quote:
Originally posted by pitt-man:
I was wondering what yall think about
http://www.kobaltkennels.com/index.html and
http://ablepaws.org/as opposed to
http://yorkkennels.com/
Just finished checking out the sites. I don't want to put any sites/breeders/dogs down so its always hard to be honest because some people might get offended even if your being unbiased.
Kobalt
The dogs overall look ok. Healthy coats and pretty good structure, although some look kind of fat. I'd personally like to see them showing/pulling the dogs instead of just producing pups for? They do have some decent dogs though and seem to put care into them. I'd personally never pay someone for a pup that wasn't from proven parents.
You also want to be careful with the watchdog bloodline because some of it has health problems. Not all of them but they are known for heart problems and some demodex. Some have died from the heart problems early or rather young. One really good breeder who has now passed away herself had a watchdog bred female that they put several titles on but the dog ended up having heart problems and also didn't have as much drive/trainability so they moved onto another line. (I believe that female was also directly from Casey Couturier himself) Just be sure to check with a breeder of this line about their dogs. (OFA has cardiac screening now so if they do that its a plus). Ask if any pups they have produced have known health problems. Make sure they have a health guarantee too. Just don't be afraid to ask. Good breeders don't mind questions and I'm also sure to get all info before I purchase a dog. Some of the TNT blood is very healthy, with a good structure, and working ability either on hogs or the weight pull track.
Ablepaws
I'm really not too sure on them. I several American Bullies then I saw some American Pit Bull Terriers or American Staffordshire Terriers. The fact that they have a pic with ABKC would further prove that. That female is far too long to be in the APBT or AST standard, several others also had the same structure.
I do see that some have OFA cardiac but I'm wondering why they didn't OFA the hips? Hips are an even bigger concern the larger the dog and most of those dogs are pretty large. Also not on many of the dogs do they have OFA, especially the bully dogs. Although I don't know if thats because they haven't bred them yet or don't plan to. It doesn't make sense to cert every dog if you are not using every one in your program.
I saw they had some nice dogs like Foreman from Gaff lines (which is a pretty good line) and Mackie also looks good. Some others do look ok or good just can't name them all. But out of 41 females only 1 is titled. That is also a lot of females to have, as only 2 said co owned/owned by whoever. I didn't have time to look through every thing. While they don't look like the worse kennel in the world, its going to depend on which parent you get a pup from and what you want, I think you can do better if you want. That JMO though so its all up to you.
Also some of the Gotti dogs (which I saw in a few peds) are known for a number of different health problems. I've seen/heard of a lot of this and personally have a few friends with this bloodline who's dogs have health issues. Some are fine to so it depends on the dogs and really how responsible the breeder is in the end. Just be careful.
York Kennels
Out of the 3 is probably they best. Ginny had some pretty good dogs over time, Blue Bandit, Romeo, Gator. They still have some very nice dogs but you will also notice some are pretty bulky like johnson/hyrbid American Bulldogs in body type like Hot Rod. I also wondered why she quit showing/proving the dogs that much. The blood is certainly proven and a kennel with a good reputation. While I don't know for certain everyone who's ever had a York dog, the ones I do know have been pleased in temperament and health.
No matter where you go I'd ask a lot of questions and make sure to get a health guarantee. A pup/dog is a big purchase and should be a lifetime commitment which sometimes ends in big vet bills or heartbreak if you get the wrong pup.
