Buying a pup

[canislupus]

I have read a number of books concerning purchasing a pup and all recommend seeing the mother. Can someone tell me why this is beneficial and what problems would you encounter if you did not see the pup?

[LoftyLottie]

Because there are lots really awful dog breeders running puppy farms, etc. who are just out to take your money with no regard to the mother or the pups. You may end up with a puppy with severe medical problems. Even if the puppy is OK you will have paid money to the seller and encouraged this awful practice.

You need to see that the puppy comes from a good breeder or home, where the parent dogs (or at least the mother) are obviously well cared for and have a good temperament. A good seller will not object to you coming to their home to visit their dogs and spend time with both the parent dogs and the puppies.

Have you ever considered rescuing a puppy from a rescue organisation? They will have made sure they are happy and healthy before they rehome and they will only ask you for a donation.

[lankeela]

Because some people buy in litters of puppies and sell them as though they have bred them, and will not necessarily know which puppy is from which litter, although they may well give you false paperwork. I know someone who worked at Norwich airport, and they had a load of about fifteen Westie puppies come from Ireland, all in one crate. They were delivered to a well known puppy farmer in the county and no-one could possible tell which puppy was from which litter.

Also you cannot tell the size that the pup is going to be or the temperament if you have not seen the mother.

Although some people say you should see the father too, this is not necessarily the case. I have travelled hundreds of miles to use a stud dog if it is the right one for my bitch, and although you could see the father at a show or pictures of him, unless you wanted to go hundreds of miles you would probably never see him. Also if people have both mother and father, it sometimes means they are just pets and they have mated them together, maybe without even knowing whether they were related, or having any health tests done.

Most decent stud dogs are only available to breeders who do all the health checks on their bitch.

Get in touch with the breed club and ask for details of reputable breeders who may have puppies available.
The Kennel Club also have something called the Accredited Breeder Scheme, which although not perfect goes some way to assuring that the breeder carries out health checks and provides proper information and paperwork.

[kita1]

There is one rare occurance where I would/did buy a puppy without seeing the mother.

In this case the breeder had sold the mother as a pup to someone with the proviso that if the bitch was bred from the buyer had to come back to the breeder who picked the stud dog etc. Then the original breeder had pick of the litter of pups. She picked a bitch and got her at 8 weeks old. When the bitch was 16 weeks old she decided that she was not of the high standard she required for showing (very slight colour faults) so decided to sell the pup. Hence when I went to see the pup I did not see the mother as she was with her owner. There was nothing wrong and I was given all the paperwork etc. and the name and address of the original breeder. My pup was very healthy, well socialised and lived a long life (even got a rosette at an open show!). Plus as she had already had 8 weeks away from her litter mates she was already pretty independent and I did not have the seperation crying to go through.

This is the only way I would buy a pup without seeing the mother.

[woofgang]

separation crying?
We are on our third and fourth puppies ansd none of them have cried when we took them home!

[showcatbenga]

When you see a pup's mother you get to see her size, adult coat (hair type, care required, etc.) & can check her health, socialisation & temprament for yourself. You see whether the dogs are kept in a suitable enviroment - If you want a pet of a traditional 'working' breed then you should choose from a litter bred from 'pet' stock & avoid those raised from a working enviroment. A reputable breeder will allow you to visit a couple of times to choose & then check up on your pup. They will be willing to tell you all about their darling 'mummy' dog & why they chose that particular 'dad'. About any health checks the parents have had & any they recommend for the pups. They will also offer help with diet, health checks, recomend groomers, trainers, etc. & help with re-homing if you find you're not suited or your circumstances change. Hope this answers your question?

[canislupus]

I would like to thank everyone for their responses and have found them very enlightening. Thanks again