Quote: ana kozlowsky

 Quote: melissa thom

I'll let other people who are more knowledgeable about raising working puppies speak but there was a lot that screamed problem to me in that video.

Melissa, could you please explain what exactly did you see? The puppy or the guy?

beside poor taste in music?

I went "mellow" with my first working line dog because I didn't want to get over my head. There has to be a better word to describe a puppy in a working line litter that is NOT the Alpha, rank monster, carpet shredding tornado, but is quite able to do club level work.

 Quote: Ana Kozlowsky

 Quote: Melissa Thom

I'll let other people who are more knowledgeable about raising working puppies speak but there was a lot that screamed problem to me in that video.

Melissa, could you please explain what exactly did you see? The puppy or the guy?

I am not Melissa but I would suggest the guy invest in a belt for starters :-p Congratulations John on your new puppy! I hope he turns out to be everything you want.

Pushing AKC Reg as a big selling point on a working litter is odd. Generally you'd push the accomplishments of the working sire and dam.

I'd want to know why this puppy was left over from it's litter, and why it was being sold cheap.

Why do you have to cover the crate? Looks like a nice puppy in the video, congratulations!

 Quote: Ana Kozlowsky

 Quote: Melissa Thom

I'll let other people who are more knowledgeable about raising working puppies speak but there was a lot that screamed problem to me in that video.

Melissa, could you please explain what exactly did you see? The puppy or the guy?

Problem I suppose is in the eye of the beholder. The first thing that jumped out to me in the video was the room. Clearly, this doesn't appear to be someone's house. This of course raises a flag of what kind of facility this is. Second thing that caught my eye was the credit card machine and the window with the visa mastercard sticker. The window itself wasn't to the outside, it made me think that this was a refurbished dentist office or some kind of industrial building. By itself there is nothing wrong with this but it does raise the question of what kind of scale this breeder operates on and what exactly they are doing in their operation.

Second, the puppies looked to me to be all over the place as far as muscle tone, size, litter, etc. This is a flag as to the numbers this person is breeding and how much care,socialization and exposure these puppies get. Numbers itself isn't a bad sign but it is a questionable sign.

Finally in the video I was questioning his handling. He was bouncing around a few of those puppies pretty hard. I know they're working puppies and are full of grit but a few didn't seem to appreciate him very much or respond in what I'd consider a favorable way. But what do I know?

So, I clicked through the other videos to see what was there and saw a few training sessions that struck me as a little WTF, a few with older dogs that appeared completely untrained, (but what do I know) and a ton of dogs for sale. I didn't see a competition video or any videos beyond bitework.

So then I went to the website. According to the website they've been in operation 5 years. They have puppies for sale from 4 months old to 2 year old (but no indication of what kind of training the older dogs have received.) They have two more litters on the way (due in April and May.) None of their home grown bitches have any titles or health testing beyond hips, and one has no health testing at all but has a litter due in May.

Their testimonial page only had blurbs from pet owners and one from someone who had a dog doing flyball and dock diving. I thought they were raising working dogs? I see no club associations, or training achievements listed.

On their for sale page it clearly states that their price is $1000 for the upcoming litters but on the individual for sale page they're having a sale? Most of the puppies are listed at $600 including a 14 month old female mal. The one dog who is $2500 and 2+ years old with no health testing is shown with a sleeve and a photo at 9 weeks old hanging off a tug. These puppies who are 4 months old are the mothers of the litters due this month and next and again repeated the year prior with the older puppies.

Now, take what I say with a grain of salt. I have no idea much of anything about working dogs or mals, and I certainly don't know this breeder. It just seems like a lot of puppies from the same dogs, with no health testing, within a tight time frame, for strange prices, no listed goals, and the highest title being a BH, Sch 1 on one of their sires and none on any other dog in their care. I really hope the OP got a great puppy, I really do. Maybe those of you who see something great can tell me what I'm missing?

Thank you, Melissa. I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination.

I saw some of the same things...but I was basically just looking only at the pups themselves....drives, socialization behaviors, sizes, & body shapes, muscle, reactions to his 'playing' with them. I didn't like his too ruff treatment with the pups & neither did they. I wasn't all that impressed.

I never bothered to look beyond that, as I didn't see these as high quality pups.

I think, John, that you could have done better elsewhere. Impulsivity, is not a good way to purchase a puppy. Especially one that you are anticipating 'working'. JMO of course.

I think that the heartfelt warnings about not doing it on impulse were sent out as strongly as possible on as many threads as possible .... You do what you can, and then human nature does its thing.


And now it's time to work with the dog he has, to have a good time and enjoy the pup, and to remember that all training builds our training background and that every dog we train adds to that increasing body of experience and knowledge.

At least, from what I see, this puppy will probably be easy to work with if the OP is a decent trainer.

I would urge the new owner not to play roughly with the new puppy like what is being shown in the video. This puppy is probably not going to grow into being the hardest dog in town.

If raised in a way that fosters confidence, I think this puppy has a chance to grow into a really nice dog.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

I think that the heartfelt warnings about not doing it on impulse were sent out as strongly as possible on as many threads as possible .... You do what you can, and then human nature does its thing.


And now it's time to work with the dog he has, to have a good time and enjoy the pup, and to remember that all training builds our training background and that every dog we train adds to that increasing body of experience and knowledge.

I didn't see where John actually had this dog in hand yet. I understand that he's eager to jump in but several things about this breeder, and what people are usually after jumped out to my rather untrained eye on the matter. I just don't know what's normal in working breeds, I know what I would look for but maybe folks who are more schooled in this may see something I don't.It's a learning experience for all so to speak.

Also John still has a chance to change his mind or decide that this really is what he wants. I know I'm just a random person on the net and no one has to listen to me but I thought someone with some working dog experience could actually give their review of the situation.