Puppy buying guide
Puppy Buying guide
As I'm sure you have noticed there are still very few Eurasier breeders in the UK at the moment.
The breeders that are around will generally fall into various categories (and may overlap)...
Family breeders
- Individuals that have decided to breed from their family pet as he/she has a lovely temperament, has passed all necessary health tests (hip scores, elbows, patella, full 4 panel thyroid and eye test) and a suitable mate that has also passed the tests has been found. Most from the Eurasier Society breeders produce pups to benefit the gene pool because their pups are used to breed future generations or have health tests done to provide vital information on the health lines of the breed to ensure that we are making the best possible choices in future. These puppies are bred for health, temperament, conformation and type.
Some family breeders may just want to increase the number of Eurasiers and bring awareness to the breed.
Backyard breeders
- Individuals that have not done any health testing other than a check up with the vet, may have had an accidental mating or is not aware of the importance of health testing within the breed to produce healthy happy pups. Litters will probably not be registered with the KC.
Commercial breeders
- Individuals, families or associates that work together to produce a high volume of puppies for financial gain.
Most UK breeders will not allow you to breed from their pups or will insist on charging you a higher price for one, or take the first litter from the pup when you breed them (known as having a pup on terms).
Many commercial breeders are heavy showers to advertise their kennel to sell puppies.
Puppy farms
- as Commercial breeder, but with no interest in the welfare of the dogs health, no paperwork, no back up, no support provided, they will just take your money and run!
Personally we would only recommend other breeders registered with the Eurasier Society UK, however demand for Eurasier Society pups is much higher than the supply, so we usually work from long waiting lists.
It is the norm for all of our puppies sold before they are even born. "Sold" means potential owners will have been to our home, met our dogs and seen the contract before the pups have arrived. In the unlikely event that we do have a puppy available, it will be because there was a cheeky pup or 2 hiding when our bitch was scanned!!
Because of the high demand for Eurasier puppies, it is very rare to be given "pick of the litter", instead most breeders allocate a puppy to the families on their waiting list taking into consideration the preference of sex, the puppies temperament, lastly the colour choice.
If you are not able to wait for a pup from a breeder registered with the above organisation, then our advise to you is that you ask lots of questions!!
If you are not 100% satisfied with the answers given, walk away!
- NEVER pay a deposit or pick up a puppy from a show, car park, pub, service station etc as you need to have visited the breeders home to see where the pups are raised before they are born, and again to see the Mum with the pups in the environment that they are used to.
- Ask breeders how many litters they have had, how many puppies they have produced, how many dogs they currently own, what their address is (and make sure that you meet them at this address!).
- Do not buy a puppy if you have not met the breeder in the flesh and been to their homes. There are various "fake" breeders registered in the UK that have litters in name only and are paid by commercial breeders or puppy farmers to conceal their identity. Some breeders also have many dogs in their home and outside in kennels and may even have more than one kennel name (affix) but use different addresses to make it look like they are separate breeders. This is to avoid the laws of having to buy a license from the council (https://www.gov.uk/dog-breeding-licence-england-scotland-wales) which is required if breeding 5 or more litters per year from one home.
- Do not be impressed with show wins, or "best breeder UK" titles, these are usually given to the breeder that has produced the highest number of dogs that is being shown that year... which is a relatively easy thing to accomplish if you are a commercial breeder and have produced most of the dogs shown in the UK!
- Look at the environment that the pup is being raised in. If it is similar to that of your home, you know that your pup will settle in relatively easily. If the pup has come from a puppy farmer and raised in a barn, then understandably the pup may feel stressed if put in a totally different environment with you inside your home.
- Never part with your money in exchange for a puppy without a signed copy of a contract and KC registration documents!!
Please do lots of research before falling in love with a pup from a breeder that you wouldn't normally choose to have a relationship with.
Eurasiers can be incredibly rewarding if bought from a good source and treated the way that they deserve to be treated... as another family member!
If when you speak to a breeder something doesn't feel right or you don't trust them 100%, WALK AWAY! There will be other puppies around and you need to be 100% confident that you are happy with the breeder of your new family member! Unfortunately in 2017 & 2018, there were 2 UK Eurasier breeders that have had their dogs seized by the RSPCA due to cruelty and neglect. In one small house 22 Eurasiers were seized!!
A link to the current Eurasier Society breeders is below...
http://www.eurasiersociety.org.uk/breeders.html
