What to look for
Make sure you see the puppy with its mother (unless it’s a rescued dog) – you should be suspicious if its not at the premises. Licenced dog breeders must not show a puppy to a buyer unless the puppy is with its mother. Unscrupulous puppy dealers will give lots of seemingly plausible reasons why the mother of the puppies is not around.
Puppies should be bright and active with clean coats, eyes and bottoms!
All puppies and adult dogs must be microchipped when you buy it – puppies should be registered with the breeder, and rescue centres will usually update the microchip company with your details.
Always get a receipt – puppies can be expensive and would you normally buy something for a lot of money without asking for a receipt?
Don’t buy a puppy because you want to ‘save it’ if the conditions are bad – walk away and report it or your local dog warden. If you put money into puppy dealers or poor breeders it just encourages them to trade more.