it depends on the breed organization, when i was younger and we had wolfhounds, we'd usually go to Irish Wolfhound AKC related meetups (which happened a couple times a year) and talk to other owners about their experiences with breeders. right off the bat that was an easy way to figure out what breeder had closest to what we were looking for since we got to talk to pet owners instead of breeders.
from there talking to vets was usually a good option since for the most part your local vet had a pretty high chance of seeing most of the dogs from breeder x and they might be able to give you input on their experiences with a certain breeder/bloodline. same thing for rescues since most purebred rescues aren't typically healthy/happy dogs so they might be able to say "yeah i've noticed i get a lot of dogs from breeder x that seem to have heart problems/allergies/behavioral issues/etc"
going to a dog park can be a great way to see dogs, interact with owners, and find out where they got their dogs. they are also a great place to hear breed/breeder horror stories.
these days mailing lists and meetup and even reddit are great ways to find out about local breeders and people's experiences with them since again you can talk to pet owners vs breed organizations or other breeders. pretty much every breed as a subreddit or meetup group where you can get a ton of advice about breeders/vets/general questions...they're very useful tools. even talking to other breeders can be a good idea since while not every organization is 100% committed to the "right" standard for the dogs, most breeders don't want to breed super unhealthy dogs since on a totally economic note, most respected purebred breeders should offer you some sort of health insurance on their puppies so if they have a shitty line going they're going to pay for it. a really legit breeder will generally not talk unnecessary shit about their competition since ideally they will be cross breeding -with- their competition to ensure that their bloodlines aren't kept unique to their own brand since that will be the #1 flag that they're doing some serious inbreeding.
with frenchies, right now the biggest ways to go against the breed standard are the fad colors, which are achieved solely through inbreeding or breeding for specific traits, so if a breeder sells a fad color you know that they are selling overpriced dogs that are unhealthy. if someone has rares, you just should know to walk away. (this is a case where going against the standard is really bad. with some breeds like the olde english bulldogge or the american mastiff obviously going against the standard is better...but again if you do your research and talk to other owners, you'll be equipped to make your own decision)
another way to tell if a breeder is on the up and up is how many dogs they have for sale at a given time, if they'll let you come to their breeding facility, if they seem just as picky about you as you are about them (since a good breeder will want to make sure that their dogs go to good homes vs being under any sort of pressure to unload puppies). like, if a breeder breeds 5 different types of dogs, they might be doing it more for the money vs any real love for the breed. ideally they'll only be breeding once or twice a year at most, and ideally they'll stick to one breed. another kind of dorky way to tell is how they treat their dogs (sounds like a basic thing, but you'd be surprised how many breeders i've seen who've kept their dogs in a separate room, where their dogs don't respond to them which shows a lack of interaction) or even how into the breed they seem.
With Bones, we met his parents and grandmother who were all super healthy and happy. The dogs and the puppies got to play indoors and outdoogs and clearly responded to the breeder in a positive manner. in addition she only bred/showed frenchies (aside from doing dressage which is totally unrelated), other Socal breeders spoke VERY highly of her, she has a strict neuter/spade policy, and she had a ton of french bulldog tchotkes which was also a good sign she actually -liked- the breed as something more than a money making venture.
from there talking to vets was usually a good option since for the most part your local vet had a pretty high chance of seeing most of the dogs from breeder x and they might be able to give you input on their experiences with a certain breeder/bloodline. same thing for rescues since most purebred rescues aren't typically healthy/happy dogs so they might be able to say "yeah i've noticed i get a lot of dogs from breeder x that seem to have heart problems/allergies/behavioral issues/etc"
going to a dog park can be a great way to see dogs, interact with owners, and find out where they got their dogs. they are also a great place to hear breed/breeder horror stories.
these days mailing lists and meetup and even reddit are great ways to find out about local breeders and people's experiences with them since again you can talk to pet owners vs breed organizations or other breeders. pretty much every breed as a subreddit or meetup group where you can get a ton of advice about breeders/vets/general questions...they're very useful tools. even talking to other breeders can be a good idea since while not every organization is 100% committed to the "right" standard for the dogs, most breeders don't want to breed super unhealthy dogs since on a totally economic note, most respected purebred breeders should offer you some sort of health insurance on their puppies so if they have a shitty line going they're going to pay for it. a really legit breeder will generally not talk unnecessary shit about their competition since ideally they will be cross breeding -with- their competition to ensure that their bloodlines aren't kept unique to their own brand since that will be the #1 flag that they're doing some serious inbreeding.
with frenchies, right now the biggest ways to go against the breed standard are the fad colors, which are achieved solely through inbreeding or breeding for specific traits, so if a breeder sells a fad color you know that they are selling overpriced dogs that are unhealthy. if someone has rares, you just should know to walk away. (this is a case where going against the standard is really bad. with some breeds like the olde english bulldogge or the american mastiff obviously going against the standard is better...but again if you do your research and talk to other owners, you'll be equipped to make your own decision)
another way to tell if a breeder is on the up and up is how many dogs they have for sale at a given time, if they'll let you come to their breeding facility, if they seem just as picky about you as you are about them (since a good breeder will want to make sure that their dogs go to good homes vs being under any sort of pressure to unload puppies). like, if a breeder breeds 5 different types of dogs, they might be doing it more for the money vs any real love for the breed. ideally they'll only be breeding once or twice a year at most, and ideally they'll stick to one breed. another kind of dorky way to tell is how they treat their dogs (sounds like a basic thing, but you'd be surprised how many breeders i've seen who've kept their dogs in a separate room, where their dogs don't respond to them which shows a lack of interaction) or even how into the breed they seem.
With Bones, we met his parents and grandmother who were all super healthy and happy. The dogs and the puppies got to play indoors and outdoogs and clearly responded to the breeder in a positive manner. in addition she only bred/showed frenchies (aside from doing dressage which is totally unrelated), other Socal breeders spoke VERY highly of her, she has a strict neuter/spade policy, and she had a ton of french bulldog tchotkes which was also a good sign she actually -liked- the breed as something more than a money making venture.
plus there is just looking at the dogs.
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