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How would you know an ad placed by a ‘good’ breeder as opposed to a ‘not so good one’?

Not the price.

Price does not determine or guarantee quality. Puppy mill pups in pet stores can sell for as much as $1200 with the store taking a 100% markup. Someone who has invested just as little time and forethought in dog breeding can sell the same puppy-mill quality dog for $250 in the newspaper.

A good breeder will have an ad kind of like this:

AKC Weimaraner puppies (no less than) 8 weeks old, 2 females, 1 male available to pet homes. Dam on premises. Sire may be on premises, but most likely not. Both are OFA good (or excellent) or Penn-Hip cleared. May or may not talk about parents being thyroid normal. Four generation pedigree provided with 85-100% AKC championships. Pups will be sold only with limited AKC registrations including spay/neuter contracts.

Pups health guaranteed against major genetic defects if returned to breeder, (you get your money back or another puppy). Breeder also insists on re-homing pups if ever required.

Price should range from $800 to $1100 for puppies in Colorado, less for mature dogs (who must be spayed or neutered already.) Please submit application form for consideration by visiting www.goodweimbreeder.com.
Obviously ads are not this long; you can ask the questions when you contact them.

Please remember that it is against Colorado law to sell puppies under the age of 8 weeks. This is regulated by the Colorado Department of Agriculture which is responsible for all animal breeding/kennel regulations. Licenses are required for breeders in Colorado who produce 24 or more puppies per year. It also regulates the number of adult dogs allowed at any one time, and how many dogs can be kept in a single enclosure, and hundreds of pages of more stuff.

An ad to avoid:

AKC Weimaraner puppies, $800 each, raised in loving home, parent(s) on premises.

An ad to avoid like the plague:
Weimaraner puppies, 3 blue, 5 silver, also rare liver-brown.

The AKC Weimaraner Standard only allows for silver or silver-gray color. Not blue, not brown (brown indicates a mixed breed.)

The AKC forbids puppies of mixed breeds or even the mingling of intact dogs with other breeds at any time. To purposely or accidentally allow puppies of mixed breed to occur is incredibly irresponsible and is one of the reasons our animal shelters and rescue organizations are so over crowded and suffering from lack of resources. When shelters become overcrowded they have to respond by euthanizing animals more quickly. And, yes, Weimaraners do end up in shelters along with many other pure breed and mixed breed dogs. This situation is getting worse every day. The breeder who does not insist on the right to re-home a dog they produced is dumping their responsibility--a living, breathing, intelligent creature--on shelters and rescue organizations that are overflowing with people’s terrible choices and selfish mistakes. Last year in Colorado alone over 40,000 pets were euthanized in shelters.

Never purchase a pet from a breeder that does not require a limited AKC registration until you supply proof that the animal has been neutered. The only exception to this is a co-ownership contract. Period.

The BEST way to get a purebred puppy:
Go to the dog shows in Colorado and talk to the folks with the dogs.
www.onofrio.com has schedules for most of the shows in this area. They also post the judging schedule (the time the breeds will be in the ring) several days before the show. You will also be able to see how many dogs are entered.

The people handling the dogs will talk to you after they show in the ring. They should be polite and informative and be willing to tell you about the breed characteristics and who the attending breeders are. Once identified, the breeders should be able to give you information about their breeding program and what tests they do to avoid certain known genetic problems as much as humanly possible. You will hear about OFA, thyroid, pet and show quality puppies, and pet and show homes.

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