Are you looking for a Schipperke puppy? If you are, nothing is more important than educating yourself on how not just to find a breeder, but find a good breeder. This is very important, not only in making sure you get a quality puppy, but a healthy, well socialized puppy. More than that, making sure you buy from a responsible breeder one step step closer to fewer or no Schipperkes in need of rescue in the future! We have divided our tips up into MUST HAVES, GOOD INDICATIONS, and NOT IMPORTANT.
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MUST HAVES:
MPSIIb: First lesson in hunting for a Schipperke puppy, ask about MPSIIb! MPS is a fatal disease in Schipperkes, but we have a genetic test; so that means if everyone tests, there never needs to be another Schipperke that dies from MPS! A good breeder will tell you about MPS, but they will also have tested their breeding stock, and they should be able to show you proof from UPENN that their dog was tested. If a breeder has not testing their Schipperkes for this disease, do not buy one of their puppies! You can see a sample sheet below for what MPS test results will look like from UPENN.
CONTRACT: A good breeder will use a contract, and they will be willing to send it to you. The contract will list out what the breeder expects from you, but it should also spell out the health guarantee on that puppy that they are offering to you. Read it carefully, make sure those terms are acceptable to you.
MPSIIb: First lesson in hunting for a Schipperke puppy, ask about MPSIIb! MPS is a fatal disease in Schipperkes, but we have a genetic test; so that means if everyone tests, there never needs to be another Schipperke that dies from MPS! A good breeder will tell you about MPS, but they will also have tested their breeding stock, and they should be able to show you proof from UPENN that their dog was tested. If a breeder has not testing their Schipperkes for this disease, do not buy one of their puppies! You can see a sample sheet below for what MPS test results will look like from UPENN.
CONTRACT: A good breeder will use a contract, and they will be willing to send it to you. The contract will list out what the breeder expects from you, but it should also spell out the health guarantee on that puppy that they are offering to you. Read it carefully, make sure those terms are acceptable to you.
GOOD INDICATIONS:
SCA Member: Is your breeder a member of the Schipperke Club of America? If they are, it isn't proof they are a good breeder, but it is a very good indication.
PEDIGREES: A good breeder will be willing to send you a pedigree on their Schipperke litter. Ask them for information on the dogs in this pedigree - what can they tell you about the grand parents, the great grandparents? Ask them why they bred these two dogs together. A good breeder breeds with care and thought, they don't just breed two dogs together!
ADOPTION OR PURCHASE?: A lot of breeders are only after the money. If you have found a good breeder, who loves and cares for their puppies, the purchase will feel more like an adoption process to you than a purchase. It may seem annoying to answer questions, have someone check out your home, but it is a very good indication that you are dealing with someone who has raised their puppies with care.
HOW MANY BREEDS OF DOGS?: There are people who are active in their breed who also have another breed of dog, maybe even two. But if your breeder has several different breeds, or crosses two breeds together into a "Designer Dog", it is a good indication you are dealing with a commercial breeder. This is NOT a good sign.
DISCUSSES HEALTH ISSUES: The Schipperke Breed has several health issues that are more common in the breed than others. A good breeder will discuss these with you, and discuss how they test their breeding stock. Do they test their dogs eyes? Their hips? This is more than just a quick trip to the vet, these are tests only certain specialist vets can provide. A bad sign is a breeder who says, "My dogs are all healthy, they see the vet". They haven't done the testing, they just take their dogs to the vet the same as you do. Dog used for breeding should have passed specific tests.
YOUR PUPPY SEES A VET?: You shouldn't get your puppy before they are 8 weeks old, and your puppy should see a vet before he or she comes home to you. Vets can check the puppy's eyes, heart, knees or patellas, their tummy, and their general health. It is OK to ask for the breeder's vets number to find out if your puppy passed those tests, and it is OK to require proof.
ACTIVE IN THEIR BREED: Schipperkes are active in showing at the dog shows, performance such as obedience or agility, and a host of other things. While many people see this as unimportant, it actually is one of the best "tells" that you have a good breeder. Belonging to clubs, going to shows, and doing things with their dogs keeps breeders connected to each other, and constantly learning about the breed. If it were not for show breeders, Schipperkes would never have been developed into a breed, their history would never have been recorded, they would never have come to America, and it is very, very unlikely that you would ever have heard of them! Finding a breeder who is involved in the breed means finding a breeder who is a part of all of that. Most important of all, if you have a breeder who is not involved with the breed at all, they have only their own dogs information to go on, and that makes it very hard to know the health history on their dog. If their dogs' grandparents seizured, would they know it? If they had hip problems, would they know it? They likely didn't own those dogs, and they likely didn't speak to the breeders that did own those dogs. Those dogs also were less likely to actually be tested for those things.
RESCUE: Believe it or not, it is most often show breeders who rescue Schipperkes! In fact, the lady in Schipperkes who helps run one of the biggest rescue programs not only shows her Schipperkes, she recently won Best of Breed at one of our National Specialties! Show breeders often help raise money for rescue dogs, they help transport, they help by fostering, they help by bailing the dogs out of shelters, and they help by advertising rescue dogs. Moveover, if you can't keep your puppy for any reason, a good breeder WILL want that puppy BACK! They will want to be involved with making sure every dog they produce has a good home!
NOT IMPORTANT
OWN SIRE: A lot of people like hearing that the mom and the dad are both on the property. This might be the case, but good breeders want to use the BEST males for their girls, not the easiest or the closest. Most of the time, this means they send their girls to another breeder and breed to their male. This is an expensive process most of the time: usually there are travel expenses, stud feeds, vet fees, etc. This often means that you are dealing with a good breeder. It is good to ask the breeder, why did you choose this male? Listen to their answer carefully, it will tell you a lot about them!
LETS YOU PICK YOUR PUPPY RIGHT AWAY: Many people want to know which puppy in the litter they are getting right away. A good breeder cannot do that, they want to evaluate their puppies once they get to be 8 weeks old or so. Don't let that worry you, you are still getting a nice puppy!
OWN SIRE: A lot of people like hearing that the mom and the dad are both on the property. This might be the case, but good breeders want to use the BEST males for their girls, not the easiest or the closest. Most of the time, this means they send their girls to another breeder and breed to their male. This is an expensive process most of the time: usually there are travel expenses, stud feeds, vet fees, etc. This often means that you are dealing with a good breeder. It is good to ask the breeder, why did you choose this male? Listen to their answer carefully, it will tell you a lot about them!
LETS YOU PICK YOUR PUPPY RIGHT AWAY: Many people want to know which puppy in the litter they are getting right away. A good breeder cannot do that, they want to evaluate their puppies once they get to be 8 weeks old or so. Don't let that worry you, you are still getting a nice puppy!
THIS IS WHAT MPS TEST RESULTS LOOK LIKE:
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