But you didn’t repeat what I said. You repeated what you wanted to have been said. And I am frustrated when posters keep asking detailed questions over and over when I’ve said multiple times that I can’t answer because I haven’t spoken with the seller yet.
Until then any speculation about parents’ screenings, pup conformation or the irresponsibility of the breeder is moot.
They’re giving things to look for and questions to ask, though. Maybe write it all down so you don’t get swept up in the PUPPY!! feeling we all know happens. 
I’m in a very rural area myself and $400 is pretty low, especially considering this is not a very common breed. I also imagine the parents have not been screened for genetic issues such as heart, patella and eye issues (all of which are common in Pekingese). You may not buy a puppy for 2k, but you may pay well over that in vet expenses if buying a puppy from lineage with your inheritable issues. Just a thought.
That said, any dog can be a gamble. I’ve owned many train wrecks but didn’t love them any less (not saying this puppy is a train wreck). If you do get the puppy, please post pics. I bet it’s a really cute puppy.
@chestnutmarebeware if you get the puppy, please post pictures (maybe start another thread 
)
I’m not really a dog person, cats all the way. Dogs are too much work for me, especially since I’m renting and would have to do the walk the dog, pick up poop, etc. Plus I like bigger dogs and this place has a 35 pound limit
I will tell you about when I had my farm and someone dumped a puppy off. Too much running outside for bathroom training. She chewed the cord to my laptop in half.
I brought her to the local feedstore when they had shots day and everyone was saying oh she’s so cute, and I was replying, do you want her? Well, a young couple said yes. They had a grown dog, who was a tad overweight and brought him out to my farm to see if they’d get along. They did, I packed up the toys I’d bought her and off they all went. I’m guessing all went well because they didn’t bring her back.
We had a ‘local’ Peke when I was 11/12. I loved that dog. His back broke very young and we had to put him down, it broke my heart. My godmother had one from the same place and they spent thousands on that dog.
Personally, I would never buy another Peke. I won’t have a Dachshund either. I don’t like to buy things that I know are much more likely to break my heart soon, I can’t take it.
I hope that “responsible” breeders, as you call them, do NOT breed to the current breed standard of this particular “‘Brachycephalic’ breed”.
I wonder if the breed club recommends testing for breathing problems, which would be a huge red flag to me. Over in the UK there is some interest in changing the breed standard for dogs with smushed-up muzzles, e.g., Pekes and Pugs.
@chestnutmarebeware I wish you all the best in your puppy shopping. I have only known one Peke, and he was a very handsome household pet. Personally I hope he has a healthy nose and no breathing problems. I wouldn’t pay thousands for a puppy who did, regardless of who his sire and dam were and how many show champions were in his pedigree. I also hope that, if you get him, you will post pics of him, even if not in this particular thread. Good luck!
Ah, my mistake, I missed that this one wasn’t from the AKC breeder listings. I’m sorry.
I have repeatedly said that if you want this puppy, go for it. I wouldn’t personally be comfortable with that risk, especially in a breed so prone to heritable disease, but we all have different tolerances on that.
But go into it with eyes wide open on what you’re getting. Because no, a seven day return and a puppy vet check does NOT rule out the heritable developmental diseases like hip dysplasia, Legg-Calve-Perthes, or adult onset cardiac disease. Your previous posts really raise heady concerns that you think these don’t apply, and they do.
Additionally, to @Rackonteur’s point about the head shape in this breed, here’s some info for you about the eye disease that goes with that.
https://www.ufaw.org.uk/dogs/pekingese-brachycephalic-ocular-syndrome
Glaucoma (which is hereditary, btw) definitely isn’t the only “eye” risk. In addition to brachycephalic ocular syndrome, there’s also progressive retinal atrophy, and keratoconjunctivitis sicca. All reasons for eye screening of the sire and dam.
While a Peke is the one breed I will NEVER have (see below), and I am more likely to adopt (which isn’t free BTW) than buy from a breeder, I see no reason not to go to the next step and ask the breeder a bunch of questions. Just don’t get drawn in by puppy cuteness, and be prepared to back off if you encounter red flags.
They say we don’t remember things that happened before we are about 5, but I have several strong memories from before we left England, when I was 2 1/2. One of the strongest was when one of my grandmother’s Pekingese tried to bite me when I was passing something (I think it was a cigarette lighter) from my mother to my grandmother. I don’t think she actually broke the skin, but I was terrified.
Meena, my grandmother, was Freud-trained psychoanalyst, and a dog breeder. She showed first Samoyeds, and then Pekingese, at Crufts. I learned to walk by holding onto Wolf, a Samoyed which Meena had given to my parents for a wedding gift, but I never got over being attacked by that Peke.
About 10 years later, in the US, Meena lived about 60 miles away from us, in a small house with 20+ Pekingese. None were house trained or neutered, as that would “damage their psyches”. They also had many eye injuries. Meena had no sense of smell (my father attested to that from his childhood, when he was told to eat rancid butter because Meena thought it was perfectly good.) In the US she never cleaned up after the dogs. She just put down newspapers, and then covered up the feces with more newspaper, and so on, until it was a veritable Napoleon. My mother and I could stay in the house for a maximum of 5 minutes before we had to leave. My father and sister wouldn’t go in the house at all.
So I can’t see a Pekinese without a visceral memory of the fear of being bitten, and the smell of well aged dog feces.
I’m sorry you’re so opposed to my consideration of one of these puppies, but you’ve made your {many) points over and over.
Honestly, I’m not sure how buying one would be any different than adopting from my local shelter, which I’ve always done in the past. You get zero health information on the dog (and certainly the parents weren’t tested for hereditary diseases). A vet probably never looked at them if they weren’t sick or injured when they came in. You take the dog that you connect with, get a vet check done, and deal with any health issues going forward.
This also holds true for most, if not all, purebred dogs at breed rescues. They probably get a wellness check, but that’s all. Whether or not they came from “screened” parents id something adopters will never know.
And I’ll repeat again for those at the back of the room—I have not spoken with the breeder yet, and would do so before traveling two hours to see the puppies. There’s no chance of me ignoring red flags because of puppy cuteness because I just wouldn’t go see them.
Shelters don’t contribute to overpopulation. Backyard breeders do. It’s a chasm of a difference, and I’m surprised you said this.
All dog breeders (both purposeful breeders and negligent owners who don’t neuter their animals) contribute to overpopulation. There’s a reason that millions of dogs are euthanized every year. There aren’t enough homes for them all.
I’d be happy if there were rules that cut the number of breeders in the US by half, but that will never happen.
Even horse?
You can’t equate a reputable breeder to a backyard breeder for this context, because their contributions to the unwanted dog population are vastly different.
The same goes for horses.
You are the one to make the decision that is best for you. Sounds like you’re wise enough to ask the right questions.
A friend years ago had always wanted a Pomeranian. Someone had some at a horse auction, she paid $200. That dog lived 12-14 yrs and was healthy. At the same I bought a toy poodle from a fabulous show breeder. He was oversized, so he was $800. He lived to 14 and was very healthy, until my GSD went crazy and killed him.
My point. Both can work out. I prefer breeders that do health testing. I’d rather put my money out up front in hopes of less vet bills down the road. Also, I’ve always chosen based on temperament, more so now than ever
Ooops…meant for @chestnutmarebeware
Well, for me, yes. 
I paid a thousand for my APHA weanling because she didn’t have overo markings and the breeder didn’t have room for non-colored paints in her show barn.
My six other horses that I’ve had as an adult were free, except for shipping costs. But my ambitions ended at local shows so it’s not like I was shopping for something to show at Wellington! But every single one has been awesome!
I skipped reading all the comments, so apologize if I’m being repetitive. “Mom and Pop breeder” screams “backyard breeder” to me. I support that 0%. If you want a Pekingese, cool. But there’s a reason top breeders charge $2000, are rare, and have wait lists – it’s because they’re doing it right.
Hey, I’m totally on your side, but I would be happy with just a moritorium on pit bull breeding in the US. I own a delightful pit and have nothing against bully breeds. However, 99% of what I see in our NC shelters are pits and pit mixes. It’s so sad.
Are you being facetious, or are you serious? I can’t tell.
Indiscriminate breeding produces the mess the shelters are there to clean up.
While dogs produced responsibly do rarely wind up in a shelter situation, the overwhelmingly vast majority are dogs produced irresponsibly.
You can be part of the solution, by sourcing your pets from the shelter, or by supporting responsible breeders.
Or you can be part of the problem, by buying from irresponsible breeders.
Your choice.
I have several “snapshot” type memories from before I was 5. I think about 2 or 3 is the youngest. I have a friend who has memories from when she was 2.
I’m sorry you had that terror with the Peke. I loved your story about learning to walk with Wolf. You reminded me of watching my niece learning how to stand up with the help of the family Labrador.
Sorry, if they have a litter of puppies for sale, they are “professional breeders”. Which is not the same thing as being reputable. Check health testing on the breeding dogs and being told that their “vet says they are healthy” is not the same. Pekes have a fair amount of health issues. They can be tested for in the breeding pair.
Sheilah
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