Cairn terrier should cost?
Tom Long\
How old is too old a puppy to buy and begin training/socializing?
Breeder vs. pet store (with one year health guarantee)?
Brian McKinney
quality, but breeders tend to hang on to show quality.
We don't let puppies go before eight week. Some of the books say
fear implanting happens during the eighth and ninth week, which
implies that puppies might be better ten weeks old before going
through the trauma of separation.
Always breeder. See the environment. See the parents. Expect
to answer as many questions as you ask. Not all people are right
for Cairns (and vice versa), and a responsible breeder will spend a
lot of time making sure everything will work out. Responsible breeders
will also give guarantees, invite you to bring the dog back for occasional
free grooming (to see how it's progresssing) and generally keep in touch
with you.
Tom Long\\ (long) wrote:
: What is a reasonable price to pay for a Cairn terrier puppy from a breeder?
: How old is too old a puppy to buy and begin training/socializing?
: Breeder vs. pet store (with one year health guarantee)?
--
Brian McKinney |"Lawyer: one skilled in circumvention
http://ccnet.com/~bmckinne/ |of the law" - Ambrose Bierce
Katharine E. Maus
partly because demand varies, partly because things like space
and vet care are cheaper some places than others. Also, you
will usually spend more for a show-quality puppy than for one with a
flaw that would disqualify it from the show ring, like crooked
teeth.
Get a puppy from a breeder, not from a pet store. Usually the
price is roughly comparable, and with a good breeder you get
much, much better quality: the sire and dam aren't just any two
random Cairn terriers but ones that have been
specially selected to be
compatible; the parents have had the relevant health tests run
on them, etc. The puppies won't have been traumatized by being
shipped away from their mothers at too-early ages, and they
won't have contracted diseases from being in cages with lots of
other dogs. A good breeder will be very knowledgeable about
the breed and will continue to give you support and advice long
after you buy with the puppy; most give health guarantees at
least as good as the one you might get from a pet store, and many
will even take the animal back at
any time during the dog's lifetime, if it's not working out for
any reason. Also, with a breeder, you get to meet the puppies'
mother at least, which will give you some idea of what their
adult temperament will be.
You do need to choose a breeder with care. The American Kennel
Club can give you the names and numbers of breeders in your
area but they are not screened for quality. A better route is
to go through the national and/or regional breed societies; the
AKC can give you the addresses and phone numbers for these as
well.
The age of the puppy is not that material. Provided its
caretaker has been socializing it well, it will adjust to a new
home easily. If, of course, it's all by itself in a small cage,
with little human contact and few stimulating experiences,
it's likely to develop more and more problems the longer it's
stuck there, just as a child would in the same situation.
Katharine Maus