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Puppy Buying Advice:
We have included a little advice on
this page re buying an AB in the UK
This is by no means comprehensive
and only outlines the basics of
what you should be looking out for
and should expect to do....
Our advice to anyone looking to
buy
an American Bulldog Puppy
is to firstly spend A LOT of time on research of the breed,
its types,
and any individual breeders you are interested in,
ect
as is possible before approaching a
breeder,
or committing yourself to owning an
American Bulldog.
The AB is a working breed,
and the
breed standard reflects this,
its temperament should be stable &
confident,
a shy/timid AB is a liability and
should NEVER be bred from.
Both sire & dam of a litter should be
ABA (American Bulldog Association) Registered
and make sure your puppy will be too.
Ask to see copies of the sire and dams
ABA registration paperwork
to ensure that your puppy is eligible
for ABA registration in the first place.
This breed is considered a rare breed
and
is not registered with the UK Kennel
Club
or American Kennel Club.
On our links page we have links to
websites for the
Parent Breed Registry, the ABA,
in the USA
and the worldwide show & event
organisation
for the breed, the ABNA.
both have breed standards for our
breed on their websites.
along with other useful information,
visit the parent working
organisation for the breed in the USA
The WABA website, for information on
AB breed tests.
Take the time to read the
information on these websites as they
will
help you gain a better
understanding of the breed.
This breed is NOT a UK Kennel Club
registered breed,
but their are shows and working
events
throughout the year hosted by clubs
for the
breed sanctioned by USA organisations
for the breed.
Go along to one of the following organisations
ABNA, ABA, or NKC, Sanctioned
American Bulldog Shows in the UK,
have a good look at the various dogs on show there,
check for the way they react to being in
a
busy, loud environment.
Look out for any weakness of temperament,
such as timidness, nervous aggression ect.
You can then approach the owners of the dogs
that
you like the look of and
find out more about them,
who bred them and who their parents are. ect...
This information, coupled with any
research you have done on
particular dogs and breeders should enable you
to make a shortlist of breeders you can then
approach
to talk to in more depth about their
breeding programs and visit their kennels.
Our advice is to stay away from any breeder who
needs to
overly advertise their puppies in
local
papers, Exchange and Mart, internet private sales
sites, ect and
breeders who sell their puppies at a very low cost.
Be prepared to go on a waiting list.
By researching the breed you will be in a
better position to question a breeder
on their knowledge of the breed
and their breeding goals, ect
steer clear if they cannot answer your questions
with sound knowledge and advice.
If you want an American Bulldog to compete in the
show ring,
it will give you a better chance if the parents,
grandparents
and the family as a whole have also done well in
this area.
If you want an American Bulldog for any type of
work,
again it will improve your odds of getting one if
the
parents, grandparents and the family as a whole
have been successful in the type
of
work you require the dog for.
Be cautious of breeders who put more emphasis
on a perceived pureness of bloodline
over the quality of the individual dogs
concerned.
For a quality American Bulldog puppy you should
expect
to pay around £800 - £1200.
A good breeder should have litters well planned in
advance
and a waiting list of potential owners already in
place.
When you do go and visit a breeder, ask them to take
the dogs
out of their home / kennels and see how they react
to
strangers, traffic and any environmental stimulus
they come across, again look out for signs of
weakness.
Walk away if you see any.
The parents and also any dogs of the same family
should have good social, confident temperaments.
A good strong temperament should be a safer bet
if the parents and relatives have any working
or temperament test qualifications.
Ie AKC - CGC award should be expected as a
MINIMUM.
It is common for a breeder not to own the Sire to
the litter,
but a good breeder will have used a Sire of note
that you may have seen at an American Bulldog show
or at least have been able to do some research on
the said Sire.
Both parents should be hip scored and NCL tested.
Look for as many generations of
passing hip scores as you can.
Study the breed standard, and check
if the
parents are a good example of it, or
have serious faults.
A good breeder will offer a
guarantee against genetic defects
and will offer a replacement puppy
should it develop a problem genetically.
A good breeder will also want to keep in contact
with you
throughout the puppy’s life for
regular updates on the puppy’s progress.
If at any point you are unable to
look after your dog anymore then
a good breeder will
expect you to return the
pup/adult dog to them.
Make sure when you view any puppies that they are
well fed, clean, healthy and happy
with a confident and outgoing nature,
and that you can see the mother, who
should also
be
well fed, clean, healthy and happy
with a confident and outgoing nature,
and if they make an excuse about why
the
mother cannot be seen, do not
buy a puppy from them.
If you are not 100% happy then do not
buy from that breeder,
Do not fall prey to pressure from a breeder
to
buy there and then,
always go away and think about it first.
Never by a puppy on impulse ie from
the back of a van...
Remember that any decision will / should be
with you for a number of years.
If you are not happy then carry on with your
research.
Be prepared to answer a lot of questions from the
breeder,
They should be concerned about where their pups end
up.
The AB is a working breed,
and the breed standard reflects this,
its temperament should be stable &
confident,
and is not a suitable breed for just
anyone.
The American Bulldog is a large and powerful breed
with a lot of energy and drive, which requires some form of
physical and mental
stimulation.
As
with owning any breed of dog
you have a serious responsibility to;
Your pup, the breed and Your community
by being a responsible dog owner.
We cannot stress enough that you should be
prepared and
in a position to at the very least
train your pup/dog in obedience.
If you cannot then you definitely
should not be owning one.
For more information on issues relevant to
dog ownership then visit the UK
Kennel Club website:
http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/
There are a number of links on our
links page
which point to websites that can help
in your research
of the breed and also other useful
informative websites.
As we said at the start this is only
basic advice
We cannot emphasise enough the need
for people to
Research, Research, Research...
Good Luck
Colin & Tracy
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