i think this topic should be pinned up, especially Divas' reply....

finally the more-than-often, disguised, so-called home breeders (i don't mean all) can be distinguished from the truly responsible breeders.

another point to note is that, most of the time (if not all) responsible breeders only specialise in one breed (as in breed 1 type, but may have many other breeds as pets), to ensure that no accidental cross breeding (no matter how much precaution is practised)
and also by specialising into 1 breed, the breeder can spend all the available time and resources to improve that particular breed, as learning about a breed is not an easy task, it takes years of practical experience....

@mavericksam : besides, if there is no breeding (of course should be from responsible breeders), then the different breeds that exist now would be extinct and others who wish to own a certain breed would not be able to own them....

on a side note since it is related to issues regarding breeding....

dogs are not like humans, they DO NOT need gratification/pleasure through sex. they mate to pass on their genes and continue the species ONLY.

there are many (ignorant, sorry to say) pet owners out there (and in LYN) who think that their dogs deserve to do it at least once. But have they done full research about breeding? I doubt. They would have just randomly pick out 2 dogs and leave them to mate.

So if the dog do it once, then what will happen to the mother? Doesn't she need extra care during prenatal and postnatal? Then what happens to the puppies? Sell them for an extra buck? What if they inherited diseases from their parents? Wouldn't that cause another generation of suffering (to the puppies involved)? Ok, some would argue that they want to keep the puppies, what if the litter is large, like say 4-5 puppies? can you afford to keep all including the parents up till their ripe old age?

please do not mate your dogs just for the fun of it or just to let him/her do it once! and of course NOT for money!

Divas, maybe you could pm the admin for this forum requesting to pin up this thread as it is useful for every pet lovers, pet owners and newbies....

I would suggest that you look for breeders that only specialised in 1 breed, as they would have spent most of their extra time and know very well about that particular breed....

Most importantly, you must know how to identify a responsible breeder from a backyard breeder.... Are their breeding dogs showed in championships and certified to be within breed standards as written by American Kennel Club (ie with a Mal CH prefix in their registered name)? Do they have too many litters in a year by the same dog? Are they willing to let you into their house and let you see how their dogs live?

However do note that champion parents and champion bloodline have 2 very different meanings! Champion bloodline just means that somewhere in the ancestry line has a champion dog, but this does not mean it's offspring possess qualities within the breed standards....

Ask alot of questions regarding the breed and general dog health care, grooming etc, a truly dedicated breeder will be knowledgable to answer you....

Another suggestion is to make time and visit the championship shows organised by MKA (info here : http://www.dogsmalaysia.my/?node=event/home ) to get to know breeders who spend their time on a particular breed, so that you will know who to look for when looking for a puppy....

One important thing to know about breed standards http://www.akc.org/breeds/miniature_schnauzer/index.cfm is to avoid being scammed by irresponsible breeders.... Especially in breeds with many colours.... for example, white schnauzers are actually 'defects' in their genes, white colour is not a recognised colour in dog associations.... Which logically, should be sold at lower price.... But due to demand and being hyped up by irresponsible breeders, they end up being sold at higher prices than standard colours.... This is just 1 of the example, there are many more off-standard qualities which irresponsible breeders hype up to sell them at higher price... Most famous being 'teacup' dogs.... But thats a whole issue altogether which you can search on the internet about....

The dogs may look well taken care of physically or just in pictures, but are they well taken care of mentally and emotionally? Are they kept in cages or allowed all around the house? If they say they only cage their dogs when there are visitors, what does that imply? Is it because their dogs are not trained on how to behave when visitors are around? Or was that statement just a lie? More so when the visitor is a potential customer, there shouldnt be a problem of 'visitors might be afraid of dogs' excuse right? Sometimes they only show you the pup that you are interested in without letting you into their house.... Is there something to hide that you are not allowed to view the parents' living condition?

A responsible breeder goes through all that trouble to study and expand their knowledge on a particular breed, brings their dogs for competitions to certify that the dog is of quality and meets the breed standards.... They provide their dogs with good quality food, supplements and care.... They do this out of passion and as a hobby, outside their main income job (be it a professional job, grooming business etc) which sustains their hobby.... With so much time, money and effort placed into just 1 breed, do you think it is possible for a responsible breeder to be selling different types of breed? For a responsible breeder, the cost of breeding will never be recovered just by selling puppies (yes, even at high prices )

Even in selection of the mating pairs are done with careful decision making, weighing the possibilities of producing good quality puppies in terms of structure, personality, coat etc.... Obtaining a show dog itself costs at least a 5 figure sum.... But of course, not necessary that 2 champion dogs will produce champion puppies as this is genetics.... But by choosing a quality dog, it increases the chances of producing quality offsprings which would contribute to the improvement of the breed.... However, a pet quality pup from champion parents will naturally still be of better quality in terms of personality, structure etc than pups from just taking 2 dogs and allowing them to mate without much considerations....

Also do note that champion parents are not the same meaning as champion lineage.... Champion lineage simply means that somewhere in the pup's ancestry has a dog who has obtained its champion title.... However as i mentioned above, not all their offsprings will turn out to meet the breed standards.... This is where irresponsible breeders come in and use these dogs to breed and sell their pups as champion lineage to fetch a higher price, without considering the fact that the dog does not meet the standards of the breed....

for commercial breeders, their aim is to spend as little and earn as much money as possible from a single female, thus they have litters almost all the time.... Therefore the more puppies they have, the more money they make.... Let me just give u a scenario.... Dog A has 4 pups, dog B has 3 pups, dog C has 3 pups, all mated and give birth around the same time, how much care can each pregnant dog receive? And how much care can each pup and its mother receive? This is another reason why responsible breeders dont have many litters at the same time.... This is different from large dogs with large litter as there is only one mother to be taken care of....

Now you may wonder, if responsible breeders are in this for passion, why do they charge so much for a pup.... A simple question to answer that.... Wont you spend more effort to take care of something you spent alot of money on? If someone can spend so much on gadgets, why not on a life which will stay with you for a long time, right?

As for MKA cert, it simply shows the pedigree of the pup.... From the cert, u can see a few generations of ancestry of the pup to make sure there is no inbreeding.... Also to apply for the cert, both the pup's parents must have certs themselves and the pup must have a microchip inserted....
However, some irresponsible breeders will go to the extend of forging the parents cert just to register the pups with MKA as they can fetch a better price....
Normally when you can bring your pup home, the cert is not ready on MKA's side, so your breeder will inform you once the cert has arrived, normally should be before the pup's 1 year old birthday if there is no delays.... But if you purchased from a responsible breeder, then you wouldnt need to be afraid of being scamed, right?

This post has been edited by CyaNide27: Oct 30 2012, 01:15 AM