There was a very educational satirical thread posted in our group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/americanbulldoggers/permalink/604429503089575/ Jokes and satire aside, here are the things prospective buyers new to the American Bulldog breed should be aware of: 1. Always be skeptical. A lot of con artists out there selling American Bulldogs. Don't decide on the quality of the dog until you physically have a chance to see the dog. 2. People lie about their dog size. 3. Having a dog registered with multiple organizations bears no reflection on the quality of the dog. Organizations accept other organizations' registrations without question, even if they each have different breed standards. Registering dogs is the main source of income for a registry, and all they do is issue you a piece of paper based on the information the breeder provides which is not verified at all. When the owner of the litter submits false information regarding the identity of the dam or sire, it is called "paper hanging." They could even breed an AB to another breed and you'd never know because the pedigree is falsified, despite the fact that it is issued from what you'd consider a respectable sanctioning organization. 4. Those who advertise their dogs with keywords like "structure" and "type" likely have very little breeding knowledge, even if they've been doing it for a long time. You can't really screw up a breeding, the end result is usually a litter of puppies, regardless of who the sire and dam are. Health, temperament, and conformation to breed standard is an entirely different matter. 5. People lie about their genetic test results. Always ask for a copy of the actual test results for things like Ichthyosis, NCL, and Hip Dysplasia. For example, you can verify clean test results from OFA on their website by searching dog's name or registration number, like this: http://www.ofa.org/results.html?all=grand+future . If you don't see a record listed publicly, you can call the organization to verify the paperwork you were provided. 6. A Champion title means very little nowadays and does not necessarily reflect the quality or breed-worthiness of the dog. See this thread for more information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/americanbulldoggers/permalink/593491960849996/ 7. You'd assume that for a dog to have a title of Champion would mean that the dog won against dozens and dozens, if not hundreds of other dogs. That is usually incorrect. In the worst case scenario, a dog could actually beat just a handful of mediocre dogs while losing to many many more and still become Champion. 8. A lot of judges are not qualified to be judges, which further complicates the whole Champion thing. We have seen firsthand a judge who didn't know the judging procedure in the ring, was oblivious to the simplest sanctioning body rules which he repeatedly broke, even coming into the final ring of a show already being judged by another judge and picking a winner. He was a big dude, the actual judge for that show was a small lady. If a judge is also a breeder, understand that it is in their interest to pick dogs that carry their bloodline in the show ring. The only thing that can stop them from doing that unfairly is their integrity. There is no oversight. 9. Show hosts should not be showing their own dogs at the show, but it happens. We've seen a show host sitting at the registration desk in the morning and then prance over to the ring and continuously win with their mediocre cowardly dogs against objectively better quality dogs. Understand that show hosts pick who they want as judges at their show. There is a relationship there. 10. Make sure that the deposit is refundable if you're placing the deposit on a dog that is yet to be born. Also, be sure the contract stipulates a deadline and method by which your refund is to be issued in the case there isn't actually pup available for you to pick up. 11. If you were conned by a breeder, speak up about it publicly, you're not going to be the only one, but oftentimes people are hesitant to do it. In another country, we've seen a very-highly anticipated breeding get exposed when 4 buyers all publicly stated and explained the genetic issues they encountered (dysplasia, joints, patella, etc.) - and all 4 ended up with what they called "handicapped dogs." Lots of surgeries. One even managed to earn a Champion title. What did the breeder offer? To take their adult dog back and replace the dog with a future puppy. That is cruel and unfair and of course nobody went for that.
