His AKC Marketplace page says he’s in Seaside, CA. He says he lives in Logandale, NV. Doesn’t allow people to go to his home to see the puppies or parents. His reasons are completely understandable (personal and puppy safety) but it still seems strange to buy a puppy in a hotel parking lot. He’s super nice to talk to, sends lots of pics/videos. Says he’s been breeding since the 1990s - but there’s no information/reviews anywhere. Anyone have any experience with him - or advice?
Any info on Dominic Castro of Siempre Adelante?
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Honestly, I would not buy a puppy from someone if I could not visit and meet the adult dogs. Full stop. I don’t care how nice he seems. I went to their website, and it is VERY incomplete. Most concerning is that there are LOTS of puppy photos, all the same age (about when people would buy them) and not ONE photo of either adult dogs or a litter. Now, this COULD just be very poor planning on their parts, but it raises questions, especially with the parking lot hand-offs, of a puppy broker. I would be EXTREMELY careful.
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A good breeder will have plenty of references, let you visit the home and see where the puppies are raised. You want to get the pedigree and health certificates.
www.akc.org
7 Tips for Finding and Working With a Responsible Breeder
Finding a breeder you trust is your first – and most important — step to finding your new best friend. Here are 9 tips for finding a responsible breeder.
www.akc.org
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You fon’t want to “get the health certificates”. The health clearances should be filed on OFA and should be available for the public to see. Health testing is expensive. Filing with OFA is not. It is easy enough with white out and a copy machine to fake “certificates”. You can’t (at least not as easily) fake results posted on OFA. Especially if there is a microchip number, read by the vet and recorded with the OFA results.
That is NOT to say that it’s not a nice thing for a breeder to include test result hard copies in a puppy packet when you take you puppy home. Some breeders do that. But it should be in addition to posting on OFA, not in place of.
The reason this is so important is that if breeders do this consistently, you can not only look at the results for the parents of your puppy, but your puppy’s grandparents, aunt’s and uncles and other family members. While few people put dogs who fail there tests up on OFA, (a weak link in the system, and one I don’t know a good answer for) and of course the majority of pet dogs are never health tested. But it can make you feel pretty comfortable if you go onto OFA and find LOTS of close relatives all of whom have cleared their health testing.
That is NOT to say that it’s not a nice thing for a breeder to include test result hard copies in a puppy packet when you take you puppy home. Some breeders do that. But it should be in addition to posting on OFA, not in place of.
The reason this is so important is that if breeders do this consistently, you can not only look at the results for the parents of your puppy, but your puppy’s grandparents, aunt’s and uncles and other family members. While few people put dogs who fail there tests up on OFA, (a weak link in the system, and one I don’t know a good answer for) and of course the majority of pet dogs are never health tested. But it can make you feel pretty comfortable if you go onto OFA and find LOTS of close relatives all of whom have cleared their health testing.
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I actually got my pup Pablo from Dominic Castro. What kind of questions do u have?
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Did you get to see how the puppies were raised? Did you meet the parents? Were the parents health tested and results on OFA? Parents shown? How has your on-going relationship been with the breeder?
Hi everyone - original poster here - thank you all for your responses. A colleague bought a puppy (not a havanese and not from Dominic) in a parking lot and it turned out to be stolen. The situation was a bit different but it made me wary about meeting in a parking lot, not getting to see the puppies in their home, and not meeting the parents. I am in no way suggesting Dominic is not a legitimate breeder. And his concerns for his personal safety and the safety of the puppies are completely valid. I posted to this forum hoping to find a few people who got puppies from Dominic - and to see if buying a puppy in a parking lot is now a normal practice for legitimate breeders. Unfortunately, Dominic got very upset that I posted to this forum.
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I have no connection or interest in this person as a breeder - but I would be concerned that someone would get upset that you were asking about them as a breeder on a forum - if they're legit they should welcome any/ all feedback that you might get and discuss any negative feedback with you (even the very best of anything will have someone who complains about them!) That, added to not wanting to let you meet the parents and limited information would probably make me walk away.
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Dominic was the breeder of our sweet Havi, Miss Minnie and we love her totally. I do believe that he is quite knowledgeable. The pandemic period was a challenge for all and I admit we were desperate. We did not want a puppy flown in and elected to work with a breeder who was a car ride away. So I broke all of my rules and did not meet our pup. But when we picked her up, I was shocked to discover that she had not been socialized outside of the pack nor seen anyone wearing a mask. She really suffered when she abruptly left her pack and was taken for a 2 hour car ride. Some of you have met Minnie and know that she loves to play but we have had significant hurdles over these two years.
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