Hi, I’m looking for the seemingly impossible and would be grateful for pointers. That is, I’m looking for a “good” french breeder of German Pointers, ideally long-haired German pointers, (Braque Allemand, poils longs, not the Longhals dutch breed, they look very similar but aren’t in temperament).
“Good” for my intents and purposes is somebody who keeps the mother as a pet and has her and the litter in the home - I’m not looking for kennel bred puppies from kennel housed hunting dogs, no matter how nicely tempered the breeder claims their line is.
Not so much concerned with distance or immediate availability, it’s the early socializing as a family pet that matters most to me. The hunting ability and or active status of the parents are not important,(appart from not being able to pay OTT for highly ranked pedigrees). I have been unsuccessfully searching for quite a while as the French law makes it almost illegal to sell/advertise home/pet bred, as opposed to not commercially bred, puppies, (the logic behind this is too bonkers to get into). However, it is a favorite breed, l grew up with them, and my husband is comfortable with them, so l persevere.
So, do you know someone who may have puppies now or at some point? If they ask for my credentials, I can promise a loving home in the country side, lots of activities and dog socializing, but no hunting. Thank you for reading this far and hopefully pointing, pun intended this time, me in the right direction.
The SPA has quite a few available - not checked to see whether long or short haired - but not all will be ex-hunting dogs. And some are young.
Otherwise have you looked in Belgium or Germany?
(Personally having seen the awfulness of people who want to make money from puppies - not necessarily huge puppy farmers but just ignorant people who over breed their own dogs - I don’t think the laws are bonkers. It’s just a bit of administration and French people are well used to that! We still see many notices up in our local Jardival for people selling a home bred litter, just with the siret number now)
I have seen two ads recently on LBC trying to give away Malinois puppies free. Trouble is they look so cute but could grow up to be trouble (don’t the police have them as police dogs in some countries?) and the same with other largish breeds too. If you go to the SPA they do have an idea of the background and where the dog came from. From personal experience I would not have another pedigree dog again, too many problems cropped up.
Thanks, l have seen a couple of Braque’s at the SPA, all kennel dogs, or barely domesticated if not. I don’t mind a dog up to 5 years old if it previously was a family dog. But l can’t take on ex intensive puppyfarm breeder/kennel-pack dog, too demanding, and l have done my bit in that regard already.
In regard to your other comment, l was trying to keep it light when referring to the law being bonkers. I’m sure we all have different experiences of professional breeders. Mine in France have been appaling, whilst the dogs we have known coming from private homes here, not money making schemes, have been well looked after and have solid foundations and personalities without angst etc issues. In Scandinavia where l originate it is the norm to buy from individuals, not pro breeders, so l am used to that system. When l lived in the UK it was also not a problem to find a puppy from a responsible pet owner/occasional breeder. It seems a shame to forbid puppy advertising, outside of local hard copy post it’s, based on some unscrupulous unlicenced for profit breeders, they are not the majority. In fact that segment appears to have been used as an excuse by the professional dog breeders when they lobbied for the law to create their monopoly. Had the law f.instance included obligations for the breeders to keep the puppies for 3 months, and a program of exposure so that people didn’t end up with puppies who had never seen any environment outside of indoor kennels without development stimulus of any sort, it would have been more equitable.
Sometimes these are genuine and are an individual trying to find proper homes for puppies their dog has had since now illegal to sell them unless you go through the admin. But not always as innocent! Buyer beware.
Yes, we do!
We have only bought one dog in France, and were very positively impressed. Yes a “professional” but absolutely exemplary. We could visit our dog from 4 weeks old and when we were able to take him home he was fully housetrained (at 8 weeks!) and had been socialised and acclimatised to all sorts of experiences.
Our previous dog we bought from an individual in the UK. It later became obvious that this was a well hidden scam and she was from a puppy farm as the dog had lots of problems. She was still lovely tho’, just a lot more work and vets bills.
Surely that depends on the breed. OTOH with the right choice of pedigree breed you’ve a much clearer idea of what you’re likely to experience in terms of character, temperament, intelligence, health, and longevity.
I have never bought a dog in my life, all mine have been from reputable rescue organisations, mostly dogs we have fostered, though sometimes have made a voluntary contribution. But I am at the other end of the spectrum regarding age, not interested in anything younger than 8 and the one time I fostered (with a view to adopt) she proved too young for us and my current dogs.