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Public Education Alert
For the Olde English Bulldogge Breed
[Alert] [Discouraged Sources] [Puppy Mill Registries] [Things to beware of]
[Identifying Responsible Breeders] [ Home]

Over the last few years, the Olde English Bulldogge breed has increasingly found its way into the hands of exploiters, who sell dogs without regard to what happens to them after the sale. OEB's are now being offered at public auctions, events whose patrons are puppy farmers and puppy mills. Our breed community also is seeing an increase in breeding using bitches who were sold with limited registrations as unsuitable breeding stock, and selling the pups as unregistered. Please read this alert, so you can avoid becoming a victim of these exploiters.

[Alert] [Discouraged Sources] [Puppy Mill Registries] [Things to beware of]
[Identifying Responsible Breeders] [ Home]

THE PUBLIC IS DISCOURAGED FROM
BUYING DOGS FROM THESE SOURCES:

  • puppy farmer : A person who breeds dogs for profit, as commercial livestock, without effort applied to improving the breed.
  • puppy mills : Commercial dog breeding operations, which may or may not keep dogs in humane conditions, but who are focused on producing as many dogs as possible, at as high a profit margin as possible, without concerted effort toward turning out a quality product.
  • dog broker : A person who acts as a middleman in the transaction of dog to buyer. He may buy the dog and resell it at a profit or may receive a commission.
  • dog auction : Run exactly like livestock auctions, where high bidder takes the animal home.

The dogs bred and sold by "puppy farmers" are often sold by brokerages and at auctions, or through pet stores. Such producers do not know where their pups wind up, and subsequently cannot follow up on the progeny of their programs. A puppy farmer's breeding decisions are based on factors unrelated to familial genetics, because they can not know the genetics without tracking the progeny of their programs. The public is discouraged from buying dogs through brokers or other persons in such cases where they will have no contact with their pup's breeder.

The owners and breeders of dogs imported and sold by dog brokers usually have no contact with the dogs' breeders, nor information on a dog's familial background. Therefore they can not make informed decisions whether or not the dogs they offer for sale are from families possessing the qualities you might value. Statements like "he's from champion lines," are not meaningful, for all champions, if bred to poorly matched mates, produce mediocre and poor quality dogs. Adequate research of families of dogs requires a concentrated effort accompanied by study of pedigrees and the many varying characteristics possessed by dogs represented in those pedigrees. Identify breeders who possess the knowledge and commitment required to make sound breeding decisions that insure the future welfare of individual dogs and of the breed as a whole.

There are people selling OEB's from parents that were sold to them as non-breeding quality stock. Sometimes they sell them for the same price that you can get a dog from a more conscientious breeder, but without any documentation on the dog's family history of health, or any follow-up services after the sale. The reason a breeder designates a dog as non-breeding stock is that, in the breeder's assessment, the dog is LACKING in the characteristics and qualities necessary to justify its use in a breeding program.

[Alert] [Discouraged Sources] [Puppy Mill Registries] [Things to beware of]
[Identifying Responsible Breeders] [ Home]

The following are undesirable registries:

  • FIC (federation of international canines)
  • CKC (continental kennel club)
  • APR (America's Pet Registry) the most popular of the puppymill registries.

The puppy mill industry often uses these registries to combat the challenges placed before them, by instituting the frequently used sires program. These acronyms are remarkably similar to the legitimate registries, FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale) and CKC (Canadian Kennel Club). It is possible that imported puppies will be touted to be registered with the FIC.

PLEASE beware of these puppy mill registries.

[Alert] [Discouraged Sources] [Puppy Mill Registries] [Things to beware of]
[Identifying Responsible Breeders] [ Home]

THINGS TO BEWARE OF :

  • ALL imported dogs MUST be registered by the importer to be registered with the NBA. Do NOT be victimized by exploitive importers. REQUIRE NBA registration BEFORE spending money on any imported dog. The dog may not be purebred if it is not registered with the NBA.
  • Beware of prices over $2,000 and check out such breeders carefully to make sure you're getting more for your money than just a dog. Don't get ripped off by an exploiter who knows nothing about his dogs' backgrounds, or someone who is price gouging.
  • Beware of anyone willing to sell you a breeding stock animal without first making sure you will be committed to becoming a responsible breeder and you are prepared to assume lifetime involvement with and responsibility for any offspring produced by your dog.
  • Do not send money to anyone without seeing information on the parents and their families including some sort of documentation that the dogs are NBA registered.
  • Do not send money before developing an understanding of who is selling the pups and what priorities and value system the breeder of the pup ascribes to.
  • Do not send money as a deposit before you've seen a sales contract. Conscientious breeders use sales contracts and want to keep track of ALL the dogs we produced to document how progeny from our programs fare through life. It's through this info that breeders can make informed breeding decisions.
  • Beware of imports that may be offered to you. Imports can be great dogs, but it is likely in the current market you'll be getting the culls from depressed countries. The broker/importers are often purchasing these dogs for as little as $100.00 per pup. The pups are often shipped, several to a small carrier, and can arrive sickly, malnourished and without a caring person at this end of their journey. The broker/importer has little or no useful knowledge about the breed or the families of dogs used to produce the pups. Instead an exploiter who will mark up the price to at or above an amount for pups sold by reputable caring breeders is just waiting to sell these puppies to naive buyers who become their victims. The brokers who receive these imports care nothing for where the pups came from, and care nothing about who gets them or what the new owners end up doing with the dogs. Do not become a ripped off vicitm of a dog exploiter.

[Alert] [Discouraged Sources] [Puppy Mill Registries] [Things to beware of]
[Identifying Responsible Breeders] [ Home]

IDENTIFYING RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS :

Responsible Breeders do not sell dogs to brokers or through agents, pet stores or brokers, or to persons unknown to the breeder of the dog.

Responsible breeders provide copies of International Olde English Bulldogge Association for all sires and dams of pups offered for sale BEFORE the exchange of money. This is to assure that the parents were registered with the NBA as breeding potential animals and that they are purebred. Make sure you are getting a purebred dog by requiring proof that the parents of the dog are registered with the NBA on full privilege registrations, or that the dog, itself, if imported, is registered with the NBA before you pay for it.

 

THINGS CONSCIENTIOUS BREEDERS DO WHY THAT IS IMPORTANT
Provide safe nurturing conditions for their dogs and for any dogs they place with other owners. Because providing for the welfare of OEBs should be the paramount goal of any breeder.
Learn about your interests and goals in dog ownership. Because if the breed or individual dog and its owner aren’t well suited to each other, the dog could develop behavior or health problems causing the owner and the dog to be discontented.
Know their family of dogs well and will not place a dog before they know if a dog matches up well with the lifestyle and expectations of the buyer. Because every family of dogs possesses unique traits and has its own particular management concerns which affect the dog’s suitability for its owner.
Committed to developing and sharing information on OEB health and management issues. Because by having a resource who can offer valuable dog management advise you can save time and money, and maximize your effectiveness training and caring for your dog.
Believe it is important to have extensive information on the health, structure and character plus any other useful information about their dogs and those dogs’ ancestors before undertaking any breeding. Because you are more likely to get a dog that will live long in good health if breeding dogs are paired to maximize family strengths and to correct family faults.
Will never tell you their dogs come from pedigrees with no health problems. The fact is all OEB pedigrees contain dogs with both good and problematic traits. A breeder able to assess and represent an accurate picture is realistic and honest.
Don’t sell breeding/show stock to owners not seriously interested in pursuing those objectives. Breed/show pups often cost more and require a considerable commitment of time and resources by both breeder and owner.
Provide you with a pedigree of the puppy including health, structure and temperament information on the parents and ancestors. Because the depth of pedigree information a breeder has and provides allows both the breeder and you to have a firmer grasp of what can be expected in puppies and adult dogs.
Provides you with a written contract before there is any exchange of money, including a deposit. It is important for you to have a written record outlining the breeder’s and your responsibilities including definition of what kind of dog and services you are paying for.
Is willing to clarify to your satisfaction any unclear contractual obligations or any notable conditions which could act to nullify or change any guarantees. Allows you to be assured that the contract you will sign at the time you get your dog is a workable and acceptable agreement between you and the breeder.
Provides you with copies of NBA registrations for both sire and dam. Proves your puppy is a purebred OEB, and further that the parents of your dog were registered as breeding stock animals with the NBA.
Wants to tell you about their goals in dog ownership and their reasons for breeding. Allows you to decide if a particular breeder’s focus is directed toward breed welfare.
Will never sell pups or dogs to agents, brokers or pet shops. Because resellers’ focus is not the welfare of dogs, but financial gain is.
Accept lifetime responsibility for the dogs they place, including assisting in re-homing the dog, if necessary. No breeder should ever be responsible for adding to society’s burden of unwanted, homeless dogs.
Should always try to be available to answer your questions and encourage you to share information and comments you have about your dog. Provides you with a breeder who cares about the kind of dogs they produce and one who is interested in helping you with your dog.