I found this on the web and I feel it is a very good description of the breed. quote: "But it is the dog’s character that owner's talk about when they discuss their dogs. In this context, it has to be said that no breed is gentler or more kind with children and other baby animals. The breed is also known is “Heart Dog,” and no breed is either greater of heart, or better at “reading” the hearts of others." unquote. With that being said; it is important to research breeders. Issues can surface with any line that is highly inbred for one purpose or another.

FINALLY, I AM NOT TRYING TO MAKE PUPPY SALES WITH THE INFORMATION ON THIS SITE. I AM NOT A BIG TIME BREEDER; NOR A THREAT TO ANY OTHER BREEDER. I AM NOT BREEDING FOR MONEY, OR THE SHOW RING. I AM NOT ABOUT "CONVINCING" YOU TO BUY A PUPPY FROM ME. PEOPLE WANTED ME TO BREED AND I DIDN'T. I JUST HOPE TO SAVE SOMEBODY ALL THE GRIEF AND HEARTACHE I EXPERIENCED WITH AKC SHOW BREEDERS AND TO BE CAREFUL OF THOSE NOW MIGRATING TO UKC TO BOOST THEIR PUPPY SALES. BUY WHAT YOU LIKE BUT BE CAREFUL. EVERYBODY WILL BE VERY NICE TO YOU. DO YOUR RESEARCH.

IT HAS BEEN WRITTEN THAT SOME OF THE MOST UNPLEASANT HUMANS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH HAVE BEEN DRAWN TO THE BREED TO PROTECT THEIR OWN AGGRESSIVE AND HOSTILE REPUTATIONS AND PROJECT THEM ONTO THEIR EXOTIC CHANGES. THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY TRUE AND SAD ASSESSMENT WITH THE TIBETAN MASTIFF. THESE ARE GOOD WORDS TO HEED; ESPECIALLY WITH LARGE AKC "corporate puppy mills". This brings to mind my former co-owner and his partner breeder; someone I have come to describe as an egotistical AKC judge/breeder. I did not realize I was being used because I made the mistake of thinking that AKC meant you were getting a good dog. Are you getting a good dog with the AKC breeder of merit? Based on my personal experiences; I truly believe AKC is nothing more than a big scam, a waste of time and money. I believe it is no different than Washington because I have seen how AKC backs it's large corporate breeders who use AKC promoted handlers, provide numerous registrations, and always seem to win; no matter what the health or structure of the dog is. I have also seen them go after breeders who "buck" the system. I think it is best to stay clear of AKC unless you have time and money to burn.

HOW TO IDENTIFY A GOOD TIBETAN MASTIFF BREEDER?

Because dealings with show people in general; I highly recommend staying away from any breeder who promotes their dogs as "champions". You have eyes and I believe most people will go with what their personal tastes are. I know that I will never deal with any of the breeders near me because of my personal experiences. Many of the AKC show breeders and "elitist" have migrated over to the UKC since many good people are leaving AKC because they are sick of the politics. It's all about marketing and money to them. It is my hope that these folks don't "contaminate" theUKC. Just remember, anybody that breeds more than one breed, is high volume, and pushes showing and membership in clubs are probably somebody you want to stay away from. An elitist is somebody who "thinks" they are better than everybody else and that their dogs are the only good ones. Use your eyes, judgment, and "follow your heart" when choosing a breeder.

I occasionally get erroneous emails from certain types of people. I wonder why do they care what other people are doing? Show and AKC people seem to be abnormally obsessed with what other people are doing in my opinion and that makes them scary to me. Unless you have a personal interest in what somebody else is doing; it makes not sense to me. But I go back to what I read about the "most unpleasant humans on the face of the earth being drawn to the breed" and find it to be an accurate description. I hae met all kinds of "strange" breeders. Some have told me they are on government assistance. These are the worst in my opinion. I have learned not to believe anything they say becaue I have found them in so many lies. I think that if you are breeding dogs on the "sly" while on assistance; you must be lying about something? Regardless, they must have too much time on their hands. I don't know. It justs doesn't sit right with me. Some people even lie about service dog training. Believe it or not? I feel this is particularly disingenuous because it could ruin it for people who truly need service dogs. I have also dealt with angry and mean breeders. So the quote about the most unpleasant people fits very well.

Here are a few guidelines when looking at breeders.

Stay away from breeders who are constantly bragging about "championships". Breeding for the show ring can lead to all kinds of fraud, corruption, and unethical behaviors such as inbreeding, false pedigrees, and unhealthily / unstable dogs. These things are done because there is so much money riding on show dogs that include show, handling, and other fees. Small "hobby breeders" usually are not concentrating on winning in the ring; therefore it only makes sense that they are more focused on health, temperament, and stability. They are generally more concerned with the dogs rather than being part of "elite" groups and do not incur all the overhead of the show ring. Championships can be bought. Be wary of "elite" breeder sites that endorse showing and memberships in clubs. People like this usually feel they are better than everybody else. It is not a becoming trait and usually winds up in competition for sales and notoriety. Clubs and showing is no different than any other political organization. It is almost always corrupt and beneficial to those in charge. Do you really want to deal with somebody that admits they are an "elitist" and better than others?

Avoid breeders who breed multiple breeds.

Avoid contracts where you owe puppies back in the future or require showing. 

Check to see if person in possession of the parents are listed as the owner. If not, request to speak with the owner of the stud or breeding bitch to be sure the breeding was done on good terms.

Avoid highly inbred lines. This is called C.O.I. (co-incidence of inbreeding) Just search the subject and you can find many articles of explanation.

Avoid certain dogs in pedigrees. Certain dogs in some lines can be more aggressive.

Small "hobby" breeders are the most ethical based on my experiences. They don't breed for a living.

Ask to see the results of hip, elbow and thyroid testing on the parents of the litter.

Do they keep their dogs or re-home them after they are done breeding them?

These type of kennels in most experienced Tibetan Mastiff owners opinions, contain a Tibetan Mastiff. Some show breeders will blame others for letting their dogs out because they are "jealous?" of them. When you have Tibetan Mastiffs in 4 x 12 x 5 foot high kennels they will most likely escape on their own. Most knowledgable breeders know this. If a Tibetan Mastiff does not feel like part of the family and left outside at all times, they will escape. If they have not been properly socialized and left in these small kennels day in and day out, they can become aggressive.

I highly recommend going to the breeder's home to see how the dogs live. If they live their lives outside and are not incorporated into the breeder's daily lives IN THE HOUSE, I personally would not buy a puppy from them. This is my opinion based on my experiences.

Some say they will never allow their dogs to go to shelters; period. Ask them if any dogs have been returned to them. If so, ask to speak to both the new and old owners. It's important to find out what happens to these dogs. A lot of people say a lot of things, but what they say and what they do many times are different.

How long have they owned Tibetan Mastiffs? Having just two is not the same as having multiple males and females. You really haven't' experienced everything about the Tibetan Mastiff until you have had more than one of each sex during a breeding season.

I am not in the "business" of breeding dogs and hope that these suggestions might be able to save somebody else what we went through. Prior to owning our first Tibetan Mastiff we only had rescue dogs. We never had an AKC registered dog. I am sorry to say that I feel the AKC is not an ethical organization at all and will never be able to support them until they can guarantee me as an owner and dog lover; they will police their registry. I don't want my dogs being put at risk to be stolen. The AKC has not proven to me that they care about the dogs. They have also demonstrated to me that they do determine ownership, contrary to what they say. This should be of great concern to anybody with an AKC registered dog. Your rights as an owner seem to be debatable with the AKC.

A BREEDER NEAR ME HAS PARTICIPATED IN ONLINE SLANDER ALONG WITH THEIR FRIENDS WHOM I HAVE NEVER MET. THEY LIED TO THE AKC TO GET A LONG TIME BREEDER SUSPENDED AND FINED. I HAVE EVIDENCE TO PROVE THIS. THEY HAVE LIED ABOUT SERVICE DOG TRAINING AND PEOPLE IN GENERAL. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THEM OR THEIR DOGS. THEY HAVE TOLD SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT A FAMILY MEMBER WANTED TO "PUT THEIR DOGS TO SLEEP" BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT "SHOW QUALITY". I HAVE THE EXHIBITS TO SHOW THIS. THE DOGS DIED A FAIRLY YOUNG AGES. WHY? DON'T KNOW? PEOPLE LIKE THIS HAVE TAINTED MY OPINION OF THE AKC AND IT'S SUPPORTERS. I HAVE SEEN TOO MUCH CORRUPTION BEING TOLERATED BY THESE TYPE OF BREEDERS. WHEN THE AKC LISTENS TO IT'S NON CORPORATE, SMALL VOLUME, BREEDERS, I MIGHT CONSIDER BEING A PART OF THEIR ORGANIZATION, BUT UNTIL SUCH TIME, I WILL NOT. DON'T BELIEVE IT? CUT AND PASTE THIS LINK TO SEE HOW THE AKC AND IT'S SUPPORTERS "DEFAME" THOSE WHO GET IN THE WAY OF THE "MONEY TRAIL" . http://asgw2016.com/background/akc-corruption/

This is very similar to what they did to Kesang Camp Tibetan Mastiffs based on lies told by a breeder who is near me and their friends.

It's never good when people have to breed to make a mortgage payment. That is usually how unethical behavior starts. It usually becomes all about the money and not about the dogs. Our first dealing with a big name breeder nearby was a disaster. This breeder along with his long time breeder | AKC judge associate; took advantage of our kind hearts and ignorance about AKC and it's false appearance of quality or integrity. Breeder of merit is just a money scam. Our contract was breached. Our next experience with a big "corporate AKC puppy mill" was another bad learning experience. We went to pick up our puppy in Wisconsin from a breeder who breeds two types of dogs. We did not get to choose our puppy and all three litters of Tibetan Mastiffs were in a small laundry room. The breeder brought a puppy out and handed it to us. We have since come to learn that Tibetan Mastiffs need a great deal of socialization from the time they are born. How does one devote enough time and attention to three litters of one breed and who knows how many of the other? We don't feel this is possible. These are breeders who are just breeding for the money and a name for themselves. Over the next couple of years we would be given the impression that this breeder was a nice person but this also turned out to be a disaster. Two dogs that this breeder got from us eventually died before the ages of five; one that was bred twice in it's short life of three and one half years. I do not know why they died but it would be considered a young age of death for a Tibetan Mastiff. AKC is not policing these breeders and based on our experiences; it targets breeders who are supporting the AKC with registrations and show fees.