Finding a Breeder

Where to Start

The good place to start looking for a Papillon breeder is the Papillon Club of America's website. Look at their online PCA Breeder List. You may be disappointed in the number of breeders listed, but rest assured there are many more club members who are breeders; they just prefer not to have their name listed. So how can you find someone who is not on the list?

Start with the AKC’s (American Kennel Club) website. You can use their Event & Awards Search to find dog shows that are going to be in your area. You'll want to look for either Papillon shows or all breed shows. For each show, the AKC lists the show secretary or a superintendent. Those individuals will have the information you will need. Show secretaries usually need to be contacted directly, but a superintendent will have a website with all the available information. In the Midwest the dog show superintendents are usually Jack Onofrio or Roy Jones.

A local dog club can also help you find a breeder. The AKC’s site can help you here also. You can use the AKC's Local Club Breeder Referral Officers Search to find clubs in your area. Contact the club secretary and visit their website if they have one. Some clubs even have a breeder referral list.

Breeder websites may also be found by using a searching for Papillon Breeders on the Internet using one of the many search engines. Some websites will have links to other breeder’s websites.

Puppy Mills

When I was young, the only place I could find a puppy was the newspaper and the pet shop. I loved going into a pet shop all the cute puppies in the window. Unfortunately those are not good sources for puppies, yet today they often are the first places people go to for a pup. Pet shop puppies are most often products of a puppy mill.

Puppy mills produce hundreds of puppies every year for the sole purpose of producing a profit and not a quality animal. They usually sell to brokers who then resell the puppies to the pet shops. The puppy miller does not worry about genetic defects, pedigrees or socialization. Minimum is spent on food and vet bills to keep profits up. Dogs are generally housed in small cages and sanitation may be non-existent. For more information about puppy mills, please check out NoPuppyMills.com, it's a great website with a wealth of information.

Newspaper Ads

Responsible breeders rarely, if ever, sell their puppies through the newspaper. Backyard breeders and wholesalers, however, usually advertise their pups in local and regional newspapers.

Backyard Breeder

The backyard breeder is usually an individual who has a litter of puppies for all the wrong reasons:

• Their female is so pretty they just think everyone will want a puppy
• The kids need to experience watching a birth
• They paid “big bucks” for the dog and want to get some of the money back
• A bitch should have a litter before being spayed
• The reasons go on and on.

Their intentions may be good but the fact remains that backyard breeders are not knowledgeable or concerned breeders, nor do they have the best interest of the dog at heart. They do not:

• They do not do genetic screening
• They do not know the breed standard and therefore have no idea if their bitch or the stud dog is a quality specimen of the breed
• They do not have any idea about the dogs in the pedigree
• They sometimes have puppies left over. These pups may be taken to a shelter.

Quality, Responsible Breeder

Breeds not only because they love the breed. They also strive to improve the breed. These people do:

• Genetic testing
• Understand the breed standard
• Know the ancestors in the pedigree
• Feed the best
• Give the best vet care
• Usually belong to a national and/or local breed club
• Screen puppy buyers to make sure the puppy is the correct breed for them and that their lifestyle and home is appropriate for a dog.
• Remain available for the life of the puppy

There are excellent websites for understanding what is a responsible breeder is. Two that I recommend are: Wonder Puppy and the Papillon Club of America. These sites are targeted at one particular breed, but are representative for all breeds. The links on Wonder Puppy seem endless, so if an answer to your question cannot be found there, let me know.

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