NCWR does occasionally recommend ethical breeders of Weimaraners to potential candidates that have the experience and capabilities necessary to raise a Weimaraner puppy.
Ethical & Reputable Weimaraner Breeders
These breeders are members in good standing with the Weimaraner Club of America (WCA) and follow a strict code of ethics on breeding.
Here are a few bullet points to help you identify a good and ethical breeder:
- They personally screen and select homes, will mentor and advise new owners, and will sell only to approved homes. They value their reputation within the breed community.
- They evaluate the health of the dam and sire before breeding including health tests such as OFA (hip x-ray certification), Penn-Hipp (hip joint laxity), CERF, etc. They evaluate the temperament and structure of sire, dam, and offspring. Evaluating the temperament of each puppy allows the breeder to match them with their appropriate family.
- They are involved in show and performance events to help ensure that their dogs display the desired physical and behavioral traits for the breed.
- They raise their litters with much planning, quality care and socialization.
- They are willing to take back a dog of their breeding at any time in the dog’s life regardless of the reason.
Ethical breeders will typically have a waiting list for their well bred and well raised puppies, and it is well worth the wait as you will have life long support for your new family member. Also, by choosing an ethical breeder, you will not be contributing to a puppy mill or condoning the less than desirable practices of a backyard breeder.
Backyard Breeders & Puppy Mills
There are several Northern California “breeders” that do not meet this criteria. NCWR keeps a list of breeders that fall into this category. Most of the dogs that Weimaraner rescues take in fall into these categories, most often referred to as backyard breeders or puppy mills.
Backyard breeders will often have a compelling website with cute photos. In many cases, correct seeming terminology has been scraped from the websites of ethical breeders to bring legitimacy to their websites,
When NCWR is faced with an owner surrender, we identify the breeder where possible. If the breeder is a member of the WCA, we contact that breeder. We do not notify backyard breeders.