So you are ready for that new addition to your family; the beloved family dog. You start to read online literature about the breed of your choice. After a day of reading, you feel like an expert and begin to search for reputable breeders. The suspense of knowing this is actually becoming a reality makes you change your timeframe from “the next few months” to “this week”. You will only choose a local breeder because you know your 10 minutes of playing with a puppy will tell you more about his or her personality than 8 weeks of raising the litter; more than the 1,344 hours of observing the puppies interacting with each other, their food, and their toys; more than a decade of knowledge about the father, mother, and possibly more past generations… Oh wait, does that not make sense?
Look, I get it. I purchase dogs too. I also want to meet the dog in person, the parents, see the home environment, and everything too – but I don’t have frequent flyer miles like that. I have to trust that the breeder I am purchasing from, located across the globe, is reputable and knows what he or she is doing. And how do I find that out, who do you ask? Past customers! You will learn more from a past customer than you will learn from visiting yourself because they have longevity on their side. They have heard the pitch, met the breeder, met the dogs, saw the quality of offspring, saw the home environment… but they have also went through the purchase process, possibly run into problems that they did not know how to fix, possibly had questions about training, etc. This is when their knowledge becomes invaluable. Did the breeder respond? Did the breeder help?
Yes, we are located in Georgia USA. Yes, we advertise in all 50 states and beyond. Yes, we get many inquires who say they love everything they heard and saw but they will only purchase from a local breeder. Before I start, let me clarify that everyone has the right to purchase from who they choose. But why give yourself limits? Would you only eat food from restaurants in your neighborhood? Would you only vacation to locations in your state? Would you only allow your children to go to a local college? Would you only consider an in-state medical facility if a loved one fell ill? No, because the more important the situation, the more you are willing to travel – simply because THE BEST QUALITY is what is most important, NOT THE CONVENIENCE – OR INCONVENIENCE. So if we love our K9’s like our children, why do we limit ourselves?
In our country there are a few excellent breeders, many good breeders, and an overwhelming amount of junk backyard breeders. It is what it is. Being a mother, my priority is temperament when finding a dog. Next, I want to make sure the health is good. Last, I want my new dog to be handsome. I think these are the most common traits people look for. However, the traits that may make the most difference in your everyday home life are the ones you can’t see by visiting. For example, which puppy is the one who growls when another puppy goes near his food? Which puppy steps back if you approach to pet him? Which puppy is always instigating? Which puppy gets into everything? Which puppy does laps around the house and NEVER runs out of energy? The list goes on and on… This is when a professional breeder becomes the best choice, rather than worrying about the location of the breeder.
When we receive an inquiry for a Rottweiler puppy, the first thing we ask is for our potential customers to complete a buyer questionnaire. You will be surprised by the amount of people who refuse to complete this questionnaire simply because of the inconvenience. Look, if you cannot take the time to tell us a little bit about your experience, your home environment, your intentions and expectations, I may not have the time to reply. In the end, this buyer questionnaire is what allows us to recommend a pup that we believe will work best in your home environment.
Puppy matching is something we believe in. This is how DKV Rottweilers is able to receive such a large amount of satisfied clientele who continue to stay loyal. Now occasionally, there is a pup that could have been “reserved” in their litter but turned into a “firecracker” in his new home. Sometimes pups can act differently on their own than they did in their litter pack. However, most of the times, this is caused by existing pets in the new home and the animal’s natural instinct to determine their order of hierarchy. This is why we also ask about existing pets in our buyer questionnaire.
In the end, my point is to focus your energy on finding a “good” breeder who knows what they are doing and who has a LONG LIST of clientele who are willing to back up the claim. Talk to references. Ask questions. When you find “the one”, trust that they will match the perfect pup to your home environment. In the end, you want a dog that will fit into your family; one that fits into your activity level and one that will get along with any existing pets. Just remember, he or she may live over state lines. Your perfect puppy may live in Georgia, and that is okay because we offer shipping. Not a fan of flying a puppy? Read my article, “Is Shipping Safe”. Are you still not a fan? That’s okay; we offer front door delivery also. Why do we offer all of this? Because we were once in your shoes and we understand. But we also understand it is more important to find a puppy a FOREVER HOME rather than a local home! Let our difference be the difference, which makes you think differently…Hmm, I think that is what I meant.
~ Written by Liz Gutierrez
DKV Rottweilers | Rottweiler Blog 2020 