I have a question. Why don't people, especially breeders, join the BMDCA? It seems to me that if one is involved in a breed, s/he should belong to the national breed club. Although by no means a measure of quality, I think it is certainly one of those minimum standards that PPO's ought to inquire about when looking for a puppy. And for a PPO, it is a wonderful entry into the world of berners.
Staying in touch with puppy owners -- the first step is being very explicit about the expectations before placing a puppy. I spell things out to the potential owners -- what the contact looks like, how often I want to hear from them, what they can expect from me, and my rationale for maintaining contact. I let them know that not everyone wants that kind of relationship with a breeder, and while that is perfectly acceptable it is not how I do things. Any good relationship starts with clearly articulated expectations. After the puppies go home, I maintain e-mail contact with the owners. I do not rely on them to write to me, but will initiate contact by asking about the puppy. I send out group e-mails with news and photos so that all owners from a litter have a sense of what is happening with the other puppies from the litter. I also make it a point to plan show trips to locations where I have puppies placed so that I can see them. In addition to all this, I mail a questionnaire each year and from those returned questionnaires, prepare an annual report that I send to each owner and the owners of the male who sired the litter. I am working on my second annual report now. I try hard to be helpful and supportive to my puppy owners, without being intrusive. Finally, I do not have so many puppies that I cannot track them and care about each one -- and I never will because it is very important to me to maintain those connections. In addition, it is very important to me that I am able to maintain accurate information about what we are producing -- and that is not possible unless one collects data from the owners. I am aware of what it takes for me to breed in a way that supports my sense of purpose and integrity, and producing so many puppies that I cannot track them properly would not be congruent with what I want to accomplish or my personal ethics. Those are just some thoughts on how I maintain contact. Mary-Ann Bowman Utah Emma, Abra, Maize and the ten-pack
