Buying a puppy

Prisoner6409

We are in the middle of buying a puppy. I have been trying to stick to the best practice as laid out on most good animal websites but that is proving difficult. I would hate for our money to go to a puppy farm of any kind and I believe there are all sorts of scams for selling puppies born on a puppy farm. Firstly does it stand to reason that if the dog is registered with the Irish kennel club that the dog is not from a puppy farm. Secondly one or two litters I have visited where the puppies were ready to go there was no sign of the mother, is this normal. One of the recommendations for buying a puppy is to see the mother but should the mother always be there and if not is this a problem.

While I do not want to encourage puppy farming I also do not want to think bad of ppl just trying to make an honest living.

andreac

Where are you finding the litters? Hopefully not on sites like donedeal etc. What breed are you looking for?
Ikc reg means only that. Doesn't guarantee anything else but the pedigree of the pup.
You can ikc register any dog once the parents are ikc register.

No it's not normal not to have the mother around. Did you ask the breeder to see the mother or why she wasn't there?

Also please and I can't stress this enough, ensure you see all copies of health certs of both parents and do not touch any breeder who doesn't health test the parents for breed specific issues.

Rips

In answer to your first question, litters from puppy farms will often be registered with the IKC, or sometimes at least advertised as such (the paperwork never usually turns up)

Yes, you should at least be able to see the mother with the litter.
The best puppies will be reared in a home environment, and even if they are reared and weaned, if the mother is not present - ask yourself, where is she?
Usually in the pen out back where the puppies were *actually* reared.

Do not take anything at face value, ask for proof of everything before you hand over any money (proof of registration, relevant health test documentation and vaccination/microchip etc)

It is very difficult to make an 'honest living' from breeding dogs, so consider that as well.

muddypaws

If someone is using puppies to make a living, then they are a puppy farmer. No such thing in my opinion as someone making an honest living breeding pups.

As Andrea says, IKC registration doesn't mean that the breeder is reputable and not a puppy farmer. What reason have they given for the mother not being there? How old are the pups?

kylith

The pup being IKC registered means nothing more than the parents are under a certain age/number of litters. It guaratees nothing about how the pup was bred, reared, or any health checks that may have been done on the pup and/or parents.

The mother not being around would, for me, be a huge red flag.

The general advice here is that when you're looking for a pup you're best off to go to the breed club or to talk to breeders at a show. Good breeders often have a waiting list and are more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

cocker5

No No

Prisoner6409 wrote: »

We are in the middle of buying a puppy. I have been trying to stick to the best practice as laid out on most good animal websites but that is proving difficult. I would hate for our money to go to a puppy farm of any kind and I believe there are all sorts of scams for selling puppies born on a puppy farm. Firstly does it stand to reason that if the dog is registered with the Irish kennel club that the dog is not from a puppy farm. Secondly one or two litters I have visited where the puppies were ready to go there was no sign of the mother, is this normal. One of the recommendations for buying a puppy is to see the mother but should the mother always be there and if not is this a problem.

While I do not want to encourage puppy farming I also do not want to think bad of ppl just trying to make an honest living.

OP, firstly no and no to your first two questions, just because an ad says IKC registered does not actaully 1. they are registered and 2. that they are not from puppy farms. also you shoild ALWAYS be able to see the mother (and father in alot of cases) BUT def always the mother - if this is not the case then my advise to you would be step away.

While I do not want to encourage puppy farming I also do not want to think bad of ppl just trying to make an honest living

people making an honest living from breeding dogs - what you are referring to here is a back yard breeder, NO decent breeder makes money from breeding dogs. Back yard breeders breed their family pets (with no health checks) so they can afford to go to Lanzorote for 2 weeks during the summer... need i say more.

Between puppy farms, bakc yard breeders and crap dog owners the shetlers / pounds etc are bursting at the seams at the moment with unwanted dogs directly as a result of puppy farms and these people "making a decent living" from breeding.

No one should "make a decent living" off the back of puppies - full stop.

Secondly you should always ask to see the mother and health tests. These are not when a dog get the "ok" or "excellent health" from the vet.. they are specific test ie hip score, eye test that decent breeders get before the even consider breeding theirs dogs.

also avoid.... dondeal and adverts.ie there are a haven for puppy farms, and back yard breeders...

what type of puppy are ypou looking for OP maybe someone on here can recommend a breeder for you?

VonVix

Andreac is spot on.

What breed are you looking for? Some people could help you here with going to a reputable breeder.

I personally do think it's important to see the mother, it says a lot about how they treat their dog(s) going by how both the mother behaves and looks. When I went to a breeder he let us meet the mother, he opened the door and she came running out and up to us giving us lots of hugs and kisses! But then he took her away back into the house so we could look at the puppies without them being distracted and trying to go back to their mother, I assume.

Another thing too, make sure the pup is absolutely no younger than 8 weeks of age. Plenty of people will say "ah, they are weaned/ready to go" when they are 6-7 weeks of age! Do NOT listen to them, there's still valuable learning to be done by the pup when it's with the mother/siblings.

I personally think I'd only ever buy from a breeder if they are someone who is successful in showing the particular breed they own, to me it indicates some passion for the breed which I think is important... along with all relevant health checks etc...!