Purchasing a Purebred Puppy

You want to buy a puppy, you know what breed you are looking for and why you want that breed. You search the internet and find a puppy. The seller/breeder claims it is a purebred puppy and can give a better price on it than other breeders because of any of the following; 

• they do not have registration, 
• they are selling as pets, 
• they think the market is inflated and only want to be fair. 
• They may or may not allow you to come to their house or facility, 
• they do not have the pedigree of the parents, or registration for the parents, 
• they can not let you see both parents. 

Yet their prices are the same or only a little lower than others...

Red Flag!!

• A reputable breeder will have the pedigree of both parents, usually grandparents and up to seven years of medical history on both, the puppies will have been vet checked, given immunizations, one, sometimes two and been dewormed. 
• There will be a bill of sale agreement stating their return policy and long term commitments to the buyer. 
• They will want you to come view the parents, choose your puppy and usually have an interview process and want multiple visits before you take the puppy home when it is around ten weeks old.
• They will also have a no breeding clause or fee for breeding rights.
• If the pup is not in consideration for showing or breeding they will insist on spay or neuter proof in the future and stipulate that it is a pet quality pup.

 

Many people claim to have purebred dogs or my favorite: purebred crosses (their is no such thing as a purebred cross) 

Both parents may be purebreds of different breeds but this does not make the puppy a purebred anything.

IF

• The seller claimed the pup was purebred in writing.
• The seller is charging a higher price because the pup is purebred
• This is in writing or witnessed by other people (preferably at least two other people)
• You can prove the pup is not purebred
• Then in my opinion this is  fraud and the seller should be held accountable and punished

How the heck can i prove my pup IS NOT what i was told it was????

Canine DNA testing, now affordable, and easily available through many shelters, (we sell the kits for ten dollars at the shelter, twelve through paypal on the internet.) The lab fee of just under 63.00 is sent to the lab when the samples are sent to the laboratory.  This is a simple epithelial swab test and results are usually back within two weeks.

The test will not guarantee that the dog is a purebred but the way I look at it, if there is more than one breed present in the dog's DNA then it is not all one breed eh,  I do not know if it would hold up in court but it would make a lot of disreputable breeders think twice about misrepresenting what they are selling. 

The prices on supposed purebreds would have to come down and people would have to be more accountable it they knew they could be called on it. As well, who knows what a judge would decide in a civil suit, it may be more than a person just looking to make a buck on pups is willing to spend.