Puppy buying advice

Responsible breeders will spend time chatting to you on the phone and will arrange a time for you to visit to meet their puppies, along with their mum and siblings, in the place where they were born and raised. They will also

• be happy to show you their local authority licence if they are breeding and selling pets as a business.
• be happy to have more than one meeting to ensure you and the puppy are compatible.
• be happy to answer all your questions and ask you just as many to make sure their puppies are going to a good home.

Not mate a bitch

• aged less than 12 months
• more than once in a 12 months period
• after more than six litters of puppies in total
• provide genuine paperwork/certificates for puppy vaccinations, microchipping (which is a legal requirement), worming and results for health tests where relevant

Responsible breeder will not

• rush you into parting with cash in exchange for a puppy
• try to fob you off by saying that the mother is at the vets, asleep or out for a walk. If mum isn't there, then the puppy was not bred there
• offer to deliver a puppy to you or meet you somewhere random like a car park
• say "it's normal for the breed" about any health issues like snoring - all puppies should be born with the best chance of living happy, healthy lives whatever breed they are
• use Kennel Club Registration (or any other registration) as a guarantee of quality or health and happiness
• have various types of puppies for sale