Bits Of Advice
Reputable Preservationist breeders are important, if it was not for them we would not have these beautiful breeds!
Please use good judgment when buying, Help keep this wonderful breed healthy and thriving by being a responsible pet owner!
- Study up on the breed standard to better identify a well-bred dog.
- Although AKC is the most legitimate registry, it does NOT guarantee that your dog is well-bred or from a reputable breeder. It is just a registry.
- Non-Reputable Breeders will tell you their dogs have been health checked.
Being health checked by a vet is not the same as having the puppies parents screened for detrimental and preventable genetic diseases that are common in the breed.
Those require a specialist, and you can search the OFA database. “CHIC” means a dog was fully tested. - The AKC recognized Parent Club or Regional Clubs also have breeders listed.
You can search if a dog is fully health tested on OFA’s Website by typing in the dogs full registration name. Please keep in mind there is a process to have these documents uploaded so if you do not see it you can ask your breeder to provide a picture of the documents.
If the dog has preliminaries, you can ask to see those documents as well. For the Shiba Inu you will need to have hips, eyes and patellas of both parents tested.
You can ask for their registration numbers and/or officially registered names and you can even verify yourself on OFA’s website.
Professional Breeder: Responsible
- All dogs are tested OFA for eyes, patellas, and hips and they provide you these documents.
- The dogs are to the breed standard
- The dogs appear to be healthy and fit
- AKC (or country of origin)
- Inspects Pedigree of dogs they add to their kennels
- Shows dogs in the conformation ring and/or other AKC title sports.
- AKC Breeders of Merit are a big plus
- Best genetically paired dogs are bred
- Sells limited registration or full to other reputable breeders
- Embark Testing is a plus
- Will vet out potential buyers to make sure they go to good homes
- Sells cream colored and faulted dogs on a spay and neuter contract
- Does not breed pinto, pinto to pinto carriers, cream and cream to cream, or saddlebacks
- Does not produce mame shiba inu
- Puppies go home 8 weeks or older.
- Puppies will have first set of vaccinations
- Puppies will be microchipped
- Is a member of a local regional Shiba club
- No history of working as a pet broker or byb/puppy mill
- No “add to cart” button on puppies, thoroughly vets puppy applications.
- – Plus points if a member of their country’s national Shiba club
- Usually has a wait list
Good Breeder: Responsible
- All dogs are tested OFA for eyes, patellas, and hips and they provide you these documents.
- The dogs are to the breed standard
- The dogs appear to be healthy and fit
- Competes in conformation and/or other AKC title sports.
- Inspects Pedigree of dogs they add to their kennels
- Best genetically paired dogs are bred
- AKC (or country of origin).
- Does not breed pinto, pinto to pinto carriers, cream to cream, or saddlebacks
- Embark Testing is a plus
- Does not produce mame shiba inu
- Puppies go home 8 weeks or older.
- Puppies will have first set of vaccinations
- Is a member of a local regional Shiba club
- No history of working as a pet broker or byb/puppy mill
- No “add to cart” button on puppies, thoroughly vets puppy applications.
- – Plus points if a member of their country’s Shiba club
- Usually has a wait list
Backyard Breeder: Irresponsible
- IF ANY, usually the most basic health documents “vet checkup”
- Dogs are off standard and don’t quite look right
- Shady behavior, pretends to know what they are talking about and extra friendly to customers because $$
- No OFA/CHIC tests
- No conscious effort on pairing, usually breeds pinto, cream to cream, to much cream in linage, saddlebacks, and MAMES
- Uses AKC sometimes but a lot of times ACA or a non-credible registration or no registration at all
- Usually decided to breed their pets for fun without proper effort
- Breeding pairs are usually purchased from other backyard breeders or mills
- No vetting of puppy buyers to make sure they are a good fit.
- Sometimes an “add to cart” button on website for puppies.
- Sometimes are unaware of their bad practice due to lack of research or just being uninformed
- Sometimes sends puppies home before 8 weeks
- “This was an oops litter”
- “I just want me dog to experience birth”
Puppy Mill: Irresponsible
- IF ANY, usually the most basic health documents like a “vet check up”
- Dogs are off standard or severely off standard
- Shady behavior, ignoring questions, answering questions dishonestly or with misinformation.
- Uses AKC sometimes but a lot of times ACA/APRI or any non-credible registration
- Usually has a large assortment of dog breeds available instead of just focusing on a few breeds
- Parents sometimes appear to be sick, uninterested, emaciated
- No conscious effort on pairing, usually breeds pinto, cream to cream, to much cream in linage, saddlebacks, and MAMES
- Sometimes sends puppies home before 8 weeks
- A lot of them will claim they breed the best quality but the condition and far-off standards of their dogs prove otherwise.
- They often times try to convince you they work closely with vets to assure the “health of their dogs” it is usually a bluff.
- Will often try to use “microchipped” and “comes with puppy starter kit” as a selling point.
- Dogs are sometimes auctioned off, or dumped when no longer useful
- Usually has poorly bred puppies instantly available.
Puppy Brokers & Pet Stores: Irresponsible
- Pet stores purchase their dogs from puppy mills, and often sell sick and overpriced poorly bred dogs.
- Puppy Brokers sell dogs for puppy mills and backyard breeders online, and often sell sick and poorly bred dogs.
- This is often an individual who sells on social media using a page or a profile. Usually have an assortment of dogs constantly available.
- Puppy Brokers websites sell dogs for puppy mills and backyard breeders online, and often sell sick and poorly bred dogs.
- This is often a puppy listing website for you to search for puppies available, they usually have many different breeds, they sometimes swear up and down that they don’t work with puppy mills (that’s a lie)
- Buying a puppy from a pet broker or pet store keeps puppy mills in business.
Scammers: Will take your money and run
- Asks for payment upfront
- Makes weird excuses for more money
- Uses other peoples photos
- Sometimes asks for payment in gift cards
- Their claims don’t add up
- Sketchy website with some cheesy name like “GOLDEN STAR SHIBAS” or “PUPPIES FOR YOU”
- Refusal to FaceTime or show you the actual dog
- Pictures look like they are constantly in different households (stealing photos)
- Unsually low prices
- Facebook pages titled along the lines of “Adorable shiba puppies for sale”
- They will take your money and block you! You will never see a puppy.
