Breeder Questions
 I’m a newbie here but I’ve been reading this forum for a few months now to become better educated about sheepies. I found a breeder (Shagshadow) on the Old English Sheepdog Club of America that has puppies. I was really excited to see they have puppies finally because I was in love with their last batch of puppy pictures. I’m a bit nervous to e-mail the breeder in fear of being turned down. My husband and I live in a nice quiet neighborhood and have a nice sized yard. However, our yard is not fully fenced. The back and one side has a fence but the other side of the yard does not. I’ve read about people being turned down because their yard is not fully fenced. Should I really worry about this? I don’t remember where I read it, but someone had posted a wonderful list of questions to e-mail a breeder. Does anyone know where I can find this information? Any other tips and or advice is welcome! Thank you so much |
|
|
Welcome to the forum!! Just wanted to say that I never was asked or mentioned whether or not I had a backyard, fenced area, in a few cases ...that I would even exercise them!!  I contacted sooo many people too. So no, I don't think it's a big deal. It seemed ...at least for me, that they were turned on by my genuine interest in the breed, my dedication to owning a pet, and staying connected to them (continuing to call/email ....show interest in their pups). Good luck! Hope you share the outcome! |
| Breeders don't bite. Well, most of them anyway. I've only met the Schulte's at a couple of shows when I was back East showing, but they were very nice to talk to - friendly, down to earth. Just have a (realistic) plan for how you are going to keep the puppy safe and go from there. As for potential puppy owners, I don't recall asking anyone if they had a fenced in yard. I recall asking them about previous dogs they'd owned and listening carefully to how they raised them, how long the dogs lived, and, on a sadder note, what lead to their passing away. Actually, many had lived with, loved and lost an OES or more before and were still grieving. Rarely did I have to ask. Experience with the breed is a big plus in my personal book. Barring that, you do what you're doing, e.g. your homework, to the point of knowing the good, the bad and the ugly with living with the breed, and if it still seem like a good fit for you, looking forward to welcoming you to join the rest of us loonies. Take a deep breathe and just start a converation with them. What have you got to lose? Now, they do show a fair bit which may mean they're on the road a lot, so if you don't hear back immediately don't take that personally. And you may need to actually pick up the phone and call them. Don't mean to speak out of turn, but I had to contact them regarding club business once and as I recall I ended up calling them. Shockingly, not everyone lives on line  One thing, and this applies to all show breeders: try not to fall in love with a picture or a particular look. First they select the show picks. There may be more of them than there are show homes - some lovely dogs go to pet homes. And then, most likely - this applies to any breeder - breeder will try to match the puppy's PERSONALITY to the perspective family Translation: if you fall in love with the puppy with the black eye patch and neat marking on her ear (or whatever) and she's the sassiest thing in the litter and so not right for beginners, the breeder wouldn't be doing you or the puppy any favors by letting her go to you no matter HOW cute the little devil dog is Good luck! Kristine |
| Tom & Patti Schulte (Shagshadow) are probably the nicest people you will ever meet. I would not be at all hesitant to contact them. My Charlotte is out of their Sweet Baby Joe. |
| Goodness, I thought I replied to all your repsones earlier, sorry for the delay. Thank you all for the wonderful advice! I do like that the breeder will help choose the puppy that fits you and your lifestyle. I do feel better about the fence situation. I also thought with the fence, there are so many people that live in communities that do not allow fences so why penalize a good home/owner because they can't have a fence. I'll update you on how the puppy search goes! |
Fingers and paws crossed that your puppy search is fun and successful!!  |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|