You have carefully considered the decision and decided that it is now the best time to add a four-legged member of the canine family. The next step is to make a decision about where to buy a puppy, or an adult dog. If you want to know more, Learn about Mini Goldendoodle Pups before reading this.
There are three options for purchasing a puppy: from breeders, pet shops or by adopting one from an animal shelter. You can save lots of money and heartache by choosing the right place to buy your puppy.
Pet Stores
Pet stores aren't the best place to buy puppies. Not only is it more expensive than breeders, but they also don't provide as much care and could have behavioral and health problems. Pet store puppies get used to cleaning the areas where they sleep. This makes potty training harder.
As if that weren't bad enough, many pet shops get their puppies from puppy farms. Puppy mills breed dogs in horrible conditions and have no regard for the welfare of their mothers or puppies. Their sole purpose is to produce thousands of puppies for a profit.
Breeders
It is a smart decision to buy a puppy or an adult dog from a responsible breeder. This will increase your chances of getting a well-behaved dog. While opinions vary on what constitutes a "responsible breeder", all should have the following characteristics:
They have a good knowledge of the breed and its genetic makeup.
They don't do it for a profit, but it is a labor of passion and a dedicated hobby.
They will only breed healthy dogs with sound temperaments
You should not confuse a puppy broker with a breeder. A puppy broker acts as a liaison between buyers and sellers, but most puppies that they sell are from puppy mills. Puppy brokers can be easily identified as they are not allowed to keep the momma at the house, have an unlimited supply of puppies and are constantly advertising in newspapers and online.
Adopting a dog at a shelter
This would be a good choice, as you'd be giving your dog a home. Shelters can have their challenges. It can be difficult to adopt a dog from shelters. You must fill out an application, which will have many questions. If you don’t answer correctly, you could be rejected.
Since puppies can be adopted quickly, many shelter dogs are already adults. This means that you will see more mixed breeds than purebreds. However, this is not necessarily a problem. A mixed or adult dog can be the perfect addition to any household. The background of the dog is another thing you should consider when looking to adopt a dog from an animal shelter.