Smart Puppy Buyers GuideV2

8/8/2019 Smart Puppy Buyers GuideV2

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/smart-puppy-buyers-guidev2 1/8



Heathy puppies cme frm breeders wh:

1. Planaheadandaimtondgoodhomesforeverypuppy

theybreed

2. Provideahighstandardofcareandlivingconditionsfor

alltheirdogs3. Aregenuinelyconcernedaboutthewelfareoftheirdogs

4. Areopentoquestionsandprovideacompletehistory

ofthepuppy

5. Makesurethatyouwillsuitthepuppyandthepuppy

willsuityou6. Breedtoproducehappy,healthypets,freefromknown

geneticdisorders

7. Provideongoingsupportandinformationtonewowners

8. Provideaguarantee

9. Providereferencesonrequest10. Meetalltheirlegalrequirements

Ifyou’relookingforanewdog,checkyourlocalRSPCAor

otheranimalrescuegrouprst.Therearemanywonderfulpuppiesanddogsouttherelookingfornewhomes.

Butifyoucan’tndtherightdogforyou,or

haveyourheartsetonaspecicbreed,

you’llneedtondagoodbreeder.

Here’showtogoaboutit.

Follow our Smart Puppy Buyer’s Guide and

you’ll be on the right track to taking home a

healthy, well-adjusted puppy and helping to

prevent the sale of puppies from puppy mills

or irresponsible breeders.



Findingagoodbreedermeansaskingthese

importantquestions:

1. Did the breeder pa ahead fr this itter?

Aresponsibledogbreederplanseachpregnancyandknows

thatthereisenoughdemandfortheirpuppiestoensurethey

willallgotogoodhomes.

Askthebreederifthispregnancywasplanned,howmany

littersthemotherhasalreadyhad(sixshouldbethemaximum

overherwholelife),andwhattheywilldowithanyunsold

puppies(agoodbreederwillhangontothemuntiltheright

homecanbefound).

2. Are yu impressed with the stadard fcare ad ivig cditis f the dgs?

It’sreallyimportantthatyouvisitthepuppyintheplacewhere

itwasbornandmeetitsmum(anddadtoo,ifhe’saround).

• Checkwhethertheplaceiscleanandthereisenoughspace

forthepuppiesandadultdogstomovearoundandexerciseandtherearethingsforthepupstochewonandplaywith.

• Askwhatthepuppiesarefedandhowoften.Agood

breederwillprovideinformationonhowtofeedyour

puppybeforeyoutakeithome.

• Askabouthealthchecks,wormingandvaccinationsandwhatdocumentswillcomehomewithyourpuppy.Agood

breederwillmakesureallpuppieshaveafullveterinary

healthcheckandaremicrochipped,vaccinatedandtreated

forwormsandeasbeforetheyaresold,andwillprovide

youwithrecordsofthesetreatments.

• Watchhowthepuppiesandtheadultdogsinthehomebehave–aretheyfriendlywithpeopleandotherdogs?

Agoodbreederwillmakesurethepuppiesandbreeding

dogsarefriendlyandwell-socialised.

Ifthebreederisreluctantforyoutovisit,orwantsyouto

meetthepuppyinanotherplace,ndanotherbreeder.Puppy

farmswilloftenuseahouseasa‘shopfront’soyoudon’tget

toseethepoorconditionstheybreeddogsin.Don’tbuya

puppyfromapetshoporthroughaninternetornewspaper

advertisementwithoutbeingabletovisititshome,asyoucan’t

checkouttheconditionsinwhichthepuppywasbredorknow

whereitcamefrom.



3. Is the breeder geuiey ccered abutthe wefare f their dgs?

Goodbreederswantthebestforalltheiranimals,fromnew

puppiestoretiredbreedingdogs.Theytakestepstoensurethis

byprovidingdetailedadvicetonewownersabouthowtocare

fortheirpuppy,anddon’thaveoldbreedingdogsputdownbecausethey’renolongerproductive.

• Askthebreederwhathappenstotheirretiredbreeding

animals–aretheykeptorrehomed?

• Ifthebreedyou’vechosenwastraditionallydocked,whatis

thebreeder’sviewontaildocking?(Routinetaildockingof

puppiesisnolongerlegalinAustralia.)

• Ifyouarenotintendingtobreedfromyourpuppy,the

breedershouldprovideadviceondesexing(unlessyour

puppyhasbeendesexedalready).

Youshouldbeprovidedwithinformationondiet,socialisation,

registrationandidenticationrequirements,andanymedicationsorvaccinationsgivenorrequiredinthefuture.

PUPPY FARMS

A puppy mill or puppy farm is a mass-production

facility that breeds puppies for profit. The puppies

and their mothers are often kept in very poor

conditions. Breeding animals may be continually

mated and kept with their puppies in cages

and never allowed out to exercise, play, have

companionship or even go to the toilet. Puppies

born in puppy farms often have long-term health

and behavioural problems as a result of poor

housing conditions, poor maternal nutrition and

a lack of adequate socialisation during the crucial

first few weeks of life.



4. Is the breeder pe t questis ad d they

prvide a cmpete histry f the puppy?Goodbreederswanttomakesureyouarewell-informed

aboutyournewpuppyandwillprovideinformationonthe

background,size,breedandtemperamentofhisparents.

Theyarewillingtoanswerquestionsandallowinspection

ofrecordsandpaperworksuchasregistrationdocuments

andveterinaryrecords.Abreederwhorefusestoanswerreasonablequestionsprobablyhassomethingtohide.

5. Des the breeder mae sure yu wi suitthe puppy ad the puppy wi suit yu?

Anewpuppyisalong-termcommitment,

sobothyouandthebreederneedtobecertainyouaremakingtherightdecision.

Agoodbreederwillaskyouquestionsto

makesurethisistherightpuppyforyou

andthatyou’reabletocareforitproperly.

Forexample,theymightask:

• ifyouhavechildrenorotheranimals

inthehousehold

• whereyourpuppywillbesleeping,and

• howoftenitwillbeleftonitsown.

Theyshouldalsotellyouwhattoexpectfromthebreed,such

ashowsuitableitisforfamiliesandhowmuchspaceand

exerciseisneeded.Ifyou’reatalluncomfortablewithwhat

youaretold,youmightwanttoconsideranotherbreed.

6. Is yur puppy bred t be a pet ad freefrm w iherited disrders?

Differentbreedsarepredisposedtodifferentinheriteddisorders

ordiseases.Someofthesearen’tapparentuntillaterinadog’s

lifebutcanhavedevastatingconsequences.Somebreedsalso

haveexaggeratedfeaturesthatcancauseproblems,likea

squashed-inface,whichmakesithardtobreathe,orveryshort

legs,whichcanleadtospinalproblems.Agoodbreederwillbeawareof,andscreenfor,anyknown

disordersoranatomicalproblemsspecictothebreedandwill

excludedogswithproblemsfrombreeding.Theywillbeableto

showyoucopiesofveterinaryreportsandscreeningteststo

conrmthis.Theyshouldalsobreedtominimiseanyexaggerated

physicaltraitsspecictothebreedthatareknowntohaveanadverseimpactonthehealthandwelfareofthedog.



• Findoutwhatinheriteddiseasesoccurinyourchosenbreed

(aninternetsearchforinheriteddiseasesandthebreednamewillhelpyou)andaskthebreederwhatstepstheyhave

takentopreventthem.

• Oneprovenwaytominimisetheriskofinheritedproblems

istoavoidbreedingcloselyrelatedanimals.Ifyouarebuying

apurebreddog,youshouldcheckyourpuppy’spedigreetomakesuretherearenocloserelativematings,suchasbrother-

sisterorgrandfather-granddaughtermatings.

• Askthebreederwhattheythinkarethemostimportant

characteristicsintheirpuppies.Agoodbreederwillput

health,welfareandtemperamentaboveappearance.Some

breedersputsuccessintheshowringaboveallelse,butbreedprizessuchas‘bestinshow’don’tmeanthatadog’s

puppieswillbegoodfamilypetsasshowdogsarejudged

ontheirappearance,nottheirbehaviour.

7. Des the breeder ffer t prvide gig

supprt ad ifrmati after purchase?Agoodbreederwillprovidefullcontactdetailsandencourage

youtogetintouchifyouneedmoreinformationonthecare

ofyournewpuppy.

8. Des the breeder prvide a guaratee?

Whatifyoutakethepuppyhomeandithasahealthproblem,ordoesn’tgetonwithyourchildrenorpetcatandyoucan’t

cope?Agoodbreederwilloffertotakebackunwantedanimals

withinaspeciedtimeperiodaftersale.Theyshouldalsooffer

toacceptanimalsreturnedasaresultofproblemsarisingfrom

aninheriteddisorderatanytimeaftersale.

9. Des the breeder prvide referecest bac up what they have td yu?

You’veaskedalotofquestions,butyou’dliketobeabsolutely

surethatthebreederisgenuine.Agoodbreederwill

readilyprovidereferencesonrequest,includingtestimonials

frompreviousorexistingowners,lettersfromthevet,anddocumentsindicatingmembershipofa

breedassociation,caninecouncilor

companionanimalclub.



10. Is the breeder meetig a ega

requiremets?Requirementsfordogbreedersvaryfromstatetostate,butit’s

agoodideatocallyourlocalcouncilandaskwhetherbreeders

havetoberegisteredwiththemandifthereisacodeof

practiceorguidelinesthattheyshouldbefollowing.Ifthe

answer’syes,youcanaskthebreederfortheirregistration

detailsandwhatguidelinestheyfollow.

REGISTERED BREEDERS

Pedigree or purebred dog breeders are often

referred to as ‘registered breeders’ when theyare members of a breed club or association that

operates a stud book or register. The term may

also be used to refer to someone who is registered

with their local council as a breeder (also called a

‘recognised’ breeder).

While breed associations do have rules andguidelines for their members, being ‘registered’

does not necessarily mean a breeder is responsible

or meets good animal welfare standards. To make

sure your breeder is a good breeder, you need

to ask the right questions before you buy. That’s

why we’ve written this guide.

If your breeder meets ourSmart Puppy Buyer’s Guide,Congratulations!

Thanks to their excellent care and

breeding practices, your puppy

has had a great start in life – the

rest is up to you. Before you

take your puppy home, check

out our information on puppytraining and make sure you

talk to your local vet

about desexing!



WHY DESExInG IS So IMPoRTAnT

Desexing isn’t just about preventing unwanted

pregnancies, it can actually make your dog healthier

and happier.

Desexed dogs:

• are better protected from certain illnesses

and diseases

• are generally less aggressive towards other dogs

• tend to be more affectionate• are less inclined to roam or mark their territory

• are less inclined to display mating behaviours

such as mounting

Some research shows desexed dogs actually

live longer.

The RSPCA practises early age desexing from the

age of eight weeks when the surgery is simple and

recovery is rapid. If your puppy was not desexed

prior to sale, they must be desexed before they are

able to produce any unintended litters of puppies.

There is absolutely no benefit in letting females haveone litter before they are desexed.

Talk to your vet about desexing, microchipping and

vaccinations. They’re all important parts of being

a responsible dog owner and will ensure your new

best friend stays healthy and happy.

oTHER USEFUl lInkS:

• RSPCA Knowledgebase www.kb.rspca.org.au

• RSPCA Pet Insurance

www.rspcapetinsurance.org.au

• World of Animal Welfare www.woaw.org.au

RSPCA Australia

PO Box 265 Deakin West ACT 2600

P 02 6282 8300 F 02 6282 8311W rspca.org.au E [email protected]

Documents

Smart Puppy Buyers GuideV2