Yes I have seen certificates from somebody I know that owns OTBs with their hip scores............the only difference is its not kept on the KC database of results but (I could be wrong here) I am sure the owner informs the KC of the results so a bad breeder whos dog had unfavourable results could just not hand in the results and not mention that the dogs were done to potential buyers who were none the ware.

The best thing you can do when buying any dog is research, research, research, into the lines you like, the breeder you like what have they produced before what are their dogs like and dogs from that line, what health testing they have done and whether you are happy with that.....each to their own but KC papers would be last on my list when looking for the right dog.

Sorry Laura, I had no intention to offend. In fact I have the greatest respect for the breeders/registries of non KC recognised breeds who endeavour to keep precise records so that information on lines, health issues, etc. are available. I was just making the point that the little dog in question could have anything behind it as her 'pedigree' has been issued by one of the money-making outfits, which are less than scrupulous and, should the owner wish to breed she would find difficulty in obtaining the services of an excellent stud from a reputable breeder. I agree that the KCs, worldwide, are not perfect and papers can, and are, falsified by the unscrupulous. But, as said above, they are the best, and most reliable, source of information for purebred dogs that we have.

Hi SB,

Point taken, thanks for they reply I had some grief a while back from "proper" Stafford owners lol, I think I may just have went off one one so to speak.

Laura

Really Laura?
i am a 'proper' stafford owner and i would not give you grief
There are some out there (i think you would agree) that dont care what the dog looks like or what its like health wise and they still breed and call it a 'proper' whatever breed is involved even if its not.
You and whizgirl rightly check out eveything you possibly can and would not breed from something that you classed yourself as a 'second rate' example of your own breed, thats what makes you different from the people we do jump on and moan about.
You have a lot of respect from people here on this board and i imagine within your own clubs and you deserve it too

(i hope what i said makes sense its early !! )

I know Emma I am a 'proper' stafford owner too lol. I was just trying to show that some people can tend to look down their noses at people who go away from the grain and do their own thing. Not anybody on here has been judgmental I may add but I have had some arguments in the past on other boards.

I had some nasty comments about Cassy when I was out and met a few people telling me this that and the other about how she was a pit, theres no such thing as an Irish bred Stafford, how can she be a Stafford at 18.5" tall and so forth - the usual. They shut up pretty quickly mind when I mentioned that their dogs resembled nothing short of pigs and mine was a cracking example of an old style Stafford that I am sure Joe Mallen and the like would know which they prefered lol. Usually I dont retaliate but when somebody slags my dog to my face I have to.

Like I said before bad breeders come in all shapes being a KC breeder does not guarantee that they will be better than non-KC.

You are completley right a good breeder will always do health and temprament testing whether they are breeding purpose crossbreeds or pure bred dogs. To me if somebody breeds from a dog they consider anything less than perfect then they are peddlars. I consider a responsible breeder somebody who takes two of their best dogs and looks at what they can improve by breeding the two.

just my thoughts - you did make sense Emma lol. I have been up since 3:00am so if I dont just ignore me lol.