Posted Date: 2001-07-16 16:21:27
By: billd
As you may or may not know all Pet shop dogs come from Puppy Mills. Please help stop the puppy mills never purchase anything from a pet store that sells dogs. These dogs come from horrible place. Also dogs sold in new papers, pet publications and a lot of places on the internet we find brokers and backyard breeders. Brokers buy from the puppy mills and they sell them out of their homes. Backyard breeders just sell poor quality dogs. AKC registration is not an indication of quality only a registry.
Repuable breeders breed champions. The sire and dam of the puppies are champions. Champions lines are meaningless. Reputable breeders also test for the breeds big genetic problems. The bichon is the #1 breed for juvinile cataracts, they can have hip dyplasia, patella laxation problems. So reputable breeders besides breedign champions have the CERF certifiction done annually on the dogs till they are 8 yrs old and they are breeding multi-generation clear dogs. For the hips and patellas they have the OFA certifciation. All reputalble breeder have these certificiaton.
You find reputable breeders thought the AKC breed clubs. Just go to the AKC website: http://akc.org and look for breeders referral. For the Bichon its the Bichon Frise Club of America website: http://www.bichon.org
Reptuable breeders to not always have puppies available its takes 6 months to 1 year to get a bichon puppy form a reptuable breeder. This is my advice to find a puppy that looks like a bichon and dogs not have all the problems associated with getting them from pet shop / puppy mills & backyard breeders. | 
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