What to Look for in a Purpose Bred Responsible Breeder




• Reputable Breeders are not a burden on rescue! A Reputable Breeder ALWAYS takes back the dogs they are responsible for producing no matter what the age. Many Reputable Breeders are very supportive of rescue and help out with fostering, transporting, mentoring/education and information.

• Reputable Breeders do not have puppies available all the time, and therefore usually have waiting lists. Reputable breeders are not just breeding to produce puppies. Reputable breeders breed to maintain or preserve the breed, they breed for a purpose and usually have titles in front and behind their dog's names. Meaning they may show them in AKC or work them be it sledding, weight pull, agility, rally, etc.

• A Reputable Breeder puts much thought and planning into each breeding. They care about where each and every puppy goes, and keep in touch with the new family for the life time of the dog. Should anything happen that the family is no longer able to care for the dog, it is required by contract that the dog be returned to the breeder.





• Reputable Breeders are very careful with the placement of their dogs, and are able to knowledgeably answer questions about their dogs. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions about yourselves and your life style, and be prepared to have a homecheck performed.

• Reputable Breeders microchip or permanently identify their dogs and those they are responsible for producing! • Reputable Breeders do extensive pedigree research and health checks on their dogs before breeding them. This includes: OFA Certification - at the very minimum hips and eyes, though can include cardiac, elbow, thyroid: www.offa.org DNA test for Polyneuropathy (PN more info here: http://alaskanmalamute.org/health/health-topics More info on Malamute health can be found here www.alaskanmalamute.org/

• Reputable Breeders breed for the All Around Dog. This includes conformation - not just looks - an unsound dog is unable to perform the functions it was bred for. Health and temperament should also be kept in mind. Any time only one aspect of a dog is concentrated on in a breeding, such as size or color, or breeding just for the show ring, the All Around Dog is not being taken into consideration.

• Reputable Breeders don't send their pups to their new homes before 8 - 10 weeks of age - sometimes later. They rarely breed their girls before 2 years of age, and rarely more than 2 - 4 times in their life time.

• Not all reputable breeders show all their dogs, but usually show some or have in the past shown some, and the pedigrees of their dogs usually have several AKC champions behind them in the first two or three generations.

• Malamutes are classified as a working breed. They are highly intelligent and excel at performance and working activities such as sledding/carting, weight pulling, back packing, obedience, agility, rally. Not all reputable breeders constantly work their dogs but the breeder whose dogs have conformation and working titles is concentrating on producing the All Around Dog!

• Reputable Breeders register their dogs with the AKC, or in the case of Canada, the CKC. They sometimes are dually registered with UKC, but any other registration is marginal at best.