The Finnish Lapphund is a relatively rare breed in UK, with between 40 and 100 puppies being born a year, so generally breeders have lengthy waiting lists. We are fortunate therefore that breeders tend to take a great deal of care when placing puppies so they will probably want to find out a lot about you. The following are a list of recommendations to help you choose your breeder and puppy:
- Visit a dog show or club event to meet a number of breeders, and speak to a selection of owners
- Check out the Club breeder pages to see which breeders are approved
- Visit breeders to understand more about them and their dogs, maybe meet them at home and/or on a walk
- Check if the breeder is a member of the Assured Breeder Scheme, and if not whether they meet the standards of the scheme
- Get details of the planned parents of the litter and check they have the required health tests set out by the Breed Clubs
- Find out what information and support your breeder will provide with the puppy
Warning signs
- The breeder is reluctant to let you visit the dogs at home
- The breeder insists on taking a deposit before you have seen the puppies (most breeders will not ask for deposits)
- The mother of the puppies is not present, or is unhappy to meet you (Whilst bitches may be protective of their puppies when young, as the puppies approach the age to leave home the bitch should be happy to meet people when puppies are not present in the room as a minimum)
- Never buy from free-ads etc – reputable breeders will have waiting lists and do not need to use this route
Questions for both you and the breeder
If making contact with a breeder by email – we recommend giving some background on your family, lifestyle and interest in the breed, breeders are unlikely to respond to one liners.
Both you and the breeder need to feel sure that you are both working together to ensure a long and happy life for a puppy, so it is important you get to know each other, here are some likely questions that could form part of any visit/telephone call between you both.
Ask the breeders
- Which Breed Clubs do you belong to, and are you listed as recommended breeder?
- How long have you been a Finnish Lapphund owner, have you experience of other breeds?
- How long have you been breeding Finnish Lapphunds, you can also check out how many litters they have bred and over what time?
- What are the positive characteristics of this breed?
- What are the negative characteristics of this breed?
- What health problems does the breed suffer/what is their life expectancy?
- What endorsements, if any, do you put on the puppy’s KC papers?
- What are the health results for the parent? Ask for copies of certificates and the pedigree so you can research the lines.
- What information to you provide in your puppy pack?
- Will the puppy be inoculated?
- What should we do if we found we were unable to keep the puppy/dog due to change in circumstances?
- Which shows or other activities do you participate in/any successes?
What the breeder may ask you?
- Have you had a dog before? – what breed/s?
- What attracted you to Finnish Lapphund?
- Do you have a preference for dog/bitch?
- What is your work pattern?
- How long each day will the dog be left alone?
- Any other pets it the home?
- If you have children, how old are they?
- Do you have a garden/is it fenced?
- Do you live in a flat, or a house?
- What activities are you interested in (shows/obedience/agility/scent/KC good citizen scheme)?
