I have been having a look round for a new puppy and found a litter which appealed on bloodlines and pictures, then I checked the breed archives and discovered that the bitch was born in January 2015 and had her litter in June 2016, much to early for my liking so I am walking away.  Such a shame but it breaks my code of ethics even if the breeder thinks it's ok!!

What breed is it?  I know different breeds have different guidelines, in my breed it would be a major no no, but in other breeds it could be ok.

It's a medium size sight hound, not one that I would breed from under 2 years old.

You know you have done the right thing...I wouldn't breed from a bitch under 2 either, so your not alone

I'm with you too on this. Such a shame and if their ethics are poor in this matter where else may they lack so wouldn't touch them even if they decide to mate her agaib

The right decision then

Sorry thought the general rule was 3rd season ?

So in my breed about 2 years old.

I even found a nice looking stud who turned me down as they wouldn't use him until he was two. Guess I'll find out next year if that was genuine or they just didn't like me / my girl.

In my opinion a dog shouldn't be used until he is at least 2 either.

As many sighthounds don't come into season anywhere near 'around 6 months', it sounds to me as if this bitch may well have been bred on her first one!    And that's shocking.   My Whippet hadn't come in by 11 months, at which point despite my then vet preferring not to spay until after a first season, I asked him to go ahead.   And yes, 2 years of 3 seasons would be the norm, and I'd imagine across the breeds at that.   There will be another more reputable breeder for your puppy!!

Sounds like a 2nd season mating which a lot of people do, especially in the 'good old days'!!  If you like the pedigree, start enquiries and possibly view the litter to see how the pups are being raised.  I wouldn't rule it out if this was your only concern.

The Breed Club Code of Ethics states that "not allow a bitch to have a litter before she reaches 2 years of age"  so as this is generally frowned upon and the breed is numerous I won't be breaching my own standards.  On a related subject, am I the only breeder that always replies to emails and other enquiries, I have contacted several breeders asking about future litters and have yet to receive a reply, I know the show people are busy but personally I always think it's courteous to give people an answer even if it's usually sorry we have no puppies. Do people prefer to have a phone call, I have been emailing as the phone always seems to ring when I am doing something that needs instant attention, what do you prefer?

>Do people prefer to have a phone call, I have been emailing as the phone always seems to ring when I am doing something that needs instant attention, what do you prefer?

Definitely email; as you say,people always seem to ring at the most inconvenient time!

I always answer all emails, but if you have sent one email cc'd to more than one person, some ISP's block such messages as Spam if the person has not been in contact with you before.  I rarely checked my ISP'S spam folders but occasionally found missed messages in there.

I have sent personal emails, I would be slightly offended if someone cc'd me on a puppy enquiry, somehow I like to pretend that they come to me because they really want one of my puppies, I know people shop around but I like to think I am top of their list. Vanity thy name may be translated to dog breeder!

I think if people just get a list of breeders, as in my breed when it's rare to have more than a litter or two around at the same time, people will write to all the breeders to see who is planning pups.

In the last 10 years our have only been registering 5 - 10 litters a year in the UK.

I always reply to enquiries & always prefer email to phone calls(hate the phone). This way I can digest the contents & reply when its convenient to do so..also proof of what is in the email both received & sent

> On a related subject, am I the only breeder that always replies to emails and other enquiries, I have contacted several breeders asking about future litters and have yet to receive a reply, I know the show people are busy but personally I always think it's courteous to give people an answer even if it's usually sorry we have no puppies. Do people prefer to have a phone call, I have been emailing as the phone always seems to ring when I am doing something that needs instant attention, what do you prefer?

I prefur email, I'm not a great phone talker always seem to get flustered and forget stuff.
as for breeders not replying some are like that I'm afraid. when I was looking I emailed 3 breeders one never got back to me, two did and one of them I got my girl from. A lot can come down to what you write in the email as well, some wont bother with an enquiry if it doesn't sound like the type of person they are after or gives no info about the person. I still reply to those types asking for more information about them or explaining my concerns and saying a bit about us but often you never hear from them again so I can see why some may give up replying to them.

My standard reply.
"sorry no puppies planned ..but you should try the breed club website for advice on sourcing a healthy puppy and see the recent breeding guidelines for ethical breeders".

I try to point buyers in the right direction on phone calls too.

Rule of thumb..if you don't approve of how a puppy was produced..do not support that breeder...you are supporting and facilitating their future practices otherwise.

Some people are better at communicating via email than others so I try to give the benefit of the doubt and always reply. I recently had a one line email asking if I would have any pups available. I replied, saying that I was unable to consider them for my waiting list as they'd not given any information about themselves. I then went on to suggest what would be appropriate information to provide when contacting a breeder. I had a lengthy reply from the person's wife and then spoke to them on the phone. Unfortunately, towards the end of the conversation something was said that made me decide they weren't suitable for one of my puppies.

Being a breeder and finding the right owners is as difficult as it is for new owners to find the right breeder.

When I was looking around about three years ago for my current dog I mainly used emails and if the breeder replied positively, then there would be a phone call.
I came across a really helpful lady who, at the time, didn't have a litter planned, but was tremendously helpful. I had emailed her and asked if she wasn't planning a litter, could she recommend anyone. Right at the end I just mentioned that I had been in contact with another breeder. I had an email back asking for my phone number so she could ring me as she wanted to have a chat about things and in particular the breeder I had briefly mentioned. She was a lovely lady, very informative and knew the breed inside out and recommended several other breeders I might try. Helpfully she told me a lot about the breeder I had mentioned in the email, not in a positive way (ie someone to avoid for this that and the other reason). Lovely lady, and so kind to phone me too.

I am sure my puppy is out there somewhere, I am not in a hurry, just having one dog is so strange and not in a good way, I have spoken to a couple of breeders who were helpful and one who wasn't, she seemed to think it was rubbish when I told her that I was no good at picking a show quality puppy.  I explained that my previous dogs had been chosen by experienced eyes and I had been very happy with their decision, I am just not objective enough and can't see their faults but she thought that was not good enough, she also said I shouldn't have a dog puppy with an adult dog but we won't go onto that difference of opinion.

When I was looking for a Buhund the breed club were most helpful and pointed me towards a breeder who had one left almost straight away/. This was amazing as only about 30 are registered in a year. i also sent the same email to the breeders listed on here...only a few. All of them were helpful unless they had long since stopped breeding!

> This was amazing as only about 30 are registered in a year

With numerically small breeds there are very few pups around but at the same time suitable enquiries may not match up with the timing of a litter, or there is an imbalance of sexes compared to what those on a waiting list were looking for or a cancellation can sometimes mean your lucky.

In my own breed at the moment there have been three litters born about a month apart, the first was 5 bitches, the second 4 of each and the last 5 bitches again, so those looking for males have been out of luck, one of the bitches in the first litter has just gone at 10 weeks and the middle litter now 7 weeks all spoken for, bar pick of bitches as the breeder is hoping someone who wants to show may come along, (we all breed hoping that at least one in a litter will be able to be useful to the breed, and that is unlikely unless shown) but if not she will have to let her go to a suitable pet home.

Shame I am not in your breed Brainless, I would like another to show