We Have Reserved Our Pup!

We have always planned on either breading Maggie and keeping one of her puppies, or getting her her very own dog once we moved to Texas. Now that we're in Texas we decided that while she is old enough to breed, we don't want to breed her just yet, and have opted to see if we could find a reputable Border Collie breeder in the area. The last couple nights when Hubs got bored, he got online and looked up BC breeders and bookmarked a few pages for me. Last night when I got bored, I started looking at a few of the links he found.

It is important to me that I find a reputable breeder who will guarantee their dogs against common breed defects such as hip dysplasia, eye, and ear problems . I worked with a woman in one of my previous jobs who knowingly bred a Golden Retriever with hip dysplasia, simply because she was into breeding her many dogs for the $500 a puppy she got from doing it. She could care less that the pups from that dog had a predisposition for such a crippling problem. After knowing her, I have been very careful about whom I will and will not purchase a pup from. Just because the price is high doesn't mean the breeder is responsible.

I contacted the breeder I purchased Maggie from a couple days ago to see if they were still breeding their dogs, and if so, if they would have pups any time soon. They told me that they had decided to stop because there was just not much of a demand for the dogs in the area any more, and they couldn't handle the thought of having to give pups to the humane society because they were not legally allowed to exceed a certain number of dogs on their property. After speaking with them I contemplated how to find a reputable breeder in the area. I had found a few websites on my own before we moved, but the breeders stated they would only adopt their dogs out to sporting homes, meaning you HAD to have the dog in some kind of competitive sport, such as agility, or use the dog as a working animal. Not only that, but their price tag was a little high.

Here I digress, so last night I found a breeder whose home page said everything I wanted to hear. Their dogs were known for being calm and quiet, they adopted out to homes who appreciate the breed as pets and not just working animals, they guarantee their pups against defects, all of their pups are ABCA (American Border Collie Association [the BC version of AKC only better) registered (Maggie is ABCA registered), and the best part was they even deliver the dog to your door. I didn't really care about the latter so much, I am perfectly fine with driving a little bit to get my pooch.

After taking Mags to the dog bath today, I called the breeder and put down a deposit for a red female pup. The gentleman told me that their dogs always sell even before they are born, so my name was put onto the waiting list (I'm #5). Once a litter becomes available and my number is called, I get to pick my pooch fresh out of the package, wait 8 weeks for it to grow up, and then go snag it. I am thoroughly excited! In a few months, we will have a new addition to our little household. My only problem now is trying to refrain from buying puppy supplies until a few weeks before we bring the pup home. :)

P.S. Please take a minute to choose your favorite puppy name in the poll on the top right corner of the page.