How to Find a Responsible Dog Breeder

Finding a responsible and ethical breeder is your moral responsibility when you decide to buy a puppy instead of adopting. In this step by step guide to finding a responsible dog breeder, you can find all the information you require to make an informed and ethical decision.

If it’s your first time buying a puppy it may seem like it’s a simple task. Just head to the facebook marketplace or online classifieds and looks for puppies, right?

Unfortunately for everyone involved, it’s just not that simple. For instance, a lot of breeders out there breed puppies in poor living conditions or subject them to excessive interbreeding to maximize their profits.

Supporting quality breeders is your moral obligation. Doing so will reduce suffering for yourself, puppies that are growing up in poor conditions, and future puppies who may be subject to euthanization or abandonment at the hands of a careless breeder.

What is a Responsible Dog Breeder?

If a breeder ever seems like he’s trying to hide something when you’re questioning them, it’s best to move on. A responsible dog breeder has many traits that you should be able to confirm with minimal effort.

A responsible breeder:

• is open to answering your questions and showing you the entire family of dogs and their living spaces
  • the dogs are clean, happy, and are not afraid of you or the breeder
• treats their dogs as you would treat the pet you want to buy
  • the dogs are not locked in cages constantly, their living spaces are not overcrowded or dirty with feces or garbage
• has appropriate living spaces for their dogs
  • research the breed you are interested in so you know what to look for
• can answer all your questions about the breeds they own or can refer you to resources other than “Google”
• gives breaks to their breeding animals
  • it may be inconvenient to you, but breeding dogs need time to recover from pregnancy.
• allows and encourages you to visit with the puppies and mother together
• can provide you with veterinarian business cards or references, and doesn’t insist on a specific vet
• will only sell to you after meeting you face to face and after an interview
  • a good breeder will refuse to sell his animals to a pet store
• wants the dog back should you be unable to care for it in the future
• will only sell their puppies once they are eight weeks old

The list provided above should give you a good idea of what to look for when you’re shopping for a pup. I recommend writing down questions you want to ask and boxes you want to check off when visiting a breeder. A good breeder will be happy to see you doing this.

How To Find a Responsible Dog Breeder?

Now that you know what to look for once you’ve found a breeder, we can go into what you should do to find one.

The best place for you to start your search for a new furface friend is online. Head over to your favorite search engine and start researching the breeds you are interested in.

Start with the basics like how much they should weigh as puppies and how tall they should be. Make sure you find enough info to cover the list I provided above.

Once you’ve learned about the breed, look up some veterinarian offices and ask them about quality breeders. Try to get a few different opinions.

If you’d like to keep your search entirely online, you can check out www.pupquest.org.

Meeting With a Dog Breeder

Once you’ve found a few dog breeders from trustworthy sources, get yourself prepared. For example, writing a list of questions and reminders is a good way to make sure you don’t forget anything.

Take a full tour of the owner’s breeding faculties. Look out for cleanliness, well-socialized dogs that are happy to see you, and lots of toys. A responsible dog breeder will take pride in his facilities and be happy to show you.

After the initial meeting with the puppies, begin going down a checklist of questions, like this:

• How much time do you spend with the puppies?
  • they should be handled A LOT
• Do the puppies live inside with you and your family?
  • the entire family should live inside
• Would you mind playing with the dogs?
  • the breeder is likely abusive if the dogs are scared
• Do you have health clearance documents for the puppies?
  • purebred dogs can have a lot of health problems, these documents let you know what to expect

Picking Your New Pup

I’ll leave that up to you! You will know which one you want. Just make sure you get your new friend from a good breeder. I hope I’ve helped you find a good dog breeder and may you and your new puppy have a long, happy life.