Once you have fallen in love with a breed, you want a puppy – now! But the Stabyhoun is a rare breed which has grown in popularity in the UK since its introduction in 2013. This means a growing waiting list for puppies.

IMG_0346The UK Stabyhoun Association manages a central waiting list for both UK-born puppies and those imported from abroad (typically the Netherlands and Denmark). It is a complex puzzle which takes into account a number of factors including:

  • Your experience with dogs
  • Your plans for the dog: agility, hunting, breeding, therapy dog
  • Your family make-up including the age of any children
  • Your work/life balance

The most important thing to understand is that breeders decide entirely who they sell their puppies to. Therefore, the UKSA cannot guarantee anyone a puppy from any given litter, or predict with any certainty when you might be offered one – if at all. The ideal home for one breeder might not be in the eyes of another. But experience tells us that the most detailed, enthusiastic and considered applications stand out the most, and overall have better odds. So, if, at any point, you wish to update your application, please let us know. We are always happy to tell you where on the list your family is, but it might not be a true reflection of how soon you are likely to get a puppy.

Being offered a Stabyhoun puppy

Once you are offered a puppy, the breeder will send you an email which sets out their expectations to you. It is important that you carefully read and consider these terms, before accepting the puppy. This will include a requirement to attend the UKSA’s annual event the following year after the pup turns 9 months old, and restrictions on early neutering.

You will then be asked to arrange at least one visit the puppies – typically before they are 6 weeks old. IF during or after the visit your family OR the breeder decide that this is not the ideal match, for whatever reason, you both have the right to change your mind. A breeder can at any time withdraw their offer of a puppy, and your family can do the same. With so many people waiting for a puppy, it is not a problem to find the puppy a new home, even with short notice. The most important thing is to make sure that everyone is happy with the match once the puppy leaves the breeder at 8 weeks of age. We hope you agree.

How are Stabyhoun puppies allocated?

When a litter is born in the UK, the breeder is given applications that are ready to take a puppy to consider. It is common for breeders to want a mix of homes for their puppies, so that not all of them go to the same ‘type’ of home: first-time owners, young families, people who want to do agility, breed and so on. This is because there are likely to be many different personalities and characters in each litter. So if the top 7 families on the waiting list are first-time owners, perhaps only half of those will be offered a puppy from a particular litter. The breeder will then consider families further down the list to achieve a sensible balance – perhaps they want the most active puppy to go to a home with plans to do agility, and the most confident to live with more experienced owners. This might mean that you are offered a puppy sooner than you expected, or that you have to wait for longer than you hoped. We will do our best to manage everyone’s expectations, but it’s tricky.

Stabyhoun puppies from abroad

Jobbe huntingBreeders who go the extra mile and agree to export puppies to the UK often choose a home where the intention is to keep the dog (male or female) intact, with a view to having at least one litter of puppies. Keeping a puppy for an additional two months before it is allowed to travel into England is a big commitment, and in placing these puppies with homes that are interested in breeding, we are working towards building a sustainable population of Stabyhoun in the UK. So, if you do not wish to breed with your dog, you are most likely to be offered a puppy from the UK. Do be completely honest in this regard either way as the UKSA puts a lot of time and effort into making the right matches for the breed and their families.

Some breeders seek to sell their puppies to families with a particular interest such as hunting, agility or breeding. That ideal family in the UK might be number 25 on the waiting list when they are offered a puppy, if that is the ideal match.

If you indicate on your application that you are willing to import a puppy, make sure you have considered and researched the journey to either the Netherlands or Denmark. Only when you are 100% confident in saying ‘yes’ to either or both will your application be put forward to relevant breeders abroad. You will typically be offered a puppy within the first week of the litter being born, so you will have several months to plan the journey (and a visit with the litter if you’d like). Asking for a few days to think about it once you have been offered a puppy is not ideal and might prompt the breeder to offer that puppy to a family who is more confident. Remember: waiting lists abroad are long. Breeders who agree to export a puppy are going many extra miles, and we want to acknowledge that effort by making sure their dedication is matched this end.