How to Read and Understand Ads
Often you hear the phrase, “Buyer Beware” when shopping for merchandise. Shopping for a puppy is no different. Sadly some people will spend more time researching options before purchasing a computer that will be outdated in a year than they will researching breeders that will place a loving new family member in your home for the next ten years. Look at your puppy purchase as an investment and strive to make that investment wisely. The road that lays before you for the next several years can be one filled with love and enjoyment or one filled with heartache, the road you chose will be solely based on your choice of breeder.
“AKC Registered Miniature Pinscher Puppies” So What! Big Deal! Unless those puppies can READ those papers there is nothing to be impressed or excited about. Those AKC papers do NOT guarantee quality of any kind nor does it mean you are working with a reputable breeder. AKC papers work like a title for a car. I have a truck with a title that is in such bad shape I can’t give it away. Same goes for many AKC registered puppies. The AKC is a registration service only, the organization does not control breeding, approve litters, or promises quality or soundness in any way. In some cases it has been proven that puppies holding an AKC registration aren’t even purebred puppies. AKC papers in the hands of an unethical breeder has produced puppies that are often sick, uncared for, and passed on to homes where the puppies suffer sometimes life threatening genetic defects. AKC registration is not a selling point with a reputable breeder. The buyer also needs to beware of other registration services. Many are cropping up that won’t even require the puppies be purebred of any kind.
“Rare Blue-Min Pin Puppies” or “Rare extra-small Min Pins” This type of advertising screams Unethical breeders. Any time you come across advertising Rare (in any form) it should be translated as: This breeder has no Earthly idea of what he/she is doing, does NOT know or understand the breed requirements and is out to make a fast buck on a scam. Blue Min Pins are not rare; a Fawn Min Pin is not rare. It is RARE to find a reputable breeder that is producing these colors that is educated in genetics of coat colors and can produce a Min Pin of Blue or Fawn coloring that has taken all steps to ensure a genetically sound pup. Yes, those breeders are out there and they are producing fantastic Min Pins, but finding one advertised in your local paper is not likely to happen and NO reputable breeder would even think about passing these colors off as rare. The coloring of a min pin is his coat. Lets think of it this way; you are at your favorite department store picking out a coat for yourself. You have a red coat and a blue coat, both of the exact same quality. Would you pay several hundred dollars more for the Blue coat? NO! Then why would you pay more for a Blue Min Pin?
Under no circumstances should you fall victim to a breeder advertising rare Tiny Min Pins. Min Pins have a set size requirement. If the dogs do not fall in that requirement and the breeder is trying to make more money from this, you are being taken. This breeder is not breeding with the goal of maintaining the quality of the breed or striving to improve the breed. If obtaining the proper size of the min pin is not important to the breeder chances are very good it is also not the goal of the breeder to produce healthy puppies. Many times an extremely small Min Pin is suffering underlying health problems that have reduced his ability to grow and develop. Often the puppy is already home with the buyers before these often life- threatening problems are discovered. It is not uncommon for a reputable breeder to sell puppies from their litter to pet homes that will slightly exceed or not meet the required size for show competition. These puppies are never sold as rare and the breeders “Pet Prices” will always be charged. Your breeder will explain to you why these pet quality puppies are being sold to pet homes.
“Price Reduced” or “Must go Now” Price Reduced? Did the quality of the puppies go down? No, this usually means that the unethical breeder has come up against too many educated puppy buyers and can’t get these undesirable puppies out of their house so they can run to the bank. Don’t be surprised however for the price of a puppy to go up as a pup grows older when dealing with a reputable breeder. A puppy that has stayed with the breeder for a longer than usual length of time has undergone more training, possibly has started a show career, has seen the vet for scheduled visits and possibly has had his ears cropped. These things don’t come free for the breeder; so don’t expect it to come free for you. This does not mean there is something wrong with the puppy. More often than not it means that the breeder has just not yet come across the person they feel comfortable sending home with one of their puppies.
Another phrase to watch for is “MUST GO NOW” … Why do these puppies have to go now? Have they lost their puppy cuteness and the breeder wants them out the door? Is the breeder producing many litters of puppies and needs the current litter gone to make room for the new litter? Are there health issues with these puppies that the breeder doesn’t want to deal with? Maybe their bank account can no longer go another day without depositing YOUR money in it? Reputable breeders breed knowing that all the puppies they produce have a forever home with them if responsible homes are not found.
We will now move on to the next section of this site.
Health Issues In Miniature Pinschers
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