A good breeder will have many questions for you before she agrees to sell you one of her puppies. For example, a breeder will likely ask if you’ve ever had a dog before and, if so, what happened to him. If you say you’ve had five dogs who have all been hit by cars and killed, the odds are good that you won’t get a dog from this breeder. The breeder will also want to know if you’ve ever owned this specific breed before. Not every breed is right for every person or family.

      The breeder will ask about your yard and whether it’s fenced. She’ll ask how you plan to exercise your dog. She’ll ask if you own or rent your home. She’ll ask if you have children and, if so, how old they are. Be honest with your answers. Your breeder wants the best for both you and the dog, and she may be able to give you advice on the best way to exercise your dog or how to teach your children to respect the dog. Breeders want everyone, human and canine, to be happy, and they’ve learned what questions to ask and what the best responses to those questions are.

      Dogs and Kids

      Generally, breeders of toy dogs don’t like to place them in homes with children under five years of age, who may not fully understand how gentle they must be with a dog. Sometimes breeders of giant breeds have the same restriction because a clumsy, playful puppy that weighs 40 or more pounds could inadvertently injure a small child.

      A reputable breeder will have a sales contract that spells out just what is being offered and what each of you promises. For instance, a contract may say that the puppy, depending on his age, has already had certain vaccinations. It may give you a window of time, anywhere from forty-eight hours to two weeks, for you to have the puppy examined by a veterinarian. If the doctor finds anything seriously wrong with the puppy during this time frame, you may be able to return the puppy to the breeder for either a refund or a replacement puppy. The contract may require you to spay or neuter the puppy at a specified age and to show proof of the procedure to the breeder. The contract will also say that the breeder will take the dog back at any time. Responsible breeders are responsible for the dogs they breed for the dogs’ entire lives.

      Sometimes, a breeder will offer co-ownerships. Breeders frequently do this with show-quality dogs because they want to get their kennels recognized for their quality. Such a breeder may make showing the dog a condition of ownership and may sign the dog over to you once you’ve put a championship or performance title on the dog. In other cases, the contract may specify that the breeder gets to breed the dog and, if the dog is a female, to keep a specified number of the puppies before signing over ownership.

      Co-ownership contracts may mean a lower price initially and can be beneficial to both parties, but think carefully before you agree to a co-ownership. If there are conditions such as showing or breeding, are you interested in spending the time and money to show a dog? Do you want to deal with a female in season until it’s time to breed her? If something goes wrong, then what?

      The bottom line is that contracts are designed to protect both parties, but you need to understand the terms. If you don’t like the terms, and you and the seller can’t agree, it’s time to look for another reputable breeder.

      A Perfect Match

      The breeder’s questions are not meant to prevent you from getting a dog; rather, they are a tool to make sure that you get the right dog.

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      Mixed Breeds

      One advantage to a mixed breed is that the initial cost will be lower. When you buy a purebred puppy from a reputable breeder, you are paying for all of the health checks and careful study that went into the breeding. You are paying for a known commodity as far as size, amount of fur, activity level, and general temperament. With a mixed breed, you may not be able to meet either parent. You won’t know if the puppy is carrying the genes for progressive blindness or whether he is predisposed to hip dysplasia.

      Unless someone has intentionally bred two purebreds to create a mixed breed, like a Goldendoodle, or you know who the puppy’s parents were, there’s no way to know what a mixed-breed dog’s background is unless you have a DNA test done. Before spending some time with the dog, you won’t know if he will be protective, or love water, or have a tendency to bay at the moon.

      Try to find out as much as you can about a mixed-breed puppy or dog. Rescue groups usually put their dogs in foster homes, where they are able to live in a family environment, which may include children, other dogs, or other pets. In this way, the rescue is able to learn about the dog’s traits and behavior. In shelters, volunteers are often able to tell how a dog reacts to other dogs or to cats as well as the people who visit the shelter to look at the dogs.

      If you’ve fallen in love with a roly-poly puppy and you don’t care how much fur he’ll have as an adult or whether he’ll grow up to weigh 14 or 40 or 140 pounds, go ahead and follow your heart. Mixed breeds offer just as much love, fun, and companionship as any purebred can and can even enjoy most of the performance events that a purebred can.

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      Pet Stores

      While there may be pet stores with healthy, well-socialized puppies, most pet store stock comes from puppy mills, where the only concern is cranking out “product.” It’s best to steer clear. Besides not having any health checks and possibly being the product of tight inbreeding, many puppies end up being in the store well past the optimal time for socialization. Some may be months old before they ever even set foot on grass. You may be buying both health problems and temperament instabilities when you buy from a pet store, and most pet stores offer

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