Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Tips for buying a "genuine" family raised puppy

75 replies

SpottydogDomino · 14/01/2018 19:37

Any advice for buying a puppy??

Other than only using the Kennel Club website to find a puppy, how can we be sure that any adverts on FreeAds, Gumtree etc are not selling puppies from puppy farms (with all the problems and diseases). We did not want another rescue dog. We wanted our own puppy this time so we could enjoy the puppy stages which we have missed out on with our lovely rescues in the past.

Any help from anyone who has had experience (good or bad) welcome. Any pointers in the right direction??

OP posts:
Original poster
SpottydogDomino · 15/01/2018 15:38

Aww Pantah thanks that is so lovely of you. We are not going for another collie though as we have had two manic ones already. I do love the breed but they need very experienced owners and we are looking for a less intense breed.

Looks like I am not the only one to struggle here. Gone are the days of word of mouth to find a well loved litter locally.

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 15/01/2018 15:51

A well loved litter sounds lovely but a bit naive. If you want a pedigree you need to read up on all the health tests that a decent breeder will do before any mating. A family breeding dogs will most likely not choose the parents with any consideration to the best pairing and won't do the extensive health testing.
Start with the breed clubs. Go to shows or rallies. Meet people in the breed. Consider why they are breeding. Just for money or because they want the next generation? Be suspicious. Very! Sad but the vast majority of pups for sale are from puppy farmers.

Bubble2bubble · 15/01/2018 15:59

Sadly people who randomly breed their family pets are not ' lovely' - they are doing it for the money.
If you are happy enough with a puppy of unknown background or parents who have not been health tested, then you can get exactly that from a rescue.

idontlikealdi · 15/01/2018 16:01

We had to travel a long way to get DDog from a reputable breeder - 300 miles. We got lucky as he was bred for show but had an overbite so he couldn't be shown but had been in contact with the breeder for a year before he was available.

BiteyShark · 15/01/2018 16:16

I got my puppy from a 'family breeder' who owned both mum and dad (which I know is frowned upon on here) but they did have all the DNA testing that I was after (different to vet health testing) of the parents to rule out certain breed specific generic conditions.

I guess I was a half way house buyer in that I ruled out a lot of breeders who were obvious puppy farms of multiple breeds and cross breeds and 'family dog' breeders who had never heard of the generic conditions or testing for that breed but had decided to let their bitch have a litter. However, my breeder didn't breed for show etc so yes they did it because they wanted to and quite frankly when you looked at what they had to do in terms of testing and all the other stuff was hardly making much of a profit.

The best thing to do is to find out as much as you can about the heath issues of that breed so you are armed with the knowledge as well as educating yourself in things like council licenses which sound good in theory but actually mean they are producing a certain number of litters a year which usually isn't a good thing.

Whitney168 · 15/01/2018 17:13

If you are unsure on breed, then a visit to Discover Dogs at Crufts can be a little over-whelming but very useful. Go with a shortlist of breeds that will suit your family lifestyle (exercise, grooming, expense for a start), then focus on those breeds and talk to real enthusiasts who will give you a 'warts and all' view on living with the breed.

Once you have decided on a breed, first find yourself a breeder who does all the breed-relevant health tests (look at breed club websites for info on this), then wait until they have a puppy available for you. If you are talking to one or more suitable breeders, please do tell them if you find a puppy.

There is very rarely a good reason for any pedigree litter not to be KC registered. Breeders will often say they do not want to register to 'ensure their puppies end up with the best pet homes'. It is far more likely that one of the following reasons applies:

  • Mother is too young, too old, or had too many litters already (or having a crossbreed litter in between to maximise profit)
  • One or both parents stolen and no paperwork available
  • One or both parents has an endorsement on their registration to prevent registration of puppies - bear in mind this could be for health reasons.
Whitney168 · 15/01/2018 17:14

Oh, and ALL advertising outlets advertise puppy farmed puppies - and I include the KC in that!

lynmilne65 · 15/01/2018 17:21

From Gumtree!

Tips for buying a "genuine" family raised puppy
ClaudiaD13 · 15/01/2018 17:22

If you want the experience of raising a puppy, consider becoming a puppy socialiser. We have a gorgeous spaniel in training to become a hearing dog. We got her at 9 weeks and we will have her until her training is complete around 12-18 months.

WeeMadArthur · 15/01/2018 17:29

If you can get to Crufts and go round Discover Dogs then you will be able to see lots of different breeds and talk to the owners who will be able to give you details of their breeds club which will have info on which breeders have litters coming up. I visited two years on the trot to make my mind up about which breed to get and who to get it from, and there are also stands for the rescue organizations as well if you would consider taking a rescue.

girlwhowearsglasses · 15/01/2018 17:50

Champ dogs is the website for pedigree puppies - proper breeders who are members of breed club, with pedigrees of both parents and health histories.

Much the best place

2pups · 15/01/2018 18:09

One of my pups I found advertised on preloved and another I was given contact details from one of the best breeders nationally who was breeding smaller versions but recommended someone she had sold pups to and was breeding.

Both from family situations.

mimibunz · 15/01/2018 18:14

Why can’t you adopt a puppy? People like you do my head in.

Whitney168 · 15/01/2018 18:25

Why can’t you adopt a puppy? People like you do my head in.

And people like you do my head in LOL. Some people do not want a random puppy, or the Staff/Greyhound types that abound in rescue kennels.

Whilst accepting that Mother Nature can always have the last laugh with any living being, I prefer to stack the odds in my favour on size, coat type, temperament and health. If you don't accept that buying a pedigree puppy well can do that, then you have never had the right one.

I say it every time - it is NOT the good breeders we want to shut down. Do people honestly want the dog population to be so limited in a few generations because all the breeders of any quality have been run out of town, and all that remains is idiots and neutered rescues. You're welcome to that, but it's certainly not what I want.

Wolfiefan · 15/01/2018 19:07

I didn't adopt either. I have cats and kids. Few rescues will home a dog with cats. I wanted a wolfhound. Really longed for one. So I bought one.
Breeders aren't the enemy. Puppy farmers and those who breed indiscriminately for profit without any care about health or welfare ARE the problem.

Original poster
SpottydogDomino · 15/01/2018 19:42

Thanks for the heads up re Champdogs and Discover Dogs at Crufts.

Good places to start.

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 15/01/2018 19:48

Discover Dogs is a great idea. Chance to meet some owners and ask lots of questions.

MissEliza · 17/01/2018 17:13

This thread is great because I've been looking for a puppy and feel a bit suspicious of all the people advertising on Gumtree etc. I've been looking extensively at different breeds. While I grew up with labs, I don't feel they'd work in our family set up. I'm between cockapoos and beagles. Basically my understanding is they don't shed much, are medium sized and are reasonably good with children (my youngest is 9), Does anyone have any opinions or advice?

Wolfiefan · 17/01/2018 18:10

A cockapoo isn't a breed as such. Most will come from puppy farmers without relevant health tests of both parents before breeding. Consider the worst of both breeds in a cross. Could you cope with that?
Beagles are high energy and quite a few I know can't be let off lead.

Kurkku · 17/01/2018 18:29

MissEliza, beagles do shed. A lot. We had a rescue beagle (who sadly passed away last year), and after owning a number of different breed dogs over the years, including two golden retrievers (who are pretty much considered the kings of shedding), the amount of shedding from the beagle totally blew my mind. Sure, most of the time she shed very little, but those 2-3 times each year when she did, were truly impressive. There was hair everywhere. Inside, outside, in the car, in our mouths, ears and noses....
She was a lovely cheerful dog though, even if she did come to us with some major issues (totally food obsessed, massively overweight, rabid-dog-like resource guarding, mobility issues, anal gland problems etc) , some of which were easily addressed and others we lived with until the end. Our kids were elementary school age when she came to us, and she was always brilliant with them, although treat/feeding times had to be strictly supervised due to her resource guarding issues.

MissEliza · 17/01/2018 20:03

That's pretty interesting as I'd read they don't shed! My parents last two dogs have been golden retrievers and I just couldn't cope with the amount of shedding. My df walks around constantly with the dyson!

Kurkku · 17/01/2018 21:39

Hopefully someone else with a beagle will chime in to confirm or refute what I'm saying, but our girl did shed impressively much (just in case I didn't emphasize it enough in the first message lol). Mind you, since we got no info/history with her, she may have been mixed with some other breed although she did look like a 100% purebred beagle.
For what it's worth, I am actually starting to think that goldens are not so bad, or at least it is relatively easy to clean up what they shed, compared to short, coarse hair that works its way into fabrics and is impossible to remove... got a short haired jrt now and she sheds a little all the time, which is a real pain especially since she is mostly white and I wear a lot of dark colours... so I guess you can't win either way Wink.
With cockapoos, they may or may not shed and there's no way to know until the adult coat comes in, so no guarantees there either.

OneMoreOne · 17/01/2018 21:44

I know people on here can be not keen on cross pedigrees such as cockapoos etc, but is there a way to find a reputable place to get that sort of dog?

MissEliza · 17/01/2018 21:47

TBH I've known two people with cockapoos and they are brilliant dogs. They're everything I want from a family dog. However when I research online, it makes me hesitate.

Hoppinggreen · 17/01/2018 21:53

We did the following
Spoke to a few breeders on the phone
Visited the one that asked us questions and wanted to know whether we were suitable for a puppy
Saw puppy with it’s Mum
Saw puppy In a home environment interacting with siblings and also people ( including children)
Checked KC reg
Googled seller to check any news etc
Went away and thought about it ( which seller was fine with)
Went back for a 2nd visit and paid deposit
Collected puppy when he was ready

Turns out it was probably all a total set up and he came from a Puppy farm.

Swipe left for the next trending thread