Buy a Purebred Puppy

Buying a purebred puppy is a long-term commitment and involves an important decision making process. Choosing your perfect purebred companion requires a time, effort, and research. Consider which breed will best suit your lifestyle. Get to know that breed’s temperament and qualities so you can know what to expect. When you’ve chosen your ideal breed, take the time to find a responsible breeder who raises their dogs in healthy, high-quality conditions. When you’ve chosen your puppy, be sure to prepare your home for your new pet and begin familiarizing it with your home and rules.

Steps

Choosing the Right Breed

  1. Find a breed that is compatible with your lifestyle. Consider why you want a purebred dog: are you looking for a show dog? A protection animal? A family pet? Keep in mind how much room your dog will have, how much exercise you plan on providing daily, and basic grooming needs.[1]
    • Think about how much a particular breed might drool or shed, and how these might factor into your decision. If you're not into drool, avoid breeds like Bulldogs or St. Bernards.
    • Learn how a typical dog of your chosen breed behaves and whether that is a fit for your lifestyle and family. For instance, if you have kids, make sure your prospective breed is good with children, like Labrador Retrievers or Boxers.
    • If you want a lapdog, think about breeds like Yorkshire Terriers, Chihuahuas, or King Charles Spaniels.
  2. Look at a breed guidebook. Check out a bookstore for guidebooks that list breed characteristics and temperaments. For detailed information about American Kennel Club (AKC) registered breeds, search their website: https://www.akc.org. AKC breeds are types of dogs recognized in the United States.
  3. Get information from your prospective breed’s club. If you’re interested in a particular breed, join its breed club. Look on the AKC website to find a local breed club, or search online to find the parent club. Ask friends if they know of anyone with a dog of the breed you're interested in, and make arrangements to visit them, particularly if you have never seen that breed in person.[1]
  4. Consider fostering to see if a breed or size of dog suits you. Before settling on a particular breed, try Foster a Pet. Many shelters offer programs that allow you to take a dog home for a few weeks at a time. You don’t need to foster purebred dogs to get an idea for the kind of dog best suits your lifestyle.[2]
    • Fostering can give you a more concrete idea of the size and temperament that you can handle.
    • If you unsure about which kind of dog you’d like, varying the dogs you foster can help you narrow your selection.
    • Fostering can also give you an idea of how your family, including any children, can handle a dog.
    • Get in touch with a local animal shelter and ask them about available programs and more information about how you can started.

Finding a Responsible Breeder

  1. Consider adopting a dog from a breed rescue group. Rather than buying a dog from a breeder, think about contacting a nearby breed rescue group about adoption. Consider breed rescue groups especially if that particular breed suffers from pet overpopulation.[3]
    • Browse local animal shelters as well. A quarter of dogs in shelters are purebred, and you might luck out and find a puppy or juvenile dog that you’re interested in adopting.
  2. Look for a humane, responsible breeder. If you’re set on purchasing a puppy of a specific breed, be sure that you’ve done your homework. Make sure you find a responsible breeder who avoids inbreeding, maintains good kennel conditions, and fulfills and exceeds all applicable legal standards.[3]
    • Avoid buying a puppy at your local pet store as they are often bred by puppy mills for quick profit.
    • Make sure your breeder is genuinely interested in the welfare of their dogs. They will ask you plenty of questions about a puppy’s potential home and make recognizable efforts to make sure you’re a good fit.
    • Don’t do business with a breeder who is will to simply take money without asking you about your fitness as a dog owner.
  3. Visit the breeding facility. Pay a personal visit to the breeding facility in order to inspect facilities for cleanliness and quality of life. Don’t trust a breeder if they aren’t open and welcoming, or if they don’t allow you to see the entire facility.[4]
    • Avoid breeders that insist on meeting you at a location other than their facility. This indicates that they are hiding something or don’t want you to see unsatisfactory conditions.
    • If you have a specific puppy in mind, meet the stud dog and the brood bitch if possible. If you find the parents’ temperaments bothersome, then consider finding a different breeder.
  4. Ask the breeder for the puppy's health record. The breeder should volunteer their veterinarian's contact information, and should offer proof that the puppy has received a full vet exam. If they vaccinated the puppy themselves, ask for a record that shows the date of vaccination, its expiration date, manufacturer, and lot number.[5]
    • Breeders who can offer vaccination papers from a licensed vet are generally more reliable than breeders who offer treatments themselves.
    • Ask to see records showing that the puppy's parents were screened for genetic disorders, parasites, and other health concerns.
  5. Wait for a litter if you found a great breeder. If you have located a great breeder but there are no puppies currently available, give them your contact information and wait for the next litter. Consider making a non-binding sales agreement, but don’t obligate yourself to purchasing a puppy before you have seen, at the very least, its photograph.
    • Ask for a rough timeline from the breeder, and keep in touch to stay informed about new litters.

Bringing Your New Puppy Home

  1. Puppy-proof your home. Before bringing your new puppy home, make sure you put away all hazardous items, such as small objects, breakables, and potential poisons. Look for any objects that might harm your puppy or that your puppy might damage.[2]
    • Tuck away electrical cords and keep an eye on your new puppy around outlets and other electrical hazards.
    • Be sure to purchase a bed, toys, leash, food, and other necessities. Ask the breeder for any specific items that might be useful for that breed of dog.
    • Consult your breeder about whether you will feed your puppy dry or canned pet food, or a raw diet.
  2. Pick up your puppy when they’re around eight to nine weeks old. A good breeder will keep the puppy with its litter for the first couple months. This provides the puppy with much-needed early socialization, as it will be used to being around its littermates.
    • A puppy picked up too early can be fearful of other dogs and people.
    • The puppy also benefits from not being weaned off its mother's milk too early.
  3. Get a complete veterinary exam within 24 hours of picking up your puppy. Start heartworm and tick prevention right away. Make sure you have documentation of all required vaccinations. Keep in mind a reputable breeder will also provide a guarantee that you can return the puppy if your veterinarian discovers a serious health condition within the first few days of ownership.
  4. Begin training your puppy. Get your puppy on a feeding, sleeping, and bathroom schedule as soon as possible. Begin training with command words, like sit, stay, and come. Make training fun and low-stress, especially when you first welcome your new pet into your home.[6]
    • Consider taking it to puppy obedience classes. Ask your vet or breeder to suggest a facility.
    • Establish the same expectations for your puppy as you will have from an adult dog, and be consistent about your house rules from the start. For example, if you don’t want your dog to beg for food, don’t give it table scraps when it’s a puppy.
    • Make sure to take it outside to use the bathroom every two to three hours. Puppies haven’t yet developed control over their bathroom functions, so don’t get upset with it if it has an accident.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.akc.org/dog-owners/future-dog-owner/about-buying-a-dog/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/pets/sc-cons-0505-how-to-buy-a-puppy-20160419-story.html
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/tips/finding_responsible_dog_breeder.html
  4. ↑ https://www.rspca.org.au/sites/default/files/2016-07-SP%26DBG-Booklet-web.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/facts/puppy_mill_doublespeak.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
  6. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/purebred-dog-adoption-tips_n_1559609.html
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