The wife and I went to check out 9 Brittany puppies today from a first-time breeder (amateur). The sire and dame are both pure-bred with AKC registry and lineage records etc... . Sire is an excellent hunter (did not get to see him, aside from pictures, as his owner lives in Virginia). Dame had a great temperament, obedient, and from what I saw had a high predator drive.
My main motivation was to take my wife to test out her allergies to the breed, along with the possibility of getting one of the pups if we both liked what we saw. Long story short, we both liked the puppies, bonded with one male in particular, but I am having second thoughts. Every piece of advice I have ever read regarding getting a hunting dog starts with "select a reputable breeder" and that makes me wary to pull the trigger on any dog from this amateur. Also, neither dame or sire has been cleared for hips, etc... They could be both excellent, but without that piece of paper it is obviously a disadvantage to buying from an amateur.
I guess I am looking for some solid advice here. We are looking for a family/hunting dog out of this decision and we could possibly have a great experience with a puppy from the litter we just saw. The tougher decision might be to wait a little longer for a litter from a pro breeder, which I would be willing to do, however the wife will not be happy in the mean time.
Apparently it is an unspoken rule that you cannot bring your wife to look at puppies without her expecting you to get one of them. Thanks for any advice you can provide.
My main motivation was to take my wife to test out her allergies to the breed, along with the possibility of getting one of the pups if we both liked what we saw. Long story short, we both liked the puppies, bonded with one male in particular, but I am having second thoughts. Every piece of advice I have ever read regarding getting a hunting dog starts with "select a reputable breeder" and that makes me wary to pull the trigger on any dog from this amateur. Also, neither dame or sire has been cleared for hips, etc... They could be both excellent, but without that piece of paper it is obviously a disadvantage to buying from an amateur.
I guess I am looking for some solid advice here. We are looking for a family/hunting dog out of this decision and we could possibly have a great experience with a puppy from the litter we just saw. The tougher decision might be to wait a little longer for a litter from a pro breeder, which I would be willing to do, however the wife will not be happy in the mean time.
Apparently it is an unspoken rule that you cannot bring your wife to look at puppies without her expecting you to get one of them. Thanks for any advice you can provide.