To the Doberman owners/breeders: Im buying a Doberman Pinscher Pup. What questions should I ask the seller?
I will be going to the home of a person who is selling Doberman Pinscher puppies and interviewing her before I buy one. Here is her ad: “Half american Half european Doberman Puppies. 8 puppies. Blues and Blacks, Females and Males. $500 – $1000″. I have done my research, and have only been able to find questions to ask a dog breeder. From the sounds of it, this woman is NOT a breeder (who makes a living out of breeding and selling dobermans), so I wouldn’t really expect the parents of the dog to have super perfect health credentials (like the “hip and elbow” x-rays). I do know, though, that she is a veterinary technician, meaning she should know the basics of Doberman health (and certain registrations she should probably do). I wouldn’t be so concerned about this if she were a breeder with a reputable business instead of a private seller. Are there certain questions or contracts, though, that I should have her answer/sign to ENSURE that my pup is a full bred Doberman who is healthy?
Are you in Canada or the US?
In Canada, with the Canadian Kennel Club, Registration papers go with the dog.. Meaning you cannot be charged 1 price for the dog with papers, and a cheaper price for the dog without papers.. If the litter is registered, then the papers go with the puppy.
She should already have the litter registered. Might not have the puppies individually registered.. So you should be able to at very least see the litter registraion. Ask to see the registration papers for mom.. She very likely has mom there at least.
If you are wondering about a breeder, you can call your kennel club, either AKC or CKC, and ask them about a breeder.. They can’t tell you too much about them, but they can tell you if they have ever been charged for anything, or if they are a member in good standing. I called and asked about a breeder once, was interested in a litter, and the CKC told me ‘ well, he hasn’t been kicked out.. yet ‘ so it was a good clue to stay away 
I am not sure why you are saying breeder and private seller ?
Typically the blue would make me worried.. It is an accepted colour, but most people generally breed away from it. You can figure out, or test and find out what colour genes your Doberman carries and you can breed so that you aren’t producing blues if you want to.
I am surprised at the big price difference in males to females.
You want to buy from someone who is selling the puppies on non breeding agreements, or limited registration.. It means that they care where the dogs are going and what’s being done with them.. Way too many puppymills out there, no one wants their puppies to end up in a life of puppymills and over breeding.
She should also have a contract spelling out her health guarantee and what you should expect, and what you would need to do in order to collect if you end up with a dog that isn’t healthy and it needs to be replaced. I see alot of people insisting that the first dog be returned before people can get a replacement. This is only to deter people from asking for their replacement. The health issues aren’t likely to show up til between 2 and 4 years of age.. Who is going to want to return a dog that they have loved for 4 years in order to get a replacement? NO ONE.. Basically she should be telling you that as long as your first dog is spayed/neutered she will give you a replacement.
Dobermans have health issues.. Cardio, thyroid, vWD and hips are the main ones.. There are others, but those are typically the main ones.. You aren’t going to likely even see them til after 2 years, except for the vWD which is going to be an issue when you go to spay/neuter. Even if both parents are fully health tested, it is no guarantee that your puppy won’t develop a problem sometime. You can’t really ENSURE, it but you can at least check to make sure that the best is being done to at least try to ensure that the puppies will be as healthy as possible and free of problems.. But you can’t ensure or guarantee it 100%.
vWD is a disease that can be erradicated entirely.
Basically if you breed clear to clear, your litters are all clear. Vet Gen does a DNA test for the vWD, it’s not that expensive.. $140 I think normally but if you get it done thru the breed club, you can often get it done for $99 per dog.
Make sure you meet mom.. She has to have her there, she is the one that had the puppies Don’t expect her to necessarily fawn all over you.. She should be friendly but cautious, as she knows why you are there, don’t kid yourself! But she should warm up to you as you are there for a while.
Was it an ad you found in the newspaper? That would worry me.. Especially if she is a vet technician.. She should have resources for finding homes, should have most of them sold before doing the breeding.
Look at the pedigree. make sure there are no albino dogs in there. In the US they are marked these last several years with the WZ at the beginning of the registration number. WZ means that the dog has albino or white factored dogs in the background somewhere. In Canada they aren’t marking them yet as to their albino ness.. I guess You can tell lots of times tho by the names in the pedigree. Albino breeders tend to name their dogs w/ goofy names, or include things like Satan, or white type words.. Or they don’t have a kennel name that they use.. So it would be kind of like.. hmmm.. Blue Bayou or something. Rather than a kennel name and a registered name. Lots of BYBers name their dogs with just one name even.. Lucy.. Or Sally.. When the kennel name is missing on most of the dogs, you can be sure it is a local bybing group who generally breed back and forth with one another, and the dogs in the pedigree are generally totally unknown dogs. Won’t be able to search on them on the internet and find the dog or pictures or anything else about them.
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