BIJOU STANDARD POODLES

Available Puppies !!... Meet Our Poodles... Our References... What to Buy for Puppy ... About US & Our Poodles

Contact us: brownpoodles@yahoo.com




I WANT TO BREED:

 


We do not do stud services to Goldens, Labs or any other breeds.
There are enough mutts in the world already.
If you wish to produce, or own a calm, affectionate big dog that does not shed, get a standard poodle.
There is enough breed diversity that Poodles are not inbred.
I wish people would stop using Standard Poodles to Fix negative traits in other breeds.
Mixed poodles do shed and people with allergies will react to them.
No Standard Poodle Breed traits will be guaranteed with such a mix such as height, calmness, coat and colour.
People that think other wise, are greatly mislead.




 

I know what it is like to want to breed. Heck I am doing it.
But I do want you to know that I also earned the right to breed.
I know exactly what I have in my dogs lines health and temperament wise.
I studied pedigrees for years before I ever purchase ANY Poodle for my program.
I have short and long term goals for my program that involve 10 years down the road.
I know exactly what I will do for a puppy buyer that is calling with ANY concern.
I am prepared to accept back any puppy whose home is unhappy or disrupted.

I have the home and proper, safe, clean, set up in our home.
I have the cleanest, best Whelping area for our pups to develop emotionally and physically healthy and happy
I spent even spent a small fortune in research and development to design and build the best Puppy Box
to ensure that my pups are all Clean, Happy, Healthy and have already begun their toilet training.
My Puppy Box is used by Breeders and trainers all over Canada as a result of it's effectiveness in raising healthy clean pups.
I have the support, the finances (through my working as a Full time Professional Firefighter) to afford my hobby
and the care, knowledge and conscious, it takes to raise healthy happy dogs and puppies and to find the perfect homes.

I will make the tough choice to spay/neuter and find a loving pet home
for any of our poodles that are not producing what I feel they should be,
that doesn't have the temperament I need, or that fails any of our health testing
instead of continuing to breed them knowing they are not 100 % Ideal for my Breeding program .
A choice that breeders breeding for profit would NEVER choose to make at a financial loss.
This choice to find a pet home for one of my cherished poodles is an emotionally tough one to make, but no one said
that having Ethical and Reputable breeding practices was going to be easy.

Because I wish to only have a clean home and have our Poodles as our pets, I can only house a
limited number of poodles. Anyone that has been breeding/showing/trialing as long as we have
which is over 2 decades will eventually be faced with the same choices of limiting numbers to only the best.
Anyone ~new~ to breeding will find this difficult to understand until they are as established as ourselves.
I have had to re-home a number of fantastic Poodles just because they just didn't pass
our strict breeding standards although were incredible pets and it doesn't get any easier.
The one thing that does make it easier, is when I find a fantastic home that embrace my poodles
as if they were always a member of their family and I see the huge grin on my Poodles faces, happy in their homes.

Breeding is not a passing fancy, my living, or an education for my children. I have been showing/trialing/breeding since 1989.
Breeding and showing is my passion and I will be doing this for many years, which means I will still be around to honour my guarantees.
I have the education to assist any puppy buyer with any problem solving, offering real and informative solutions or referals to better sources.

 

How I got here:

I was lucky enough to finally meet a breeder who would work with me.
I pestered her a year until she agreed to mentor me. It took that long before I finally earned the right, in her eyes,
to buy one of her dogs for breeding purposes, all the while continuing my education
of all the ins and outs of proper breeding.

I went to all the dog shows and cleaned up all the poo,
washed and combed out the dogs and took handling, obedience, field, tracking, Schutzhund, Ring Sport, Agility, Therapy Lessons.
In return my mentor taught me how to give vaccines, groom, remove tails and dewclaws, maintain basic medical care
so that my dogs and puppies would have immediate and proper care because I could recognize signs and symptoms
of any problems or concerns that the uneducated breeder would miss and treat or differ to a specialist if needed.
Real breeders also do their own tails and dewclaws so that they are done properly. Vets do not have the capability
to know hundreds of specific breed standards and I want my tails and dewclaws done properly, without
exposing my precious babies to disease and illness lurking in a Vet's office.

My mentor was also an obedience instructor and taught me how to train dogs for obedience.
She taught me the value of having healthy dogs with great temperaments that also conformed to the breed standard.
She also had me learn my breed's standard inside and out so that I could easily and quickly assess a puppy or dog's potential
and or faults and learn what I would do to improve the faults if possible.
I spent a small fortune on books and videos and spent hours learning from handlers.

I also found a behaviour specialist who taught me all about canine behaviour and various alternative
methods of training and how to temperament test my dogs and puppies. I studied pedigrees, colour breeding, genetics.
I joined many dog breed clubs and read many articles in my effort to educate myself.
Eventually after a great deal of accomplishments, I was established and welcomed as a valuable resource within the dog community

I was invited to sit on my City's Dog Legislation board to help come up with an alternative to banning breeds.
I also wrote many articles on my breed and breeding that were received well enough, to be published in CKC magazine.
After many years, I wrote a monthly column under the Breedlines Headline for the ABCOC which helped introduce this
relatively new breed to Canada and formed the first Canadian Breed Club which unified Canadian breeders and
became the breed's resource for many issues involving legislation within Canada and around the world.

Because I could not keep or do a show coat on my poodles to show with CKC I decided to spend my energy
learning and doing obedience, Pet Therapy, CGC (Canine Good Citizen), Tracking, Agility and even started in Schutzhund
I continued to handle non-coated breeds to their Championships, Group and Speciality wins within CKC and Rare Breed Associations.
I became involved with Search and Rescue through St. John Ambulance as a Lieutenant
and was involved in the planning of the first St. John Ambulanc SAR Dog program in my City, before we moved away.

Because of my continued interest in DNA testing I was invited and did, participate in Vet Gen's
search for the DNA marker for the brown gene which thanks to the efforts of myself and other brown breeders was achieved !
We complete EVERY conclusive health testing available and as it comes available

Because of my ongoing interest in genetics and accomplishments in color breeding I have been
credited in the CFA History books as creating (actually should be bringing forth to light) a newer colour into acceptance
to the breed standard. In 2006 I was asked by CTM to publish a more indepth article about my discovery of another new
color within the Persian breed, called Cinnamon.

Learning and growing as a Breeder sounds like a long process ? Well it was.
That is why I say I ~ EARNED ~ the right to breed.
It took me 3 years from expressing an interest in breeding
to actually owning a show quality puppy and 5 years before having my first litter.
Now many years later (over 20 years) I am now able to offer my puppy buyers Quality Puppies
and support for any training, grooming, feeding questions or problems they may encounter.
God forbid there is any health problems, but if there is, I am still going to be around,
enabling my contract and guarantees to be honoured.

 

Not everyone agrees with my practices and they don't have to.
Because of our World Wide reputation of owning and producing amazing Poodles
and being an Ethical, Reputable Breeder there are jealous people out there, quick to trash talk us for their own gains.
Fortunatly most people will see through their unethical behavior and ask us directly any questions they may have.

The one thing that our few critiques can't deny, is the fact that we have some of
the Calmest, Sweetest Natured, Loving, Beautiful, Healthy Red and Brown Poodles
with Correct Conformation found in the World.
But don't just take our word for it..read some of the 100's of References with photos we have posted since 2004.

I often get asked "why do you breed" ? This is so hard for me to answer, as how to I explain Passion and Vision ?
How do I explain that with each Breeding I get that much closer to MY and my Breed's Ideal.
Breeding Red and Brown Poodles is a long and ongoing process for me, because I'm trying to
keep our Temperament, gain even deeper, darker Colour that sustains, continue to have correct Conformation and Type
without comprimise and without loosing anything or going backwards on anything.

The science, studying, data collecting, formulating, calculating, planning,
implimenting, assessing and then Evaluating each litter is a great deal of work and frustrating at times.
However all that effort provides a great deal of joy, when I see my planning come into fruition.
One answer I have is that "I don't care so much about the now... now doesn't matter any longer, as it is here.
I see what "now" can get me in 3-5 years and then in 10 years where I will be with my Breeding Program and what
I will be able to offer the public. I constantly strive for perfection in my hobby and in my life.

 

WHAT WE ALL NEED TO BE AWARE OF:

Breeding is more than putting two dogs together and in then getting puppies.
You have a responsibility to those you sell to and also the breed you have chosen to breed.
Bred in indiscriminately, the breed you have chosen, will become a dime a dozen with no value
(meaning you can not sell them) and found in every shelter
and health or temperament problems because of excessive inbreeding or poor breeding choices.

You could make a great profit if you sold your 10 pups for breeding purposes,
but do not expect to be in the hobby very long, as the following year you will be
trying to sell your puppies along with the 10 people you sold to.
Plus you will have no control over who gets your lines and there would be nothing more devestating
than surfing the Internet and seeing your dog's pups or grandpuppies chained up and being abused or bred indiscriminately


But if I can't appeal to your conscious, just think, within the one year there could be 110 puppies for sale in your area also
driving the price down as you compete with each other barely allowing you to cover your costs.
This is another reason why "responsible" Breeders sell with non-breeding contracts
or perform pediatric spay or neuter on their pups before they go home.
Selling puppies as pets ensures that you will have loving puppy homes for your next litters.
As a breeder you have to think long term and think how your actions will effect you and your breed down the road.

If you are going to be a responsible breeder you need to be able to take puppies back
if something happens to their owners (meaning the room), because your pups should NEVER end up in a human society or shelter.

You need to have a great deal of medical knowledge to be able to
recognize signs and symptoms of any problems in your adults or puppies to get medical attention
or treat as soon as possible and to treat appropriately as a Vet could take you to the cleaners if you let them.

You need to understand pedigrees and genetic problems to not perpetuate health or temperament issues.
Remember you offer a Health Guarantee so you would go broke breeding unhealthy puppies and then having to give replacements.

You need to be available to assist your puppy buyers when they call with all sorts of problems
from toilet training, itchy ears, barking, loose stools and yes they will call you the breeder, 24 hours 7 days a week.
You need to be able to offer some comfort, knowledge and support to them.

You will also need the room, to raise healthy pups since sometimes you do not find homes
for them until they reach 6 months because people want another colour or sex than what you have.

You need to be able to have noisy, messy, expensive, growing puppies on your property without the neighbours complaining to the city.

You will need to have proper house insurance to cover the many visitors that will be coming out to see your lovely puppies.

You will need to learn about how to accept payment from puppy buyers without being scammed or ripped off.

You will have to gain great knowledge on how to register and process registration papers (a very expensive, complicated and lengthily process).

You will have to health test or screen (expensive), and title (obedience, conformation ect.)
the parents since most buyers want to know that what they are buying is healthy, smart and meets the breed standard.

You will have to have enough money set aside to be able to advertise the puppies
and to keep advertising until they sell which as I have mentioned could be up to 6 months of age or longer.
I know this as I had it happen to a backyard breeder that was stuck with 2 litters of standard poodles that didn't sell.
Desperate, she called me to see if I would buy her pups from her and resell them just to get them out of her house (which I did not do).
I did offer a ton of advise on proper planned breeding and how to house pups so they learn to be clean and how to place her pups properly.
Imagine housing and raising 24 pups in your home and no one buying your puppies !
Yes sadly, this same women is still breeding standard poodles, not doing any health testing, not titling her poodles,
not engaging in any breed clubs to further her knowledge, still doesn't know her pedigrees on her dogs
and is just breeding for profit to pay bills as she has no full time employement.



If you plan on breeding you will have to have a SUPPORTIVE spouse or family since this is a time consuming hobby
(cleaning, socializing, feeding, raising, selling) having no vacation time for up to 4 months.
Pups also keep you up all night through out the night with their barking and whimpering.
Breeding is a noisy, expensive and smelly hobby.
Honestly there is nothing worse than 3 days of interrupted sleep with crying pups because
one little puppy has crawled away from mom and is upset about it.
This hobby is stressful on even the best relationships, just ask around you will find most breeders are divorced.
You need to discuss terms of your hobby with your spouse a head of time so you are both prepared
for the many demands and interference in your lifestyle.

I often hear that ...you do not make money.... Well if you breed CORRECTLY you probably won't
Basically breeding brings you enough money to pay for your dog hobby.

MY YEARLY EXPENSES CAN BE OVER $61,000.00/Year !!

Which is why dog breeding is a "hobby" for reputable breeders.
This is also how you can identify unethical breeders whose only goal is ~puppies for profit~ as they don't do anything with their Poodles.


Monthly Expenses of ~My~ Owning Poodles $1,735.00 a month
food $300.00+
Toys and Treats $200.00+
Training lessons $300.00
Dog walker (days I work) $460.00
Grooming supplies $100.00++
Advertising $100.00
Internet $50.00
Web page $20.00
Club Memberships $20.00
Newsletters $20.00
Health testing $150.00
Cash incentives to puppy people $15.00


Expenses on a 10 Puppy Litter = $7,150.00 to $8,650.00
Stud fees $800.00+
Health testing in order to qualify for stud service $500.00/yr.
Vet for dewclaws, tails, $500.00 litter
Vet for micro-chipping $850.00
Vet check, shots and Health Certificates $1,000.00
Registration can cost $500.00
Advertising could run you $100.00/weekend or $1,000.00/year
Pediatric Spays and or Neuters = $1400.00
Whelping supplies such as my roll of papers, lysol wipes, : $1,000.00/Litter
Puppy Packages, toys, collars, leashes, DVD's : $650.00
Food and Treats: $500.00
Hiring Professional Photographer $100.00+

IF you are breeding you should look at getting a title in conformation or obedience to prove
that what you are breeding is a worthwhile specimen to reproduce.

Showinging $15,000.00/year
I try to show and or obedience trial 3 Standard Poodles a year
If I choose to show in a weekend I may spend over $1,000.00
$65.00-$100.00 for show grooming one Poodle by Pro Groomer
$110.00 + for entry fee for one dog
$110.00 for show photo and CD
$60.00 for food for the weekend
$150.00 Gas driving to show for weekend
$300.00 for the Hotel (I do try to ge the Red Roof or motel 8)
$50.00 show supplies (always need something new)

Should I do Stud Services

Some Breeders Offer Stud Service to differ some expenses:
Keep in mind that your male will be held liable for any progeny that has any health issues or defects, which is a huge responsibility.
If your male is producing inferrior pups, your male will gain a very unfavorable reputation very quickly
so you want to make sure that you only breed to females that will combine well with your male
to produce superior colour, health and temperament.
If there is a problem with any of your male's pups, you can be ASSURED puppy people will find you.
Your reputation, your stud dogs reputation will all be at stake.
What the Owner of the female you breed to does with your males pups, are all things to take into account.
If a person can stud to your male's puppy for half price, they will soon be using him instead of your male.

Lament of a Stud

Author Unknown

My job is making puppies
And I get two tries at that
They pat me on the head and say "Good Boy",
and that is that.

It's half my job to give 'em
teeth and toplines, fronts and other,
Remember, it's only Half my job...,
they also have a mother.

It's not my job to carry pups
And make 'em grow and nurse 'em
And feed and clean and make 'em strong
That's for "mother" and a person.

It's not my job to wean
And feed the calcium and food
And stack and gait and housebreak,
And make 'em a "showing" brood.

It's not my job to plan the breeding,
And learn what produces well,
To study pedigrees, learn what's there,
And pick out those to sell.

It's not my job to guarantee champs,
The breeder picks the pair,
To mate and whelp and feed and show,
and HOPE that the champ is there.
It's not my job to be on hand
when points are given out.
The breeder, owner, dam and friends
Take credit with a shout.

It's not my job to deliver a winner.
It's only genes I sell.
But let the puppies turn out bad,
And guess who catches HELL.



 

So quick quiz to see if you are ..mentally.. ready to even consider breeding:



What does pedigree mean?
What does the term papers mean?
What is a heat?
When do bitches come into heat?
When is optimal time to breed?
What is a vulva?
How long is a gestation?
What does whelp mean
What is Canine Brucellosis ?
Does the male or female determine the sex of the puppies?
What is crate training?
What does gaiting mean?
What does stance mean?
What does rear angulation mean?
What is your breed standard ?
What are you prepared to offer puppy buyers in way of guarantee?
What health testing are you prepared to do?
How do you toilet train or what will you recommend?
What are you going to do if someone wishes to return the puppy?
Where are you going to advertise?
What are you going to do if your puppies do not sell?
Are you going to give or sell breeding rights?
What are you going to do when the puppies stink up your whole house and make messes everywhere and it is winter time?
What are you going to do when the neighbours complain to the police about all the dogs barking?
What are you going to do when someone calls you to complain that they have not gotten the papers?
What are you going to do when you have no money to pay for advertising or the food bill?

 

Was it all easy for me?


Well now I know you are thinking that if you know the answers to most of the questions you are ready. So I will share with you my negative experiences (yes even with all that education), I have had OR that friends I have come to know, have had (networking is VERY educational). They are not pretty. They are not meant to be. I'm sharing the bad experiences (since this is what I hope you avoid) with you so that maybe you will
1. Reconsider if you would be a good breeder.
2. Get some more education and save yourself and my breed a heart ache.
3. Take the right steps and better the breed.

4. Keep your spouse.



I wish you all the best in your choice.

ATTENTION ALL NOVICE POTENTIAL BREEDERS

ATTENTION ALL NOVICE POTENTIAL BREEDERS!!!!!

SO YOU WANT TO BE A BREEDER? - Breeding the female


So you want to breed your female.
You know what to expect if everything goes right.
Your little girl will present you with tiny bundles of joy.
She will lovingly nurse them and care for them until they are old enough to be weaned.

You and your family will find great joy in watching and playing with these little dolls,
and then when the time is right they will all (or maybe you keep just one) go off to special homes to live out their lives as cherished companions.
But have you given consideration to what if something goes wrong?
I have listed here a few of the problems that I myself have personal knowledge of.
Everything listed has happened either to me or someone I know.
These are not isolated incidents. I'm sure other breeders could add miles to my list.
Learn by others mistakes!. Let the breeding up to those who know what they are doing,
have the experience, know what to expect.

WHAT IF DURING THE BREEDING
The stud dog you have chosen is carrying a venereal disease and gives it to your female.
She not only doesn't conceive but you have to pay the vet bills to get her infection cleared up and she is now sterile.

The stud dog you decided to breed your darling to is not experienced.
Once the two dogs are joined tightly in a tie, he decides to chase the neighbors cat out of his yard.
He bolts for the cat ripping his penis loose and causing your bitch to hemorrhage from within.

Your modest girl decides she doesn't want the attentions of this gigolo stud chosen for her without her consent.
She snaps at him catching her tooth on his loose cheek and rips it open sending blood flying everywhere.
He retaliates by sinking his teeth into her left eye.

You leave your dog with the stud owner because the breeding is not going very swiftly.
In fact , it's been three hours and nothing is happening.
The stud owners leave the two dogs alone in the back yard.
The dogs get out through a tiny hole in the fence and a truck hits your female.

You pay the $250-$1000 stud fee up front figuring you will make that and more back when the pups sell.
You do not hang around as the breeder says they will call you when they are done.
The breeder guarantees the stud service to work or you can come back again.
After 2 months you discover it didn't work and now must wait another 4 months to try again.
Of course it doesn't work again, so in another 4 months you take your dog to another male and risk loosing another stud fee.
You figure next time you will wait and make sure they are really breeding.

You get her bred. Bring her home.
She bothers you so you let her out she is still in heat and still receptive to males.
You hear a commotion outside there is your girl tied up with the neighborhood mutt.
when she whelps there will need to be DNA tests done on the pups which can total $1000.00

You get her bred. Bring her home and let her out.
(She is still in heat and receptive to other males) but you do not see the neighborhood mutt breed her.
The pups are born but look odd.
You call the stud owner he suggests DNA testing (At your expense). You have a whole litter of mutts!
What do you do about the pups you have already sold ?
What do you do with the mutts you produced ?

Or knowing she tied with the neighborhood mutt you decide to terminate the pregnancy and try again being more careful next time.
But a few weeks later your female is very sick because you had her given a miss-mate shot creating
a hormonal imbalance causing a uterine infection and now she has Pyometra and needs a complete hysterectomy.
All plans of getting a litter is gone and your female's life is now in danger if she does not have the operation.

You show your girl and get your championship.
You also decide to do obedience to prove that your girl is physically and mentally worthy of being bred.
You complete every health test you can. You search for the best possible stud.
Finally the day has come and you take your girl to the studs home.
She refuses to be bred. The stud owner says to try again in 6 months time.
Again she is not receptive. You never do get your girl bred.
You spay your female thinking there is something wrong with her and sell her as a pet.
Years later you find out about a phenomenon called “split heats”.

Your beautiful champion and obedience titled girl will not accept a male.
You decide to Artificially Inseminate her. Finding a Vet is very difficult, but you do find one.
He charges $100 for the Vet visit, semen evaluation and insemination.
2 months later no pups arrive. You try again but this time you go to an experienced “breeder”
who informs you about the physical make up of the female’s reproductive system and how some inexperienced people actually go into the bladder by mistake.
This helps explain why your female also got that bladder infection 6 months earlier and no pups.

WHAT IF DURING THE BIRTH
You have the due date marked down.
Your female never comes into labour, the puppies die and she becomes infected by the decaying bodies.
You must pay for a C-section and a hysterectomy and a stud service and refund your deposits.

The puppies are coming breech and they drown in their own sacks inside the female before they can be born.

You see fluid come but no pups. Pups come much later all dead with no sacks on them.

Pups are born with super thick sacks and are born dead.

The first puppy is large and breech.
When it starts coming your female starts screaming, and before you can stop her
she reaches around, grabs the puppy in her teeth and yanks it out killing it instantly.

A puppy gets stuck. Neither your female nor you can get it out.
You have to race her to the vet. The vet can't get it out either.
She has to have an emergency caesarian section of course it is 3:00 am Christmas day.

A puppy is coming out breech and dry (the water sack that protects them has burst). It gets stuck.
Mom tries to help it out by clamping her teeth over one of the back legs. The head and shoulders are firmly caught.
Mom pulls on the leg, hard, peeling the flesh from the leg and leaving a wiggling stump of bone.

A dead puppy gets stuck in the birth canal, but your female is well into hard labor.
She contracts so hard trying to give birth that her uterus ruptures and she bleeds to death on the way to the vet.

A puppy is half way out and you decide to help by pulling on it…
like a cork in a bottle the puppy finally comes but has a broken back that is long stretched
and mom’s uterus is damaged by your actions. Mom has to be rushed to the Vet.

You decide delivery is taking too long so you administer oxytocin.
You forget that the Vet instructed administer ..during contractions..
instead of helping the medication interrupts the normal contractions.

You come home from work to discover your female has pooped by the back door.

Puzzled as this is totally unlike her you discover her on your bed panting with dead little puppies all around the bedroom floor
and a very panicked looking girl waiting for your displeasure.
It is only her 58th day so you never thought she would have her pups so early.

You want your female with you when she has her pups, so you can comfort her during this ordeal.
You let your female wander around the house as usual.
She starts her labour and instead of settling on the nice blanket by your bed she starts to cry and pant
running around the whole house peeing and pooping as she goes.
She does not settle in any one place but plops pups as she goes and leaves them uncleaned and is very stressed.

It is 60 days into her pregnancy and you let her outside to pee at night as usual.
She takes extra long to come back inside.
You go out to find her and she does not come to you. Instead you hear wimpering under your deck.
She has crawled under there and won’t come back out for 2 hours.
Finally get her to come to you and go back inside, settling her into her pool.
An hour later she has 1 puppy and is done her labour.
The next day in the daylight you go look under the deck and find dead puppies.

WHAT IF DIRECTLY AFTER THE BIRTH
The mother has no idea what to do with a puppy and she drops them out
and walks away, leaving them in the sack to drown.

The mother takes one look at the puppies,
decides they are disgusting droppings and tries to smother them
in anything she can find to bury them in.

The mother gets too enthusiastic in her removal of the placenta and umbilical cord,
and rips the cord out leaving a gushing hole
pulsing blood all over you as you try in vain to stop the bleeding.

Or, she pulls on the cords so hard she disembowels the puppies as they are born
and you have a box full of tiny, kicking babies with a tangle of guts the size of a walnut hanging from their stomachs.
Of course all the babies must be put to sleep.

What if because of some Hormone deficiency she turns vicious allowing no one near her or the babies,
who she refuses to nurse, or you have to interfere with.

You notice something protruding from her vagina when you let her out to pee.
You take her to the vet to discover a prolapsed uterus, which needs to be removed.

WHAT IF WHEN YOU THINK YOU'RE IN THE CLEAR
One or more of the puppies inhaled fluid during birth, pneumonia develops and death occurs within 36 hours.

What if the mother's milk goes bad. You lose three of your four puppies before you discover what is wrong.
You end up bottle feeding the remaining pup every two hours, day and night.
After three days the puppy fades from infection and dies.

The puppies develop fading puppy syndrome you lose two.
You bottle-feeding or tube feeding the last remaining baby.
It begins to choke and despite your efforts to clear the airway, the pup stiffens and dies in your hands.

You keep loosing pups and can’t figure it out.
They look healthy and when you squeeze the moms nipple milk appears,
so you put a puppy on there who greedily nurses and then suddenly roles off.
You loose that puppy later. After loosing three puppies you finally discover that while there is some milk,
there is not enough letting down and the pups have been fatiguing with the efforts and fading.

Your female develops mastitis and her breast ruptures and pups can not nurse off of her.

Your female develops a uterine infection from a retained placenta.
Her temperature soars to 105. You race her to the vet, he determines she must be spayed.
He does the spay in an attempt to save her life, you pay the hundreds of dollars bill.
The infection has gone into her blood stream.
The infected milk kills all the puppies and the bitch succumbs a day later.

All the puppies are fine but following the birth the female develops a hormone imbalance.
She becomes a fear biter and anytime anyone tries to touch her she viciously attacks them and kills her pups.

Mom and pups seem fine, the puppies are four weeks old and are at their cutest.
However, one day one of the puppies disappears.
You search everywhere but you can't find it. A few days later another puppy is gone.
And another. You can't figure how on earth the puppies are getting out of their safe 4' x 4' puppy pen.
Finally there is only one puppy left. The next morning you find the mother chomping contentedly on what is left of the last murdered puppy.

THE SALE
You put your ad in the local paper for your pups at the usual price you have seen others charge
and get only 2 responses and no sales.
You cut the pup's price in half and broaden your advertising
to 3 other newspapers in which the advertising totals $120.00 a week.

You get a few more puppy inquiries from people who ask all about health testing you did before breeding.
You tell them your Vet checked your girl and she was healthy enough.
The callers politely thank you and hang up.

You get a few more puppy inquiries from people who ask all about registration papers.
You tell them that your girl is registered and you will get the stud to sign the paper work
after you finish paying for the stud service, but assure them that the pups are purebred.
The callers politely thank you and hang up.

You get a few more puppy inquiries from people who ask all about what titles your pups parents have obtained
and what goals you have for doing the breeding.
You tell them that your girl is registered and very pretty and that you only breed 1x a year and are not a big breeder.
The callers get the picture that you are a back yard breeder type they were warned about and politely thank you and hang up.

You get a few more puppy inquiries from people who ask all about what clubs you are member of, how long you have been breeding,
how many generations you have bred/kept and references you have.
You tell them that your girl is registered and very pretty and that you only breed 1x a year and are not a big breeder.
You dont belong to any clubs because you just breed 1x a year and you have sold to a couple people who sent you photos of their pups.
The callers get the picture that you are a back yard breeder and politely thank you and hang up.

The pups are now 4 months old and getting bigger , eating a lot.
You try to keep them outside for most of the day to help lesson the smell and noise inside the house which works.
However their barking is really beginning to annoy the neighbors who call the police who inform you of the $150.00 noise by-law.

Your neighbors also call the humane society because they are concerned the barking pups are not being properly cared for.
The Human Society comes out to inspect the care of your dogs.
You pass inspection, but end up feeling stressed and harassed.

Your spouse is getting totally fed up with the nightly barking and having the house smelling like an outhouse
and not getting any compensation for all the work involved.
There goes your support.

You decide to call a Big Breeder who always seems to have their pups sold, for some help.
You have always thought that they were a bit of a Puppy Mill because it seems they have 3+ litters a year and you have always thought this was bad.
You think they only care about money and will take your pups off of your hands for the right price.
Instead they end up being very nice to you and explain about their scientifically breeding for a purpose
, how they preplan their litters and only breed when they have enough people interested
how they wish to produce a litter for a puppy they will keep.
They explain to you about all the health testing that they do,
the expense of it and why they do it.
They tell you about why they bother spending money on achieving show and working titles.
Something you had always thought was a joke.
They also tell you about their puppy set up and how they raise their pups inside in a proper set up and how they start them on their toilet training
and about doing biosensor and other stimulas they give the pups so they develop properly.
They offer you a few suggestions on how to place your pups yourself, but decline to buy them from you to flip,
because your pups are obviously not the quality they are producing and they care about their reputation,
what they are producing and what they are offering the public.
Instead of feeling judged, you feel enlightened and are going to think about how to improve your quality of breeding
if you decide to continue breeding.

You finally decide to give the rest of the litter away but still have to pay the $1200.00 advertising bill
and the $600.00 vet bill, $500.00 food bill and the Stud fee.

WHAT IF THE NEW HOMES AREN'T SO HAPPY
You give a puppy to a friend.
Their fence blows down so they tie the puppy outside while they go to work.
A roving dog comes along and kills the puppy.
Your friend calls you up to tell you about the poor little puppy
and asks when you are having more puppies.

You sell a puppy to an acquaintance.
The next time you see them you ask how the puppy is doing.
They tell you that it soiled their new carpet and would not stop barking so they took it to the pound.

You give a puppy to a friend and dont hear from them for a long while.
You get a phone call from a stranger asking when they can expect to receive registration papers
from the puppy they bought from your friend that lists you as the breeder.

You give a puppy to a friend.
They call you one night to say that the puppy is at the Vets with bloat
and they have no money to pay for treatment what should they do.

You sell a puppy to a friend (you give them a good price and payments).
They make a couple of tiny payments. Six months later they move to an apartment.
They ask you to take it back. You take it back and of course the payments stop.
The dog they returned is so shy, and ill mannered from lack of socialization and training,
that it takes you a year of work providing socializing and training to be able to give it away.

You foster a male out to a nice family.
8 months later you see that they are offering stud service on the internet.

You sell a puppy to a wonderful home.
They love her like one of the family.
At a vet check done by their vet it is determined that the puppy has a heart murmur. (Your vet found nothing when he checked the puppy before it was sold.)
They love their puppy and want the best for her.
They have an expensive surgery done. The puppy is fine.
They sue you for the medical costs. They win, because you did not have a contract stipulating conditions of guarantee
and so as breeder you are responsible for the puppy's genetic health.

You give a puppy to your mother. She is thrilled.
Two years later the puppy starts developing problems.
It begins to develop odd symptoms and is suffering.
Hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of tests later
it is finally discovered that the dog is suffering from a terminal condition that was inherited.
Possibly from your female since you know nothing about her family lines.

Puppy buyer gets in touch with you to complain that their puppy is suffering from car sickness
and since they travel a lot with their puppy they want to know if this is congenital condition
Puppy buyer gets in touch with you to say that their puppy has allergies to certain foods

One loving home decides your puppy is untrainable, destructive and wants to return the pup and get a full refund.
They show up on your doorstep without an appointment
demanding their money back, which you have spent on your vet bills.

One loving couple calls you and is very upset because their pup has crippling hip dysplasia
and want to know what you are going to do about it.
You have spayed your female so a replacement is out of the question, looks like another refund.

You sell a male for a pet.
The new owners decide they wish to OFA his hips.
He fails the OFA and your vet assures you that he will live a normal happy life despite failing the OFA.
Your pet people are not happy and want a replacement puppy AND refuse to return the male to you.
You can understand because it is their pet and you give them the only puppy you have available out a litter, now a year later, a female out of a different breeding.
Everyone is happy until a year later you see their number in an advertisement
for pups out of the male you sold them that failed OFA and the female puppy you gave them.

You receive an email from pet people who say that their puppy has JRD and they demand that you pay the Vet bill immediately
because their Vet says it is inherited disease and breeder is responsible for the bill.
You inform them that their contract does not guarantee against this disease.
They email you a week later to say that their Vet was wrong because their puppy responded to IV treatment and is all better.
Their Vet now thinks the puppy was exposed to poison instead.

Your puppy people contact you all upset as their 1 year old dog
got really sick and had to be put down from what their Vet suspected is Addisons disease.
They don’t complete the only test that confirms this but they still want some compensation.

Your puppy people contact you all upset that their 1 year old dog got really sick and died and they want their Vet bill paid by you.
Feeling sorry for them you offer them a replacement puppy instead and only ask that they provide a Veterinary autopsy report
stating the breed, sex, colour, microchip number and why the puppy died.
You receive the autopsy report a week later for a dog of a different colour dog than the puppy you sold them.
When you email them back to ask them about it, you never hear from them again.

You get an email from a puppy buyer who tells you a really sad story about how their dog got sick and eventually died.
They send you an autopsy report which does indeed match the microchip number and description of the puppy you sold them.
However the cause of death is inconclusive as to being hereditary or congenital. What do you do ?

You sold all your pups for pets and for pet price,
not wishing to contribute to the back yard breeder problem.
Your one puppy home calls you to ask if you know of a good stud
they can use to breed their female they got from you
as they do not plan on spaying her wishing to use her for breeding instead.

Your puppy home calls you to find out how they can get their AKC limited registration
changed to Unlimited so they can show their pet puppy.

Your pet puppy home calls to say that they bred the female
they bought from you and now they are having a hard time selling the puppies, can you help them.

So you gotta ask yourself: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, "breeder?"

Return to Bijou Home Page

IF you have any stories to add to my list, or if I have missed anything,

please feel free to email me brownpoodles@yahoo.com

 



Return to Bijou Home Page