Help, how to find a reputable chow chow breeder in the NE??

[PuppyLove]

To all you lovely chow chow veterans, I'm a newbie desperately needing advice on buying a puppy...

I have wanted a dog for a very long time, and now I finally find myself in a position where I could provide a stable home for one (yes!)

I have looked up and down petfinder (for a long time) for a companion, but regardless of how darling those babies are, I find my vision of myself as a pet-owner (a fur mommy) incomplete unless it is a chow chow.

However, I can't say I'm having much success in terms of finding a reputable breeder. I live in the New York City area. So far I think I've found a listing for one breeder on Long Island, with whom I may be able to schedule an appointment to see the puppies. Overall there seem to be precious few breeders across the country even for chow chows. Most of the classified ads of chow chow puppies for sale also seem comically unreliable for a multitude of reasons - pictures showing puppies that are definitely not purebred, pictures of beautiful chow chow pups that are offered to be sold and shipped worldwide for ridiculously low prices, listings with no information about the breeder, listings showing that the breeder is located in the middle of Manhattan (?!) I congratulate myself on being able to avoid some of the pitfalls of shopping around for a puppy, but then again I almost decided to buy a puppy from RHR until I read another thread on this site...I could ramble on and on...

I would appreciate any recommendations on where I should start in finding a chow chow puppy. Specific referrals on the Northeast would be most gratefully appreciated if this does not conflict with forum policies. Personally, I would prefer visiting the kennel and seeing the puppies before I make a commitment to buy, and I do not mind driving 300 miles if it means I'll find a good breeder. Any advice is appreciated!!

[Zhuyos mom]

Contact the Chow Chow Rescue of Central New York. They rescued many chows and chowlings over the summer. Google them and you'll find their web site.

[Ursa's daddy]

http://chowrescuecny.org/ From what I have read through various sources, they seem to be a leading organization with Chow Chow rescue.

[PuppyLove]

Thank you guys! I submitted an application. I saw this site before but wasn't sure. Now I'm just hoping they'll approve of me for one of the doggies!! But I would still appreciate any other suggestions!!

[cherriemater]

Hi there ... also there is the CCCI and there are two breeders in New York: http://chowclub.org/ccci/component/opti ... temid,127/

From that link above you can also search other states for breeders, as well. I have contacted reps in Michigan and they were very knowledgeable and helpful.

However, here's a rescue site, too: http://chowchow.rescueme.org/Pennsylvania Check out Nikoli ... he's GORGEOUS @ 14 mos.

Welcome to the forum and keeps us informed of your progress. You'll find lots of love and support here.

[BeckiHutton]

Steer well clear of the low priced ads that offer to ship worldwide!!! I very nearly fell for that one myself. It is a scam. They ask you to send the money via western union. And I did a lot of research on this subject myself, and soo many people have fallen for it. They give you a really sad sob story and then ask for your money.

[VelvetJones]

Steer well clear of the low priced ads that offer to ship worldwide!!! I very nearly fell for that one myself. It is a scam. They ask you to send the money via western union. And I did a lot of research on this subject myself, and soo many people have fallen for it. They give you a really sad sob story and then ask for your money.

Just on a side note. Not all breeders that ship are a scam. One of my Chow's litter mates was shipped to Brazil, another to Florida(poor dogs). If you have contact with them and and verify that they are legite then that are probably OK. Anyone asking for money via Western Union is always a scam. I still would not recommend this method though. It's always good to see and interact with the puppy first to make sure their temperament is good.

[tabate45]

Hi! I have 2 dogs from a breeder in souther Missouri that will ship pups. He is a dedicated dog breeder (pet only) and his dogs are registered with United All Breed Registry. His pups are reasonably priced and his breeding facility is spotless. The website is rhrchowchow.com. His name is Bob Twedt and his number is listed along with current pictures of all his available pups. So from experience, I recommend Bob!

[mebo]

I got my Minnie, a cream girl, and her sister Katie, also a cream from Heavenly Chows in Missouri. I get raves from all who meet them about how sweet and beautiful they are. Although Emily ships, we drove out to pick them up. I was impressed with the cleanliness and quality of her kennels. The website is www.heavenlychows.com. Good luck!

[oceans]

Hi! I have 2 dogs from a breeder in souther Missouri that will ship pups. He is a dedicated dog breeder (pet only) and his dogs are registered with United All Breed Registry. His pups are reasonably priced and his breeding facility is spotless. The website is rhrchowchow.com. His name is Bob Twedt and his number is listed along with current pictures of all his available pups. So from experience, I recommend Bob!

I almost purchased my chow from this facility also. Bob has alot of knowledge about chows, and he loves to discuss them. My only issue was that he continuously has chow pups available and that kind of turned me off. But besides that I have always heard wonderful things about this facility and you are always welcome to visit which I liked.

[Rory's Dad]

I won't post this as a recommendation, because we have only had Rory for a week, however all signs are good. He is healthy and happy. The breeder was local to us, which was a huge plus. We got to visit and met Rory's sire. The dam had just about finished weening the pups and was still very protective and tired.

We met the other puppies from the litter and all seemed well adjusted. The breeders were very open and we communicated quite a bit by email as well.

We rec'd all AKC paperwork and the registration carries no limitations, so we can breed or show Rory as we wish. They were very helpful with diet recommendations and provided us the info for their vet, who specializes in Chows. We discussed some of their past litters and got insight into their future plans. They seemed very intent on breeding their dogs toward breed standards. We actually considered getting 2 of their pups, and they recommended against it as they were afraid the 2 males would fight once they got to adolescence.

We had two Chows previously, so are experienced with the breed, and that was important to them also. Anyway, just thought i would pass along our experience so far...

They do have a website and are located in Plymouth, MA. www.eastwaychows.com

Good luck in your search.

[cherriemater]

Welcome to Rory's Dad!!! We'd love to see a picture if you have some time. (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, saynomore, saynomore).

[IliamnasQuest]

I would highly recommend Redcloud Chows. I believe they're located in Maine. They're a top-of-the-line chow breeder with 30+ years of breeding and studying the breed behind them. They aim to breed the healthiest possible chows, with the best possible temperaments. They ARE show breeders, too, but they don't follow the bad trends of breeding overly-heavy dogs or heavily wrinkled dogs.

I have a Redcloud bitch who has just turned 7. she is about as perfect as a chow can be. Khana is not only healthy, but she has an exquisite temperament. she can be aloof when she wants to, but has zero meanness in her and loves everyone and all other dogs. She's also athletic and strong and intelligent. she's earned all three of her rally obedience title, and her first regular obedience title. She also passed the certification required through Delta society to become a therapy dog, and then went on in her training to become a very handy little Service Dog (who does daily assistant help for me - I have rhuematoid arthritis and my joints get quite swollen and difficult to use).

On the health side - ALL breeders who have been breeding for a length of time have run into health problems in this breed. The chow is one of the breeds that is most prone to genetic diseases, and it's absolutely imperative that you do NOT BUY from a breeder who does not FULLY HEALTH TEST their breeding stock. This means that they do the true tests - they go through the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) or through Penn Hip and they have their dogs fully tested for hereditary conditions. In Chows, they should test for (AT LEAST) elbow dysplasia (close to 50% of chows have ED), Hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, thyroid conditions, eye conditions. Those wanting to go a step beyond should add in cardiac conditions. The tests requiring x-rays should have the x-rays sent off to OFA or PennHIP to be properly evaluated by specialists. The bloodwork for thyroid should be sent to Michigan State University, with results reported to OFA. Eyes should be "CERF"'d (Canine Eye Registry Foundation) and that info also sent to OFA. By the time you get done, the animals should have a list of OFA numbers for every condition he passed on. If the dog doesn't have, say, OFA elbow numbers, then the owner either failed to test (some owners don't want to hear that their dog is dysplastic so they just avoid it) or the dog failed and they don't want to admit it. You can go on the OFA website and get a lot of information there.

Redcloud breeders have been working toward healthy chows for a long time, and recently have hit a new high in the health of the breed. They produced the first Chow to pass (OFA) on hips, elbows, patellas, thyroid, eyes and cardiac! Then his brother did the same thing. My Khana is the daughter of the first chow who passed, and so I had her fully tested and she also passed all thoses tests. One of her half-sisters also passed the six tests. Last time I counted (and it's been some time now), there were only 12 chows who had passed all six tests, and four of those were the Redcloud group.

To further explain the temperament of these dogs - Khana went to her first rehearsal for the musical "ANNIE", which is being put on by a local theater group. Khana is scheduled to be "Sandy" (Annie's dog). So yesterday I took Khana to the vocal practice, and these kids crowded around her, hands all over her, petting and tugging and feeling her ears and her curly tail and her stubby little muzzle - and Khana thought she was in heaven!! She would look at me - checking in - and when I smilled and said "you're doing great!" she'd turn back to the kids and find a face to kiss in the mix.

So from someone who has a Service Dog/Therapy Dog/titled obedience dog/perfect temperament dog/excellent health dog that happens to be a CHOW from the Redcloud lines, I sincerely recommend that people look into getting a chow from these breeders. Zola Coogan and Paula Titon are the two to look for. They have a website started but it's not completed: http://redcloudchows.com/Zola_Coogan/Home.html

By the way, I haven't read everything on this thread but I caught a bit here and there. If you're going to buy a registered dog, then there are only a couple of registries that are truly legitimate for this breed. One is AKC (American Kennel Club), and they work to maintain clearn breeding records and backgrounds on their dogs. They do, like all registries, have to depend on people's honesty at times but if they DO find something false, they pull registrations so that more people don't get taken by falsely reported breedings. Canadian Kennel Club is also reliable and working to maintain quality records. But these little bogus "United All Breed Registries" and "All Dog Breed Registry" and whatever other names they've come up with are merely fake registries that have been developed so that bad breeders who have been kicked out of the real registries can "register" their dogs and therefore sell them for a higher price. Registry is supposed to help guarentee that a dog actually comes from the background that is listed. In a good registry, the pedigrees are compared to other pedigrees, and some DNA testing is done at times to show proof of the proper parentage. Breeders who can't live up to the truth of good breeding have developed these other registries that allow them to make up whatever pedigrees they want, with no verification needed for the most part, and then they can call their dogs "registered" so they can get the higher prices. Much of the time, these dogs registered through the other registries are actually mixed breeds or highly inbred dogs, or the real parentage is unknown because the breeder let the bitch get bred with whatever male was around and they don't have a record of who that was.

For many of us, the whole registry part doesn't matter. If that's so, I encourage you to get a rescue instead of buying from these crappy breeders who are ruining the breed. Don't support bad breeders!!!! Bad breeders are truly the death knoll for our beloved dogs. If they're not backing up their dog's health by showing you the OFA certifications for proof, then they're not doing the right thing. If they're registering through a bogus registry, they're not doing the right thing. If they're not actively socializing and working with the puppies long before they go to their new homes, they're not doing the right thing. A chow puppy should be happy, outgoing, curious about the things around him, willing to go right up to you, and be fearful and playful. If it's not that way, then there is either a problem with the breeding (breeding a poor quality animal) or the handling (breeders haven't made any effort to socialize).

*climbing off of my soapbox* ... sorry, but this is a topic very close to my heart. I LOVE this breed and I want to see it thrive and grow and become a breed known for it's health and good temperament. But as long as bad breeders keep breeding, and uninformed or uncaring people keep buying from these breeders, it won't happen. We CAN NOT support bad breeders in ANY WAY!!! Every time you buy a puppy from a bad breeder, you finance the breeding of even more puppies who will probably live painfully short lives. I'm tired of seeing our poor dogs dying at young ages because of health or temperament problems.

And keep in mind - ANY kind of breeder can be a bad breeder. Just because someone says they're a show breeder, or that they have dogs show at Westminster, etc. - it doesn't mean they do the proper health testing or handling. It's the actions of the breeder that makes it good, not what ribbons some of their dogs may have won along the way. Be strong, take your time, ask for OFA NUMBERS (or the registered name of the sire and dam so that you can look up the dogs on the OFA site), and don't be shy about asking how they handle the puppies .. what ages do they start handling them, what do they expose them to, what kind of flooring are they on, what noises have their heard, when they start going for car rides, what age they start leash training, etc. Good breeders put a LOT of time into their pups. And yes, you may pay a tad bit more for these healthy, temperamentally sound, well-started pups ... but when you avoid the cost of vet fees, the heartbreak of watching your puppy succumb to elbow dysplasia at six months old, and avoid the lawyer fees that would happen if your young dog bit some unsuspecting child ../. well, the extra price is well worth it!!

As always,. just my honest and experienced opinion!

MELANIE AND THE GIRLS IN Alaska
P.S. If you want to check out the OFA page, go to http://www.offa.org/ and in the search box to the left, type in "Clos de Lion Red Hot Khana" - this will take you to Khana's ratings. Click on her name and you'll go to her specific page, where you can see some of her relatives and their OFA ratings. Placings that have blank areas have either not been tested, or they've been tested and failed.

[Auddymay]

So good to see you post again Melanie. I recently posted about pets from Puppyfind and touched on testing, but you really covered the subject well. Thank you for your input.

On a side note, post a pic of your Khana as Sandy if you have one. That would be so cool!

[Ursa's daddy]

MELANIE AND THE GIRLS IN Alaska, thank you for your post.

For many of us, the whole registry part doesn't matter. If that's so, I encourage you to get a rescue

I am one of those with rescue chows, and my two are wonderful companions and pets. But as you point out, I have a dog that does have some health problems that could have been eliminated by careful testing and breeding. You are right in endorsing both the AKC and CKC. I am impressed with the description of your dog..You will have to post pictures. Please continue to speak up about proper breeding, and encourage the adoption of rescue animals. Over the years I have adopted some wonderful dogs and cats.

[Rory's Dad]

Just a quick update on my prior post..our breeder called this evening to check on how Rory was adjusting. Thought that was a nice touch. They provided updates on his litter mates and mentioned a forgotten diet item that he enjoyed...red pepper.

They asked about his collar/leash training, interaction with the family and general socialization. Was nice of them to follow up and check on both us and the pup.

I would also like to congratulate the earlier poster on a fabulous Chow. It is very rare that Chows achieve that sort of status. It is certainly a testiment to both dog and owner.

The OF status sounds like a great idea as well, but i wonder how frequent that type of certification actually takes place. It sounds quite time consuming and expensive.

[ChowLuvva]

Hi: Have lurked on these boards for a long long time and this post finally made me break down and register. I feel very strongly about all the positive aspects of a breeder who happens to be in your area on Long Island. Please take the time to make an appointment with them prior to making such an important decision as to where to purchase/seek a Chow from. If the breeder your referring to happens to live in Seaford, NY, I can personally attest to the quality of their dogs. They are two of the kindest, sweetest and knowledgeable dog people I have ever known, and more importantly the Chow. They do breed some of their chows on occassion with a goal of breeding the "quality" into their dogs that we all know, love and desire. I have had two chows from this breeder and they have always given of their time, assistance and endless knowledge very freely to me and anyone else who has been fortunate enough to become a member of their "chow family." On another positive note, there are times when for a nominal fee they are looking for forever homes for some of their "pet quality" chows who may range around two years of age. The dogs are extemely well behaved, socialized and posses all the traits we love and understand about our chows. Now that is not to say they will place a chow with just anyone, and in fact if they feel you would not be a good fit for a chow, will actually discourage it, as they are sincere about your happiness with the chow as well as the best interests of their chows. When I have some more free time available tomorrow I shall post pictures of both my chows to share. I can not stress enough how fortunate I consider myself to have had not one but two beautiful chows from them. I would be more than happy to answer any and all questions concerning them that you may have. Best Wishes!