How to Find a Good Breeder

So you have decided to get a new puppy! You are interested in a particular breed and have found some breeders online. How do you tell a good breeder from a backyard breeder or even a puppy mill? In this article I will give you things to look for and questions to ask the breeder as well as red flags to notice.

First impressions are important. When you reach out to a breeder do they respond in a timely manner? Good breeders are always looking to build relationships and are happy to talk to you about their dogs even when they don’t have puppies at the time. If the breeder doesn’t respond or doesn’t want to talk to you because they don’t have puppies currently, assume they are only in it for the money and that is a red flag.

Some breeders will tell you all about their dogs, their available puppies and their breeding program, answering all of your questions before you even ask them. They should also ask you about your family and what you are looking for in a dog. If a breeder doesn’t volunteer all of the information that doesn’t mean they are not a good breeder. Many breeders are introverted or shy but they should be able to answer any questions that you have, and they should make sure their puppies go to the appropriate homes by asking you questions too. Some things that they would want to know are: your experience with dogs in general and your experience or research of this particular breed, your family dynamics and lifestyle, as well as the type of home and yard you have, your plans for the puppy and what his typical day would be like. Always be honest in your responses because your answers will help to find the right dog for you.

Good Breeders will specialize in only 1 or 2 breeds and will be very knowledgeable about these breeds. You can usually sense their knowledge by talking with them but feel free to ask them breed specific questions. They will not always have puppies available, because they are not breeding every season and may only have a few dogs. A back yard breeder may or may not have any knowledge about their breed. Puppy mills will have many different breeds and not specialize any any of them, they almost always have puppies available.

The most fundamental expectation when getting a puppy is that he is going to be healthy. You can learn a lot about a puppy’s current health from observation of the puppy and its surroundings. Ask about any wormings, vaccinations and medication your puppy has had. This will help you and your veterinarian better decide what is needed for your puppy once you bring him home. If a breeder does not do vaccinations on their puppies ask for their reasons. If they are a more natural breeder like we are and don’t want the chemicals in their young puppies, they will be happy to explain their reasoning and offer studies and/or veterinarian recommendations to back up their decision. If it seems like they just skipped the puppy shots and vet visit to save some money, this is a big red flag!

Another super important question to ask is what genetic tests have been performed on the parents of the puppies. Each breed of dogs has certain genetic conditions that are common in the breed. Good breeders will test for these conditions and breed carefully to avoid producing puppies that will be affected with these conditions. Ask to see the testing results for the parents of your puppy. A good breeder will not only gladly show you them but will explain them to you as well. Understand that most genetic conditions need two copies of a gene for the dog to be affected. If one parent has one copy of a gene, make sure that the other parent doesn’t also have one copy of the same gene, or your puppy might have inherited two copies and be affected with that condition. A good breeder will have a contract with a health guarantee of at least two years for inherited conditions, and in that contact state that along with a replacement puppy, you can keep the original puppy as long as you will provide any extra care the condition might require. A contract requiring you to give up your first puppy to use the guarantee is like no contract at all because what loving pet parent would be able to give up their baby?

If the breed of dog you are interested in often has docked tails, removed dewclaws and/or cropped ears, you will want to inquire about this. Some breeders, like us, want to keep their puppies natural and do not dock their tails or remove dewclaws even though that is typically what is done in our breed. You want to know what you are getting so that you are not surprised. Also in breeds with cropped ears there may be special care that needs to take place for these puppies, or depending on the age it may be something you can opt to do after bringing your puppy home. Your breeder should be able to answer any questions or concerns you may have about these practices.

Ask the breeder if you can visit the puppies and parent dogs. If a breeder will not allow you to come visit you need to wonder what they are hiding. In todays world it is not uncommon for someone to buy a puppy many states away and have them shipped to them without ever meeting them. I have purchased one of my breeding dogs this way. If you choose a puppy that is too far away to visit, you must be very careful to research the breeder well and ask for many pictures and videos first, because this is one way people can get scammed in puppy buying. I had never met the breeder of this puppy but my mentor knew of her and her dogs, and she has a great reputation among breeders showing this breed of dog. If you are close enough to visit, great, but if not research! A good breeder will welcome your visit after the pups are a certain age or will help you to feel comfortable if your purchase is sight unseen. Anyone interested in buying a puppy from us at Kindred Spirits will receive lots of pictures and videos of the puppies as well as our adult dogs. We also share a ton of information and gather information about their family to assist in proper placement of our puppies. Buyers are welcome to schedule a visit or we offer puppy delivery services if they are too far away and are comfortable purchasing our puppy without seeing him first. Even if you really don’t want to travel that far to meet the breeder and the puppies, you should still ask to visit to see what they will say. If they welcome you, you can feel safer in choosing that breeder. If they do not allow you to visit you may want to continue in your search for a different breeder. After establishing that they would welcome a visit you can always decide that the visit may not be necessary.

You will also want to know if the puppies are eligible for registration into a kennel club and if so which one or ones. Registration does not guarantee that you are dealing with a good breeder. Most pet store puppies can be registered and come from a puppy mill. What registration does show is that the pup is purebred and its lineage is traceable. That is unless the documentation has been falsified somewhere along the way. Most registerable puppies will come with an application for you to complete and send in along with a fee to register your puppy. Ask the breeder if their puppies come with these papers and be sure to get this application when you purchase your puppy. Some breeders, like myself will complete and pay for the registration of your puppy for you. This is a cost savings and a convenience for you. A good breeder will offer “limited registration” for pups being sold as pets as well as a spay/neuter contract. This means that you will need to get your puppy spayed or neutered by a certain age and if you break the contract and breed your dog, its puppies will not be eligible for registration.

Ask the breeder what they do to stimulate, expose, socialize and prepare their puppies for their new home. Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) has been proven to improve heart rate with stronger hearts, produce stronger adrenal glands, increase tolerance to stress and provide greater resistance to disease. Socialization and exposure to many different situations, sounds, people and things are very important for the puppies mental health and behavior development. Puppies should experience a multitude of things in a safe environment. At Kindred Spirits MAS we do ENS and ESI (Early Scent Introduction) with our puppies from day 3 to day 16. After that we go through an advanced puppy curriculum where they are exposed to and get to experience many different things. This includes balance boards, a ball pit, tunnels, different flooring and tactile items and many different sounds. Weather permitting, our puppies will have outings where they get to meet different people and see different things. They are also socialized with our cat and our grandchildren. Our puppies will be litter trained and be familiar with a crate, they will have had at least two baths and get their nails filed with a nail grinder regularly. Every breeder will do things a little differently but you should look for a breeder that is trying to make the puppy’s transition to its new home as easy as possible.

If you can not keep your puppy for whatever reason will the breeder take him back? Good breeders always welcome their puppies back at any age and most even have it within their contract that the puppy/dog must come back to them if it needs to be rehomed. This shows that the breeder cares about their puppies and where they go. A breeder should always be available to you to answer questions and give support after the sale. Most backyard breeders and all puppy mills do not want to waste their time when there is not money to be made. Buyers of my puppies become like family! I love receiving updates and pictures and I will gladly help out whenever needed. I hear from all of my puppy parents at least occasionally and many quite regularly.

Last but not least, ask for testimonials and/or references. A good breeder will have many past puppy buyers that would be glad to give a reference and some will have written testimonials on their websites. Remember you will be making a 10-20 year commitment to your puppy and a possible lifetime connection to your breeder, choose well!