My goal is to help you in the purchase of your next working puppy that will be used in personal protection, police K9, or schutzhund. at http://phillipshanna.bravesites.com/entries/pet/buying-a-working-dog-puppy

1. Buying a Working Dog Puppy
My goal isto helpyouinthe purchase of your nextworkingpuppythatwill be usedinpersonal
protection,police K9,orschutzhund.Thisinformationcouldbe appliedtoanypersonbuyinga
puppy,butthisarticle is intendedforworkingpuppies.The article hasbeenlaidoutin4 step
approach.Some of the stepsmayseemlike commonsense,butmuchtime needstobe appliedto
each stepfora desirableoutcome.
Buyinga puppyisa muchbiggerrisk,thenbuyinganadult.A puppymaynot endup makinga good
prospect,or mightenduphavingbad hips.Whenyoubuyan adultthere are fewerunknowns.
I wouldlike todebunksome commonmythsregardingchoosingapuppyoveran adult.Thisisnot to
say one isbetteroverthe other,but to give yousome insighttocommonmyths.Ibelievebecause of
these mythsmanypeople buypuppies,whenadultsmightbe amuchbetterchoice.
Myth #1
An adultwill notbondwithme like apuppy.
Thisis one of the biggestmythsof dogownership.Some of the bestdogsthathave come intoour
workingdogprogram were broughtinas adults.Adultdogscandevelopjustasstrongof a bondwith
you,and sometimesevenmore sothana puppy.
We purchaseda 7 year-old,importedGermanShepherdthat hadbeenplacedinseveralhomes.The
momentshe arrivedhome aninstantbondwasdevelopedwithmywife.The dogisnow 9 and to
thisday the dog will literallynotleave herside.We joke andsaythisdogsacts as thoughshe raised
heras a puppy.
Myth #2

2. If I raise the puppy,itwon'thave behaviorproblemsthatmightcome withanadult.
If this wasthe case we wouldnothave the needto traindogs.No dogis goingto be perfect.
Whetheritwas raisedasa puppy,orboughtas an adult,each doghas itsown setof problems.
Many adultshave beenraisedfroma puppyinmore controlledenvironments,thenthe average
familyhousehold.Whenapuppyisbeingheldbackbyusfor personal protection,police K9,orsport
work,it isnot allowedtodowhatever itwants.Whenthe dogishere,itis beingtaughta job,or is
performingacertaintaskthat will be usedasan adult.Most householdsare notstructuredenough
to followthroughwiththiskindof training.
So,do you still thinkapuppyisrightfor you?Readon.
Step1
Picka suitable breed.
People askme all the time,whatmakesa goodworkingpuppyandwhatshouldI be lookingforina
puppy.The answerdependsonwhatthe dogis goingto be usedforand you alsoneedtosee that
the dog's characteristicmatchthe owner'sactivitylevel.
Askyourself thisquestion.WhatendresultdoIwant outof thisdog?Repeatthisquestionagainand
againuntil youcan clearlydefine whatthe purpose orjobthisdogis to perform.Thismaynotseem
veryimportantto a lotof people,butthiswillsave youalot of energy,time,andmoney.
Everyworkingbreedhasitsattributes.Letme give youan example.
Bob callsme and says,"I wantto buy a BelgianMalinoispuppytoraise asa home protectiondog."
I ask him,"Whydo youwant thisparticle breed?"

3. He replies,"Ihave afriendthathas one,andhe toldme theyare the bestbreedforhome
protection."
I thenask him,"Whatis youractivitylevel like?"
He thengoesonto tell me he has a badknee thatdoesnot allow himtoget aroundmuch.
Withthat beingsaid,manybreederswouldsell himaBelgianMalinois,becausetheywouldfailto
ask these questionsandassume Bobcouldhandle the highenergylevelof aBelgianMalinois.I
wouldrecommendamore suitable breedforBob.Thisiswhere itisveryimportantthatyou doyour
researchon the breedyouare goingto buy,or contact a reputable breeder.Justlikeall breedsof
dogshave advantagesanddisadvantages,the same goesforworkingdogbreeds.
Step2
Choose the rightbloodline.
The secondthingto lookfor isthe puppy'spedigree.Thismaysoundsimple,butitcanevenbe a
challenge foranexperiencedbreeder.A dog'spedigree consistsof manygenerationsof dogs.
Thisis one area where ithelpstohave a reputable breederassistyou.We will discusschoosinga
breederinthe nextstep.If youare goingto search on youown,thenyouwill needtolearnhow to
readpedigrees,understandhipratings,andworking/show titles,butitdoesnotendthere though.
You will needtospeakwithpeoplethathave informationabouttemperamentsof the parentsas
well asotherdogsin the pedigree.If available,seeingthe parentsisalsoveryhelpfulindetermining
whatthe parentstemperamentsare like.
If line breedingisbeingdone,askthe breederwhyandwhattraitstheyare tryingto improve and
whichonestheywantto eliminate.If the breedingisatotal out cross,thenask the breederthe
same questions.
Step3

4. Choose a Breeder.
Thisis notan easytask. Searchingthe internetwill bringupthousandsof websites.Everysite will
claimtheyare breedingthe bestdog,sohow dowe navigate throughthismaze?
Do a simple Google searchforthe kennel owner'sname.Thiswill bringupanynegative potential
information,andmayshowhowtheyhave handlednegative transactions,etc.inthe past.
Call or email the breederandaskwhattheirbreedinggoalsare,andwhyare theybreeding?If they
are newto breedingdon'trule themoutasa potential place tobuyyourpuppy.Ourcompanyhelps
newkennelsgetestablishedall the time,allowingthemtoproduce verygoodlitters.
Watch out for breedersthatdon'tholdpuppiesback.We typicallyholdpuppiesbackforour working
dog programso that we can see whattypesof dogswe are producing.If a breedersalesall their
puppies,thentheyhave nowayof knowingwhattheyare producing.
If the breederissellingworkingpuppiesforpersonal protectiondogs,police K9dogs,orschutzhund
sport dogs,thentheyshouldhave aworkingprogram.Askthemif theydecoy,or worktheirown
dogs.Our companynot onlyraisesandworksdogs,but we alsotrainand work client'sdogs.
Step4
Pickthe right pup.
The fourthstepis selectingthe rightpup.If a breederallowsyoutopickany pupout of the litter
walkaway.Thisagain iswhere anexperiencedandknowledgeable breederisneeded.Asabreeder
myself,havingpotentialbuyerspickpuppieswithoutclarifyingwhatthe buyerwantsandneedsare
can leadto a disaster.
We,as breeders,have aresponsibilityandare notdoingdue diligence bynotproperlyplacing
puppies.Breedersare notperfect,andpuppiescanchange because of manyfactorsby the time they

5. reach adulthood.Our successrate of dogplacementisveryhigh,because we take the time to
match the rightdog withwhatthe potential buyerwantsandcan handle.
There are some exceptionstothe rule,butthe breederhasspentthe last8 weekswiththe pups,
and whoknowsbetteraboutthe pupsthan them.Testingapuppywhile atthe breederdoesnot
give youthe time neededtoevaluate the dog.
Whenlookingata potential prospectthe traitsthatare neededforthemtobe future workingdog
shouldbe evident.
Let's use thisexample.Sherrycallsus andis concernedaboutthe crime level inherneighborhood
and wantsa dog to use as a deterrent.She isinquiringaboutabreedingthatissuitable forworking
homes.Sherryexplainsthatshe wantstoput downa depositandhave firstpickof the litter.
I ask herhowmuch experience she has.
Sherryreplies,"Ihave ownedaGermanShepherd,butneverone fromworkingbloodlines.Also,on
your website itsaysthese dogswillhave highdrives.Whatdoesthatmean?"
I thenexplainthatthisbreedingisrecommendedforexperiencedhandlersbecauseof the high
drivesthese dogswill have.The puppywill needtobe workedona dailybasis,andisnot suitable for
justa pet.
Resource
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