Questions?
Don't be shy!
This page is meant to help you understand some of the questions a breeder
might have for you, and some that you might want to consider asking a breeder
before finding out when there might be puppies available. Please understand
that a breeder puts a huge amount of time, effort, care, work, money and
love into each puppy they produce. Any breeder who actually lets you
take a puppy home without screening you to death is showing how little of
what they should have put into the litter actually went into
it.
I know of some 'breeders' who have a policy of "first come, first served".
They decide who gets a puppy by how fast the deposit check gets to them
and whether it clears.
We at Castlemist feel that we are surrogate parents for our puppies and
we place them accordingly.
We want to know a lot about you and will not let you take a puppy until
we have fully screened you. We don't always have the time to do this
in the initial contact, of course. Screening, ideally, is done over
the course of time. We want to feel comfortable with you and you with
us before we enter into a relationship which will hopefully last at least
the 10-12 years of your Mastiff's life. and then some. Think about
that for a minute. How many of your married friends have stayed married
for ten years? How many cars have you owned in that time? How
many addresses have you had? You can't responsibly make a committment
like buying a puppy without thinking about where you will be throughout
that animal's life.
Here are some questions you might expect to be asked. If you are interested
in a puppy from us and plan to contact us via email or telephone, you can
use the following as an initial questionnaire. If you have trouble answering
any of the questions, just do the best you can or ask us in an email or phone
call.
Questions from your breeder
contact:
- Who are you? What
do you do for a living? Who else lives in your household or is there
on a regular basis? What do they do for a living? Who is home
in the day, for how long? Are there children? How old?
How would you describe the children in terms of energy level? Compassion
level? Has there ever been or is there now another dog/cat/bird/pet
in your home?
- Where do you live?
Describe your home. Is it an apartment, townhouse, condo, house?
Is there a yard? Is it fenced? How many rooms? Where will
the Mastiff live? Where will the Mastiff spend the days? The
nights? Do you have a crate or will you purchase or borrow one, or
are you against crating? Why or why not?
- What other dogs live
with you? What other dogs have you had previously? What breeds
and ages? Where are they now? Go back to your childhood and take
as much time and space as you need. (Does this sound like analysis?
<VBG>) Where/from whom did you acquire these dogs? Please
give names and numbers wherever possible.
- What do you plan to do
with your Mastiff? Go into detail.
- How long do you expect
your Mastiff to live?
- Where will you be in
five years? Ten years? Fifteen? Twenty?
- How many friends have
you had for a period of fifteen years or more? (Just think about this
one, don't answer it, it is none of our business really. Think about
what qualities those people have in common. How do you relate to them?
Think about whether you feel that you can become as comfortable with this
breeder as you are with those long-term friends. You need to be at
least that comfortable to have a good relationship with your breeder.)
In the decade plus you have your Mastiff, surely there will be at least one
problem which you will need to feel comfortable and safe enough to report
to your breeder and then listen carefully to any input from the breeder.
If you feel intimidated or threatened or untrusting, the Mastiff will not
benefit from that relationship. Find a good relationship with your breeder
first.
- How much do you expect
to spend on the puppy?
- How much do you expect
to spend on puppy accessories in the first week? Month? Year?
- How much do you expect
to spend on food per month? What brand of food will you feed?
How much will vet bills be per month for the first few months? How will
that change over time? If your adult Mastiff (125-250 pounds) needs
antibiotics, how much will it cost?
- Do you understand the
concepts behind our contract? (In our case, we require that each and
every puppy that leaves us is tested fully for all problems Mastiffs can have
so that we have full information on each pairing within our bloodline or
to an outside stud dog. We require a first level obedience class after
puppy kindergarten PLUS a Canine Good Citizenship title by one year of age
to show for your effort. We require continuous contact in some fashion,
even if it is a picture and note once a year. We ask for lots more
contact than that! We require that this puppy be returned if at any
point in the future you cannot keep it. We offer a comprehensive guarantee,
covered in the contract. Other breeders have different items.
Check them out and understand them before falling in love with the puppies.)
- Do you have questions
for us?
Questions for you to ask
the Breeder:
- Do you test your stock?
For what? May I have copies of all the test results before I sign
your contract? If you don't test for xxx, how do you know whether there
is a problem with it in your line? Do you send in your x rays to OFA
for evaluation? Is it not worth the $30 to have your dogs' good hips
and elbows on record for all to see and know of the good results? (Do
NOT accept that their vet is an expert/used to read for OFA/anything else.
If you are told they have never had a problem, ask how they know if they don't
look for them. Ask them if it is reasonable to expect that every puppy
from every litter they ever breed will never have a problem, and what they
have done for this litter to ensure its health. (Happy to chat with you about
this if you call us.) There are currently eight tests for Mastiffs:
hips, elbows and patellas OFA, Thyroid through MSU and recorded by OFA (if
they want it on record), vonWillebrand's Disease (a bleeding disorder similar
to hemophilia), cardiac through a vet, specialist or cardiologist, cystinuria
(a simple, inexpensive urine test), CERF certified eyes.
- Do you show? How
often? In breed (conformation), obedience, tracking, or what else?
(Breeders who do not show at least occasionally are doing their program a
disservice by allowing themselves to become kennel blind, overlooking possible
conformational faults. It is expensive, but necessary and should be
FUN!) Showing in obedience is also a big plus. You probably want
a relatively intelligent and trainable animal.)
- How many litters per
year do you breed? (See MCOA Code Of Ethics link)
- Why did you do this breeding?
(Prepare for a lengthy chat here. If it is too short, move on to another
breeder now, do not waste your time. You want to hear something like...
"My dogs are great in this respect and that respect, but I needed this or
that on this bitch and therefore chose that dog, hoping for XYZ." What
you DON'T want to hear is... "For puppies, of course" or "I needed the
cash" or "I had her here and she was in heat and he was here/down the road/owned
by a friend/won that big show" (never a good enough reason alone). You
also want to hear about both of the parents, not just the sire or
dam of the litter. They both should have something of value to contribute
other than the right parts and their availability.
- What are the good points
and not-so-good points of your line in general? Where is your breeding
program now and where is it going? How are you planning to get there?
- What qualities do you
feel are most important in a Mastiff? What qualities are you willing
to sacrifice to get them? (This can be a VERY telling question!
There are no perfect dogs, and every marraige of dogs' DNA is like a human
marraige; hopefully it will be mostly wonderful, but there is a very real
aspect of give and take on both sides. If you want to find an honest
breeder, this is the way to do it. Don't put this question first, put
it toward the end of the interview.)
- What do you require of
puppy buyers?
- How responsible do you
feel stud owners should be for the litters produced by their dogs? Why?
- How do you feel about
the pet quality puppies you produce?
- What have your litters
accomplished in the show ring? (This can be conformation, obedience,
agility, whatever.)
- Have you ever had a litter
that disappointed you? When? In what way? What did you do
about it? (If they answer has everything to do with quantity... meaning
something like "just that there weren't enough of them!" and nothing to do
with the qualities that didn't go the way the breeder had hoped, recognize
the red flag this person is waving in front of you.)
- What temperament titles
do you earn with your dogs? Why do you feel it is important/not important
to earn these titles as proof that the temperament of your dogs is appropriate?
- Where do your dogs live?
(kennel, house, with handlers, etc.) Why?
- Why did you get into
breeding Mastiffs? Are you glad you did? What would you do differently
if you could turn back time?
If you have any questions
at all, please feel free to call us at home. Our number is 978-632-6898.
The best time to reach us is
mornings or early evenings.
Please be sure to review the MCOA Code Of
Ethics before you speak with too many breeders. There are reasons for
each of these items. We'd be happy to discuss them with you.
Whether or not a breeder is an MCOA member, you will want to see that they
deal with their breeding program and with puppy buyers with integrity first
and foremost. It doesn't cost you any more. It will actually
cost you less in the long run.
We are not the only responsible breeders
of Mastiffs and do not mean to present that picture. We even allow
that you might like us just fine and not like our dogs. (Really!)
We'd be happy to let you know about other breeders whom we know deal with
people and their Mastiffs responsibly so that you can also check them out
for yourself. We do not badmouth other breeders, however. Don't
expect us to gossip. We will only speak positively about breeders with
whom we have dealt on some level and have been happy with the results.
We believe that people who have gotten this far into their search can make
up their own minds about the people with whom they'd like to become associated.
Listen to your gut instincts and you will do
just fine.
Lastly, whether you buy a puppy from us or not,
you are always more than welcome to come to us with questions at any point
in time. The Mastiff is our first priority (after our human family)
and we feel it is a breeder's responsibility to be there when any member of
the breed needs help.
Take the time to do it right.
It is well worth the effort.
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