Doing the Research...

Hello all,
I wanted to ask all of your advice on choosing the right dog.... My partner & I would both like another dog and are looking down several avenues, including a rescue again. However, we have both fallen in love with the EBT breed and have also started to go down the path of looking for the right breeders....

Heres what we have done so far:
1) Gone to the KC website and researched the registered breeders in our local area.
2) Made email contact with several of the breeders closest to us.
3) Checked out their websites (if they have one) to see how many dogs they have and past litters.

.... We have been invited to have an informal chat with one of the breeders for an informal chat and to meet all their dogs. They currently have no litters, but have one planned in the future. I like this no pressure approach and am considering taking up their offer, to see if they would be happy for us to go on a waiting list for a future litter. However this comes at a price, as they are active competitors with champion dogs. I can't help but feel a little intimidated by this as I have no idea how to research their breeding lines and what I should be looking for. How do I go about tracing and understanding them?

Also I have to be be honest and say that I am looking for personality/health over looks/show ring status, as this would be a family pet and would not want to breed ourselves. There are plenty of other people out there with KC registered dogs who have bred a litter in their family home BUT also plenty of people who are back yard breeders. Am I treading dangerously by looking for people who aren't KC accredited breeders but have bred from their own pedigree family pet?

All advise welcome, as it will help me to understand myself what I am really looking for if I am to go down the pedigree route.

If you don't want a champion showdog then you must go the KC route but with a home breeder (family home) NOT a BYB , all health test etc need to be in place and everything in order, Caryll is the best person to advise you on the EBT so hope she's along soon, but don't think just beacuse the dog's are bred in the family home that they are a BYB. We got Tommy bred for temeperament and health from a lovely couple and it was only their 2nd litter but they'vce done a great job and everything is 100% documneted and above board. Personally I don't believe the KC accrediutation is the end of the world provided everything is in place.

make sure there not to much inbreeding the line 2/3 names pop up twice is alright but if you can find one without any close breed would be even better

Firstly well done for doing the research!

I'm researching breeders myself at the moment and I too am looking for a pet (although I may show or do agility at some point in the future) but all the breeders I'm looking at show as I've found the good ones do (to get independent opinions of their dog(s) to ensure they're a good example of the breed before deciding to breed.)

Don't feel intimidated and just be honest.

The KC ABS is a good place to start although there are good breeders who won't be on it, nor is it a guarantee of a good breeder IMO. Champdogs is a good place to look, but again, not all the people on there are good, you've really got to do your homework. Contact the breed council/local breed club and they will be happy to help.

Not sure if/what health tests there are for EBTs but make sure you find out and only look at breeders who do the recomended testing.

For Staffies http://www.stamtavler.com/dogarchive/ is good for looking at pedigrees, not sure about EBT though but I'm sure there'll be one similar.

Also have a look at http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/mateselect/Default.aspx for inbreeding coefficients, it's not perfect though so always check the pedigree of a potential pup yourself.

Make sure the litter will be raised in the home as that way the pups will be well habituated to household noises.

DON'T go to a BYB who've just bred their pet because you just want a pet and may feel a show dog is too good. It's not and you'll only be supporting bad breeding practices.

The right breeder will want to know lots about you and will welcome all the questions you have. Ask about everything from what they feed to what worming program they do, it will give you a good feel.

That's all I can think of for now but I may be back later

Good luck!

How far are you prepared to go? How much are you prepared to pay?

A good, well bred pup will cost you anything from £850. By well bred I don't necessarily mean show quality - I mean a pup that has been bred with a view to good health. Both parents should, at the very least, have been heart & kidney tested. White dogs should have been BAER tested for hearing problems & if you get a white pup it should also be BAER tested before you take it home.

They are notorious for chewing (hard & fast) and have a tendency towards OCD, so you have to be very careful in raising them to not allow habits such as spinning or tail chasing to form.

They also have a reputation for hucklebutting - they will suddenly go all hunched up & wide eyed, and they'll race around the house, literally bouncing off the walls & furniture!

These are three excellent breeders, BUT they will be top price (and top health) & may have a waiting list...

http://www.bullyview.com/pups.html

http://www.ukusabullterriers.com/UkusaBullTerriers/Puppies/Puppies.html

http://www.shacadia.co.uk/Litters.htm

Thank you everyone for the advice. After looking at what Caryll has linked me to it looks like i have been looking in the right direction. I have done as much research as I can online on the breed and have met a couple of EBTs in the area (+ Heston is EBT x SBT ) Here is the website of the breeders we have been invited to have an informal chat with:

http://www.quayardson.co.uk/

I found the breeders on the KC ABS, but also emailed people who are also registered as breeding family pedigree pets. I realise that there are people out there who aren't breeding champions but may choose to breed their family pedigree pets, but they seem to be much harder to come by. Curiousity got the better of me and I also looked at the pet advert sites. Although some adverts are obviously done by idiots there are the occasional ones that pop up and i have to say they come across as responsible....but I could just be completely wrong- Its a minefield

We have not set our hearts on buying a pup from a breeders and had such a lovely experience with Heston at the rescue centre, that we would definitely consider this route again. But if we did this we would not be looking at breed type but personality.

Anyway I could go on forever with the routes we could go down. If I find something that looks good and I need a second opinion, I'll be sure to show you on here too!

georgiegem wrote:http://www.quayardson.co.uk/

The Quayardson BTs are well known & good, healthy animals. It's definitely worth having a good long chat with them.

The only problem with getting a BT from adverts is that they may not have had the health tests. BTs have a history of heart & kidney failure. Both of these can kill a dog before its 3rd birthday, so the health tests are a must. Also, they are known for deafness (in one or both ears), especially the white ones so the BAER tests are a must. The coloureds don't have so much of a deafness problem, but the parents at least should have been tested.

I, for one, would only buy a BT from a good, recognised breeder, never from adverts online or in papers. At the very least you risk a dog with temperament problems (not something you want with a dog that can reach 80lb of solid muscle), and at worst a dead dog before it reaches adulthood.