Brian’s breeder visit went really well! He got to visit with swissies of all different sizes, ages and temperament. I think in my last post I was lamenting that I was the one who didn’t get to go? Well, in the end I think it was a good thing. Since Brian will be primary caretaker he needed to be around all the different personalities and see the differences. I already gave him the 3rd degree, but I’m sure after he decompresses there will be more to tell. We are considering two different breeders at the moment. We need to talk some more about what we want in a breeder… so for now I will stay mum on who and where and when. But our goal is to settle with a person we most gel with and feel like we can trust, and then we will wait on the best match of pup based on the parents. We are trying not to rush this, but things could move very fast if we decide on a breeder and they decide on us.

In the meantime, here’s some more puppy love.

Right now I am sitting at work waiting for a text or a phone call my lovely husband. He’s out-of-state with the kids.. and because he was going to be in the vicinity, we set up a meeting with a breeder to visit her house and meet her dogs. This is a difficult thing to do when you live in a state that doesn’t have many breeders or the breeders that you do have only breed their dogs once a year.

But you see, HE’S the one who is visiting. I’m stuck at work 400 miles away. I’m the one who knows what to ask.. he has been leaving this part up to me. So of course, i had to write up a whole questionnaire so he knows what to do and what to ask.

He asked me for a list of questions and I obliged. Here’s what I wrote up:

1) What kind of health guarantee does she provide?
2) How does she socialize her pups before she sends them to her new owners?
3) What is her view about socialization vs parvo? What does she recommend?
4) Does she start any crate training? Any other training? What kind of training method does she feel works best for Swissies?
5)What does she feed her dogs? What’s her views on what to feed the puppies when they go to their new home?
6) What vaccinations does she give and what is her view on the kind of vaccination schedule the puppies should have?

xxoo
-m

Ok. Seriously? Breeders are CRAZY.

The ultrasound hasn’t even been done yet and I’ve talked to this one 4 times. Sweet wonderful guy.. but he talked to my husband and asked to have me call him back today. I do.. and its like crickets on the other end. It’s painfully obvious the guy didn’t have anything to say and wasn’t really serious when he told brian to have me call him back.

And what is terrible about this conversation is that it feels obvious that we don’t really have anything to say to each other beyond what has been already said. So it’s just chit chat, which makes me feel terribly fake and insincere. The guy wants me to bring all the questions and honestly.. if he’d bother to read my application and my blog, he’d see that I’m incredibly researched and really don’t have any questions beyond what i’ve asked him already. He did have to reiterate that there are 39 applicants for this breeding.. but then he reassured me that there are a few that are 20-somethings who live in an appartment with 3 room mates and maybe they should be considering a toy poodle or something.

Another thing that is kind of funny? He really has no interest in me beyond if I’m appropriate for his dogs. I could be a trash collector or an axe murder for all he knows. I tried showing him all the films I’ve worked on just so it might strike up some conversation and he didn’t have a single question or reaction. As far as I can tell, the only thing he wants to talk about is his dogs and their show record. Which brings up another point: It is absolutely apparent that people who breed dogs? This is their ENTIRE world. Reminds me of geeks who go to star trek conventions and build those crazy one-of-a-kind-costumes just because they can and they LOVE star trek.

Breeders are geeks... in their own way.

All I can say, is this process is driving me crazy. The ultra sound is not for another two weeks. Think i could just get drunk and forget about it all until then?

For my own sanity I really need to document this breeder Drama, but I hesitate to make this public for the time being. Mainly because there are too many idenities to protect and since it is happening in real time, I don’t want to offend or color someone in a certain direction.

Breeder #1:
This was the first breeder I contacted and admittedly I was really new in the process. I am sure i came off as a dumb ass many times so the fact that she emailed me back at all is a miracle. That said, she was always very illusive and never fully answered any questions. I was fairly focused on her in the beginning but that was because she is close by. I finally got to meet her in person, and she was just as unfocused as ever and not too interested in talking to me. It turns out, she isn’t going to be breeding for several years, so I wouldn’t be able to get a dog from any way.

Breeder #2: Breeder #1 recommended two breeders back east. I was later to learn that both are “breeder’s breeders.” I went to the second one’s website and saw the person had very particular stipulations on whether someone could have one of his dogs. Curious, I emailed him a letter asking for more information and he wrote back a very combative letter telling me I could go somewhere else. He later apologized but after learning more about him, I decided his views and mine would definitely not gel.

Breeder #3: I got a tip from some new friends about a particular pair up. It sounds perfect and I am really excited about it. But after talking to the breeder, although super friendly… it seems hardly unlikely he will choose me as a possible prospect. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed. He won’t even consider thinking about possible match ups until the dog has an ultra-sound in 3 weeks.

Breeder #4: Brian is going up to Portland next week and because I got discouraged about Breeder #3, I contacted another breeder who we were interested in the start. She responded right away and has invited us to visit. She has two gals breeding to the same male and it sounded like a good prospect.

So a whole of stuff for a whole lot of nothing.

That’s what I feel like tonight. A STALKER.
I swear, word is going to get out and people are going to start questioning if I’m missing the Queen on my chess board.

I’ve been hesitant to talk too much of the process finding a breeder because
1) I just started.
2) I have a habit of sticking my foot in my mouth. . Mmm.. yummy toe fuzz.
3) What if somebody i am trying to impress reads my blog and then walks away feeling offended.. or worse. Doesn’t feel like i’m worthy to own one of their dogs. Goodness that would suck!

But how can i document this process without talking a little about all that I’m doing to FIND my puppy.

So let me outline this process.
1) You go and find reputable breeders on line through the GSMDCA or the AGSBA.
2) You talk to people who have used said breeders.
3) You go their websites and read about their practices.

Lets say you get a good word about a breeder, or someone tells you about a pairing of dogs that might be a good match. Let’s just say you get interested.

Time to SELL YOURSELF.
How do you do this affectively, be completely sincere and truthful about your intentions? How do you convince someone to trust you when ultimately… you want something from them?

Honestly, it’s just not possible. At least for me. I feel like a complete dweeb trying to sell myself.. mainly because I’m a person of action. Not of words. I am excited about this so I come off as hyper and nervous and obsessive. (Which i am. The obsessive part. ) I can’t convince someone I just met that i’m a trustworthy animal lover who is proactive and devoted and really wanting to do this right. They’ve heard it all before; why should they trust me? I don’t know how many of their dogs they’ve had to rescue from bad families because the kids didn’t get on with the dog or they had to move. People are smart and they learn all the right things to say when they are trying to win someone over. If I was in their shoes.. i’d be skeptical too.

Hopefully I’m going to be talking to a breeder this weekend and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we hit it off because it would be lovely to stop talking hypothetical and really start planning for the puppy. This particular pairing, so far sounds lovely. I talked to the owner of the Papa on the phone and she was fantastic. Completely patient and forthcoming. And her dog sounds like the exact kind of energy i want to bring into the house.

Ugh. But its hard! I want to be spending my time, learning about how I want to RAISE the dog and figure out training methods and supplies I’m going to need. We have to find a new vet and I had gotten some feedback from the gs.com about what kind of questions to ask when interviewing. Brian has been asking for those questions for a week and half so he can start interviewing.. and i’ve been preoccupied with breeder questions. I so wish this part was settled. I think this part is going to drive me crazy. But hey! This is the process I signed up for. If I wanted instant gratification we could have just gone to the pound, right?