Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

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

Pets4homes - yay or nay

60 replies

SurreyisSunny · 19/02/2023 16:09

What are your experiences of pets4homes. I’m looking for a miniature poodle and lots are advertised on there. Some seem legit with kennel names I can research. I’m only interested in KC registered. But equally it’s likely some are puppy farmed (albeit seems less possible with poodles as it seems the cross breeds such as cavapoos that are badly farmed)

My preference is a litter though Champdogs but there aren’t many!

OP posts:
lovemypuppa · 19/02/2023 20:21

Champdogs should definitely be your first port of call as you can get info on breeders who have health tested sire and dam. I'd not hand over a penny unless a breeder was willing to do this and prove it to you. Kennel Club registration of a litter means nothing from a health guarantee. Pets4Homes should be banned imho. Just an online puppy farming tool.

lovemypuppa · 19/02/2023 20:24

As PP mentioned, a good breeder will have a waiting list for puppies. Also a good idea by the PP who mentioned Crufts being round the corner-there'll be breeders who are showing there who you can chat to for advice first hand if you can make it.

Original poster
SurreyisSunny · 19/02/2023 20:44

@GoodChat yes her current litter is 4, that seems pretty standard

OP posts:
caringcarer · 19/02/2023 21:02

I bought my 2 Lhasa Apso from Pets for homes. I got KC registration and eye and hip screened dogs with all certification. I got full family tree too. I saw pups with their Dame including feeding on 4 separate occasions before taking them home at 11 weeks. They had received 1 injection and second injection was paid for. I saw their Daddy dog too. I have 2 wonderful girls. I had to sign contract stating if I changed my mind I would return to breeder. I realise not all dogs bought on Pets4homes have such a good breeder. They were expensive good pedigree dogs.

LolaButt · 19/02/2023 22:34

The amount of litters I’ve seen advertised on champdogs at a really high price, then when unsold are on pets4homes a many hundreds of pounds cheaper is unreal.

It’s not the amazing place to find a decent ethical breeder we’re led to believe. I’ve looked up many a KC name and seen that the breeders are producing more litters than a hobby breeder would ever manage.

OP it’s about research wherever you look. There are a few decent litters on pets4homes but you really do have to scour through some crap to find them.

EdithStourton · 20/02/2023 00:39

Pets4Homes is a maybe for us. You have to do your due diligence very thoroughly:
Any relevant health tests done and certificates available?
Can you visit the litter in the home?
Has the dam of the litter obviously just had puppies?
What is the breeder's relationship with the dam (and any other dogs there) like?
Can you see evidence of the puppies having been in the home since birth?
If KC registered, what is the COI (ideally, not more than about 5%)?

One of our dogs came from Pets4Homes. The breeder was very open, showed us videos of the dam working, was happy for us to visit the litter, and has kept in touch.

OTOH, while all ChampDogs litters are out of health-tested parents, the COIs are sometimes horrendous.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 20/02/2023 08:04

Pets4Homes is just a place to advertise - it's like Google for pets.

Yes, some people on there will be dodgy backyard breeders or puppy farmers but it's not automatically the case for everyone.

As long as you do your research and check out the breeders, the sire and the dam, and make sure the dogs are properly health tested you should be fine.

Champdogs and the KC website are often touted on here as being amazing places to find puppies but I've seen the same litters advertised on there as on Pets4Homes in the past so it's not really an indicator of anything much.

Rainbowsandmiracles · 20/02/2023 08:10

We have brought 2 dogs from here both really successfully - with both they wanted to know everything about us 1) was a puppy and we visited met the parents saw them with the litter etc the 2) was a bit older (2 which was the age of the other puppy so they could be brothers) but we saw him with his family - with both we have stayed in contact with them. We were not looking for pedigrees etc and both of ours have bits of other things in them but we were looking for Australian Kelpies which hadn’t come up anywhere else. My daughter is currently petitioning to buy rats from pets4home because she can chat to them and vet breeders and see their set ups etc

Stellaris22 · 20/02/2023 08:15

If Crufts is anything to go by I wouldn't use KC as a mark of health. Show versions are incredibly unhealthy compared to the working or hunting versions of what some breeds should be capable of. I wouldn't go near the show version of my chosen breed.

Pets 4 Homes is fine, as long as you're aware of potential puppy farms. Decent breeders do advertise there.

Newpeep · 20/02/2023 08:39

We found that legitimate and good breeders will use P4H as a last resort. Most use KC or champdogs first if they exhaust their waiting lists. We found our breeder through the KC but she did end up advertising the last pup on P4H - parents fully health tested and puppies well bred and raised in family home with years of experience of the breed. But most 'breeders' that use it are dealers or farmers. We reported quite a few and they were taken down.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 20/02/2023 09:04

Stellaris22 · 20/02/2023 08:15

If Crufts is anything to go by I wouldn't use KC as a mark of health. Show versions are incredibly unhealthy compared to the working or hunting versions of what some breeds should be capable of. I wouldn't go near the show version of my chosen breed.

Pets 4 Homes is fine, as long as you're aware of potential puppy farms. Decent breeders do advertise there.

Yes, I wouldn't recommend Crufts either and I agree that being KC registered doesn't really mean much either.

Wolfiefan · 20/02/2023 09:52

KC doesn’t mean good breeder. But good breeders should be passionate about their breed and the future of it. You will find many of those at crufts.

TooManyPlatesInMotion · 20/02/2023 10:06

We got our goldendoodle from there. We made sure we had copies of test results etc for both parents, went to visit to see him with mum, breeder did the vet checks. I hadn't planned to use it and perhaps our experience was unusual in that the breeder was really responsive and helpful. Her family dog had one litter of puppies and that was it - she planned no more.

I have since heard pretty bad things about it (including on here) but our own experience was very positive. However, this was down to the breeder as opposed to it being a great platform per se.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 20/02/2023 10:30

Wolfiefan · 20/02/2023 09:52

KC doesn’t mean good breeder. But good breeders should be passionate about their breed and the future of it. You will find many of those at crufts.

You also find breeders who only care about their dogs winning awards and not their health or temperament.

Personally I wouldn't touch Crufts with a barge pole as they've destroyed so many wonderful working breeds.

ChangedmynameagainforChristmas · 20/02/2023 10:33

I think any advert for a puppy should be taken with a large pinch of salt. I have three dogs all bought from online sites and all three to be regarded as rescues given the shitty reasons for the sale and the incompetence and complete disregard for life by the owners.
I would not trust a KC owner any more than a randomer wanting to get rid of a pet for any one of a dozen reasons

Wolfiefan · 20/02/2023 10:59

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts absolutely. Looking at GSD with a sloping back is heartbreaking. But OP doesn’t want one of those. And you also find amazing “heritage” breeders who care about health and their breed. Pets4homes is pure and simply about cash. I wouldn’t touch that with a barge pole!

Darklane · 20/02/2023 11:07

If you go on the Kennel Club puppy search they currently have 24 litters of Miniature Poodles listed on there.
Of course can’t vouch for them, not my breed & even rogues can sneak on there, but worth a look
www.thekennelclub.org.uk/search/find-a-puppy/?Breeds=Poodle+(Miniature)&Location=&Distance=15&ActiveCertifiedBreeder=False&MaleDogs=False&FemaleDogs=False&HealthTested=False&TotalResults=0&SortNearest=False&SearchRescueClubs=False&GeneralRescueClubs=False

GuyFawkesDay · 20/02/2023 11:08

My lad came from there but he's not KC reg as he was a slightly accidental litter of pups as Dad who lived near mum got out and went a courting with Mum. Both KC registered cockers but one working, one show. So no registration for my boy! I met mum and dad, was told to drop in whenever I wanted to see puppies which I did, just to check all was as it should be. It was. Vets details given with please feel free to check all the worming/vaccination and health appointments they had. All tied up. They were a loved litter, and we got lucky

lobeliasb · 20/02/2023 11:10

It really depends. I found my KC registered pup on Pets4homes from a local breeder that shows and judges the breed, but there are many more backyard breeders on there than legit breeders.

Stellaris22 · 20/02/2023 11:45

I wouldn't use KC or Crufts as a breed health standard. They could use their platform to only show those animals that are healthy and fit for purpose, so capable of doing the job they're originally bred for.

Instead you get Alsatian's winning breed groups with sloping backs. I don't believe Crufts have any regard for health of dogs.

Ylvamoon · 20/02/2023 12:34

I think you need to work out what type of puppy you want.

Hone v kennel,

KC reg v not,
Health tested
Show or just pets
How much you want to spend
...

Then you can get out looking for the right dog on various websites incl. P4H and by contacting breeders directly.

Be vigilant and prepared to walk away.

The only thing I would say is that a KC registered pup is probably a safer option as you can check up on Health Tests and COI.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 20/02/2023 12:52

Wolfiefan · 20/02/2023 10:59

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts absolutely. Looking at GSD with a sloping back is heartbreaking. But OP doesn’t want one of those. And you also find amazing “heritage” breeders who care about health and their breed. Pets4homes is pure and simply about cash. I wouldn’t touch that with a barge pole!

Pets4Homes is just a place to advertise - there are lots of litters on there that are also advertised on ChampDogs and the KC website.

Yes, you're more likely to find dodgy breeders there but that doesn't mean that all litters on there are dodgy 🤷🏻‍♀️

EdithStourton · 20/02/2023 12:58

Yep, I would say the breeder we used on Pets4Homes was pretty good. He had a good working example of a working breed, who was mature but not old. She was mated to a dog who was still in work at the age of 10, so a good strong dog. The breeder really wanted to know all about us, our living situation and so on. Sure, he made some money off the litter, but he worked hard to bring them up: the whole set up was very clean, the puppies got a lot of time outside and so on. He talked through both sides of the pedigree with me, and was really keen to avoid inbreeding/high COI.

As I said upthread, do your due diligence.

Wolfiefan · 20/02/2023 13:03

They are for wolfhounds. I would never use the site. Maybe for a working breed it’s different.

Original poster
SurreyisSunny · 20/02/2023 15:52

@Ylvamoon Thankyou, yes I just contacted a breeder and the Dad had a COI of over 10 so that was a straight no for me. As you say at least with KC you can easily look them up.

OP posts: