Where is the best place to buy a dog?
The best place to buy a dog is from a dedicated hobby breeder: a person who has been breeding for at least five and preferably more than ten years. That person must be a member of the breed’s national breed club, have owned and bred more than a few conformation champions, successful obedience or agility competitors, and participants in any specific work events for which the breed is eligible, such as herding, field trials, carting, lure coursing or earthdog trials. This person rarely breeds more than two or three litters a year, each from different females. This sort of breeder may not own any males, or any kennels at all, and the litters may well be whelped in the house. Each parent of a litter will be x-rayed for hip and elbow dysplasia and luxating patellas. The dogs will each have a CERF certificate and a CHIC number. They will have been tested for brucellosis, which causes abortion and sterility in both genders. They will be tested for the other genetic diseases for which the bree
