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The process of choosing a puppy
should not be taken lightly. It is most surely a commitment that
will impact your lives for (hopefully) many years to come. In most
cases the relationship will last much longer than any car and you owe it
to yourself to do the research and not to rush the process.
Start by checking out as many
breeders as you can. The right breeder will be there for you to
answer any questions and help with problems throughout the dog’s life.
In most cases you will have to travel a bit if you want to visit kennels
but a breeder should be happy to show you their kennel and dogs. The
American Belgian Malinois club has a Breeder’s Code of Ethics that members
may choose to sign. You can find it on the ABMC website. In
short, it outlines the breeder’s responsibilities with regard to the
puppies they produce.
On the other hand, we check out
our puppy buyers as carefully as they should check out their prospective
breeders.
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At
Covepoint we not only have signed the ABMC Breeder’s Code of Ethics but
have put most of it in our puppy contract. |
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RETURN POLICY
The breeders who sign this code
are committed to taking responsibility for all their puppies for as long
as they live. A breeder should have a “return policy” that says that
if for any reason you can’t keep the dog it comes back to them. That
assures that NONE of their pups will end up in a humane society or rescue.
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At
CovePoint we will take back any dog at any time in it’s life and for
whatever reason, or, if agreeable, work with you to find a good home for
the dog. |
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HEALTH ISSUES
A breeder should guarantee some
health items as well. At a minimum a satisfactory OFA rating for
hips should be guaranteed. Additionally, there are other tests that
should be performed.
CERF – eyes, OFA-Elbows
as well as hips, Thyroid, Cardiac
If the puppy is sold as a show
puppy there are other guarantees as well such as dentition or
monorchidism/cryptorchidism, that would keep them from competing. |
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At
CovePoint we include guarantees in all these areas and perform as many as
we can prior to the puppies leaving. |
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TEMPERAMENT
Matching
up the right puppy with the right owner goes far beyond “Do you want a boy
or a girl?” or “What color are your dogs?” At CovePoint we employ a set
of puppy tests that give us some idea of what kind of dog the puppy is
likely to become. The test is not a pass/fail type but rather
provides us a scale that ranks the puppy from very dominant to very
submissive. Not all people want a very dominant dog because they can
be a challenge even for the most experienced trainers. On the other
hand an overly submissive dog will need a very light touch.
The test also gives valuable insights as to how much prey/play drive the
puppy has. This information can be helpful if you are looking for a
performance competition dog or alternatively a more quiet house companion.
These tests are done at about 8 wks and again at 10 wks. People
often want their puppies ASAP and wonder why we want to wait until 10 wks,
this is why. |
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At CovePoint we temperament test our puppies at 8
wks and again at 10 wks. |
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A WORD ABOUT CONTRACTS |
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A contract should be complete enough to
cover the necessary details but not unreasonably restrictive. Generally
breeders deal with two types of contracts: one for pet puppies who will
not be shown in conformation or used for breeding, and another for their
show prospect puppies. In each case the contract should primarily concern
the welfare of the dog, not the breeder. Co-ownerships are common for show
puppies because they allow the breeder to have some say in how the animal
is used in breeding. Issues such as how much, if any , money is due to the
purchaser in the event the dog has to be returned should be very specific,
and offer a reasonable degree of protection to the buyer. The list of
other contract provisions that breeders may propose can be extensive, and
should be examined by your lawyer if you are at all uncomfortable with
them. The key word here is REASONABLE. Money back, penalties for
non-compliance, showing/campaigning demands, and breeding specifics should
all be something YOU can live with. Remember, you are a customer. We would
advise checking out and comparing sample contracts from many breeders. A
number are available on the web. Discuss and negotiate until you come to a
contract that is agreeable and totally understandable to both. |
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