THE BASICS

Thanks for your interest in MacBrechin Scottish Terriers. We love the breed and also understand, as with most top quality pure-bred dogs, finding the right one can be a long and sometimes frustrating experience. Barry Truax has outlined the foundations for finding a puppy and with his kind permission we are including it here.

Prospective owners willing to take the time (and yes, it sometimes takes a while) to build a relationship with breeders usually have more success. You can get to know people, perhaps attend some shows or visit kennels in person, finally settling on a Scottie puppy and bringing it home. A brief email exchange or phone call doesn't cover everything; it’s only the first step.

Barry prepared some preliminary information. MacBrechin agrees and trusts this will provide a better understanding of the policies MacBrechin and Glenfraser endorse.

Although open to negotiation, our policies are fairly strong regarding:

Companion animals (pets) will be registered on a Non-Breeding basis (i.e. spay/neuter contract) with the Canadian Kennel Club.

Puppies will not be sold as a "surprise" for someone. We need to deal with the person directly who will have primary care responsibilities for the life of the dog (usually 10 to 15 years).

Puppies will not be sold as a Christmas present. It's bad timing; wait until you have a stable situation and time to train the puppy properly.

We prefer not selling a dog to anyone with a swimming pool. Scotties are not good swimmers having short legs and sturdy bodies. They cannot swim very long, and many have drowned in pools. I personally know of a situation that was very sad.

We also prefer selling a dog to owner’s that have a fenced yard. This is not a hard and fast policy, but it is a preferred one.

Puppies cannot be left alone for 8 hours a day while you're at work; arrange to take the dog to work or organize a time when you can supervise the puppy yourself at home. Even mature dogs don’t like to be left alone for that length of time.

We don't like to ship puppies beyond a distance that would involve a flight lasting longer than one hour. However, if you can come to pick up the puppy, then taking them in the cabin in a specially designed “Sherpa” carry on bag seems to work well; otherwise, we'd be pleased to refer you to breeders in your area who are members of the Canadian Scottish Terrier Club or the Scottish Terrier Club of America.

Scottie pups that are well socialized do well in families; however, we do not recommend them for families with toddlers and infants as these young children are usually, justifiably, afraid of such an active dog with big teeth that tends to play rough. As well, all puppies have very sharp teeth; they do not intend to bite through the skin in what a puppy thinks is playing, but it happens. Adults understand; children do not!

Scotties have a beautiful, functional coat but it requires specialized grooming; we prefer that new owners won't be clippering the dog excessively (which removes its hard coat), so please consider this if you just want a pet. We can provide alternative suggestions regarding grooming.

We are most sympathetic to those who've recently lost their Scottie (yes, the only solution is to get another one), however, keep in mind that if this has happened to you, you've become used to a relatively sedentary adult dog and may have forgotten how much energy a Scottie puppy has, and how much attention it needs. Think about whether this is what you can cope with. An older dog might be more appropriate in some situations.

Although an initial email contact is fine, we will need to talk with you directly if it goes beyond the preliminaries. We also will expect you to pick up the new addition to your family in person.

PRICES AND AVAILABILITY

If you've done any searching for a Scottie puppy, you'll realize that there are normally not that many litters available at any given time; litters tend to be in the range of 4 to 5 puppies, and frequently not all of them survive the first few weeks. As a result, considerable time and expense goes into raising just a few pups, and most breeders have just one litter per year (for the record on finances, we have yet to break even). We do it for the love of the breed with the intention of meeting the Scottish Terrier standard, and producing puppies with excellent health, temperament and intelligence. Increasingly it seems, few breeders have the resources to spend four months raising a litter. There is also the financial risk of a few thousand dollars in what might end up as a "singleton" litter, or worse, none at all!

Our girls don't usually follow a regular pattern of six-month seasons, so most of the time when you call us, we'll say "we're waiting for her to come into season". This unpredictability means that most of the time we don't know when we're going to have another litter. Given the numerous enquiries we get, we no longer keep a "waiting list". It’s been our experience that when we went back to a few of those who'd contacted us, they had already obtained a dog or decided on another breed.

The reality is, more than enough people find us through the Internet or referrals from other breeders. Of the puppies born, some will be retained by us. After that, priority goes to people who will train and groom the puppy properly, or work with us to do that for them.

Occasionally we know of adult dogs available, either as rescues or placements by breeders; availability is quite unpredictable, but enquire anyway.

With the increases in breeding and vet costs, we have had to raise our puppy prices; the last litter was sold for CDN$1500.00 each.

We're never sure when we'll have more puppies; however, we'd still like to hear from you if you're serious about getting a quality Scottish Terrier pup. We'll also be pleased to refer you to another reputable breeder.