| If you want a quality Rottweiler for a companion, show or working dog
then you have come to the right place. If you are searching for a "cheap
pet" then you need to look elsewhere. We do not produce cheap pets. We are a
reputable and responsible breeder that is dedicated to the preservation of the Rottweiler,
producing sound, quality companions as well as show and working dogs. An
exhaustive amount of time, energy, effort and money goes into all of our
dogs, every breeding and every litter we produce. If you are still undecided
and you are unsure if you want to spend the money for a quality puppy
from a reputable breeder,
then read on.
If after reading this page you are still convinced that you can not
afford to buy a quality puppy then PLEASE get a dog or puppy from an
animal shelter or
Rottweiler rescue. Rescues are always originally purchased from back-yard breeders and puppy mills anyway! DO NOT support
puppy mills and back yard breeders,
if buyers continue to purchase
dogs from them, they will continue producing inferior dogs. It is the
responsibility of buyers to break the cycle and put these disgusting
"breeders" out of business. It is very simple. Puppy mills,
brokers, pet stores and back-yard breeders have only one priority - to make
a profit. If there is no demand they can not make a profit and if they can
not make profit they
will stop breeding. Innocent families buy these puppies only to find that the puppy is very
ill or has genetic or temperament problems. Often the puppies die at a young
age from genetic disease and many others have
medical problems that cost thousands of dollars. Don't bring this misery into your home.
The ASPCA Says:
"Responsible breeders are individuals who have
focused their efforts on one or a select few breeds and through breeding,
historical research and ongoing study, mentoring relationships, club
memberships, showing, raising and training of these breeds have become
experts in the breed’s health, heritable conditions, temperament and
behavior. Responsible breeders are well suited to educate and screen
potential buyers/adopters and provide follow-up support after purchase or
adoption. Responsible breeders take lifetime responsibility for the animals
they have bred."
And OFA Says:
"The last few years have seen a great deal of focus and criticism on the
practices of commercial breeders. Within the fancy we are quick to
differentiate ourselves, calling ourselves responsible breeders striving to
preserve and improve the breed. However, the term responsible breeder is one
that is earned, not assigned based on number of litters bred, or mere
participation in AKC events. Complacency over health issues, especially when
in pursuit of the blue ribbon, equates to irresponsibility. As responsible
breeders, we must recognize health issues where they exist, educate
ourselves on the issues, and incorporate health issues into our breeding
selection criteria with a specific goal of reducing inherited disease. In
addition to the OFA, canine health databases are maintained by CERF, PennHIP,
parent clubs, and by several leading research institutions and universities.
All breeders are urged to breed responsibly and use these tools for the
improved genetic health of our purebred dogs."
The ultimate goal of a reputable
and responsible Rottweiler breeder must be
to produce and maintain sound, healthy, strong, confident, intelligent, beautiful, quality
Rottweilers for the preservation and betterment of the breed
in accordance with the breed standard.
A reputable and responsible breeder....
-- Will take time to educate anyone that shows a desire to learn about the breed.
They will be willing to share their knowledge and beliefs about ownership, medical care, training, behavior,
working, showing, breeding, nutrition, health, resources or just about any other question that someone might have about their
dogs or the breed in general.
-- Will always welcome you into their home, allow you to meet all of the dogs and see how the dogs are cared for
and where they live. Beware of any breeder that will not allow you to see
certain areas of their home or property - where their dogs live or where the puppies are raised.
Only breeders who have something to hide will use the excuse about bringing
in disease to prevent you from visiting the dog areas of the home
or property. If you visit a breeder you should always come freshly showered with clean clothes,
your shoes should be sprayed with a disinfectant and/or removed when you
arrive and you should never visit after you have been at another breeder's
home, a pet store, veterinary clinic or other dog related place with risk of
exposure to disease.
-- Believes that health, breed type, temperament and working ability are all equally important.
-- Shows, works, trains and titles their own dogs.
-- Has gone to great lengths to prove that their dogs used for breeding are worthy
of being bred and will do everything possible to ensure that they only
produce sound, healthy, quality puppies with proper breed type.
-- Commonly uses outside stud dogs to find the best possible breeder partners and not
just breed their females to their own males because it's convenient and
free. Having both parents "on site" is not necessarily a good thing.
-- Has thorough knowledge of the known genetic disorders of the breed and only breeds animals that are certified to be
free of hereditary genetic diseases by the appropriate authority and make a serious effort to reduce the
overall incidence of hereditary diseases that exist in the breed. Beware of
breeders that claim that their breeding dogs have been "checked by a
veterinarian" for genetic disease. This is NOT sufficient clearance for
breeding and does not comply with the COE, principles or practices of breed
clubs.
-- Will take the time to explain that even though the dogs are clear of
genetic disorders, there are still inherent
risks with each and every breeding, each and every litter. Genetic diseases ARE
a problem in all breeds of dogs. With the screening tools currently available to breeders
we can minimize the risks, and even reduce the severity of the diseases
however breeding dogs that are known to be free of these defects will still produce dogs with genetic
problems.
-- Will provide copies of health certifications, scorebooks with Schutzhund
scores, show critiques, Ztp/BST reports, championships certificates,
obedience titles or documentation of any other titles or achievements they
claim to have on their dogs. Beware of dogs that have Schutzhund titles or
health certifications from countries other than Germany or the U.S. For $500
and some postage unethical breeders can receive a stamped, signed scorebook
for a fake Schutzhund or IPO title or fake hip and elbow ratings.
Verification of titles and health certifications done in Germany,
Switzerland, Austria and America can be easily done. Titles, certifications
and other paperwork from other foreign countries can NOT be verified!
-- Will raise puppies in the best way possible in regards to
diet, exercise, socialization and veterinary care.
-- Will not make promises or guarantees that an 8 week old puppy they are offering to you is
the next National Sieger, guaranteed to make Top Ten in AKC Conformation
statistics, or the next National Working Champion. There is a definite limit
as to what can be seen or predicted in an 8 week old puppy!
-- Provides lifetime support for each and every puppy they produce. This
includes taking the time to discuss behavior, training, diet, health or any
other questions their puppy owners may have.
-- Will keep track of the puppies that they produce, in order to
monitor their breeding program.
-- Guarantees the health of their puppies with a WRITTEN contract, not with a
verbal promise or a handshake. You can't take a handshake or verbal promise
to court if the breeder does not abide by what they have agreed upon.
-- Will NOT require that you return
your dog back to the breeder in order to get a replacement puppy due to
genetic disease or illness and will NOT offer to sell your dog with a known
genetic disease to a foreign country to help you recoup your losses.
-- Has extensive knowledge of their dog and pedigrees and be willing to share that
information about both the positive AND negative qualities - there's no such
thing as a perfect dog!
-- Will be able to explain the
benefit and risks expected from a planned line breeding. Inbreeding is not normally considered an
accepted breeding practice (brother to sister, father to daughter or mother to
son breeding).
-- Will interview you with serious intention to find out whether it is possible for you and your family
to train, take care and live with a Rottweiler.
-- Will only produce a few quality litters per year and normally does not
constantly have more than one litter at a
time. Beware of breeders that always have puppies available and have many
litters at the same time.
- Will recommend another good breeder to you if they are not planning a breeding in the near future.
-- NEVER has an accidental or unplanned breeding.
-- Owns some young dogs that they are actively raising, training and showing, a few females for breeding, a stud dog or two and
some spayed/neutered retired or non-breeding dogs!
Beware of a breeder that only owns a large number of breeding females and no
non-breeding, older and retired dogs. This is a sure sign that
their dogs are disposable when they have outlived their breeding usefulness.
-- Charges a reasonable amount of money for their pups in an attempt to
balance the expenses of their breeding program, a reputable breeder does not
produce puppies to make a profit and does not make a living from their dogs.
Is your potential breeder right for you?
If you have been communicating with breeders that meet none of the
above criteria then you should immediately look elsewhere for your puppy. If
you have been talking to breeders that meet some, but not all of the criteria, you should seriously
ask yourself what criteria are they falling short on, why, and
is it worth the risk. If you have found the breeder that is described above
then congratulations, you are on your way to owning a healthy, happy,
quality puppy with a quality breeder to support you for the life of that
puppy.
Don't be fooled!
The advent of the internet has made it much easier for people to search
for a breeder for a new puppy but unfortunately there are no "Truth in
Advertising" laws for internet websites. It is very easy to hire a
professional webmaster to build a fancy, glitzy website to attract puppy
buyers and make false claims of heritage, titles and health certifications.
It is also very easy to take a photograph of a beautifully manicured section
of a home or one or two clean kennels to represent the living conditions of
dogs when the reality is the dogs live in nasty, filthy conditions.
It is
easy to provide testimonials of a few customers that are happy with the dogs
they purchased (because nothing bad happened to them or their dog) when the
reality is they have had many complaints from unhappy customers when the
breeder didn't stand behind the ones that had health problems, or they were
not as the breeder represented or they didn't turn out as promised by the
breeder. Breeders can have lawsuits currently filed against them, judgments
against them, even liens on their homes and they are not going to tell you
about these things or advertise these issues on their website!
It is easy to steal photographs of another breeder's dogs, it is seen on
the internet all the time. There are photographs of top German dogs that
reside in Germany advertised on websites as stud dogs residing in the U.S.
We have seen stolen photos used for advertisement for a sire or dam of a
litter of puppies and even
stolen photos of adult dogs for sale and when the buyer receives the adult
dog it doesn't look anything like the dog in the photo!
It is well worth the time to meet your breeder in person, meet their dogs
and observe their devotion to the bred and the care and condition of their dogs and puppies. If
this is not possible, then ask the breeder to provide references of people
that have seen the breeder's practices and efforts firsthand.
Anyone can call themselves a "Code of Ethics", "Reputable" or
"Responsible" breeder, it means
absolutely nothing, until the breeder's ethics are tested. It's simply a
matter of integrity.
"Breeding is the
expression of your love of dogs and
your personal pursuit in creating an
art."
Jonathan Jeffrey Kimes
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