An update on the breeder Big Oaks Bull Terriers in Hot spring Arkansas

howndawg

I see there was a discussion about Big Oaks Bull terriers and Brad Anderson previously. I attempted to purchase a puppy from Mr. Anderson yesterday. We made a deal on the phone and text to purchase one of two puppies he had for sale. Someone else was also coming to buy one of the two also from Washington, but I would get choice if I arrived first. We drove 12 hrs. to meet. On arrival, I called Anderson to get his address to see the puppy. He gave me an address of a parking lot in town, and said that was where he meets all his customers. When I asked for his address so I could see the parent dogs and other puppies, he said he never allows people to come to his house. He claimed, one of his dogs bit someone some time ago and was afraid of getting sued. I told him I needed to see the parents to view the structure. He told me he was not going to load all the dogs up to bring them to town. I again suggested I come to his house to see the parents. He said he doesn't trust people on the internet because they will come back and steal puppies. I told him a person coming down with $2000 cash has sorted out that type of person, and I had more of a concern meeting an unknown person I knew nothing about, nothing about his dogs, and had cash that could be stolen. He then tells me, " everybody want to see the parent dogs, and the look of the parent dog means nothing to what the puppy will look like"??? What ?? I reminded him I had already asked for pictures of the parents twice and he had not sent them. He then told me, " I could send you pictures of any two dogs and you would never know the difference". I told him a breeder and purchaser normal develop a trusting relationship, not one of distrust. He then says, No breeder will allow people to come to there kennel and see the parents. I told him I had bought quite a few dog in the past and nobody ever refused that. At that point he told me I was being to pushy, and would never be happy with the puppy. I asked, how I could be unhappy with the puppy if there with nothing wrong with it? Anderson then hung up on me.

After some thought, I googled the Big Oaks BT and found the discussion on here from previous problems. There was also suggestions that his dogs did not meet the standard Bull Terrier standard colors, sizes and structure. After studying the pictures of his puppies, I now see they do not have standard color marking and their feet and toe nails look nothing like any Bull Terrier puppy I have ever seen. I believe he is breeding some cross breed mutts, and that's the real reason he never allows people to come see the parents. He never has had his breeding stock genetically tested because they won't pass.

I also questioned his warranty while on the phone before driving down. It states: You must take the puppy to a vet within two days after purchase for bill of health. How many people do that? Immediate void of his warranty. Then it states, dog will be replace if dies with one year. But, in the next line, states will not cover any genetic problems known to exist in the breed. I asked, what does it cover?? That's what genetic testing does. His warranty is worthless. How can I be the only one that has questioned this?

Somebody said previous, there are two sides to ever story. Correct. But what part of what I requested in incorrect to good Bull Terrier puppy purchasing? Should you not ask for parent genetic tests? Should you not ask to see parents? Should you not ask to see kennel conditions? Is it not a HUGE warning sign when breeder wants to meet off site? Any refusal to these requests suggests a bad breeder who has something to hind, not a pushy purchaser. Am I correct? People who buy puppies in parking lots and never see anything else are asking for trouble. It's like buying a Rolex watch on the corner.

Although I am upset I didn't end up with a puppy after a 1700 mile drive, I am glad things ended up this way. Worse than no puppy, is a dog that dies premature or becomes an extreme financial burden,

My goal here is to get anyone else considering purchasing from Brad Anderson to not just believe his stories, be overwhelmed by his fancy website, and fall in love with a puppy face. All of which are just poor business practices. People who said, he's a great guy and everything went well just didn't ask any questions Brad didn't like. He becomes very unfriendly when you ask questions.

that1Boomer

My breeder gave me his home address and answered my thousand questions without batting an eyelash. He let me meet the parents and play with them. Provided all the paperwork and then let the puppies out to play as well. Toured me around the kennels and asked if there were any more questions. Gave me a direct contact to meet up at a family reunion of sorts for the puppies and litter mates. Practically begging me to return once she was grown.

You did the right thing. Count your blessings that you did not fall for his misleading comments and messages. Great job, all I would have done different, was never made the trip without asking all the questions up front. You can tell by the answers, if you want to pursue any further.

BulliesofNC

@howndawg - That's sad to hear that any breeder is selling puppies this way. But I know there are many others doing the exact same thing. I hear stories like these often from people and it's upsetting.
About 8 or 9 years ago I wrote an article on How to Find Reputable Bull Terrier Breeders. There's a lot of information in this article that many breeders probably don't like that I exposed. I wish more people would read the article and learn from it so they could make intelligent choices when looking for any puppy regardless what breed type it is.

https://bulliesofnc.com/finding-reputable-bull-terrier-breeder/