North Texas Boston Terrier Club - Buying a Puppy

Does the breeder show and prove their breeding stock in conformation and/or other dog related events?

By Meilani Marischino
A responsible breeder is one who breeds for the health and preservation of the breed(s). They breed for conformationally correct dogs and/or for dogs who can do what they were originally bred for. Conformationally correct means that the dog is a great example of the breed. All purebreeds have breed standards. A breed standard is a written ideal of the breed.

It's what the breed should look and act like. For example, this is the Boston Terrier breed standard. A responsible breeder will breed within/towards that. Some breeders will breed dogs that can do what they were originally bred for. For example, Border Collies are a herding dog. A lot of breeders will put a herding title on their breeding dogs as a way to show that they can do what they were bred for. There are many different events that breeders can utilize to prove that their dogs can do what they were bred for. Some breeders may even have dogs that have conformation and other dog related event titles.

In *my* experiences irresponsible breeders, such as "backyard breeders" or "BYB's" and pet stores/commercial breeders, do not breed for conformational correct dogs nor do they prove them in any other dog related event. A lot of them feel because they are breeding for "pets" that they do not have to do any of this. This is why a lot of their dogs are poor specimens of the breed or they barely resemble the breed. Some people are unsure of what a conformationally correct vs. incorrect conformation dog looks like. Here's an example...

It's like this in many breeds. You will find that this is a huge difference between responsibly and irresponsibly bred dogs. I don't know about you, but if I'm going to pay big bucks for a dog, I want one that looks like the breed it's supposed to be. As you can tell, I love Boston Terriers. I love their big melon heads, big Pac-man mouths and their big bug eyes. A Boston Terrier is not supposed to have floppy ears and a long muzzle. To make a long story short, if you like the way a breed is supposed to look, the chances of getting a dog that looks like the breed it's supposed to be is extremely high when you go to a responsible breeder.

A note about registries and kennel clubs. There are quite a few registries and kennel clubs out there. Very few are reputable. Reputable meaning that they're of benefit to the dogs which means they sponsor dog related events, they have health foundations and they have quite a bit of rules when it comes to registration and record keeping. The few reputable kennel clubs are the AKC, UKC, CanadianKC, FCI and ARBA. Because these registries can have stringent rules when it comes to record keeping and registration, a lot of irresponsible breeders are flocking to other registries that aren't so stringent when it comes to registration. Some registries only require a picture and "your word" that the dog is purebreed and that's enough for them to register the dog. A lot of these registries do not sponsor dog related events, they do not have health foundations and they basically exist to create "papers" for irresponsibly bred dogs because the word "papers/registration" gives people the impression that the dog is worth a higher price tag. If you want to learn more about the differences between registries and kennel clubs, click here.

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