National Entlebucher Mountain Dog Association

Selecting an Entlebucher Breeder

Selecting an Entlebucher puppy for you and your family is an important decision. Take the time, do your research to find the right match.

We are offering these guidelines to help you in this quest of bringing a bundle of joy into your life. Here you go.

Entlebuchers are still a rare breed and it is best to stick to a breeder who is approved by AKC’s Parent Breed Club, the National Entlebucher Mountain Dog Association, (NEMDA). Each participating NEMDA Code of Ethics Breeder (BCOE) goes through an application process and their Entlebuchers are required to have passing health tests before breeding.

Seek out a breeder who is committed to achieving excellence in the Entlebucher breed. The breeder should ask you tons of questions about you and your life. In turn ask the breeder tons of questions.

Important Questions to ASK

Do the puppy parents have OFA Health testing?
Do the puppy parents have their final clearances on their hips, patellas, PRA DNA test, and yearly eye certifications? You can check (the OFA website) to find out each parents status and the parents health certifications. You will need their pedigree names or their registration number to do this search. (Appendix has instructions.)
What kind of temperaments do the parents have? Do the parents have a Canine Good Citizen test or have they been temperament tested? Have they gone through the Comprehensive Entlebucher Breed Assessment, CEBA (NEMDA’s temperament and conformation evaluation)? Ask the breeder for these documents or certifications.
What kind of activities does the breeder do with their own dogs?
Does the breeder raise dogs that are in line with the activities you want to do with your puppy?
Can the breeder provide a copy of a 3 to 5 year generation pedigree?
Ask the breeder about the pedigree COI (Co-efficient of Inbreeding) for your purposed Entle puppy! Inbreeding of close relatives is proven to compound issues and is not sustainable for the health or longevity of a breed.
Does the breeder sell puppies with a written contract?
What is the breeder’s policy regarding refunds, guarantees and or replacements should a health issue arise?
What would the breeder do if you could no longer care for this dog?
Does the breeder breed other breeds of dogs? If so what kind? You want a breeder who specializes in Entlebuchers and has time to raise a four-legged family member.

Researching the Puppy’s Environment

Entlebuchers are family dogs and should be raised in a home.

Visit the breeder before deciding on your forever puppy. This way you can meet the breeder, canine mother, puppies and other in-residence dogs. If the breeder is too far away, ask to see pictures or videos of where the puppies are raised. You can also request a Zoom call or Facetime to view the puppies. If you see caged kennels, dirty conditions - stay clear.

If a breeder has many litters available at the same time major red flag.

Research the Puppy’s Well-Being

Find out the conditions of where the puppy spends its first 8 weeks. Will they be kept with their mother or separated before 8 weeks? Are they kept outside in a small kennel? How big is their area? The puppy should not leave the mother before 7 weeks, 8 weeks being ideal.

The period between 6 and 8 weeks is a crucial developmental period where the puppy starts learning bite inhibition and learns how to interact with litter mates and mother. Puppies have been known to elicit aggressive and other behavioral problems if taken away from their mother and litter mates too early. If you can see the puppies, they should be active and curious, have healthy coats and clear eyes and have some puppy fat. Ask for tons of pictures of the pup before making a commitment if you can't see them in person.

Importance of Good Lineage

Ask the breeder about the puppy's parents. It is very important to breed dogs with good sound temperaments and healthy bodies. Each dog is different. Ask what kind of temperament and physical characteristic each parent has, i.e., some dogs have more herding instinct, some more active, some more sensitive, some are taller, some are longer, etc.) Ask the breeder whether their own dogs are involved in Obedience, Conformation, or Field Trials.

Early Socialization

Early socialization is KEY for an Entlebucher. They need exposure to as many things as possible before going to their forever homes.

Ask the breeder what kind of socialization each puppy will receive in the first 8 weeks. Will each puppy be exposed to children, strangers, other animals (cats, birds, cows, horses, etc.), cars, and loud noises?

Ask them about the puppies’ personalities. Does the breeder perform a formal temperament test? If so, ask about the puppies’ personalities. A committed breeder usually will try to match the puppy’s personality with its new home. If someone lives on a farm and has cattle or other livestock, then that person needs a dog with a strong personality. If the dog will live in the suburbs and take walks mostly on a leash, then the dog needs to be a mellower one.

Prices

Ask about pricing and what the price entails. There is a great range of prices. A fair market price is around $2000 with an approved NEMDA BCOE breeder. Beware of a lower priced puppy.

Note: NEMDA’s advice, please don't consider breeding to recoup the money spent on your puppy. There is a huge time commitment, effort for testing and money spent properly breeding a rare breed. Most people do not have the time nor the facilities to undertake something that involved.

Puppy Wellness

Other questions you can ask if the pups are already born: What shots and worming have they had and at what age? Ask to see the puppies’ weight charts. You want to see a steady increase in weight and weight loss is an excellent indicator of poor health. Also inquire what kind of puppy food they are feeding. A good breeder will send you home with that food to get the puppy by until you can either purchase the same food or gradually change them over to your selected food.

Puppy Purchase Contract

A breeder should supply you with a contract explaining all agreements between you and the kennel. It safeguards you and the breeder. The contract should explain what recourse you have in case of problems and explain what recourse the breeder has if you break the contract, i.e. if you bought a pup on a spay contract and end up breeding her or if you bought a puppy to breed and did not do the required health tests before breeding. Normally, when the breeder has a contract, it means they are serious about their relationship with clients.

References

Ask for references from other families who have purchased a Entlebucher from the purposed breeders. You can gather a lot of information about the kennel through other people’s experiences.

Breeder Dedication

A breeder should be a resource to you throughout the life of your dog.
They should be concerned about the health and welfare of him or her.
They should be available via email or phone to answer any questions you may have.
If you have problems or issues your breeder should be able to help you.
• They should be willing to take the dog back at any time during the life of the dog. If they are unable to take the dog back, the very least is to be proactive in assisting to place that dog in a new home and not in a shelter.

National or Local Clubs

Ask about what clubs the kennel belongs to. A good breeder is interested in promoting the breed and clubs are good resources. For Entlebuchers, the AKC Parent Breed Club is NEMDA.

Reminder Checklist of Breeder Practices

All puppies should have permanent microchip ID, be dewormed, first vaccinations, and have had a puppy checkup before leaving the kennel.
Breeder provides a contract that guarantees they will take back a dog they bred at any time throughout its entire life, for any reason.
Cares about the welfare of the puppy/dog first and foremost.
Offers their experience, assistance, and resources to help you properly raise and train your puppy/dog.
Asks questions to get to know you for a compatible temperament, personality, and lifestyle match.
Invests their own resources giving back to the breed: donations toward health research, rescue, and breed club involvement.
Does activities with their dog/s. Any activity shows dedication, goals and commitment to learning and teamwork.
Continues to learn about canine genetics, structure, breed concerns, behavior, health/nutrition, training, etc.

RED FLAGS

Remember, you are interviewing the breeder as well! If/when a breeder makes it too easy or convenient to get a puppy from them that is a RED FLAG. Proceed with caution, healthy skepticism, and be willing to walk away.

PayPal buttons on websites (accepting non-refundable deposits with little to no interaction).
Shipping puppies without having phone conversations, not using an application, nor going through an interview process. Most ethical breeders don’t ship puppies in cargo! (The best is to come pick up the puppy in person and most breeders supply sherpa bags for airline in flight travel.)
Offering two littermates at a reduced price. You never want to get two puppies from the same litter even from an ethical breeder.
Selling males at a reduced cost.
Breeding and whelping multiple breeds of dogs
Low ball pricing. You get what you pay for! Skipping health tests and cutting corners benefits the breeder NOT the buyer or puppies!
Requires a non-refundable deposit before sharing health or other information.
Breeders who say the right things but don't follow through with the information you requested. And never being able to talk to them over the phone.
Discouraging you from picking up your puppy in person, usually positioned as a service to help you out.
Facebook Marketplace or social media are likely scams. Often a fake page is set up asking for a deposit. Check with breeding@nemda.org for verification if they are a true breeder.

Appendix

Instructions searching OFA are by Joyce Mackay at Excel-ents Entlebuchers.

OFA – Orthopedic Foundation for Animals

Owners that have performed health tests can submit the results to OFA and have them recorded on the dog’s record. If the results are not passing, the owner has the option to submit for free to OFA for research, statistics, and knowledge for the breed but they can check a box if they do not want the results shown to the public. If a dog you look up is not listed, it is possible the tests were: not completed, not submitted, or were not passing.

To bring up an individual dog’s record, you must know the dog’s registration number or registered name. If you do not have an exact match for the dog’s information, you can do an advanced search

Advanced search link: https://ofa.org/advanced-search/

At the middle Breed name column, use the slider to the right to find Entlebucher Mountain Dog.
To see all Entlebuchers that have completed all the CHIC requirements, check the CHIC box.
You can also narrow the results further choosing criteria by age or sex.

Then you are ready to click the orange “Begin Search” button, shown highlighted to view the results.

To search by specific test type/s without an exact match for the dog’s information:
* Follow the previous screenshot with a few changes.

Advanced search link: https://ofa.org/advanced-search/

At the middle Breed name column, use the slider to the right to find Entlebucher Mountain Dog.

Do not check the CHIC box. You can still narrow the results further choosing criteria by age or sex.

* Then scroll down to the next section; choose the “Health Registry” column for the test type/s you want.
Eyes are checked in this example. The in-column slider will show more test types.
Choose the test result outcome from the options available for that test in the “Results” column.
You can narrow the results to a timeframe with the “Reporting Year” column.

Then you are ready to click the orange “Begin Search” button, shown highlighted, to view the results.

Additional Information

Hips, Eyes, Patella, and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) are the Breed’s CHIC requirements.
Eye health can change. An eye exam must be performed yearly for the results to be valid.
Most clinics offer elbow x-rays with hips for evaluation at a nominal fee, many take advantage of that.
Some optional breed tests: Cardiac (basic or advanced), Elbow, Thyroid, PennHip.
There is currently no genetic test for glaucoma in the breed (research is being done).
Not all tests are relevant to Entlebuchers. The Parent Breed club sets the requirements by owner reports of health conditions, concerning or increasing trends, and research.