Getting A Puppy From HiCotn

My Std Schnauzers have been absolute joy. However, the Std is not for everyone. Stds are a very dominant breed and you must stay on your toes to keep ahead of them. You would need to visit a breeder in your area [or me...I don't work outside the home...I always love having people come over to meet the breed...it helps to keep my dogs socialized...and I enjoy others enjoying my dogs!] to get the true meaning of how full of joy and life a Std is. There are many idiosyncrasies about the breed that are just too hard to identify and seeing is believing. Most think that a Std is just a larger version of a Mini…and nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, they are wonderful for people with allergies who have great patience!

All my puppies are bred with the same health, temperament and conformation and they also all cost the same price. I make no distinction between a show puppy and a pet puppy, selling each puppy for the same price. One reason is that conformation isn't the only measure of quality. There's health and temperament to consider.
So my carefully planned breeding program produces litters of overall quality--to me, each puppy is of equal value, whether or not they are show prospects. I know it is usually for my benefit that a pup be shown to its championship...not the pet home I place it in. Litter prices are nearly constant because of demand. There is a much greater demand for pets than show dogs, and in our free-market economy, the most sought-after products are not discounted. I do not have bargain puppies. I prefer to find homes where my puppies will be kept as companions even though they may not finish their championship.

Some breeders claim to know which puppy will turn out to be the show winner, but I've seen just too many pet homes have the pick of the litter because the breeder didn't know what they were looking at when the pups were so young. Bites change, puppies don't make size or the most gorgeous puppy had a tad lighter eyes than a judge would like and the breeder sold it as a pet - only to realize that everything else was so nice, the judges would have overlooked the light eyes as a minor flaw. I've been told that some breeders sell bitches for more than the males, which is also odd to me. I don't do dogs for money. Some people blow lots of money on golf; I blow lots of money on my dogs. It's a hobby.

After you pay for the training lessons, seminars, vet bills, entry fees per show per day ($20 per dog), motel bills or camping fees, blood tests and tests and certifications for eyes, hips, heart and others, stud fees and then all the vet bills for the sonogram and trips before and after puppies...oh, not to forget about the dew claw and tail removal and ears---responsible breeders never make money selling puppies. If they do, they're not doing all that responsible breeders should do to raise a litter of puppies or they're raising too many puppies and can't possibly socialize them properly.
Besides that, I'm breeding so I can have a companion puppy and a hopeful little one for the show ring. I guess people who just go out and get a male and female from the pet store and start breeding and selling the puppies for the same price as responsible breeders...now they might make money. And the puppy millers who just crate a bitch and breed the heck out of her, then sell the puppies through the pet shops. Pet shops don't seem to care what the puppies have to live through to get to the pet shop. Anyway, my bitches would only be bred twice...maybe three times in their life. Responsible breeders just wouldn't be pumping puppies out constantly. Prior to breeding, a responsible breeder has the expense of showing her breeding stock and earning championships. Add to that the cost of pre-breeding testing on the dam and sire, stud fees, veterinary fees, the care and feeding of the puppies, inoculations, and more, and it's obvious that this is not a profit-oriented endeavor. It is not a business or a livelihood. It's a hobby--one that's dedicated to improving and protecting the breed, and nothing else.

Sorry, sometimes I get on my soapbox about all of that. The thing I don't like is for people to get on their high horse and act like their show dog is better than a pet dog. That's absolutely ridiculous! I have had dogs in my house that didn't turn out [oversized, neck was 1/2 inch too short to arch properly] and some people kept making comments that I should get rid of the dead weight in my household. The only dead weight I would like to rid myself of is stupid people making stupid comments about my very wonderful pets.

All of my dogs are pets first and foremost. If they end up in the show ring, all the better. But I don't get rid of them if they don't measure up to AKC standards for the breed. We make a turn and start doing obedience, agility, therapy work, etc. I had an old boy Charlie who woke every morning gazing up at me asking, "What do you want me to do, mom?" Now how in the world could I get rid of him?! He was actually better than any of my "show" dogs [however, I have to add here, I love all of them immensely]. I had him longer, he minded better and I guess maybe if you had them longer, you loved them stronger.

If you do run across some of these snobby people who have the haughty ideas about their dogs and they act snobby talking with you, go on to the next one. Not all breeders are like that.

But then you also run into people who make comments about how much money you must make breeding dogs! Boy, are they misinformed!

My contract states that you can have all your money back in the first month...just bring me my puppy back. For life, I will always take the puppy back…I don't ask reasons or questions. If someone is in any type of situation and my puppy needs to be re-homed, I'd like to be the one to re-home it. I'd never like for my puppy to end up at a shelter or at Aunt Susie's who never wanted a dog anyway and has it tied up to a tree in the backyard.