Complaint Review: Heather Searle Heather Leaming Rocky Mountain Dogue De Bordeauxs - Broken Arrow Oklahoma

I searched for two years for a DDB puppy...it is now apparent that all of the photos that this lady sent showing the parents were false. My "DDB" has not yet made it over 100 lbs, has a head the size of a lab and I will have to get fixed as he is nowhere close to the standard. I will never have the money to get another DDB, so I hope she gets what is due her!

I dont know how long you have owned Dogues but first and formost they do not come stock with drive. They are by nature laid back. I am sorry for your loss . a good dog is a good dog. I dont regret having my b***h in my life, but I cant breed her. She is not breed standard. Schutzhund is a sport that requires drive, agility and a nose all of which the Dogue does NOT have by standard.

I myself had a puppy from the october 12th 05 litter of bordeaux's out of Rocky Ridge DDB's.. I have to say the quality of the puppy i got was amazing, excellent temperment, crazy drive, and most likely would have been one of the few successful schutzhund dogue's to date. I unfortunatly lost him to a accident. So in my experiance w/ The breeder has been excellent and would love to get another puppy of that quality from them. W/ breeding nothing is guaranteed, i currently have another bordeaux pup out of a canadian kennel, excellent temperment, had him since 7wks, and he's just naturally timid. that's just his personality. either way, hope it all get's worked out.

Heather sold me a puppy a year ago. I found her website and thought the sire and dam were gorgeous. I bought a female from her for $1300. When I got the pup off the plane she was full of ticks, aggresive, and looked like a cross between a pittbull and a Dogue. She was tan not red, she had a long nose, she had tight skin, and now as of a year old its so obvious...... There is absolutly no way she could be even half dogue. My vet thinks she is a boxer/pitt cross. Even in her temperment she does NOT act like a Dogue. I hope Heather gets sued. I have sent in pictures to the AKC of the dog, hoping she gets what she deserves. I am upset. I love the dog and of course would never get rid of her, but the whole point of spending that kind of money was to get something I could show and breed with my other male Dogue

Well now, since there is a new report of Heather Searle/Leaming selling sick dogs, her web sites(both of them) ARE GONE, her phone number is disconnected and she is under investigation by the DDBS, maybe just maybe everyone who wrote in is possibly right and Heather is the #@%*! that they said.

Of course breeders make a profit, like any other business, but only after making substantial investments, both time and money. However they must be reputable in order to continue to make a profit and stay in business. Also a reputable breeder does it for the love and betterment of the breed, not just the money. Unfortunately determining who is reputable is very difficult. There seems to be much controversy within the breeding community itself. I also purchased a pet quality pup from this breeder. For the most part the breeder has been professional. We received the pup that was pictured, however, our pup has health problems, when the 1st one came up we immediately reported it to the breeder, who told us we could return the pup if it had a life threatening condition. Shipping would be at our expense and the pup would be replaced. Our pup has a wonderful personality and we fell in love with her so we did not return her. She is now over a year so that option is no longer available to us, as the breeder told us it is a 1yr congenital defect policy. We will continue to update the breeder regarding the health issues, in hopes that she will use the information to make decisions of a responsible/reputable breeder. I thought the breeder seemed a little defensive when I first contacted her with the information of the health issues. However, I would assume that breeders get a lot of people trying to return pets or get money back for unsubtantiated reasons, and that is why they seem very wary when contacted. It is in their best interest to not be so defensive and just be professional, let the buyer know exactly what is expected as documentation and how the breeder will resolve the problem. The breeder did give us the information and options available, and we choose not to return the pup. We recently purchased another pup through different breeder. This pup was purchased as show/breedable. I researched this breeder to the best of my abilities, checked references and with the veterinarian. However this pup has arrived with health problems too. We will have to make a decision soon, but how can you send a pup back? I dont feel it is fair to the pup or my kids. I have come to the conclusion that buying from breeders online, is not good, no matter how reputable the breeder. (We only went this route because there were no bordeaux breeders in our state at the time). We have spent thousands of dollars on dogues and are not happy with their health. Fortunately these dogs have the biggest hearts and exceptional personalilties and we love them dearly inspite of the monetary loss. (For those of you who worry how the pets are treated when the owners are dissapointed.) My next purcase will be with a local breeder with a test drive to our vet before purchasing. I am thru with the non-refundable deposits, contracts and limitations of reputable breeders and being disappointed when the pups arrive! As I said this breeder for the most part has been professional in our dealings. I am not saying that you should not use this breeder. This breeder also has positive feedback posted and I am also pleased with the personality and trainability of the pet I purchased from this breeder. I am saying that you should only use breeders that you can personally go to and check out and pick out your pup and have it vet checked before the transaction is complete. The health of a pet is something that is not predictable and realistically can not be guaranteed. I have found no other complaint on this breeder, (I was unable to located those mentioned in the above complaint). I have no evidence that my pets health problems are due to bad breeding practices. As I said I will keep the breeder updated with my pups health conditions in hopes the information will be used to make decisions of a reputable/responsible breeder. I will update if I find information to the contrary of if the breeder is not professional when she is contacted and informed of my pets health issues.

As I stated, a GOOD breeder does not make hardly anything, if anything at all, on their pups, escpecially ones that are only pet quality. Why? Because these breeders spend money on the dam and the pups in terms of proper veterinary care. Backyard breeders and those hwo only run puppy mills probably make a nice profit on their litters, but then again, their dogs live in nasty conditions and havent had any vet care. A show quality pup is a different story and thats where a breeder would make any profit, and rightly so. They've bred good animals that are prime examples of the breed and making a profit will allow them to use those funds to continue raising and breeding good, high quality dogs.

I do not believe these breeders who say they don't make a profit , that they do it out of love for the breed. Nonsense. Let's say you have 4 puppies. You are selling them for $950 each, that is $3800. Now the health testing is done once, hips', elbows, etc. I think the eyes might be done more often. So lets say the first litter you make no profit, the next litters have a much highter profit margin.

Now reports like this really concern me. First of all, to the people who bought the pups, have you ever bred dogs? Do you know all about thetime, effort, and expense it entails? Are you expecting to make a profit from these puppies? If so, you are a BYB - Backyard breeder. Good breeders dont generally make profits on the puppies they sell - especially the ones who are sold as pet quality pups. My main concern if for the pup himself. What kind of treatment is he receiving in a home that is so dissatisfied with him? I hope, for the pups sake, that the people who bought him either resign themselves to the fact that he should not be bred, give him a good home as a pet only, and move on, OR return him to the breeder as she offered.

I purchased a pup from Heather, and drove to Broken Arrow from Austin Texas to pick my puppy up. While there I saw the entire litter of ten pups, the sire and the dam. All the pups were in excellant health, and the sire was an older dog yet still the same dog I saw on Heathers website. The dam was thin, which is expected with a nursing b***h. All the puppies were in excellant health from all appearences. After returning to Austin I took my pup to the vet the very next day. Dr. Treadway had nothing but praise for the outstanding care the puppie had recieved, and she was so impressed with the breed that she had to show her to all the staff there. Anyone wishing to verify this information may contact Lakeline Animal Care at: 512-258-1155 or-www.lakelineanimalcare.com Also, let me say that my pup, Truck, has an excellant temperment, amusing personally, and learns faster than any breed I have owned. I will recommend Heather to anyone who inquires on my pup, and many already have. She's an honest, kind, patient lady who prides herself in correct breeding. Thanks Heather,

A Dogue de Bordeaux male puppy was sold to Combs Family of California, as a pet quality puppy for $950. The puppy sent was a companion quality puppy and not meant for breeding purposes. Cheri Combs was informed about the "knot" in the tail before the puppy was sent. We explained the puppy should not be used for breeding. We offered either a full refund of the purchase price because of the knot OR we would send him and discount his price. Cheri Combs opted for a discounted price for a pet quality puppy. Apparently, this information was not shared by Cheri Combs to her husband Ron Combs. We were unaware that we needed to communicate information about the puppy seperately to each individual in the Comb's family. This turned out to be a big mistake, especially for the puppy himself. We deducted $250 from the purchase price and shipped the puppy. A check in this amount was was sent (and cashed by Ron Combs) with the puppy. We have proof of this cashed check. The puppy has a 1 year health guarantee and had 72 hours for a full vet exam to be done (IF anything had been found to be wrong health wise) he would have returned the puppy for a full refund. The Comb's never mentioned any health concerns noted by a vet in the required exam within 72 hours of receiving the dog. Instead, Ron called and used every form of profanity on the phone to express his disgust with the knot in the tail (even though he cashed the refund check but stated he had no idea why that was sent). We offered to refund the purchase price for the puppy's return. They would not accept this offer. If they are not happy with their dogue for any reason, shape or form please return him to us for a full refund. They will need to write a certified letter however, because under no circumstances are we going to put up with Ron's profanity over the phone. We will be more than happy to find the puppy a new home locally.