a.    I want to start with a puppy.  What should I look for in the puppy?
 

Conformation:

In terms of breeding potential, starting off with a puppy is always much riskier than starting off with an adult.  This is because it is very, very difficult to predict how the puppy will turn out as an adult conformationally.

After about 8 weeks of age, a puppy starts to grow unevenly his/her bones, which can throw off angles, lengths, and proportions.   The rear leg angulation is especially difficult to predict.   Before 8 weeks of age,  the puppy is a blob and too soft to determine these things.

A person can try to increase their chances of getting a good potential breeding puppy by examining the puppy's family.  Ideally, one should try to see how pups from a previous breeding had turned out, but if there are none available, examination of the parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and any half-siblings will do.   I tend to believe that any dogs beyond the grandparent's generation will not have that great of an effect unless there is in-breeding or very selective breeding involved in the lineage.

Recognize that when you are buying a puppy, you are in essense paying for only bloodlines rather than any guarantee of good quality so it behooves you to research those bloodlines as much as possible.
 

Notes from Chindo County:
 
 

 

b. I'm willing to start with an adult.  What should I look for in the adult?
 

Conformation:

With the adult, conformation should be evaluated carefully.  The dog should be examined while standing and also while moving.  Although a dog could look well-put together, testing a dog through movement will reveal any structural weaknesses under his/her fur.

One thing to keep in mind when evaluating conformation is to ask, how well will the dog fit in your breeding plans?   What type of dog do you admire and want to produce?    The closer the adult is to the model in your mind, the easier it will be to produce what you want.

Examining the conformation of family members is still important.  Although it's not used to determine to how good the adult dog is, it does give information about the type of puppies he or she will produce.  A family background of very dissimilar dogs will give less predictability in what the adult will produce.  I probably wouldn't use such a dog as a foundation dog.
 

Temperament:

Although temperament can be determined by how the dog was raised, there is also a genetic component for temperament.    A dog that acts shy might produce puppies with weak nerves.  A dog that acts overly aggressive might produce equally aggressive puppies which would be too much to handle for most dog owners.   Ideally, one should select an adult that displays sound temperament to reduce the chances of producing an unstable dog.

It would be a good idea to visit some relatives of the dogs for this trait as well.  Sometimes some undesirable temperaments skip a generation or is sex-linked.
 
 

c.  Importing a dog from Korea
 

Once you have made an agreement with a breeder or seller, importing a dog from Korea is not as difficult as it may seem.

Transport (including health certificates, travel, and crate) usually range between $600-$800 dollars.

Dogs have been imported directly to the West Coast and East Coast of the US.
(Hawaii requires a 6 month quarantine.)

Puppies are required by US law to be at least 8 weeks of age before airline transport.