Why Puppy Buyers Should Look Beyond Cost and Location
When searching for your perfect puppy, it’s tempting to start with the most obvious questions: “Where’s the breeder located?” and “How much is the puppy?”
But here’s the truth: those two factors are just the surface. Picking a breeder based only on price and convenience is like buying a house because the paint looks nice—you’re ignoring the foundations that actually matter.
A responsible breeder isn’t just selling you a puppy; they’re shaping the next 10–15 years of your life. The right breeder sets you and your pup up for success, while the wrong one can leave you heartbroken and broke with endless vet bills and training problems.
So what should you really be asking when you reach out to a breeder?
The Questions Every Puppy Buyer Should Ask
1. Health Testing
- Have the parents been DNA tested for breed-specific conditions?
- Do you provide vet records for vaccinations, microchipping, and worming?
2. Socialization and Early Training
- How are the puppies raised in the first 8 weeks?
- Are they exposed to household noises, children, or other dogs?
- Do you start toilet training, crate training, or basic manners?
3. Breeding Practices
- How many litters do you raise per year?
- Do you breed both parents, or do you carefully select sires from outside lines?
- What is your breeding philosophy—health, temperament, type?
4. Parent Dog Information
- Can I meet the mother (and father, if available)?
- What is the temperament of the parents like?
- Are the parent dogs pets first and breeding dogs second?
5. Support and Aftercare
- Do you offer ongoing advice or support if I have training or health concerns?
- What is your policy if I cannot keep the puppy in the future?
- Do you provide a puppy pack, feeding guide, or lifetime support?
6. References and Reputation
- Do you have testimonials from previous puppy families?
- Are you a member of any breeder associations or networks?
- Can I see updates of your past puppies (via social media or private groups)?
Why Breeders Also Need to Ask You Questions
A good breeder isn’t just trying to sell a puppy—they’re trying to match the right puppy to the right home. That’s why they’ll want to know things like:
- What’s your lifestyle like—busy family, retired couple, single professional?
- Do you already have pets?
- Are you looking for a certain temperament—energetic, calm, confident, cuddly?
- What are your long-term plans for training, grooming, and exercise?
This isn’t the breeder being nosey—it’s about protecting their pups. The process should feel like a two-way conversation, not a quick transaction.
Why You’ll Be Asked for a Zoom or FaceTime Call
Any reputable breeder today will ask for a video call before committing a puppy to you. Why?
- To protect the puppies: Scammers and puppy flippers are real, and breeders need to know who their pups are going to.
- Breeders need to be careful about providing exact location details. Pups do get stolen
- To give you transparency: You get to see the puppies, their environment, and sometimes even meet the parent dogs.
- To build trust: A video call lets both sides feel confident this is the right match.
If a breeder won’t show you the puppies live on video, that’s a red flag.
Final Thoughts
Yes, location and cost are practical considerations. But they should never be the only considerations. The real question isn’t “Where is the breeder, and how much is the puppy?”—it’s “Is this breeder giving my puppy the best possible start in life, and am I the right fit for this puppy?”
Never send any money until you have seen the pup on video or in person and have verified that the seller is legitimate.
Because when you’re looking for a lifelong companion, cutting corners on the important questions is a mistake you’ll feel for years.
Kareema
Healing Energy Animals
Kareema is the owners of Healing Energy Animals where devil dogs, horrible horses and crazy cats are turned into perfect pets using Relationship Animal Training and over 50 years of experience training a wide variety of animals.
Healing Energy Animals provides owners and pet professionals assistance with with common pet behavior training, feeding and grooming issues such as barking, escaping, scratching, aggression and fleas. Kareema consults and writes widely on a range of pet care issues for owners and also assists pet care professionals in setting up and growing their businesses by the provision of customer handling advice, sales and marketing strategies and up to date product information that allows for the differentiation of their pet care business from their competitors.
Healing Energy Animals is an Australian business but operates worldwide via the provision of virtual services.
