r/DogBreeding

I’m thinking about getting a puppy from them

Hey y'all. A little back story. My wife and I raise miniature dachshunds. We spent years researching the breed, setting boundaries for ourselves on what we believed makes an ethical breeder (so that we have guidelines for ourselves to stick to), getting our own dachshunds and raising them up, having them genetic tested, and my wife even did a year of schooling in dog obedience and behavior. Our first mama had her second litter in April (we only breed our mamas once a year). And our second girl just hit two years old (our vet recommendations for first litter), so we plan to breed her during her next cycle here in a few months. In our experience we found the platform GoodDog to offer the most vetting opportunities and exposure. Long term we want to create our own website, but tackling creating it and getting exposure feels so intimidating, so for now we use GoodDog. And we hate it.

We had 4 our first litter and placed all through GoodDog. It was pretty quick, pretty successful, and of course GoodDog gouges you in fees. Felt worth it though because we really like the application process, securities they offer both parties, and how deeply we can vet buyers. We had 6 this litter, have placed 4, but we're getting no bites anymore. All of our benchmarks are at 100% except placement, which is at a whopping 7%. Every time someone asks how much (even though it's clearly listed) and then doesn't respond again, or starts an application and doesn't finish it, or teenagers put in apps without talking to parents and the ghost after their parents shut it down, we get knocked down in placement rate. If we turn a buyer down because they're not a good fit (will leave dog kenneled 10 hours a day, backyard breeder looking for more mamas, want a lazy dog but applied for the most active pup because she's prettier, etc) that benchmark also drops.

We reached out to GoodDog and they said we need to get that benchmark up to get visibility back. That feels like being punished for vetting and making sure our babies go somewhere safe. When we mentioned that, we got this insane response about making sure we only take payments through GoodDog (which is all we've ever done). More and more it's just becoming clear that they reward breeders who pump out dogs and take the money from whoever is willing to pay, not good placement matches. What else is out there for those of us trying to do this responsibly? I've been researching for a week and just am not finding squat that feels valid and safe. We uncovered a puppy mill listed on AKC marketplace and had to work with a local human society and law enforcement in their city to get it shut down, ACK refused to help in any capacity. They also have double dapples listed (literally dogs were blind and deaf at birth), and dogs that were not genetic tested at all. Puppyfinder offers basically no vetting options or protections, not gonna use Craigslist or shady classifieds to list. Any advice or info would be deeply appreciated!

If you were in a breed where participation in events was very small, to the point where entries were often only 2–3 dogs (sometimes the same exhibitors and dogs competing weekend after weekend across multiple registries), how would you approach evaluating titles?

For example, in conformation, even a dog with an obvious structural fault might still finish championship because of limited competition—not because the judge is bad, but simply because there aren't many dogs entered. The same idea could apply to other venues where participation is very small.

In that situation, would titles still carry the same weight for you when choosing a puppy or breeding prospect? Or would you rely more heavily on evaluating the individual dog, its pedigree, and what the line consistently produces, whether titled or not?

I'm not asking because I think titles are meaningless. I'm genuinely curious how experienced breeders adjust the amount of weight they give a title when participation is very limited.

I'm curious whether this is something I've just noticed more within my breed, or if breeders in other breeds also look this deeply into behavior genetics. This isn't meant as a jab at any breed—I genuinely want to hear different perspectives.

For the sake of this discussion, I'm talking about dogs that have had a relatively normal upbringing—no significant abuse, neglect, major trauma, or life-altering events that would obviously influence behavior. I'm more interested in the genetic component of temperament than behaviors that are clearly the result of environment.

The more dogs I've bred, evaluated, and followed throughout their lives, the harder it has become for me to believe temperament is simply "best dog × best dog = best puppies."

I've become convinced that behavior is highly polygenic and that dogs can genetically mask strengths and weaknesses depending on the pairing. Two stable dogs can produce an unstable puppy. A dog with a few minor quirks can produce remarkably solid offspring when paired correctly. Conversely, two individually decent dogs can produce offspring that express the same underlying weakness much more strongly.

Over the years I've also started paying much more attention to the little behavioral quirks. They may seem insignificant in the individual dog, but when two dogs with similar tendencies—or similar family backgrounds—are paired together, those quirks sometimes seem amplified in the offspring.

For example, a dog may only have a subtle issue with frustration, such as taking longer to settle after excitement, but otherwise lives its life as a seemingly stable, functional dog. Pair that dog with another carrying similar tendencies—either individually or within its pedigree—and some offspring seem to express those traits much more severely, becoming destructive or struggling to "regulate" their frustration.

For those of you who have bred, trained, or evaluated dogs for many years, have you seen similar patterns? Do you think behavior genetics, genetic masking, and polygenic inheritance play a larger role than many breeders acknowledge? Do you think training, socialization, and conditioning can sometimes mask genetic behavioral weaknesses? Or do you think people sometimes overinterpret what they're seeing?

EDIT: Okay, I realized I didn't word my question very well. 😅 I'm not asking whether behavior is genetic or polygenic. I'm asking whether there are breeders who evaluate even subtle behavioral quirks that deeply when planning pairings because they may represent mildly expressed polygenic traits. Do you look at small behavior "quirks" as genetically meaningful when selecting pairings?

TLDR: would you reach out to your breeder if your dog was diagnosed with gallstones at only 3 years old?

Hello! I’m just looking for opinions from others who have bought their dog from a breeder and is dealing with some health issues. I bought my miniature poodle from what I believe is an ethical breeder that I found through a breed specific Facebook group that has a list of ethical breeders that do the appropriate health testing (OFA). My poodle has just turned 3 about a 1.5 years ago she had gastroenteritis and that was easily resolved, she’s had issues with eating since a puppy and about 2 months ago she was diagnosed with pancreatitis, luckily I was very proactive and I caught it before it got bad, while doing x-rays when we were originally looking for what the issue was gallbladder sludge was found, we immediately started medication and did another x-ray 3ish weeks later and it was recommended to see a specialist, we’ve now gone to a specialist and she’s been now diagnosed with gallstones, we’ve now have to start a prescription diet and continue ultrasound regularly to watch for growth, and with all that comes along other risks related. As I said she’s only just turned 3 and this has been a difficult process for her to have to go through, thankfully I have pet insurance however it does add up of course. She’s the best dog, her temperament is amazing and she’s incredibly smart. My question is, is this something I should reach out to her breeder and let them know about these issues? Is there a point? I asked the vet specialist and she said it would be good and to also ask about gi issues within their lines. I ultimately don’t want to come off as rude or that I’m looking for something. Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this!

I’ve seen several TikTok’s saying a puppy going home between 10-12 weeks is preferred especially with bigger dogs. Some breeders prefer the puppies to have more time with mom and their littermates. Does this help the puppy behaviorally? I also see a lot of people discussing socialization. Just wondering anyone else opinion on this topic!

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The dogs name is Bauser (Bowser) he’s a backyard bred mini American bully, and is now three years old with no papers whatsoever approve his lineage that my mother-in-law got from a relative who was breeding them but in the three year time span, the breeder has already stopped breeding and no longer does it which to me says something but this dog pees and poops all around the house to mark territory so when we wake up in the morning, there’s four or 5 per marks and three areas where he pooped. He is unneutered and she says it’s because she wants to breed him, but everybody in the family is telling her to get him neutered because he’s got health issues and he’s backyard bred so he has not even a good example of the breed. He can’t even compete in shows because he can’t prove his lineage and he doesn’t have AKC papers.

This may be a stupid question but as breeders how do yall feel about getting pictures of pups yall have sold? Does it get to a point where its annoying/floods your messages? I’d love to send my breeder more pics of my guy but I didn’t want to come across as annoying, so I’m just wondering if its something yall actually appreciate :)

I have been searching the web for months now and i have ran into quite a few scams. So if yoh guys have any breeders or websites i can get miniature dachshund puppies from that ship to Alaska and aren’t crazy expensive that would be great!

Does anyone have suggestions for how to report a bad breeder? Like somewhere that should not be allowed to operate for ethical reasons.

Gonna rant about how I hate breeds like frenchies, bulldogs and pugs. As someone who who loves dogs and urges everyone to adopt I can’t stand that these are such popular dogs for people to buy. We’ve selectively bred they dogs to have unnatural body shapes as well as shortened noses and being the furthest thing from what most domestic dog breeds are. Every single person I’ve know to have these pets spend so much on surgeries and vet visits because guess what? They’re riddled with health issues and breathing problems, they’re only existence is to suffer because having something so funny looking is cute. It’s pretty sick and fucked up that people choose to spend thousands of dollars on these breeds and support the breeders to continue the endless cycle of these twisted perversions of what used to be dogs. I mean there’s so many amazing sweet animals getting put down everyday in shelters and you’d rather buy something (I personably think) that’s dumb looking. Sorry if this upsets people and I do love all dogs which is why the popularity of these types of dogs upsets me.

Let me start by saying I know little about this breed, which is why I’m asking here, for the experience of those who know more.

From what I’ve read, CKCs have reached a point where serious health issues will eventually develop in nearly 100% of dogs in the breed. According to studies on US CKCs genetic health by NC State, nearly 100% of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are estimated to develop Mitral Valve Disease (MVD) by age 10. Additionally, over 70% develop Syringomyelia (SM)—a painful neurological condition due to skull malformation. Other prevalent conditions include hip dysplasia (up to 25%) and dental disease (affecting 9.5% in primary care) along with frequent GI issues, patellar luxation, and ear infections.

Obviously, some of these conditions can be screened for using genetic testing and radiography by ethical breeders, but how effective can those tests be when basically 100% of breed is effective with heart conditions? Even if screening was 100% accurate which it rarely is for cardiac conditions, the gene pool of unaffected dogs would be minuscule. All breeds have their health issues, but even “unhealthy” breeds like Dobermans have only about a 60% rate of cardiac issues, not on par with Cavs.

I understand that there are many people who love this breed and that they are lovely dogs but is it really possible to breed healthy cavs? Is breeding them ethically possible if they are likely destined for a life of pain and discomfort? For those in the know, what do you see as the future of the breed?

Hi all,

I was looking for suggestions on medium-sized breeds that are similar in personality and drive to a Golden Retriever. We are considering adding another dog within the next few years, but have a smaller space. We have an absolutely perfect Golden rn who is super chill while being athletic enough for runs and hikes, so would like to match that energy. Thanks!