Advice on Buying a Puppy

General Advice

• Before you begin to research dog breeds, consider your lifestyle, environment, financial ability to provide for the puppy, now and throughout its life, and how you expect a dog to fit into your life. Don't forget that a puppy grows into a dog. If you are gone all day or live in an apartment or townhouse, consider a puppy from a breed, or mixed breed, that does not require a high level of activity or exercise. People with children must think about how the puppy will react to and interact with them. Also, your children's ages are a factor. Some breeds are known to do quite well with young children, while other breeds are better for older children or no children.

  All puppies and dogs are social animals and prefer to be a part of their pack. Once you bring your puppy home, you and your family become the puppy's new pack. Your puppy will look to you for guidance, attention and care. You must be willing and able to provide the necessary care to your puppy, now and for the rest of its life.

  After weighing all the considerations, start researching breeds to determine what type of dog will fit your requirements. The Internet and your local library are great resources for this. Through your research you will discover which breeds do well in an indoor environment, which enjoy children, what breed are most active, how large the puppy will grow, flaws or defects within breeds, and much more.

Purebred Registered Pups

• If you decide you want to purchase a puppy from a breed that can be registered with the American Kennel Club, find a local breeder. That way you will be able to visit the breeder's facility to judge for yourself if your puppy has been raised in a clean, loving environment. While you are there, view the puppy's parents. That will give you a good idea of the parents' disposition, the puppy's potential size and other characteristics.

Shelter Pups

• With so many dogs and puppies being abandoned, your local animal shelter may have just the puppy you need. If at first you do not see a puppy you like, return to the shelter every week to 10 days. You may even be able to find a purebred, or close to it. Realize that you probably will not be able to register this pup, but that may not matter to you. If you see a puppy you are interested in, try to find out some of his history from the staff. How and where did it come from? What does the puppy's personality seem like? Has the staff noticed any problems, either behavioral and physical?