Pets4Homes

[Bunionbabe]

I know there are always warnings about buying dogs from sites like Pets4Homes, but I wondered if anyone has had a positive experience of responding to one of their ads for a pup or rehome dog? Lots of credible breeders seem to advertise there.

Yes, we got our puppy there. Filtered out all the non-registered breeders and picked from those left. There weren't many left to be fair but we double-checked they were Kennel Club and everything went well.

Edited to say: Kennel Club website was a pain to navigate so we used Pets4Homes instead.

Our last dog was advertised by his breeders on there. It was fine

I think the issue is a lot of people assume if it’s not being bred out the back of a stables in wales it can’t be a puppy farm. Pets4homes can be ok but it’s much easier than say… champdogs to put a back yard mutt on.

Personally I’d check champdogs first.

If you’re going to use pets4homes makes sure you fastidiously research the breed, and what health tests are advised.
A vet check of the parents/puppies is absolutely not the same as genetic health testing.
Avoid anyone breeding anything not to standard (merles, “teacup”, fluffy versions of shorthaired breeds etc)
A reputable breeder will always insist they will take the puppy back if you can’t keep them.
A reputatable breeder will absolutely grill you on your lifestyle and how you plan to look after the dog.
A good breeder would want you to visit a few times, not just pick up a dog then and there and take it home that day

If they have lots of litters available that is also a huge red flag

Thank you. There do seem to be a lot if carefully posed pics of tiny, hybrid fluffballs. I know what health checks to look for so I guess it's about being careful.

Yes it's fine I got a dog from there (years ago) and they were registered breeders.

I got my dog from there 4 years ago, they weren't registered breeders but everything was absolutely fine. Though I do often think that we got really lucky!

Ddog was advertised there, local sheep farmer, checked out fine but buyer beware

I got my springer spaniel off there ten years ago, probably before it was infested with puppy farms. I exchanged emails with his breeder, a shooting family, and had a long chat on the 'phone. It all sounded what we wanted and we collected him a week later. Sons of the family were in the TA and the whole family was rugby mad, so rather like us. You need to do due diligence, as with an advert in the local press.

We got our boy from there but as others have said she could provide full background and health testing of the parents, we had loads of comms, met them twice before for long period of time. She answered lots of questions, gave me loads of info about the breed etc. Also asked me a lot about our set up.

She would also take my dog back for any reason and we still keep in touch lots.

As long as you do your due diligence with health tests, paperwork, meet the mum, the breeder grills you etc then it's just an advertising site. I know good breeders who use it when they have a 'spare' pup (as in their waiting lists have been exhausted which can happen if there is a large litter)

You need to do your due diligence very very thoroughly, as others have said.

We one of our dogs was from there and she has been excellent. I asked to see pedigrees of sire and dam, chatted to the breeder about his attitude to inbreeding (he didn't like it and was keen to point out how NOT inbred the litter was), saw videos of the dam in work, saw a photo of the sire in work, and checked out his FB profile (and he checked mine - he checked us out very thoroughly). We visited our puppy twice.

You need to know what matters to you, both pros and cons, and to look for them.

What dogs are you looking at?

Only because I love looking at dogs and dreaming I can afford a second (I can't, mine costs me about £300/month already 😭).

When people talk about ‘registered breeders’, I assume you mean licensed breeders. Please do note that this is often very much NOT a good thing and should in no way be taken as the gold standard.

Changes to licensing requirements have muddied the waters on this - before, it was easy to say to the uninitiated to avoid licensed breeders like the plague. Things aren’t so clear now. There definitely are good breeders who need to be licensed now, but there are also huge amounts of very bad ones.

An unlicensed breeder is definitely not necessarily a bad thing - often these are the true hobby breeders who breed puppies that behave as their breed should and look like their breed should, with all relevant health tests done and all the best put in to their rearing.

It really is a total minefield, sadly. Breed clubs might be the best place to start. Champdogs does have standards and health test requirements (although not always the right ones!), so is the best of the general advert sites.

You are much better off contacting your local breed club and asking if they know of any planned matings.
They will only recommend fully health tested litters from good breeders.
Most of these will have a waiting list for a reason. They don't need to advertise on pets4homes.

I got one of my current dogs from there, but I also walked away from a few...
(DDog is from a top UK breeder, so not everyone is a scammer.)
My advice, do your homework, don't be sucked into the cute little puppy thing, any doubts, walk away!

We had a terrible experience with Pets4Homes, DH was so keen to get a pup that no due diligence was carried out by us - lesson learnt. Pup and others were kept in appalling conditions and with hindsight we should have just walked away, but we couldn't bear to leave her there.
The "breeder" was in fact a puppy farm well known in their area and ended up going to prison along with two accomplices. Pup had some health problems to start with but quickly grew into a very healthy adult dog.

Not a chance! Puppy farmers and backyard breeders. Contact breed club if you want a pedigree or rescue.

I got our 2 wonderful Lhasa Apso puppies on there. I went to the breeders house to see the litter of puppies with their dame feeding them when pups were 4 weeks old. I saw all of dames paper work and that of male dog. I went back again 2 weeks later to see male dog and vets health report on puppies and reserved 2 puppies with a deposit. I collected the puppies at 12 weeks old after their first injections. I took them back to the same vet for second injections and microchips all arranged and paid for by the breeder. They are 6 years old now and we've never had a problem with them at all. Very healthy well behaved dogs. I send the breeder a photo of them each year on their birthday.

@Michelle889 - I have reported your post. Please do not sell your dog online. A good owner finds their dog a proper home (rescues, return to the breed etc). By selling your dog online, via social media, you are taking a huge risk that your dog ends up in a completely inappropriate environment or - in a very worst case scenario - sold into puppy farming or dog baiting. Please do better for your dog.

I got our last dog as a puppy from Pets4homes as I was looking for a specific type of dog. We usually rehome from rescues but gave up after searching for months. I was very cautious and came across many obvious puppy farms but eventually found a local breeder and it's all gone very well although I'll probably rescue again in future.

We got our dog from there. Not kennel club registered but full springer spaniel. Mum had had 1 previous litter, which the breeder still had one of the pups from (obviously not a pup anymore). We met mum and half sibling when we went to meet the breeder and pick our puppy.
We didn't have any problems, he's honestly the best dog ever and much more relaxed than we were led to believe he would be. He's working type but parents are not working dogs and neither is he, which I think helps.
Breeder had 2 pups sold already from the litter and we had the pick of the rest although she did guide us to 2 that she thought would fit best with our lifestyle, although tbh one of them had already chosen us by falling asleep in my lap. 1 year later he's currently asleep next to me on the sofa so not much has changed!
She only had 1 litter available and we were able to meet them all plus mum. Can't say we had any problems with the site at all. If you aren't bothered about a kennel club registered, field trail champion, best of the best dog and just want a family pet, I don't know where else you are supposed to go 🤷🏼‍♀️

It’s not about whether you want just a family pet. It’s about buying from someone who knows enough to do the breed specific tests, choose the right sire, get them safely through the pregnancy/whelping/raising pups. Can support owners. Take pups back if there are any issues and won’t have too many litters etc.