A Good Breeder Cares About The Puppies' Future

All ready to whip out your checkbook? Not so fast, because a good breeder will interrogate you before she entrusts you with one of her pups. She’ll want a reference from your vet, for instance. Where will you keep your dog? What will daily life be like? Expect to sign a contract agreeing to spay/neuter your puppy, if the breeder hasn’t already had this procedure done, and promising to return the puppy if at any time in his or her life it becomes impossible for you to keep him.

Tip: A good breeder will not only take back her own dogs at any time, she will participate in rescue work for dogs of her breed.

Where You Will NOT Find Puppies From A Good Breeder
A pet store. A newspaper ad. Available for transcontinental shipping through a website. Being delivered to you in a parking lot “halfway between our house and yours.”

Never! Nohow! No way! No matter what the store salesperson tells you. No matter if there’s a sign in the window saying all the puppies (and kittens!) for sale come from “breeders, not puppy mills.” No matter how sophisticated the website is. Not even if it links to this or another article about how to evaluate breeders.

Ask yourself: If I had a dog or puppy I cared about, is this how I’d find her a new home? If the answer is no, then keep on looking. Don’t let yourself be tempted by the sad situation of that puppy in the pet shop. The puppy’s parents are living out their lives in worse conditions, and if you buy from the pet shop you keep that ugly business going. (For details on on the horrors of puppy mills click here.)  Walk away!