In the American Bully world, a puppy is a dime a dozen. It seems like everyone woke up one day and thought ” I want to breed American Bullies.” So they go and buy a puppy may be an adult and go on a do it. Typically and more often than not it’s for all the wrong reasons. Now, I don’t want to sound too hypocritical because I currently breed Bullies but this is exactly why I’m writing this for you. This isn’t intended to separate me and other breeders. This isn’t even intended to point out who’s doing it right and who’s doing it wrong. All I am trying to do is give you a step by step guide on the questions you need to ask, down to what you need to see.
Breeder interview
The following questions are nonnegotiable’s and if the breeder says no or doesn’t do 1 of these things you need to walk away. The first questions ALWAYS need to be why they did the breeding. They should be saying things like “the dogs complimented each other this way” or “I am trying to marry features from this line to this line.” Anything around that is good and should entice you to ask more questions. But if you ask this question and their answer is “that male is badass” or “this breeding makes so and so 5X blah blah blah” (that one ALWAYS get a good laugh out of me) kindly thank them for their time and you should be off the phone. All in All, you’re trying to make sure the dogs were bred to the American Bully Standard and having a breeder that knows and has a purpose for doing the breeding goes a long way of having quality stock. The next couple of questions need to be, where are they kept?, will they have 1 or 2 shots before rehoming?, will or are they dewormed?, is the mom on-site?, will I be able to meet the mom ( this is a biggie!), do you have contracts? will I get the papers the same day I take my pup home?, will I get full health records? All of these questions are good places to start when searching for the right breeder to buy your first or next pup from.
choosing a puppy
Now I know this is going to be a hard one but let’s try to put color aside. The first thing you need to do is see these pups move. I know this depends on age but this is a must. This is why I almost always recommend seeing the pups in person before you choose what pup you want. You’re looking for proper movement, also their interactions with their littermates. keep this in mind, Are they shy and timid? Are they bold and rambunctious? Do they pick up every little thing they see and try to eat it? or are they more concentrated on the humans around? after you see that pick them all up and do a puppy stress test. See how they react to pinching the ears, toes, feet, and tail. See how they react to flipping the pup upside down and hold the pup in your arms for a while. Do they furiously wiggly trying to get set free. Are they crying, or whining? are they docile and relaxed upside down in your arms? does his arms grab your arms? These things give off subtle signs of your pup’s personality type. Look for structure, straight top lines, and good bites. Now if you can find the type of pup you’re looking for with the color you want as well then it’s a WIN-WIN for you.
Looking at the Parents
When choosing the right puppy, looking at the parents in pivotal. The parents will give you the best representation of what your pup may look like. So don’t think because the Sire (dad) of the pups is 95 pounds and the dam (mom) is 60 pounds that you’re going to buy a 100-pound monster. That just doesn’t make sense. Puppies will be 50 / 50. Meaning they will get 50 percent of their genetic makeup from their dad and 50 percent from their mom.
I hope this helps a little bit if you trying to buy the right dog for you. I didn’t dive too deeply into what the signs actually mean but if you think about them it’s pretty easy to understand why the pup is acting and or doing things in a certain way.
