Gracesbigsis said:
oh yeah, I forgot this detail. The breeder told us that she would be a great show dog and a good dog for breeding because of the thumbprint mark on her head.
A reputable breeder wouldn't be encouraging a novice to use a puppy for breeding. It sounds like this dog seller is primarily in it for the business, rather than mainly for the breed. It seems more than doubtful that any reputable breeder would sell a potential show/breeding dog to an inexperienced puppy buyer looking for a pet. It sounds like a sales pitch.
That doesn't mean the dog seller was working with a puppy mill, if puppy mill is strictly defined as a large farm with bitches in cages, defecating and eating in the same spot, having one litter after another. There are lots of breeders out there who breed cavaliers in a dog friendly home/family environment, to make some extra cash, or, to make a lot of money as a business, people who truly love dogs and treat them well, yet are not reputable in the sense that they do this off the cuff so to speak, they don't seriously spend the lengthy time it takes to become expert in breeding, they don't do an apprenticeship under reputable breeders and become part of the breed culture by attending shows and showing, and they either don't do health checks by board certified experts, or not consistently. The needs of trying to have a successful dog selling business can take priority over the highest quality breeding practices. So these are not reputable breeders in that sense. But the puppies they breed in many cases are born and raised in the breeders' homes, and socialized with their children and families. They are called Backyard Breeders. The puppies may be healthy and happy, but they are not bred carefully for health and for avoiding genetic defects.
Just as puppy millers use brokers, backyard breeders may use brokers too.
I got Zack from a broker. Before i knew about all these distinctions, i found an ad on puppyweb.com for what seemed to be a breeder, the webpage implied it was a breeder. I emailed her and she sent me photos of an older puppy she had--i expressed interest in an older puppy. She said she had an AKC puppy and the others were registered with a bogus registry though i didn't know it was bogus at the time. But i knew AKC was supposed to be a purebred designation, and the AKC puppy she had was more expensive than the puppies who had the other registry.
I went to the home and it was very nice, very dog friendly, the woman had the older cavalier puppy, about 4 months, and three or four that were about 8 weeks old. The woman was a stay at home mom with three little kids, the oldest was 8. One of the littler ones was frolicking with the dogs while i was there. The family had a couple of cavaliers and a poodle or cockapoo of their own, adults, the husband had a day job and the woman wanted to supplement his income while being able to be home with her kids, she said. It seemed wholesome enough to me at the time. The puppies and dogs seemed so happy and healthy, there was a big spacious backyard with a swingset for the kids, some dog crates with doors open, a couple of cats, a side dog yard. The sliding glass door was open so the dogs ran in and out of the house, into the living room, they jumped up on the sofa while we sat there and talked, cuddling and playing. It was pretty delightful really.
I went there to visit the older puppy i liked several times, though i had learned about the meaning of 'reputable breeder' and 'broker' and 'backyard breeder.' But i was already sucked in before i learned those things. It was fun going to her house. And my learning was still new and i hadn't appreciated all the implications yet. That first day, i was surprised that she said the puppies had just arrived that day, the young ones, by plane, from the breeder in another state, because i thought (from her website) that she was the breeder. It turned out she worked together with the breeder as the west coast "outlet" for the breeder. I called the breeder, asking the right questions and not getting the right answers (about heart testing, she just took the dogs to the local vet for health checks. She had been to a board certified cardiologist but wasn't doing it yearly. At that time, she just had one bitch and one sire, but think she has built her program much bigger now. Ambitious. She clearly loved cavaliers, in that more casual way, as did the broker. the broker had lots of info on cavaliers on her website, including detailed info about SM and MVD.
Anyway, it's not exactly black and white, either it's a puppy mill with dogs in deplorable conditions, or it's a reputable breeder. In between those extremes there are dog sellers who breed and raise and sell puppies in nice homey environments, and in certain ways, love dogs and think they are not doing anything wrong, but several things set reputable breeders apart. Obviously, board certified health testing for MVD and other conditions is one of those things, and following health oriented breeding programs is another, and related to that, reputable breeders really just do not come across as being in it for the business, it's clearly a labor of love, love of the breed, and you don't get sales pitches from them. They are trying to find good homes for their puppies, they will screen puppy buyers, they will want to know who you are. They would not be encouraging you to breed one of their puppies!
Less than reputable breeders, though they may be nice friendly folks who are dog lovers and have pets of their own and show some knowledge of the breed, will not be asking you a lot of questions to make sure your environment is safe and your lifestyle is appropriate for a puppy.
The woman i got zack from had the goal of becoming a backyard breeder herself. She was converting her garage for that purpose at the time i got Zack. She referred to the breeder in the other state (zack's breeder) as her mentor. She went to breed conventions. I don't think she saw herself as doing anything less than reputable at all. But there are higher standards than those she and her mentor held themselves to, for the good of the breed, even though they would not be considered puppy millers in the usual sense. Your guy may or may not have been a puppy miller, but from what you say, i wouldn't consider him a reputable breeder.