Hey Woofa’s,

I’ve had a few people talk to me lately about buying a puppy!!

I come from a Dog Show/Registered Dog (Show) Breeder Background!

What so called breeders are getting away with today disgusts me.

I have customers telling me they have spent $5,000 or more on their puppy (each to their own)!!

When I ask did you get papers with your puppy?  They say yes thinking I’m talking about vaccination papers or microchipping papers but that’s not it at all.

I’m talking, for that amount of money, you want papers that trace that dog’s lineage back at least 3-5 generations.

When my dad (and two of his mates) were registered breeders this is what was required.  You also had to be registered with the Canine Council, who kept an eye on your puppy registrations etc.

As a proper registered (show) breeder there are guidelines in place that need to be adhered to which keeps everyone honest and looks out for the dogs.

These days not only are we dealing with puppy mills we’ve now got backyard breeders who breed dogs because their cute, or they’ll make money etc.

They’re not looking into the genetics of the breed of dogs, they’re crossing breeds that shouldn’t be mixed and it’s terrible.

Because people are willing to spend that kind of money with no questions asked, these a-holes get away with it.

I want to equip people with some knowledge BEFORE they buy that puppy.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUYING A PUPPY?

 Is the breed or x-breed of puppy the right one for you and/or your family?

Many people fall into the ‘oh how cute, I want this one‘, before they even look at the breed (or x-breed) of dog this puppy will grow into.

They see a dog in a movie and want to go buy that breed of dog, or they see puppies in the pet store window and they just want that one!!

Biggest mistake a lot of parents make, is buying a puppy FOR THE KIDS!

The kids beg and beg and promise that they’ll do everything for this puppy!!!  Hmmmm until they don’t want to anymore!

From what I’ve heard, most kids don’t want the chores that come with a puppy!  They do the fun stuff and guess who does the rest??

Do yourself and this puppy a favour and google the breed (or all the breeds) in that dog before you hand over any money.

Some Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying A Puppy?

1. What kind of adult dog will this puppy grow into?
2. How much exercise will this puppy need and am I willing to do this for the rest of its life?
3. Do I have time for this puppy, for the rest of its life?
4. Who is going to do all the work required to look after this puppy, for the rest of its life?
5. What kind of grooming will this puppy need for the rest of its life?
6. Do we have a big enough yard/apartment, for the rest of its life?
7. Is this puppy going to be an inside dog or outside dog or both, for the rest of its life?
8. Am I willing to spend the money this puppy requires, for the rest of its life?
9. Who will look after the puppy while we’re on holidays, for the rest of its life?

You get the gist, this decision shouldn’t be made on a whim!

WHERE DO I BUY A PUPPY FROM?

Ideally I want to deter anyone going to a backyard breeder, puppy mill and a pet shop, to find their puppy.

I want to scream, go to your local Dog Rescue, a Registered Breeder or Pound and find your ideal dog there.

But people are going to be people, and they want what they want : (

A proper Registered/Show Breeder – 

• have the dogs best interest at heart;
• should be able to prove they are registered with the correct authority and produce litter papers for each pup;
• will allow you to see the puppies before purchasing them;
• will allow you to view the parents of that puppy, so you can see the temperament of them;
• should allow you to see where the puppies are being held and looked after;
• will charge a reasonable price;
• should make sure the puppies are sold at the right age (not to be taken away from their mother too early);
• will make sure the puppies have their first/second vaccinations and are microchipped;
• should take your details so the microchipping can be transferred into your name;
• will give you papers to prove this;
• should give you a care package on how best to look after your puppy etc.

A Backyard Breeder – SHOULD do most of that, however, most don’t!

A Pet Shop – should be able to tell you where the litter came from.  However I’d do my research on that shop to make sure they’re telling the truth.

Puppy Mills – they don’t give a rats about their dogs, they are breeding machines and will breed until they drop.  If they can no longer breed they generally get killed or dumped.

Pounds – there are too many dogs killed each and every day because stupid humans have pretty much thrown them away. So many of the dogs held here are screaming for loving homes.

Most pounds do temperament testing so it’s easier to find a dog that best suits your family.

Dog Rescues – are the heart and soul of rehoming.   These dogs don’t get put down because they’re over run!

The genuine people who run most dog rescues care for all the dogs.

It’s in their best interest to find the right home for their dogs.

They’ll ask you the hard questions and even do a home visit to make sure your home will suit the dog.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PURE BREED, X-BREED AND DESIGNER BREED!

This is another topic some are getting a little confused about these days.

Just so you know, originally all dogs, 40 something thousands of years ago, came from the wolf!

PURE BREED!

Coming from a dog show ring background, where every dog HAD to be pure breed to even be entered into the show!

This is a no brainer for me.

A pure breed dog is a breed of dog that has been around for many many many years and then some.  You can trace that breed of dog way back.

With show dogs you also need to prove what lineage that dog came from.  Which is why and how we could produce papers proving so.

Pure breed dogs only have one breed in them and generally show some traits common of that breed.

I.e – Border Collies, Kelpies, Cattle Dogs etc are mostly known as working dogs on farms.

You can google any pure breed of dog and their general traits will come up.

X-BREED!

Cross breed dogs are generally two pure breed dogs mixed together.

I.e – Maltese Terrier breed crossed with a Poodle breed, a Boxer breed crossed with a Staffy breed etc.

I’d like to say it’s only one breed of dog crossed with another, but these days you can have sooooo many different x-breeds it’s not funny.

So much so that some people don’t know all the breeds in their dog!!  Which doesn’t matter as long as the dog is loved and cared for.

Some people even go so far as getting DNA testing done!!!

Some cross breed different dogs to ween out a negative generic trait from one breed, but generally this can cause more harm than good.

It gets messy!

DESIGNER BREEDS!

Some people may want to crucify me when I say this but these days I call anything crossed with a poodle, a designer breed!!!  There I said it!!!

I.e – Moodles, Cavoodles, Spoodles, Labradoodles, Shoodles etc

It feels like you name it and they’ll cross it with a poodle.  WHY? Because poodles don’t shed hair!!!  And it’s become TRENDY!

How the ‘oodle’ breed started, was a guy came across a boy who needed a guide dog, but he couldn’t have one because he was allergic to the hair dander.

So this  guy decided to cross the Labrador (well known guide dog breed) and a Poodle and hence this is where the Labradoodle came about.

However, its since been heard that this guy regrets doing that now because of all the cross breeding that’s going on.

Theses dogs are purely designer breeds, they’re always crossed with a poodle and something else (and sometimes even something else again)!

My friend has what I call a Cavmoodle – Cavalier King Charles x Maltese Terrier x Poodle!!!!

What many don’t realise is the amount of GROOMING these ‘oodle’ dogs require!

They don’t shed, but the hair has to go somewhere so if it’s not brushed regularly it matts up so easy and usually needs to be shaved off short.

People don’t realise the amount of work that goes into just grooming these dogs, most are anxious as well which is a general poodle trait.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

BEFORE buying a puppy, really do the research on the breed of dog you’re looking for!  Ask yourself, Do I have time in my life for all that comes with raising a puppy into a full grown dog, for the rest of it’s life!!

Be AWARE of the kind of people/place you are buying your puppy from.

Research all the breeds in your puppy so you know what to expect from it as an adult.

IN THE COMMENT BELOW – BILLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW – WHERE YOU BOUGHT YOUR PUPPY FROM?