Quote:
Originally Posted by duffysmom
CFrance I purchased my avatar Duffy 15 years ago from one of the best breeders of maltese in the country. Her dogs are beautiful and show dogs.
In my ignorance, I flew to Jupiter Fl (I lived in NY) payed $1,200 (remember that was 15 years ago). When I took him to the Vet I found out that Duffy had sarcoptic mites (mange) and a serious overbite.
When he was one year old he was diagnosed with inoperable liver shunts and not too long after that he had to have most of his teeth extracted. This breeder's dogs are bred to be small with baby doll faces, unfortunately it is at the expense of their health.
She is still listed as one of the top breeders of Maltese with Westminster winners. Breeding dogs is a big business. The newest money makers are cavashons, a cross between cavaliers and bishons. My next dog will be a rescue.
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The reason they are top breeders is that they keep the "best" dogs and sell the rest as pets. The pets typically do not meet the breed standard, for one reason or another (overbite, etc.). If you do want one that could make it in the show circuit, you will pay much more than the going pet rate.
My dog is pure bred but misses the mark on breed standard issues like front feet alignment and possibly teeth. That being said, I wouldn't trade him for a best of breed champion.