How to ensure you get a fit and healthy puppy

Buying a puppy is an exciting time. 

It is also a critical time, and you should do plenty of research before buying a puppy, as well as making sure your lifestyle and home suits having a puppy. 

A puppy is not just for Christmas. It is for life, upwards of 15 years or so. 

So, you want to buy a puppy that is as fit, healthy, and as well-adjusted as possible. 

It would be best if you also considered the greater good. As with anything, your buying choices affect supply. If no one bought from Puppy Farms or Mills, there wouldn't be any because these places only breed for profit. If they weren't making any money, they wouldn't be doing it. 

Find a responsible breeder.

Pretty much the only way you can safely buy a puppy is from a responsible breeder. 

These are some ways in which you can identify a responsible breeder:

Licensed

Find a breeder with a license and are classed as assured breeders. For example, they are part of The Kennel Club Assured Breeders in the UK. Other countries, states, and Local Authorities will have their versions. 

For breeders to get licenses will mean they will have passed some form of test, will have had their property checked, and will have had to prove they have the welfare of the doggie parents and puppies at heart. They will also receive regular check-ups and visits. 

Buying from a licensed breeder is sensible but doesn't guarantee they have your and the puppy's best interests at heart, but it is a good start. 

Parents

A responsible breeder will ideally have both parents on site, helping look after the puppies for upwards of the first 12 weeks. 

Sometimes only the mother will be there for obvious reasons. 

Whichever parents are there, then you should be able to spend time with them. So, you can see if they look healthy, clean, well-fed, and look like they are part of the family and not just a money-making scheme. 

They should provide you will a full family history of the parents, showing their medical history and lineage.

Contract 

They should have contracts for both of you to sign, or they should be willing to sign a puppy contract that you provide. 

A puppy contract sets welfare parameters, details what is expected of the breeder and you as the new owner. 

It will contain things like, when is payment expected, do you have a certain number of days to return it, what happens if there is an underlying health issue that was not known or disclosed. If they have no interest in the dog's welfare once it leaves, then that would also be a red flag to me. 

Rescue Shelter

An option that is just as good as getting a dog from a breeder is to get a dog from a rescue center. 

This ensures that the dog has had medical checks done and will have been spayed if it is old enough. If it is too young to be spayed, they will usually pay for the spaying when the time is right. 

Adopting an older rescue dog might better suit your circumstances, especially if everyone in the household is at work or school. A housetrained older dog may be a better option than a new puppy. 

On top of this, you are giving a dog a second chance, who has ended up in a shelter through no fault of its own. 

Even if you will only consider a puppy, then rescue shelters still get puppies and look to rehome them. So, you can wait until a rescue center receives a batch of puppies, and you can go and check them out. 

Where not to buy puppies from

Puppy farms

Also known as puppy mills or factories. The term puppy factory is the one I think is the best description. They want to produce as many puppies as possible, for as cheap as possible and sell them for as much profit as possible. 

Do not buy from these places. 

Pet shops

Depending on the pet shop will depend on what their principles are and what their motivation is. 

Buying from a Pet shop might not sound as bad as from a puppy farm, but there is a good chance that the puppy has come from. 

There is a reasonable chance that the Pet Shop is more interested in profit than the puppies' welfare. 

I would recommend not buying from Pet shops. 

There are many potential concerns and issues about sourcing the right puppy for you, but if you do get it right… then you will have added a bundle of joy into your lives.

Congratulations… and have fun.