Am I Boring My Dog? (5 page)

There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to make the mother’s acquaintance. If the father can’t be present—and you’re within your rights to ask why not—request to see documents proving that poppa has been registered with the AKC or UKC. (Beware of someone who says that they’ve got documentation from, say, the Siberian Kennel Club—even if you’re looking at Siberian Huskies.)

 

Be sure to follow up with them all if for no other reason than that it’s fun to chat with fellow admirers of the breed to hear about the joys—and travails—of bringing up the pups.

This is another trick question. If the breeder answers “none,” that’s a sign of either ignorance or dishonesty. All breeds are predisposed toward certain health problems; good breeders work diligently to avoid them. You need to know how severe any inherited condition might be and—more important—whether a puppy from a litter you’re contemplating has in fact inherited it.

If you decide to get a puppy from a breeder, it’s completely kosher to request documentation from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (
www.offa.org
)—an organization devoted to reducing the incidence of a wide range of genetic diseases—that the parents and grandparents have been tested and shown to be defect free.

Assuming a breeder has passed these preliminary pup quizzes, it’s time to head out to see how the dogs are kept. If a breeder has a problem with your visiting when no puppies are available, then you have a problem with the breeder.

Look for the following.

 

If they slink off or bark frantically, you might consider slinking off, too.

 

Or, in short, is this a place you wouldn’t wish on a dog.

A well-behaved dog doesn’t necessarily mean a happy dog, just one that’s toed the line. I have no idea if stress hormones have an impact on the development of puppies (though why wouldn’t they?); I just wouldn’t want to buy a dog from a mean breeder.

A breeder should be interested in you, too, not just in your money.

Some signs that the well-being of the dog is foremost to the breeder:

This is perhaps the toughest phase because actually viewing puppies is bound to cloud your ability to think clearly. Nevertheless, try not to be swayed by their overwhelming cuteness and consider the following.

Duking it out for position with other dogs, being handled by humans, and being introduced to a variety of stimuli—all part of the process known as socialization—are essential to a well-balanced dog.

When you’re ready to take your new puppy home you should expect …

No, a breeder isn’t required to be on call at all hours like a pediatrician, but one who cares about dogs will want to help you succeed in your new responsibilities, which can be overwhelming initially.

Quite the opposite. All but the most reputable breeders are solely in the dog business for the money, whereas shelters and rescue organizations (see the following question) are in it for the love—which means that their only motive is to ensure that their charges find good homes. As a result, most do their best to assess each animal’s temperament before sending them off to be adopted; many offer adoption counseling. And with mixed breeds, you have the added advantage of being free from preconceptions, so the pup’s actual personality isn’t obscured by breed stereotypes.

Evaluating dogs and their potential guardians—on an individual basis—is the premise of the excellent Meet Your Match (MYM) program being introduced into more and more shelters, with the goal of determining whether you and a particular dog are suited for one another. A kind of interspecies
Match.com
, MYM evaluates the dogs’ behavior, then categorizes them by character traits like “wallflower,” “free spirit,” or “teacher’s pet.” A potential adopter fills out a short form that serves as a canine personality wish list—and voilà, a love connection that’s based on more than just looks. Developed by Emily Weiss, DVM, and sanctioned by the ASPCA, this program has greatly increased adoptions in the shelters that have used it—and cut back on returns.

Sadly, not all shelters have the funding and the staff to institute these types of programs or even to do detailed evaluations. In these cases, an excellent alternative is to hire your own matchmaker: a trainer. Good trainers (see Chapter 6 for advice on finding them) are especially well equipped for the task because they work with difficult-to-handle humans on a regular basis. Thus they are capable of not only assessing the temperament of dogs at the pound but also of talking potential adopters down from emotional reactions such as “he’s so sweet” or “she’d make such a good hiking companion” if the dog that elicits it doesn’t fit their lifestyle (or apartment).

Then there’s the dumb luck factor. Full disclosure: Faced with appealing photographs and persuasive dog rescuers, my best (human) friend Clare and I eschewed the painstaking research I’m advocating here and took the blind emotional route. And we couldn’t be crazier about our furry gentlemen friends, Archie and Frankie.