then who will? Either we agree it has to be euthenized through absolutely no fault of its own or it will be sold, perhaps cheaply, to an uneducated owner. Someone who probably won't have it neutered or spayed, who won't know how to train it properly or be able to afford puppy school. Someone who won't feed it nutritious food and who won't be able to afford the costs associated with health problems that might come with such dubious parentage. Worst is that they'll probably decide to let it have/make puppies because "the dog or their kids deserved to have this experience" thus perpetuating the problem. We're creating a revolving door system for dogs. If they are lucky the puppies that are passed over by good homes will come back to be rehomed through the rescue system, unsocialized, untrained, unhousebroken. Poor little brown and tan pup, my heart breaks for him/her.
> 
> Lament over. Sorry.


well i'm sure someone will have it soon, sadly we cannot do much about where the pups go, but bad breeders only care about the money so as educated purchasers we can do something about where the pups come from and only give our money to good breeders, the more people walk away from a particular breeder the more they may actually think whether it is worth breeding again- of course if governments did more to check and enforce good practice we would not have to worry too much, I am sure this little guy will get a good home, if everyone 'saved' the pups from bad breeders they would keep getting richer and breeding more...and before someone recognises the dogs in the pictures and wants to sue me I am not saying this is a bad breeder! just saying from those photo's it is not one that I would choose! BTW the poodle clipped thing did not bother me, rather see that than a tatty matted one!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Absolutely - I hope the pup does end up in a good home - but the harder the breeders find it to home him the less likely they are to breed again. Buying from bad conditions to "save" that particular puppy just condemns more dogs to live in misery and many more pups to be born in bad conditions. 

They may just be poor photos they have sent - but as pictures to represent the parents they do not say happy dogs to me and that would be enough for me to walk away.

I am maybe slightly odd in that I have never bought a puppy - my first three were from rescue homes, Molly was rehomed directly from her owners as they could not cope, and Chance was a gift puppy - but was reared in the home and I know her mum well and met her dad so if I was looking to buy that is the type of breeder I would be looking for.


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