Anyone know about Merckle's Hilltop Mastiffs in Ohio?

[bubbagum]

I was looking at her site and talked to her. Dogs seem to look nice and she seems to know what she is talking about. I was just curious if anyone had purchased from her; she produces a lot of pups which worries me a bit.

 

[mx5055]

Welcome to the forum! What do you think bubba? What draws (traits) you to her dogs? Does she do testing? Have you owned a Mastiff before? What kind of puppy contract are you looking for? Are you looking for a pet or a possible show dog? Sry for all questions...just trying to gather some info

 

[ruthcatrin]

Don't know anything about her.

Are her dog's health tested? Her site doesn't say. Heres a list of recommeded health tests for the breed: Canine Health Information Center: CHIC Information

Her two year guarantee is only for life threataning illness and then you have to prove that it was genetic...

 

[ruthcatrin]

I gotta add $1000 isn't alot for a mastiff puppy, infact its on the low side to too low, low enough to make me think she's cuttingg corners

 

[mx5055]

Just gut reaction after a very quick look at her site....nothing about any testing, full rights to show or pet...how many reputable breeders offer "full" registration like that....they accept credit cards without even meeting you? Reputable breeders will check you out much more thoroughly, or at least to the same degree that you will check them out, and do not take credit card payments online...I would walk away and continue your search (my opinion only)

 

[Iymala]

I believe she recently had 4 good sized litters on the ground at once. My concern is that she is pumping out litters for the soul purpose of profits.

 

[bubbagum]

We just had an 11 month old female (from good breeder with parents genetic testing) die of stroke last week. We have another Male Mastiff who is 16 weeks. Neighbors across the street have two Mastiffs who come over to play with pup every week.

I know her prices seem low but at first look pedigrees and photos look good. I talked to her and she seemed like a nice woman who cared about the breed. The low price is the only thing that seems fishy to me. I would think with the volume she sells and the amount of time she has been breeding that someone would know about her.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Does she health test?

Does she show or work her dogs? If not why does she breed? Theres no point except making money otherwise.

You'll get more responses if you wait, but after taking a look over her site I don't think I'd get a dog from her, not unless she can prove health testing and reason for breeding.

 

[mx5055]

We just had an 11 month old female (from good breeder with parents genetic testing) die of stroke last week. We have another Male Mastiff who is 16 weeks. Neighbors across the street have two Mastiffs who come over to play with pup every week.

I know her prices seem low but at first look pedigrees and photos look good. I talked to her and she seemed like a nice woman who cared about the breed. The low price is the only thing that seems fishy to me. I would think with the volume she sells and the amount of time she has been breeding that someone would know about her.[/QUOTE

That's the only thing that seems fishy to you? When you talked to her on the phone did you ask her what kind of testing she does? And, they are always nice before the sale. There are some good reputable breeders on this site...hopefully they will chime in here. Personally it appears to me that this breeder is in it for the money...but that is just my opinion.

 

[cookiedough39]

I didn't even look at the site and by the tone of these members I wouldn't go with this breeder. I almost didn't go with the breeder I got my dog from. On the web site I didn't see any titles, if they health tested, and I couldn't get a look at the contract until I paid the deposit. What changed my mind was when I spoke to somebody that purchased a female from my breeder 3 years ago. The guy who bought this female told me he was really in love with Roman's line (roman cane corso) and had 4 dogs from them. He then assured me my breeder was very good. He told me that @ 3 yrs old my breeders dog was out performing his older dogs. He also told me the health testing, title certificates and everything would be included in the puppy packet (which it was). If you really want a puppy from this breeder ask him for some names and numbers of people who have bought puppies before and see what they have to say. By the way...$1000 is WAY to low for a quality mastiff.

 

[bubbagum]

I was asking if anyone knew about her. If she really has been breeding and producing eight or more litters a year for 30 years I would guess someone has heard of her. The pedigrees of her dogs are better than many I have seen sold for a couple thousand more. In many breeds there are breeders who produce quality dogs and manage to whelp many litters a year. Prices charged for mastiffs seem to vary a lot depending on location and many other factors. I see a lot of $3000 dogs with no show titles or even decent pedigrees. I see other breeders who are the foundation of most programs who charge less money. If you have a few litters a year I don't see why dogs need to be sold for such high prices. I have owned a lot of top level working dogs and am not sure why Mastiff breeders feel the need for such high prices. They are not rare, good breeders are not rare or hard to find, and they don't have abnormally small litters.

I don't see why a lower price makes a bad dog; a high price does not assure a good dog.

If anyone has heard of her please let me know.

 

[alwcm4]

I recognize some dogs in her studs pedigrees. I know a few people who can give me the down low, I'll let you know what they say.

 

[cookiedough39]

A breeder that will sale a mastiff for $1000 will sale it to anybody. No checks, no questions, they just want to sale their dog. This is why our breed is in trouble. When I asked my breeder what he bases his prices on he said "I feel a lot more comfortable with somebody who is willing to spend a little more on a dog because 9 time out of 10 more thought and preparation went into getting it." Just my thoughts

 

[bubbagum]

That might be the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I sell my dogs for a lot so I get better buyers. Instead of actually talking to perspective buyers you jack the prices up. This is an issue I see with Mastiff breeders. They feel that Mastiffs need to be owned by people with a lot of money. We live in Rural Nevada. I have trained and worked dogs for Schutzhund. My wife was raised in a family that bred dogs. We have acres of land for the dogs to have fun on. We have a great relationship with our vet. We are ideal dog owners... but I don't feel I would treat a $4000 dog better than a $1000 dog. I see the person asking $2600 for a pet quality dog as being the greedy breeder; I don't understand how when someones dogs are less expensive they are, "in it for the money" and not responsible.

This breeder might end up being a bad breeder but the low price of her dogs alone does not make her bad.

 

[bubbagum]

And anyone can lie on a puppy application. Charging an extra $1000 does not weed out lairs. I know a lot of people who spent a ton on dogs that are horrible pet owners. I know lots of people without much money who treat their animals great.

 

[mx5055]

That might be the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I sell my dogs for a lot so I get better buyers. Instead of actually talking to perspective buyers you jack the prices up. This is an issue I see with Mastiff breeders. They feel that Mastiffs need to be owned by people with a lot of money. We live in Rural Nevada. I have trained and worked dogs for Schutzhund. My wife was raised in a family that bred dogs. We have acres of land for the dogs to have fun on. We have a great relationship with our vet. We are ideal dog owners... but I don't feel I would treat a $4000 dog better than a $1000 dog. I see the person asking $2600 for a pet quality dog as being the greedy breeder; I don't understand how when someones dogs are less expensive they are, "in it for the money" and not responsible.

This breeder might end up being a bad breeder but the low price of her dogs alone does not make her bad.[/QUOTE"Stupid" is an inflammatory word. You seem to have some very negative feelings regarding Mastiff breeders...that I don't happen to agree with you on. Why come here asking for opinions if you are so hostile to what is offered up? I did not know the breeder you were talking about personally, so I went to look at her website...There is not one mention of any testing done...that alone would send me on my search in a different direction to look for as healthy a pup as I could find; Testing for Mastiffs:

Hips/Elbows - either certified by OFA or PENNHIP
Eyes - CERF exam by an opthomologist, DNA test for Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)
Heart - Cardiac examination
Cystinuria - DNA test
The above tests would be considered the minimum acceptable. However there are several other conditions it is recommended to test for:
Thyroid - certified with OFA
Eyes - DNA test for Canine Multifocal retinopathy (CMR)
Patellas - certified with OFA
Degenerative Myelopathy - DNA test

I also suggested that a reputable breeder would not take credit card payment online without first checking out a prospective home for their pup.

You seem to have a real issue with the price that breeders ask for for Mastiffs....Mastiffs are not cheap dogs. They are expensive to own and very expensive to breed, and reputable breeders only breed to better the breed...not to put down 8 litters a year and sell quantity over quality. I could go on and on, but I don't think you want to hear it. I wish you good luck in your search for your Mastiff

 

[cookiedough39]

Bub...I'm hoping that you were not referring to me....but if you were. I did not say he jacked up prices so only people with more money could get a dog. Here is the thing. I'm not rich. I saved up 2 years to get my CC. Thought and preparation. I already knew what food I was going to buy (not puppy chow either). I knew when I was finally able to get a CC I would have to have everything in order to maintain a great level of health. I know plenty of people with way more money than me and I would hate to see them with a dog because they treat their belongings like trash because they can just go get another 1. My point is...I would much rather have a breeder charge me a little more and ask me a million questions than getting a dog of craigslist for a great price. And calling any comment made by somebody stupid is just ignorant.

 

[bubbagum]

Why is the word stupid so much worse than the word ignorant?

I asked a simple question to start this discussion. Had anyone heard of this breeder or bought a dog from her. I did not ask if her dogs were cheaper than other breeders.

I have spoken to just about every Em Mastiff breeder in the US over the past couple years. I had never seen her site and thought her dogs looked nice. The stud she was using was beautiful and the Dam looked nice too. I looked through pedigrees and it looks like a solid breeding. I was asking because the prices obviously seem too cheap but the breeding looks nice.

St. Patricks has nice dogs, to me Cactus Jake is one of the best studs out there today and they don't do much genetic testing. More and more breeders are ding extensive genetic testing but it is not universal at this point.

I was asking if anyone had heard rumors or knew anyone who bought a dog from this breeder? I know the price is low.

 

[cookiedough39]

Basically the same word, mine just sounds better. Done with this thread! Good Luck

 

[mx5055]

I have heard "rumors" that this breeder doesn't test her dogs...Anyone that knows the heartache of buying a pup from a breeder who doesn't test because "they know their lines" (the common excuse breeders use for not testing) and forks over the money for a what they think is a "healthy" pup that they get to spend years with and have it as an integral part of their family....that ends up with say...Cystinuria...which will cost them probably thousands of dollars to treat..surgeries,agonize over watching their dog suffer unspeakable pain, make their dog unbreedable (if that was maybe in the plan)...or, they can opt out and just put their dog to sleep..when a simple DNA test would have indicated if that pup should have ever even have been conceived....hmmm...is that "rumor" enough for you?