In 1935, Home and Garden magazine published their canine classifieds in the very front of their luxury magazine. They knew, by association with their publication, it would seem as if all of the breeders listed would be stamped with the same quality and assurance. To assist their readers in making responsible decisions, H&G offered insights and suggestions for how to sift through the hype and select a good breeder for a quality purchase.
88 years later, with some financial and technological updates, H&G's core advice still holds true. Here's our 2024 update:
The Value of a Well-Bred Bouvier.
NOTHING UNDER $2,500 (2024 - AKC Bouvier des Flandres)
"Representative quality and cheap prices cannot go hand in hand, in dogs or anything else; a kennel just can't do it and remain in business." To clarify: a professional kennel who invests in the health of their breeding stock and quality of their kennel conditions cannot operate on a shoestring budget.
Amateur breeders can cut-corners, limit their time and expenses with pups, and produce living, breathing, registered pups from registered parents - which are, by all appearance the same pup as a more expensive breeder offers. Albeit, the mind of a Bouvier is not the same: different lines have different attitudes and abilities.
How a breeder establishes the physical and emotional environment for whelping produces different temperamental characteristics in a Bouvier that last a lifetime. Intelligent, thinking, working breeds (like Bouviers, Giant Schnauzers, Black Russian Terriers, Rottweilers) are often difficult to rescue and rehabilitate. Frequently, these breeds hang onto their early trauma and deep-rooted perspectives. This is why many introductory materials for working breeds will caution buyers: "not for the novice." It's not that they are difficult to train or to manage, but they are difficult to re-train if you are too harsh, misunderstand the dog's emotional state, or conduct yourself inconsistently.
Sometimes our busy lives: the very nature of modern living with text messages, home offices, and active children, make us inconsistent dog owners. The amateur breeder (a term I prefer over the vague, colloquial, "backyard breeder") views the puppy profit in terms of a bonus for their monthly budget. The professional understands that the buyer is paying them for their time: to spend their time wisely learning and doing the things their puppies need to make a lifetime bond with their families.
Although we are more aware today of various feeding and general care options for our pets: grain free, high protein, raw diets, over-vaccination vs. necessary vaccinations, etc., it's the breeder's job to know what's best for the particularities of a Bouvier.
Bouviers' kidneys do best with a diet of 27% protein or less. Extended use of high-protein diets can be hard on their renal systems. Albeit, when a bitch is pregnant or a puppy is in its first year of life, high protein levels are necessary and used effectively by Bouvs.
Some Bouviers can have reactions to over-vaccination or too many vaccines received on the same day. These reactions can include, but are not limited to: pimple-like bumps on the skin (often on the forearms of the legs), loss of puppy coat (thinning) in patches (often on legs) and slow re-growth of the coat. These are the finer points of breeding that a well-educate professional will know and guard against.
A knowledgeable, professional breeder will want to ensure the health of their pups continues in their new homes: offering support, dietary suggestions, training referrals, and (if all else fails) ensuring the pup is welcome back to the kennel if the bond is broken (or never forms) with the puppy buyer. Professional breeders support buyers and their pups to avoid their lines suffering the fate of a shelter dog - an experience that can be exceptionally hard for a Bouvier to understand and navigate successfully.
Even today, "the superior merit of a well-bred dog (Bouvier) over a mongrel (mutt, mixed-breed, or designer dog), as a general family companion and friend, is too seldom appreciated." (Home and Garden, 1935)
While anecdotes of extraordinary mixed-breed dogs exist, they are exceptions. What you don't hear about are the thousands of rescues, mutts, shelter dogs culled ("unalived") every year or sent to no-kill farms to spend their lives apart from "a forever home," because they are unfit for family living. "Blood will tell, whether it’s in the veins of a man, horse or dog. One looks to the thoroughbred for the... greatest speed... In the truly well-born, one finds, as a rule, the highest and most desirable type of intelligence appearing with the greatest frequency." (Home and Garden)
GOOD BREEDING DELIVERS (Timeless Truth)
A well-bred Bouvier is akin to a gentleman or a lady, reflecting qualities like good temperament and sound health due to careful breeding and upbringing. We know this to be true about livestock: Wagyu beef (tastiest), capon chicken (flavorful), free range organic eggs (healthiest), Berkshire pork (high quality), Merino sheep (best wool), Morgan horses (friendliness), Thoroughbred horses (speed), Arabian horses (cattle herding), etc. Yet, we so often forget, or even act as if it is shameful, to apply the same quality standards and pedigree requirements when choosing a domesticated pet for a very intimate, living role our home/family.
"Good breeding does not, in this connection, necessarily imply that dog is a potential winner at some bench show. It may mean nothing more than the pup is of registered, pedigreed parents and that he himself is a good, typical specimen of his particular breed. With such a dog, you can be practically certain in advance, that he will exhibit the special traits which have already attracted you to his breed-appearance, courage, gentleness with children, trustworthiness or what you will." (Home and Garden) "Thus, you are enabled to select (a Bouvier) with special reference to your own situation. Again, the chances for the outcropping of undesirable qualities such as treachery, cowardice, and the like will be minimized." (Home and Garden)
Just as it is with rearing human children, "a well-bred dog has usually received intelligent care and feeding from early puppyhood, and is therefore, likely to be in (good) condition when he comes into your hands." (Home and Garden) "As a rule, too, (when a Bouvier pup) is formed and possesses a sound constitution, his parents were selected (with) definite thought for the qualities they would transmit." (Home and Garden) By contrast, mix-bred, shelter, and designer dogs where the lineage is unknow, you are at a higher risk: "buyer beware" ("caveat emptor"). Exercise caution and don't dismiss the stories of the mix-bred dogs who began as loving family pets but betrayed the family's trust 2, 3, of 4 years into it's residency.
SOCIAL QUALITIES OF DOG OWNERSHIP
"Of a less practical, but never-the-less (important reality of human) nature, is the consideration of pride in ownership. (Many people since the dawn of civilization enjoy owning a car, clothing, or a house) that "we need not be ashamed of in any company. Just so we feel a keen sense of satisfaction in owning a (Bouvier) that will pass the muster with other (Bouvier) enthusiasts." (Home and Garden)
Likewise, as breed preservationists and Bouvier educators, we also take pride in producing Bouvs that are competitive and respected among hard-core Bouvier enthusiasts. Hence our motto: Extraordinary Bouviers for Ordinary People. To keep the breed alive and thriving, we want to place high quality Bouviers in the hands of new-to-Bouv owners, educating and supporting them with the knowledge they need to become lifelong Bouvier families. We want to broaden the appeal and success of the Bouvier so that your children's children grow up with Bouviers and love them long after we are gone.
FINANCIAL BREAKDOWN
The costs/benefits of breeding, from income to expenses, listed in the Home and Garden guide (see image above) could be updated with a variety of costs for Bouvier breeders world-wide. Vet care, food, transportation, and breeding rights vary wildly by the location of the breeder and his/her accessibility to buyers - driving individual breeder prices up/down along with rising/falling regional demands.
The general concept of income/expenses, however, is still applicable today no matter what time-period or geographical region is considered: profitability is always impacted by health, accidents, veterinary costs, and other challenges faced by breeders. Remember, kennel costs are not just for the whelping period: the bitch and sire must remain fed, clean, groomed, healthy and safe throughout the year to enable them to thrive during breeding season.
As with any serious hobby or professional endeavor, profitability is multifaceted and complex. It's much easier to inadvertently operate at a loss rather than at a profit.
THE MORE YOU KNOW, the better you do
The more you know, the more quality you can impart with each litter. You spend your income wisely to learn best practices, purchase quality products, and improve cleanliness (which really is next to godliness in breeding!).
The more you know, the better you can prepare and select homes with the appropriate mindset for your pups... and the easier it is to gently turn-away inappropriate would-be Bouv buyers.
The more you know, the more you realize this isn't a quick, easy fix for an income glitch or household budget.
Breeding is an all-consuming lifestyle choice: giving up extended vacations, losing holidays with family to nights sitting with a dam in labor, and becoming that person who always brings a dog or goes home early because of her dogs. It is a total commitment of everything you do, how you live, plan, and spend your time/resources.
Final Caution
Make sure your breeder of choice, regardless of their asking price, knows more than you do about Bouviers. High price does not correlate with high quality as often as low price equates to low quality.
Low-ball breeders are often unaware of what they should be doing that would raise their expenses and purchase prices. They naively and mistakenly believe they can do well and gain more customers with fewer expenses and a lower purchase point. These are amateur breeders looking for quick sales: one and done, no follow-up support, no intention to guarantee your purchase.
You may not immediately see the difference in the outward appearance of one pup over another one - more professionally whelped. However, you can't fake a passion for knowledge and a willingness to be supportive.
You're paying for the breeder’s time to whelp, attention to details, and careful breeding to yield the results you need to rely on for the life of the Bouvier in your home.
In the words of Ronald Reagan, "Trust, but verify trust."
Stay tune for our next blog post:
How to Verify You've Found A Good Breeder
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