Irishdogs.ie - a good place to find a pup?

Demonique

A friend of mine and her mother want a shih-tzu pup, I told her to steer well clear of Buy and Sell magazine and to contact the Irish Kennel Club for a list of breeders.

She has been looking on irishdogs.ie, but I am wondering is this a good place to find a pup or is it along the same vein of Buy and Sell, backyard breeders and puppy farmers selling poor quality animals?

The pups she is looking at are allegedly IKC registered, but they are only €450 each

andreac

Irishdogs.ie is website giving information on how and where to buy a dog. There are NO dogs for sale on this site and it is strictly monitored. It will give you advice on where the best place is to purchase a dog. NEVER buy from a puppy farm. Best way as you mentioned is to contact the Kennel club and they will give you the name of the secretary of the club of the relevant breed you are looking for. If you need help or advice on anything to do with your puppy then Irishdogs.ie is a great place to get help and information. Hope this helps and you find a nice healthy puppy.:)

Demonique

NO dogs for sale on the site?

Then how do you explain this page?:

http://www.irishdogs.ie/Find%20a%20Dog.htm

Popsy

I think Andrea is getting Irishdogs mixed up with Irishanimals.ie

AckwelFoley

€2,800 for this dog? :eek:






No i know why there are puppy farms!

Whispered

snyper wrote: »

€2,800 for this dog? :eek:






No i know why there are puppy farms!

Oh but look at his lil face. Awwwwwwww

andreac

that is actually a link to donedeal.ie which does have dogs for sale. but i would never buy a dog that is advertised online or in a paper anyway. you dont know what you are getting.

andreac

sorry, i wasnt getting it mixed up with irishanimals. im on irishdogs everyday. I just forgot that you cannot advertise dogs for sale on the forum. Please try and contact a reputable breeder from the IKC, that way you are guaranteed a healthy pup.:)

glineli

I got my westie from what i thought was irishdogs.ie but is in fact donedeal.ie. But the lady i got him off was very nice, she is a registered breeder aswell so worked out ok.

Demonique

snyper wrote: »

€2,800 for this dog? :eek:






No i know why there are puppy farms!

You'll probably find that the really good breeders would be charging that amount for pups. An cousin of mine in the UK, contacted the Kennel Club for shih-tzu breeders, the pup she bought cost £700 and there were stipulations attached to the purchase, dog's three now and there's been no health problems

polly25

Hi, i have both bought and sold on done deal.ie, it is a fantastic site that offers dog lovers a chance to view what they want to but instead of having to travel half way around the country only to find they dont like the look of the animal, car, furniture etc. Any one who says done deal is not a good website obviously hasnt experienced it at it best. Any one with half a brain would know by the look of an animal if its coming from a reputable breeder. I am not a registered breeder but do it as a hobby and ALWAYS have my animals vaccinated and wormed. I highly recommend donedeal.ie but advise buyers to go through the whole pages of advertisements as the best animals are not always on the first or indeed second page !!!

Sigma Force

At the end of the day wether you want a dog from a free ads/website/or get a recommendation from a friend you need to do the same thing in all cases.

You do not meet on the side of the road to buy the dog, you don't have the dog delivered. You must see at least the mother and possibly the father if he lives in the same house. The dogs must be raised within the home so they are properly socialised etc. There are other things to look out for which are listed on a number of sites incl. the IKC. Also some common sense when buying a dog or any other animal.

adser53

irishdogs is a fantastic forum, just like this, for like minded dog owners to have a chat about anything and everything doggy related.

The find a dog section is seperate and merely links to donedeal.ie and as such, irishdogs have no control over whats posted there. No pups or breeders are advertised in the forum, or on the site itself, at all.

As for buying a puppy, I got my 3 dogs from the buy and sell and I often browse donedeal as I toy with the idea of getting another akita. I don't see anything wrong with it and I'm sure there are an awful lot of reputable breeders out there using them to advertise their litters. They'd be mad not too cos let's face it, it's where 99% of the country look when they want to buy a dog.

The difference is, I know what to look for in a dog and a breeder and all 3 breeders I've dealt with (4 if you count in the fact I bought my mam's dog for her) have been spot on and met the strict criteria I look for in a breeder. The onus really falls on you not to be fooled by a puppy farmer or guilted by a cute face into making a purchase you may live to regret.

Yes, puppy farms and backyard breeders use these advertising methods but it's up to you how much research you do to ensure your buying from a good breeder. Find out what to look for in a breeder, the questions you should ask them, what to look out for when you see the litter, the health tests they should be doing and contact the breed secretaries in the KC as they also recommend good breeders.

Hope that helps

Call me Socket

Irish Dogs provides a link to Donedeal so that the members on the forum can help a potential buyer avoid a farmed pup. We monitor the ads and report the suspect ones. We're there to offer the after purchasing advice that doesn't come with buying a pup from a puppy farm, ie. care, feeding, etc. If you go to the top of the page, you'll notice a disclaimer, and that IrishDogs also offers a free ebook on how to choose the right dog breeder and urges people to download it and take heed.

I'm being lazy by pasting this in cos I posted it recently, it'll save typing it again....

I wouldn't recommend 'shopping' for a dog on DoneDeal, Gumtree, or Buy & Sell, unless you are informed/experienced/researched enough able to tell the difference between a puppy farmer and a reputable breeder from reading/looking at the ad. Donedeal and the other sites are used by plenty of reputable breeders too- they outnumber the irresponsible ones, but one uninformed buyer getting stung by a farmer is one too many. The majority of puppy farmers or disreputable breeders use those sites to sell their litters as advertising is only E3.
It really doesn't mean much that the pups are advertised as being registered with the IKC- registration papers do not guarantee good breeding.

And to echo GPR's post- When you buy a dog you should see it first at the breeder's home, and view the mother of the pup, and possibly the father if he is also owned by the breeder. You should be satisfied that the premises is clean and that all dogs there appear to be in good physical health, and pups should be displaying the normal puppy traits, ie. happy, playful, social, eager to explore. The breeder should ask you as many questions as you ask them- they will want to know that their pup is going to a suitable home and that the buyer is aware of what's involved in rearing and caring for that particular breed. If the pups are registered the papers should be available to you on the day you purchase, as well as the vaccination records. And the breeder should have no hesitation discussing with you the results of the breed relevant health checks carried out on both parents.

What an disreputable breeder does is sell you a pup with promises that the papers will be forwarded in the post. They might give you false contact details, if any. Some of them also offer to 'meet you halfway'....fooling you into thinking they're being kind and obliging, when the truth is that they don't want potential buyers to see, in some cases, the state of their breeding premises, or the multiple breeds on site, or the filth and squalor the dogs and pups live in, or the ill health and misery of the breeding bitches.... they don't want you to find out they're the scum of the earth, ie. a puppy farmer.

tabbystarlight

HI

Can anyone help me. New to Boards.ie - well registered couple years back and think i was on it once but now i havent a clue what am doing really but i'm looking for a dog breeder and what i have seen in recent forums, ye all seem to have the answers :-) Yorkshire Terrier dog breeder. Always had yorkshires as my aunt used to breed them but my last lil baby died at christmas age 17 and we're lost without her. looking to get the runt of the litter or teacup as their called however would prefer to go through a trusted breeder. Can anyone help please?

Thanks in advance

ISDW

If you get in touch with the Irish Kennel Club (just google it, the details will come up), then they can give you details of the yorkshire terrier breed club. If you ring them, they will be able to tell you the reputable breeders that may have a litter already, or one coming up.

Good luck.

Call me Socket

There's a Yorkie breeder listed here:
http://irishdogs.ie/Breeders/Breederslist.asp

The IrishDogs site owner keeps Yorkies and used to breed them, so he would most likely be familiar with the Deacons- if you want me to I can check if he vouches for them....

tabbystarlight

Ah thanks so much for all ur help. I reckon that should do the job. I will give them all a call tomorrow and see where i get. Thanks again

Call me Socket

By the way.....just copied this from a thread on IrishDogs- just something to look out for:

Beware of a woman in a large house in meath selling yorkies without papers at 6 weeks old. Not much info I know. But someone I know who didn't know any better bought one and it died within a week, despite doing all she could to try and help. Examination by vet after death showed major stomach problem. Breeder wouldn't answer phone and when she called out to her, she slammed the door in her face. Just beware if you are looking at yorkies in that area.

cloudy day

I also agree with done deal being a good website. By looking at the pictures you can clearly see if the dog is what they are saying it is. There are a lot of small breeders who advertise on it and there is nothing wrong with their pups. Yes there are some disreputable sellers out there but not everyone is the same.

Shih-tzus used to be € 500 but the price has come down considerably, I think the reason for this is that people are realising they are a high maintenance dog, clipping bills soon mount up and they are prone to eye problems.

A reputable breeder will not be inclined to drop the price of the pups or sell them unreg unless its a small litter. The best thing to do is talk to the seller on the phone and this will give you a fair idea about them. Pups should be reg, come with papers, worming dates and with Vaccination cert STAMPED by a vet.

Pups don't necessarily have to be kept in the house, if they are outside make sure they are in a clean environment, not a manky outhouse. If the housing is dirty and the dogs look dirty and unkempt do not buy a pup. Even if you feel sorry for it.

ISDW

cloudy day wrote: »

I also agree with done deal being a good website. By looking at the pictures you can clearly see if the dog is what they are saying it is. There are a lot of small breeders who advertise on it and there is nothing wrong with their pups. Yes there are some disreputable sellers out there but not everyone is the same.

Shih-tzus used to be € 500 but the price has come down considerably, I think the reason for this is that people are realising they are a high maintenance dog, clipping bills soon mount up and they are prone to eye problems.

A reputable breeder will not be inclined to drop the price of the pups or sell them unreg unless its a small litter. The best thing to do is talk to the seller on the phone and this will give you a fair idea about them. Pups should be reg, come with papers, worming dates and with Vaccination cert STAMPED by a vet.

Pups don't necessarily have to be kept in the house, if they are outside make sure they are in a clean environment, not a manky outhouse. If the housing is dirty and the dogs look dirty and unkempt do not buy a pup. Even if you feel sorry for it.

Thats excellent advice.

looserock

andreac wrote: »

Please try and contact a reputable breeder from the IKC, that way you are guaranteed a healthy pup.:)

lol

andreac

Whats so funny?

looserock

andreac wrote: »

Whats so funny?

Sorry about that, its just that I know a lot of so called reputable breeders.

Sigma Force

Have to disagree yorkies are a toy breed so they must be kept in the house or a specialised room off the house that has heating and that the dogs can mix with the household.

Puppies need to be socialised from a very young age, so if they are out in a shed somewhere they aren't going to get used to the day to day things like hoovers, people coming and going etc. Although that depends how much time the breeder spends in this seperate area. Obviously new dog mums need quiet time as well to sleep and all that but in general a toy dog breed or any delicate breeds need to be in the house.

Lauragoesmad

andreac wrote: »

Please try and contact a reputable breeder from the IKC, that way you are guaranteed a healthy pup.:)

Thats not always the case. Some of the breeders are a tad more focussed on the looks and stance of dogs rather than their health and temperment. I know first hand as we got the name of a king charles breeder from them when were getting Cara. She had deformed claws that had to be cut as they would not reach the ground to wear down.

Also, a lady I see on my walks went to great lenghts to get a thoroughbred black lab and he has a really bad heart condition that the vet said was hereditary. She bought him from a IKC recomended breeder.

cloudy day

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

Have to disagree yorkies are a toy breed so they must be kept in the house or a specialised room off the house that has heating and that the dogs can mix with the household.

Puppies need to be socialised from a very young age, so if they are out in a shed somewhere they aren't going to get used to the day to day things like hoovers, people coming and going etc. Although that depends how much time the breeder spends in this seperate area. Obviously new dog mums need quiet time as well to sleep and all that but in general a toy dog breed or any delicate breeds need to be in the house.

Have to disagree with you on that one. My sister had one that lived out, friend has them that live out. What do you think that coat is for. We are talking original Yorkie's not miniatures or the weaklings that have been bred down by today's standards.

Original Yorkies were hardy ratters. That lived out.

It is people who have weakened the dogs. It's not healthy for a dog to be indoors 24/7 or carried around in a handbag, or dressed in little clothes. A dog should be a dog no matter what breed. they all need fresh are and to be able to run, play, muck about and get dirty, with other dogs. This is more important to it than being cooped up inside a house.


Of course we are not talking about getting a puppy and shutting in a shed all day long ! that is an extreme view taking totally out of question what has been said.

Each dog needs to be assessed individually, as that is what they are individuals.