Tips on puppy buying

by Bonnie Dalzell ©1997

Caution
Before buying any puppy be sure you fully understand the breed's physical needs and breed specific behaviors!

The most important thing to realize about getting a dog is that it really is your responsibility to get the best dog you can for your circumstances. Dogs are living beings that grow and change. The adult dog is a product of its genetic heritage and its environment. The best bred dog in the world will not turn out well if improperly reared and trained, on the other hand there is relatively little an owner can do to rescue a dog from a serious genetic disease.

If you can steel yourself to approach the purchase of a pure bred puppy with the same degree of caution you would use when buying a used car, you will be much happier with your final choice. with varied genetic backgrounds Most people who are purchasing a pure bred dog are buying the dog to be a companion or pet. I frequently get phone calls from people who want a puppy and say "we only want a pet, not a show dog" expecting a large discount in price.

What a prospective purchaser needs to realize is that while some attributes in a breed such as color, markings, coat length and texture, tail length and carriage and overall size may put a dog outside of the cosmetic guidlines required for a show speciman without affecting the dogs overall health and vitality other defects that bar a dog from the show ring can also have serious health consequences or require expensive corrective surgeries. Defects of the latter sort also make the dog unsuited as a family pet unless you enjoy spending money at the vets or want a short lived dog.

A conscientious breeder is striving first to produce healthy puppies who will grow up to be healthy dogs, breeding a top show speciman is an additional consideration. All the puppies in the litter benefit if the breeder is going to the time and expense to screen for inherited defects and a buyer should not expect a great discount on a puppy sold as a pet because of a cosmetic deficiency. This puppy still has the potential to mature into a vigorous adult to provide many years of companionship. It also costs just as much to produce and grow as the show potential animal, so they puppy buyer should not expect a great discount over the price of a show potential puppy.

In my personal opinion there is no such thing as a guarenteed show quality puppy. There are puppies who are of show potential who should mature into show specimans. However a top quality show or performance dog is more than just its genes, it must also be well reared which includes:

providing adequate excercise,
providing a healthy diet - one that meets the nutritional needs of the pup but is not oversupplemented . Too rapid growth can be more disasterous for medium and large breed dogs than too slow growth.
Having the time to train and socialize the puppy. Dogs do not take as much time as children but they take a lot more time than a pet goldfish, hamster or even a cat. Dogs in which puppy training and socializing is omitted frequently develop behavioral problems that lead to their being given up at a year of age.

Do not buy a puppy that is 'sold as a pet because it is/has':
- It is excessively fearful or excessively aggressive.
- It has a really exaggerated posture - front feet flat on the ground to the stop pad, hind feet flat on the ground.
- Chronic lameness in a 2 to 5 month old puppy.
- The unhealthy scrawny pup in the litter. This pup may have any one of a number of life treatening congenital illnesses such as a major heart anomaly, pancreatitis, severe food sensitivities.
- An extremely large puppy for its age with very large, tender or hot to the touch "growth knobs" at the wrists and ankles. Very rapidly growing puppies are much more likely to have joint problems later in life. This is in part a management problem. These dogs can be fed too rich a diet as pups and pushed to grow too rapidly. Too rapid growth is generally an error made by novice owners and breeders.
- A pup from an excessively inbred litter.
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