I totally understand what you mean by a not so great breeder.I too was dissapointed in the breeder once we met her and her family/other dogs. Not that they were a puppy mill by any means, or bad people or a bad place. Just not as responsible and up and up as she could/should have been in my opinion. Our puppy is great, and we love him. When we arrived we were greeted by several pups, of a couple litters, running free around the house, which is great (and much better that a cage of coarse) but because of that there was poop in a few spots, and not only on the pads...and they whole place just stunk like dog....and they were all smokers so the combo was horrible! We also kept hearing discrepencies in stories told to us about accidental breedings, other puppies shes going to or is expecting,etc. She had another type of small dog there, pregnant and a few other rescued mutts outside. Then when it came time for paperwork we received the shot record which was covered with something on the back, and the contract/guarantee we signed was whited out on the signature lines, etc....and she didnt have the AKC papers ready, shes mailing them to us in about two weeks (she says).
We ended up still taking the puppy as they all seemed healthy, it was a great bargain for us being he is a redleg, and we are only looking for a sweet pet for our family, so AKC (While a plus) wasnt essential for us.
Our breeder is a YT member, and after getting puppy I have searched her name and seen some wierd posts too....go figure.
Live and learn I guess.
