Smelly pup

[Tulips01]

Looking for opinions - I visited a breeder today to look at a pup. The pup was very friendly and appeared healthy but smelled very strongly of pee. The breeder’s house also smelled so badly of pee. Should this be a sign to walk away from this pup?

ummm not necessarily. i recently took in 4 12 week old lab retriever dogs (for reasons of a forest fire the kennel was evacuated and he had 20 dogs and 4 pups that needed rehoming). a very well regarded breeder and kennel.
those little fellows smelled, i washed them after 4 hours but none were toilet trained, or leash trained and were definitely accustomed to being in a large yard. they freely walked in each others poop and pee.
my point is, its a stage and not a reflection of the breeding or health of the dog.

the fellows were adorable but even as a loving caring dog owner, they spent only milliseconds in my house, two puddles was enough for me. they pooped endlessly (outdoors and it was a full time job cleaning up after them so they wouldn't walk through it none stop).
it was quite the experience and i only had 4!!!

I'd be wary. While it definitely is part of puppy rearing I would expect a breeder to clean up after the puppies of they know someone is visiting.

Bigger questions to ask is, did you see mum? Was the puppies coat clean and dry? What about the feet?
Was their sleeping area clean?

Puppies just pee where they are, really - raising pups is messy business.

But that being said, I wouldn't expect the house or pups to stink of pee - if the breeder is there all the time (which they should be with such young pups) they should be cleaning up after accidents etc. and not allowing the smell to get that bad.

Personally I would walk away. My pup was raised in the breeders' home and he never smelt of pee - neither did the house.

Personally I would walk away. My pup was raised in the breeders' home and he never smelt of pee - neither did the house.

Same.

Thanks for your replies. I saw the pup with the mum and there was good interaction between them but because the pup is 11 weeks old the mum’s body is back to normal I only have the breeder’s word that she actually is the mum. The pup is KC registered - I’ve checked the register. This is the last pup to go so it’s not as if there is a pen full of pups peeing! The breeder seemed nice enough but there were some contradictions in the story I was told. I’m just so wary about being caught out by a puppy farmer!