How to Sell Border Collie Puppies in the United States

What rules apply when you sell Border Collie puppies in the US?

Federal rules apply only to larger sellers. A USDA license is generally needed if you keep more than four breeding females and sell puppies sight unseen, for example online with shipping; small breeders who sell face to face are usually exempt. States and cities add their own rules: Los Angeles, for example, requires a breeding permit, and many states, such as Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, bar selling puppies under eight weeks.

About 22 states have puppy lemon laws, and some apply to breeders as well as stores. California's law, for example, covers breeders who sold three or more litters or 20 or more dogs in the past year: they must offer a remedy when a vet certifies an illness within 15 days or a hereditary condition within a year. Check your city, county and state attorney general's office before you advertise.

Which tests should both parents have before you breed and sell Border Collie puppies?

The BCSA's DNA list includes collie eye anomaly, trapped neutrophil syndrome, neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, Imerslund-Gräsbeck syndrome, MDR1, primary lens luxation, sensory neuropathy, degenerative myelopathy, Raine syndrome and myotonia congenita. Its advice is to breed a carrier only to a dog that tested clear, and to call puppies clear by parentage only when you can show buyers both parents' DNA results.

The BCSA warns that the glaucoma and early-onset adult deafness tests use linked markers not proven to cause those diseases on their own. Epilepsy and Border Collie collapse have no test at all, so tell buyers honestly about seizures or collapse in the family. Identify each parent by microchip and record results with OFA so buyers can check them.

Which Border Collie colors carry health risks?

The breed comes in almost every color, and the BCSA accepts them all, but three need care when you plan a litter:

• Merle. Only a merle parent can produce a merle puppy. The BCSA does not recommend breeding merle to merle, because the offspring can have a significant risk of health problems; puppies with two merle genes are prone to deafness and eye defects.
• Extreme white. The BCSA notes research linking deafness to the genes for piebald spotting and extreme whiteness, so BAER-test mostly white puppies.
• Dilute (blue and lilac). The BCSA says the d/d dilution genotype is associated with skin problems such as color dilution alopecia, which causes hair loss, often on the ears.

Should you register Border Collie puppies with the ABCA or the AKC?

Register the litter with the registry the parents belong to, and never promise papers you cannot deliver. The ABCA records working bloodlines; litter applications may be submitted only by the breeder, meaning the owner of the dam at whelping, who must be an ABCA member. It refuses AKC registration as a basis for its own and will not register the offspring of a dog named a conformation champion after January 1, 2004. AKC-registered parents can produce AKC litters, and buyers who want to show or compete in AKC events will ask for them. Give buyers both parents' registered names either way.

What is a fair price for Border Collie puppies for sale?

PetMD puts puppies from a reputable breeder at typically $750 to $3,000, and notes that some red or blue merle puppies sell for over $4,000. Base your price on the parents' tests, temperament and work or sport record, and the care the litter received. Charging extra for color rewards the pairings the BCSA warns against. Look at current Border Collie puppies for sale in your region before you set a figure, and put deposit and refund terms in writing.

How do you write a Border Collie puppy ad and screen buyers?

A clear ad brings fewer but better inquiries. Include:

• Date of birth, the date the puppies can go home, sexes, colors and coat type (rough or smooth).
• Both parents' registered names, registry and health results, and what they do: stock work, sport or family life.
• Vaccines, deworming, microchip and what the contract covers.
• The home you want: daily exercise, training and someone home for much of the day.

Post your Border Collie litter with recent photos and keep your phone number out of the ad text. Then ask every inquirer:

1. What will the dog do every day, and who will train it?
2. How many hours will it be alone, and where will it stay?
3. Do you have young children, cats or livestock, and how will you handle herding and chasing?
4. Have you owned a herding breed before?
5. Will you keep the dog intact, and why?
6. May I call your vet and visit your home?

How do you get paid and hand over each Border Collie puppy safely?

1. Let puppies go no earlier than your state's minimum age, which is eight weeks in many states.
2. Take the balance in person at handover; refuse checks for more than the price, which the FTC describes as a fake-check scam.
3. Sign a contract covering health guarantee, a return clause at any age and spay or neuter terms; the BCSA recommends waiting until at least 12 months.
4. Hand over the vaccination record, both parents' test results, registration papers and a receipt.
5. Transfer the microchip to the new owner.

Some buyers later need help; point them to rehoming a Border Collie responsibly or listing a Border Collie for adoption so the dog comes back through you. To see what buyers are told, read how to buy a Border Collie puppy.