FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
THIS SECTION HAS ALOT OF INFORMATION, BE SURE TO TAKE YOUR TIME READING THROUGH EVERYTHING AND FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS!
Breeder Research
Make sure when you are looking for your new best friend you do all the research possible on the breeders you really like.
Warning Signs of a Bad Breeder
-
More than two or three types of dog breeds are being bred, or they breed a lot of unofficial breeds, such as Cock-a-Poos, Goldendoodles, Or Anything Doodle Related etc.
-
The dogs have no titles, either showing, working, sports, or whatever the animals are being bred for. This likely means the breeder does not breed to better the overall conformation or working style of the breed. Breeding solely for "pet quality" means breeding for money rather than for the betterment of the breed.
-
There is no mandatory spaying/neutering of pet-quality animals.
-
They always have puppies for sale, sometimes two or three litters at a time.
-
The puppies are allowed to go into homes before the proper age (under eight to twelve weeks of age).
-
The breeder advertises "rare" colors, sizes, or other traits (such as "rare" white Dobermans, Great Danes, "king-sized" German Shepherds, etc.). These traits are often not in accordance with breed standards and can lead to health or behavior problems.
-
They advertise or sell their puppies for greatly reduced prices.
-
They breed dogs before the age of two.
What Is a Backyard Breeder?
The term "backyard breeder" is sometimes used to describe dog breeders with little experience or knowledge, substandard conditions of care, and a lack of selective breeding. Backyard breeders typically breed dogs without taking the time to make good genetic matches or have dogs registered with the appropriate kennel club or breed club.
Finding your breeder!
The first step in your puppy ownership journey is identifying which breed is right for you, clearly if you are at this page you are looking at an american bully.
Just a heads up before we go even further. A lot of people only look for nearby breeders, but that’s often limiting, and these days, far less of a necessity. Many breeders are open to working with potential puppy owners from across the country. There are now all kinds of options for transporting a dog to its new home, from road trips to flight nannies. Don’t let distance get in the way of connecting with the right breeder — finding the right dog is just too important! And if the process of finding that right breeder is a bit daunting, you can always contact an us; we’ll be happy to talk you through the process.
How to apply
Don’t be shy — breeders love speaking with potential puppy owners about their future dogs! A big part of a breeder’s job is to evaluate people to ensure that they’ll be great matches for their puppies, so a responsible breeder generally begins the process with a brief application. They look for information about whether you have kids at home, where you live and what kind of space you have, the amount of time you’ll be able to devote to caring for a dog, and whether you have experience or are a newcomer to their breed.
Don’t be intimidated; instead, be excited that you’ve found a great breeder with top-notch practices and that you could wind up taking home one of their happy, healthy puppies.
Selecting a puppy or joining a waitlist
Congratulations! The breeder has decided to move forward with your application because they think you will be a responsible, loving puppy owner.
Once it’s your turn to get a puppy, the matching process begins. At this stage, many breeders will request a deposit before moving forward. Some breeders will let you choose which pup you want to take home, while others will work with you to find the perfect fit. Aspiring dog parents may also be able to provide preferences on a puppy’s size and color, for example. Breeders know their dogs best, so if they want some input on the process, it’s definitely smart to listen to them! The goal is to make sure you wind up with the puppy that’s best for you.
Different breeders operate their waitlists in different ways, but generally, they allow you to defer if you aren’t quite ready yet for a dog. Life throws curveballs sometimes and they definitely understand that.
The two-month rule
Then comes the hardest part: Waiting to meet your furry new family member! Puppies generally must be at least two months old before they go home (it depends a bit on the breed) because it’s crucial that they spend their first few months with their mother and siblings. There are just some things that humans can’t provide as well as other dogs.
The months with their family allows puppies to develop physically and gain the socialization required to live a normal, happy life. Breeders often also use this time to enrich your puppy by introducing them to the new things they’ll encounter when they leave the litter, from household sounds to playful children.
But don’t worry — you won’t be waiting around in the dark during this period. Breeders often send along photos and/or videos so you can watch your future pup growing and learning, which will only get you more excited to begin your time together. During this time, you can start planning on how you’ll be getting your pup home because there are now quite a few options for doggy transportation.
Transportation
You’re so close! Now you get down to the nuts and bolts of bringing your puppy home. There are a number of viable paths and to some degree just depend on how far you live from the breeder.
For health, safety, and security purposes, it's possible that your breeder cannot allow anyone to enter their home. If you want to meet in person, you can ask if your Good Breeder will allow you to visit their home or facility to pick up your puppy. That’s easy if you’re nearby, but equally as doable if you’re willing to go on a road trip or book a flight. You can also arrange to meet at their local airport or at another accessible location.
If flying or road trips are out of the question, there are several other options for getting your new dog to your home safe and sound. You can arrange a flight nanny (also known as a puppy nanny) who, for a small fee, will chaperone your dog on the plane. You can also have your dog sent safely and securely in a pet-safe air cargo, where your puppy will travel in a crate with food and water in a temperature-controlled area of the plane. Airlines have been offering this service for years and frankly, it’s far roomier and more comfortable than most of their coach seats at this point.
The choices are plentiful, but no matter which you choose, breeders are devoted to making sure everything goes off without a hitch and your new pup gets to his new home safe and sound.
Payment and contracts
This is where you dot your i’s and cross your t’s. Good breeders are very conscientious and diligent, which makes for a little bit of paperwork and a lot of peace of mind.
They will often require that you sign a contract when paying for your puppy, outlining your responsibilities and what they expect from you as a good dog owner. They guarantee the health of your dog when you receive him, and in exchange, they generally require you to take your puppy to the vet within a few days of picking him up, then may ask that you spay or neuter your pup when the right time comes along.
Breeders are also careful to make sure their dogs will have homes for the long haul. Their rehoming policies generally require you to contact and return the dog to them if you can no longer care for him. The most important thing is making sure each and every dog has a warm, caring place to live.
Your final bill may also reflect additional fees, such as transportation or extra boarding costs. And it’s standard to be charged for extra items such as microchipping (which is a painless permanent method of electronic identification), food samples, and comfort items like blankets with their mother and siblings’ scents.
Have fun!
What you’ll wind up paying also depends on the breed, as the price can vary widely for a variety of reasons. But whichever breed you choose, you’re in for many years of love.
Still have any questions? Need some more guidance? Feel free to get in touch with our team below — we love talking about puppies!
Puppy Related Questions
What age do puppies go home?
Most breeders want pups to go home by 8 weeks of age. However, we feel that keeping them one additional week helps the pups grow enough in maturity helps them thrive. We will let a pup go at no less than 8 weeks, but will keep them up to 10 weeks depending on the situation.
What happens if I can no longer keep my dog?
The breeder should tell you that you can return the dog if at any time in the dog's lifetime you determine you cannot keep it.
How are Puppy picks made?
Puppies are typically sold based on picks. This means the top male and top female puppy slots are sold in order of selection. If you purchase 2nd pick female, for example, the person with 1st pick female will pick their puppy first, then you will pick your puppy, then 3rd pick, then so on until the pups are all picked.
Any slots not filled will be picked by the breeder based on structure. Pick recommendations will be given based on structure, temperament and quality. Any pups that are not breeding quality will automatically be deemed "pet home" and will be given with a pet-only spay/neuter contract at a reduced price.
Breeding Rights vs Pet Homes
Out of every litter, there are usually one or two pet home puppies. These puppies, though perfectly healthy, often have some small defect that makes them not show or breeding worthy. Whether a kink in the tail or a slight over-bite, these pups are sold as pet home only, no papers and no breeding rights. Pet home puppies are significantly discounted and are contractually required to be spayed or neutered.
However, since we can never quite tell how a puppy will mature, if a pet home puppy matures into an exceptional show quality dog, we can amend the contract for later breeding rights. Sometimes slight kinks in the tails or bad bites work their way out by the time the pup matures.
Health Testing Related Questions
Ethical Breeding & Health Testing
As ethical breeders, we do everything we can to ensure that we are giving you a quality puppy free of debilitating health defects. However, even the most health tested and well researched breeding will sometimes create dogs with lasting health problems.
American Bullies are a relatively new breed a we are only a small handful of breeders that actually health test their dogs. Because of this, the pool of available health tested dogs is not very big at all.
Hip and Elbow Dysplasia: Current research shows that as much as 70% of large breed hip dysplasia comes from environmental factors. Things like slick floors, injury, over-feeding and lack of correct exercise can create or exaggerate subluxation in the hips leading to eventual hip dysplasia (HD).
However, some HD is entirely genetic. Things like a shallow acetabula (hip socket joint) or lack of proper formation of the hip bones are genetic. Frustratingly still, if a puppy is not properly cared for it can develop bad hips. We aim to make sure that through the early stages of life the pupps are properly cared for to avoid this happening as much as possible.
Embark DNA Testing:
There is a large percentage of bullies that are carriers for Progressive Retinal Atrophy, crd4/cord1, it is a retinal disease that causes progressive, non-painful vision loss over a 1-2 year period in older teenage dogs.
Dogs that carry one copy of CRD4 are not considered affected and will not show signs of the disease. Dogs are required to inherit two copies to be considered "affected" - however Progressive Retinal Atrophy, crd4/cord1 has not yet been proven to effect the American Bully breed and is considered a non-breed relevant condition. Any puppies that are considered "affected" will be automatically pet homed at discount prices. Although no American Bully has lived long enough to see the disease markers develop, as this disease tends to affect dogs older than 12 years old and unfortunately, our breed usually does not live this long.
All of our puppies come with Embark Testing, so you will know straight away if your best friend is a carrier of any of over 170 diseases.
Why should I test my dog for genetic disease?
Veterinarians and responsible breeders of purebred dogs and cats are well aware that hip dysplasia and other inherited diseases can be controlled by careful, selective breeding programs. DNA tests for specific diseases remain the “gold standard” in determining an animal’s genotype, but in the absence of available DNA tests, phenotypic evaluations are the best alternative. Information regarding the test results from the sire and dam, along with information on other close relatives such as siblings, half-siblings, aunts and uncles allows breeders to apply greater selective pressure to produce normal offspring and avoid affected offspring.
OFA Health Testing:
As it stands there are not many OFA tested American Bullies which should tell you that there really are not that many breeders out there who are truly looking to better the breed, they are just looking to make that quick buck.
To see how many Amercian bullies are health tested (statistics)
Once you are on the OFA Website click "Testing Statistics"
Bentley and Nelli having their Baer Hearing Tests Done
Breed Specific Legislation
What is it, Who Does it impact, how can we help?
Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) is a misguided attempt by legislators to reduce dog bites by banning specific breeds and types of dogs. The idea is to ban specific breeds to reduce serious dog bites/attacks.
This is typically implemented as a knee-jerk reaction by politicians after a serious and highly publicized dog attack - they feel that they need to be seen doing something to protect public safety, and then propaganda supporting it ensues. In some cases, the politicians genuinely believe that there is something different and dangerous about a certain breed or two, but in most cases the targeting of specific breeds/types of dogs is to appease a grossly misinformed and rightfully frightened public, without having to put in time, effort and resources into actually solving the problem of dog bites by all breeds.
BSL can range from something as mild as a higher licensing fee for specific breeds to an all-out ban of ownership, including mandatory destruction (euthanasia) of any prohibited dog found within the boundaries of the legislating jurisdiction.
What breed(s) are impacted by BSL?
The majority of BSL seems to target what people assume to be a "pit bull" - typically most of the dogs targeted are various different types of bull breed mixes, but the actual bans tend to include the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT), American Staffordshire Terrier (AST), and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (SBT). There is lots of language stating "Pit Bull Breeds" which obviously causes issues as well as there is so much misinformation out there about what an APBT really is (newsflash - the registered APBT is the only pit bull!)
Though the APBT, AST & SBT tend to be the most commonly targeted breeds for BSL there are plenty of other breeds that have felt the wrath of BSL.
For example, breeds that are currently being targeted by BSL in Canada include(1) :
-
Akita
-
Alaskan Malamute
-
Boxer
-
Cane Corso
-
Chow Chow
-
Doberman Pinscher
-
Dogo Argentino
-
English Mastiff
-
German Shepherd
-
Great Dane
-
Perro de Presa Canario
-
Rhodesian Ridgeback
-
Rottweiler
-
Siberian Husky
Does BSL work?
BSL has actually never been shown to reduce dog bites in a community.
Most dogs in our community are mixed breed or unregistered so do not have any way to prove parentage/pedigree. We often guess their breed based on coat colour/type and size because people like to think they know what their dog is, and the "reasons" why they behave the way they do ("Oh he doesn't have good off leash skills because of the Husky in him, and the German Shepherd in him makes him bark at strangers too!").
Studies have identified risk for dog aggression - breed is NOT one of them. The genes that make up physical characteristics (short coat, muscular build, etc) are not associated with the genes for intelligence or temperament. A dog that looks like a breed is not guaranteed to act like that breed.
Breed traits to exist, but breeders work very hard to cultivate this consistency across generations by selectively breeding dogs that conform to the breed standard they are striving towards. Even with an amazing responsible breeder working with the best dogs for their breed, each litter will create puppies with differences both physically and mentally - though they should have more consistency than a mutt, there will still be variation between littermates.
Who Supports BSL?
Other than a few pro-BSL lobby groups, the only organization that actually supports BSL is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). PETA is an extreme animal activist group that opposes all companion animal ownership. Some of their claims are that "pit bull" type dogs are more likely to end up in the hands of abusive owners, and are therefore better off not being part of the population at all.
What are some BSL Alternatives?
As per :
Opposing breed specific legislation doesn't mean opposing any dog legislation! Progressive communities are moving towards what we call Responsible Owner Legislation. An effective animal control strategy would integrate the following:
Strong Bylaws
Robust legislation targets known risk factors for dog bites. Bylaws are clear and specific and hold the owner accountable for the behavior of his/her dog. Infractions are associated with fines that escalate until the owner gets the message and changes their behavior. If this doesn't happen and there is a concern for community safety, the ultimate consequence is removing the dog from the home.
Enforcement
Bylaws are not effective unless they are enforced. If a community is truly committed to safety, they will need to invest in trained enforcement officers. When animal control officers are seen in the community and are actively issuing tickets for infractions, people are motivated to be responsible. Along with licensing fees, fines and tickets for negligent owners can serve as a revenue source to strengthen an animal control program.
Animal control officers are not just a punitive force. They can provide support to members of the community and intervene early when they spot potential problems.
Bite Free Education
Successful communities identify those most at risk of getting into an altercation with a dog - for example, children, mail carriers, meter readers, and delivery people. While it is the responsibility of the owner to contain and manage their dog, you can reduce bite risk by teaching people how to read a dog's body language, how to approach them safely, and how to de-escalate a confrontation.
Community Support
Members of the community must be willing to report dog bites, or problematic behavior. This is easier when strong and fair bylaws exist, because neighbors know that the owner will be held accountable, and the dog won't necessarily be seized or euthanized.
The community can also support programs like subsidized vet care, spay/neuter clinics, and outreach programs that promote responsible ownership and care.
Liability
Good bylaws hold owners responsible for their dog's behavior. But if a dog attack were to happen, the onus is on the victim to take the owner to civil court and sue for damages. A shelter, rescue, or breeder is also exempt from liability when they have irresponsibly placed a dog in the community. We believe that a wider conversation needs to take place around these liability issues, holding people responsible for preventable injury and damages and ensuring that victims are fairly compensated.
BSL CONTENT CREDIT:
1: - A Canadian Non-Profit Organization dedicated to fighting BSL.
We used a lot of information from their website to help build this to assist in educating our followers. Please head over to their website as they have a TON of other info there and support them by buying a cute bandana or sweater for your pooch!
2 - A Fellow Canadian American Bully Breeder, She has been my inspiration for putting out quality puppies and health tested parents. She has a ton more information on their website! Please go check them out