Eridox - finding a reputable breeder

I get asked pretty regularly by people in the market for a dachshund how they should go about looking for a reputable dachshund breeder and what are signs to look for [or to avoid]. Granted, this section of my book will be / is long and detailed, but because I get asked about it so often, I have decided that placing a quick run-down here on my website, at least for the time being, would be more beneficial than not. The list of things to avoid in a breeder is a mile long, so this list includes things to look for in a breeder, and if you just use this list in your search, you will be able to easily avoid most all of the non-reputable breeders that are out there.

Neither this list nor any part of this list may be reproduced anywhere for any reason, as it will basically be appearing in the book in the future. Thank you for understanding.

Then look for each and every one of these things.

A reputable breeder is knowledgeable about what she does.

She understands a great deal about all the different features of the breed and the history of the breed.
She did not start breeding until she had a good understanding of pre-natal care, whelping, post-natal care, and a good understanding of all the features of the breed.
She can competently answer most all basic questions a potential buyer or new owner would have about breeding, about the breed, about her dogs, and about her puppies. (For example, if you ask, "What age is best for dachshund puppies to go to their new homes?", "What are some different types in the breed?", "What can a dachsie of this size be used for?", "What is sichtlaut?", "What are the dad's drives like?", "Has the mom been CERFed or OFAd?", "Is either parent sharp?", "Does this puppy have pain tolerance?", "What is your end goal for your breeding program?", etc., she will give some kind of a decent, meaningful answer to such basic questions, as opposed to, say, a puppymillish response of "Huh? What's that? LOL!", as if it's funny she doesn't know what she's doing, or as if she expects you to research the simple answer on her behalf and explain it to her so that she can shrug it off.)
She is always keeping her eyes and ears open for more information and new information relating to raising, training, working with, testing, and breeding dogs/dachsies. She is always willing and eager to learn more.

A reputable breeder knows each of her dogs well, she has a detailed plan and a specific goal for her breeding program, and her objectives encompass all features of the breed.

She does not breed female dogs that are under a year of age at minimum because they are still mentally and physically puppies and because she understands she cannot conclusively know their ultmate drives and aspects of temperament before they are almost a year of age.
She personally observes and judges/tests, and if possible, she also has a professional/judge test on her behalf, the temperament, personality, drives, "intelligence", structure, movement, and health of all her adults and puppies.
She will may register the results of one or more of those tests with a reputable third party registry such as CERF, OFA, PennHIP, a different known and respected registry, a known and respected genetics company, or a known and respected university genetics department. (Health-wise, there is no reason a dachshund breeder should not check the spines of all the dogs she breeds, and it is further indicated that those parents' patellas regged with the OFA and eyes regged with CERF should be the typical bare minimum in modern reputable dachshund breeding.) She will encourage buyers to look at / confirm those registrations.
When she produces puppies with faults or finds faults in her adults, she seeks out information on those faults to learn how to breed away from them genetically or avoid them environmentally, and she will find out if she can contribute genetic samples of those with the fault to help further research for the breed and for her own dogs.
She keeps records (in either pedigree form, list form, and/or prose form) of her breeding dogs' strengths and faults and those of the puppies they produce.
She does follow-ups with the owners of her puppies/adults (shortly after they are in their new homes, and around a year or more later) to see if the owners are happy with their dogs, to ensure she is producing decent examples of the breed in all ways possible, and to gain more information on whether or not she is going in the direction she wants with her breeding program.
She has taught her dogs basic manners and obedience not only in order to mold them into good companion animals but to also find out more about them in regards to their temperaments, drives, and problem-solving abilities.
She does not purposefully engage in damaging or dangerous breeding practices (breeding for soft/silky wires, breeding for double dapples or dapple-parti ("dapple pie") mixes without appropriate testing and favorable test results beforehand, breeding for severe faults, etc.).
Her breeding program essentially ignores fads in the breed.

A reputable breeder does not own too many dogs to take care of, control, observe, judge, interact with, and do training of some kind with on a daily basis.

Some or many of her dogs will live in the house with her, but those that do not have clean, weather-controlled kennels with runs and get as much attention as those that do live in the house.
If she has many dogs, she will have enough competent help (family members, outside volunteers, or paid staff) to help her do all of those things with on a daily basis.

A reputable breeder is careful and choosy when it comes to who she sells her puppies/adults to.

She only sells directly to the pet owner / breeder, never to a middle-man (broker, pet store owner, etc.).
She screens her puppies'/adults' buyers carefully, either in person or over the phone or both (not just via e-mail or a web forum), to try to ensure her puppies will live in a decent environment and will be taken care of, whether they are intended to be pets or breeders.
She will not sell a puppy/adult to a buyer if she does not think they would be a decent match for each other.
She will not allow a puppy to go to its new home until it is nine weeks old without good reason.
She will not allow puppies/adults she breeds or owns who have more than a handful of minor faults, more than a couple of moderate faults, or any severe faults to be bred.
She will not sell a dog from one of her breedings intact (for breeding purposes) until she has formed a line or knows a great deal about both sides of the outcross.

A reputable breeder has relevant information/paperwork together for the buyer or potential buyer.

She has a decently-written contract, not just a few lines of randomness or sentences that are ill-defined, wishy-washy, or badly-written in some other way.
Her contract has a health guarantee that is not vague.
Her contract has a clause stating that at any time during the puppy's/adult's life, if the buyer can no longer take care of him or no longer wants him, that she will take him back.
She can provide written information/documentation on the puppy's/adult's history, health, vaccinations, temperament, drives, personality/idiosyncracies, health/vaccination records/schedules, and general tips on its upkeep and training.

A reputable breeder is known to be a decent person and an honest person.

She will encourage you to come over and view her home/kennel in person.
She is known to be a relatively friendly, approachable person.
She does not become defensive or aggressive when asked reasonable questions.
She is known not to be so full of herself that she cannot or will not readily acknowledge her dogs' faults (it is of note that all dogs have faults), or she cannot acknowledge any other dogs are potentially of better quality than hers.
If she engages her dogs in competitions with others, she is known to show sportsmanship.
She is relatively easy to get in touch with (phone, e-mail, and/or snail-mail), and she is known to be relatively easy to keep in touch with after a sale.
She does not engage in false advertizing or deceptive advertizing, and she is known to not cheat her buyers and to not steal property from other breeders, buyers, organizations, companies, writers, photographers, or artists.

A reputable breeder breeds to improve the breed.

All of those items listed above a reputable dachshund breeder does. Only some of those items a non-reputable dachshund breeder does. Please, don't be fooled by bad breeders who don't care enough about their dogs, the puppies they produce, their breeding programs, the breed itself, or you the buyer. They are a dime a dozen; they can be found anywhere at any time, and they are always ready and willing to take your money in exchange for contributing poor quality to you in particular and to the breed as a whole. Excuses they make for themselves or their sub-par breeding practices are just that, excuses.

A reputable buyer, through the market system, encourages improvement of the breed.

As a reputable dachshund buyer, you have a responsibility to the breed to try to ensure you only support those breeders who are bettering the breed. You always need to check out a breeder you're interested in buying from. Make certain she is practicing due diligence — keeping her dogs in a clean environment, feeding them decent and adequate food, testing all her stock in all categories (temperament, drives, health, and structure), reporting on her stock's testing, breeding only tested, quality specimens that are of age, selling only to assumèdly reputable buyers, and engaging in fair business practices with fair contracts and guarantees.

A buyer not practicing due diligence (a buyer purchasing from a non-reputable breeder) will only lead to the continuing high volume production and sales of poor-quality dogs from breeders who just don't care enough - if the buyers don't care, the non-reputable breeders have no motivation to care either. As a reputable buyer, you indirectly put out of business the non-reputable breeders by directly helping to support the recovery and continuance of our quality breed by buying only from the reputable ones.

Best of luck to you in finding and purchasing your future best friend!

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