Finding The Right Breeder

So you decided on the breed of your new pet and now it's time to search around for a breeder. This can be an easy process or a hard process depending upon location, breed and many other aspects.

Sometimes you'll luck into and find a great breeder on your first try, other times you won't, but here are some things to look for to help you find a good breeder.

Your first task should be to forget. That's right, forget about the pet stores and such, because 99.99% of the time they are getting animals cheap from some backyard breeder, who doesn't check for common ailments and other issues with the breed.

The pet store is just trying to hook you in on the cuteness of the pet and how much cheaper they usually are from a breeder.

But the last thing you want is a new pet and get loads of vet bills or even worse to lose your new pet. So stay away from them because in almost all cases, they aren't getting the animals from legitimate places.

Then there is always your local rescue if you're worried about price, as all the rescue animals come completely vet checked and up to date on everything. So if price is an issue, check around your local rescue organizations for the breed you're looking for, you may even find a new pet you weren't looking for but you want just the same.

But if price isn't an issue and you want a new puppy/kitten, then you now must start finding breeders. Your best bet to do this is to type the breed you are looking for into Google and put the word "Breeders" at the end of it.

Now start checking around to see if there are any in your area. If the search is too vague and doesn't give you much back, type in your location. But almost always you will find a page with the specific breed and it will have a list of all the registered breeders.

One other thing to remember is just because they are registered doesn't mean they are all that great. Also just because their website looks all fancy and legit, doesn't make it so. A website can be made easy enough, fake testimonials and all kinds of other legit looking things can be made and it could be all fake.

Now most breeders sites aren't fake but there are a few. So find the closest ones to you and see if you can visit. This is the best bet in every way because a visit can be faked as easily as the website.

With a visit you will get to check everything out and look around, this will help you distinguish what kind of breeder they are.

Look around for such things as:

Are they kept outdoors all the time or are they kept indoors?

Are they handled plenty or look like they've been left alone for long periods?

Are they getting accustomed to many sights and sounds?

Do they look healthy and well fed?

Do the parents look to be healthy and well fed?

Also among these and anything else you can think of, ask as many questions as you can think of, like:

How many times a year do you breed?

Do you have testimonials?

Do they breed more than one kind of animal?

All of these questions are relevant because most breeders won't breed all the time as it's hard on the animal, once a year is usually the maximum and they only breed them to a certain age. Testimonials will be good if you can actually call people and ask, the more information you have the better. Also if you find they are breeding more than one or two different breeds, then you may have just stumbled upon a puppy mill and stay away.

Generally you can also get a good sense of the breeder by talking to them too, as you can usually tell when someone really cares about their animals and when their full of crap.

So overall just do the research and take the time to find your new family member, as you want your new pet to be happy and healthy for many years.

Another thing to note though is when using such sites as kijjiji keep in mind that a lot of scammers use them, selling you dogs that aren't advertised, just plain taking your money or selling you sick animals. So be very wary when using sites like that.

Also one other thing to take note of is, any site or anybody claiming to be a go between, who will find you the breed you seek and then ship it to you from a breeder they have of staff or found or whatever else, is full of crap. It's a big fat scam, stay away from these types of situations.