Happy puppy gives kisses to a new friend.
When you go out to purchase a puppy, you’re not just picking a pup from a litter. You’re also picking what genetics you’re purchasing, and what breeder you’re trusting to raise that pup. Genetics and early experiences come together to determine whether your pup will be easy or difficult to potty train, sleep through the night or throw a tantrum in his crate, let you take a bone from him or bite your hand, wag his tail at kids or growl and run away, and on and on. In short, your entire experience of puppy raising will be shaped by this combination of nature and nurture. Considering that this puppy will go on to live with you for another 10-15 years, this is not something that should be taken lightly!
Fortunately you can stack the deck in your favor by being careful about which breeder you purchase from.
Before you even start contacting breeders, the first step is for you to consider your home life and how the dog will fit into it.
Will your pup be primarily an indoor or outdoor dog?
Do children live in your home or visit often?
Do you have other dogs? Cats? Other animals?
Do you live in a busy urban area, quiet suburbs, or out in the country? What is the noise level around you?
Next, think about the activities you’d like to do with your pup once he’s an adult.
Hiking? Swimming? Paddle boarding?
Picnicking and large family gatherings?
Hanging out at cafes and outdoor restaurants?
Dog sports like agility, competitive obedience, or musical freestyle?
Talk to your family and write your lists. There’s one step here that I won’t go into, and that’s narrowing down which breeds are likely to be a good match for your lifestyle. That’s a whole other post! Let’s get to what you came here for - the secret rules that differentiate “good breeders” from “back yard breeders.”
…Well, except that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to such a complicated topic! Since everyone’s situation, needs, and preferences are different, I’ve instead written out some guidelines for you to follow as you evaluate breeders. There will be exceptions to every bullet point. If the breeder you’re talking to does things differently, ask them why and listen carefully to their answer. Does it make sense, or does it rule them out when it comes to your particular household?
Pluses: Things you want from the breeder
Keeps in contact with previous buyers and can tell you how their pups behave as adults. If they don’t keep track of their pups as they mature, they don’t really know what they’re producing. Bonus points if your pup’s relatives participate in the same activities as you plan to do with him.
Interviews you carefully and makes sure that you would provide a good home for their puppy, rather than selling to anyone who has the money.
Can tell you about any major illnesses or injuries that happened to dogs related to this litter, as they may have a genetic component.
Performs health testing on their breeding dogs and available relatives, and can show you the results. For example, PennHIP is a well regarded way to evaluate risk of developing, or severity of, hip dysplasia. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) provides testing for various conditions and a public database of results. You can browse by breed to see what testing is recommended by the national parent club of a breed you’re interested in. For cross breeds, look for tests recommended for the pure breeds that went into your potential puppy (ie, poodles and golden retrievers for a goldendoodle puppy).
Lives in a similar environment to you (eg, urban, suburban, rural). If they live out in the country and you live downtown, it’s likely to be a difficult transition for the pup, which can lead to fear or reactivity. (However a puppy who is confident with loud noises, cars, strangers, etc, can overcome this.)
Performs similar activities with their adult dogs as you want to do with your future pup (for example, hiking, walking downtown, therapy work, or agility). Or if they don’t, they know that previous puppy buyers have successfully done those activities.
Also consider the opposite - does the breeder do activities that don’t fit with your lifestyle? If they are breeding dogs that are frequently hunting, herding, or protecting the home/livestock, their puppies are not likely to be a good fit for a suburban family with little kids.
Raises the puppies in their home (rather than outdoors in a yard or barn), unless you are specifically looking for an outdoor dog. Pups raised in the home will be much more comfortable with things like kitchen noises, vacuums, guests coming in, etc.
Socializes the puppies to new people, including kids. Precautions should be taken to make sure that illnesses aren’t brought in, such as leaving shoes outside the puppy area, wearing clean clothes, and washing hands thoroughly. However puppies that haven’t met a variety of people at an early age are much more likely to be fearful of strangers.
Socializes the puppies to other dogs (especially other breeds of dogs, if possible). I’ve met lots of puppies that got along well with the other purebred dogs in the household, but shrieked, barked, or ran away the moment they saw a dog who looked different.
Socializes the puppies to other animals, if possible. This is especially important if you have cats, rabbits, parrots, livestock, etc.
Provides lots of variety in the puppy pen. The pups should experience different surfaces, smells, sights, sounds, and so on. This creates more confident pups who can handle a variety of situations later in life. Introduction to different noises (carefully, at a level the pups can handle) is especially important if you live in a busy/noisy area.
Introduces the puppies to crates. At the very least, there should be crates available for the pups to explore and rest in if they choose. Even better if the breeder gives them positive exposure to being closed into a crate by feeding the pups inside, or gets them used to sleeping in them overnight. (Crates are extremely useful tools for potty training, chew training, and separation training. They can also help keep your dog calm and still during recovery if he has an injury or severe illness later in life.)
Starts the puppies on potty training by having a designated potty area in their pen or by taking them outdoors frequently.
Gives you guidance in picking a pup from the litter, so that a busy household doesn’t take home the shyest pup, or a retired couple doesn’t get the most active one.
Has you sign a contract that includes a clause stating that you will contact them first or return the dog to them if you can no longer care for him. They want to avoid having a dog they bred end up in a shelter or rescue.
Puppies learning about water in a safe, fun way!
Neutrals: Things that other people might tell you are important, but may not be to you
Breeds only purebreds recognized by the AKC, not any “cross breeds,” “mutts,” or “designer dogs.” There are good breeders who are striving to create new breeds or individual dogs for specific tasks by mixing existing breeds. Did you know that Guide Dogs for the Blind regularly crosses purebred Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers? There is nothing inherently better about a puppy who has only one type of dog in its lineage. I’ve owned and met many “doodles” and other mixes who were lovely dogs.
Shows dogs in conformation (“dog shows”). This would only apply to currently recognized pure breeds. It is important that a breeder evaluates the structure (“conformation”) of their breeding dogs and puppies, to make sure that they are creating sound, healthy dogs. However that does not need to be done via dog shows. Success in dog sports, long happy lives in their previous dogs, and good evaluations by breed mentors can all point to sound structure.
Breeds for uncommon coat colors or patterns. This is associated with “back yard breeders” and puppy mills, who often churn out uncommon or unusual puppies without regard for health or temperament. However with few exceptions (see below), there is nothing inherently wrong with breeding for specific coat colors. You have to evaluate the rest of the breeder’s program, separate from this.
A large amount of white on the face/head of a dog is associated with increased risk of deafness. Puppies like this should be BAER tested to find out if they have normal hearing or are unilaterally or bilaterally deaf.
Two dogs with the merle pattern should not be bred together unless the breeder is up to date on the very latest merle research and has had the lengths of the merle alleles tested, otherwise “double merle” puppies are likely to be blind and/or deaf.
Dogs with the dilute color gene (often referred to as “blue”) may suffer from color dilution alopecia. This is usually a mild cosmetic issue but may lead to secondary skin infections and itchiness. Not all dilute dogs have CDA.
Puppy meeting a calm cat.
Minuses: Things that should make you pause and think carefully
Doesn’t let you meet the dam or other relatives of the litter. (Alternatively, lets you see them, but the dogs are barking at you and wary of approaching.) If your pup’s relatives aren’t friendly to strangers, chances are he won’t be, either.
Doesn’t let you see where the puppies are living. You want to be able to look at their space and make sure that it’s clean and has a variety of surfaces and toys and things to climb on and under. It shouldn’t be so small that the pups are learning to potty where they eat and sleep.
Is evasive about how the pups are raised and socialized, or gives very general or vague answers. Listen for specifics, not just that they met “a lot” of people or were handled “a lot.”
Keeps their adult dogs in kennels outdoors - unless you plan to keep your dog primarily outdoors as well.
Has a large number of breeding dogs, especially of multiple breeds. This is a red flag for a puppy mill. Of course, this is a guideline, not a rule - especially if the dogs are small breeds, and they can all comfortably live in the home.
Regularly ships puppies to buyers without meeting them first. This is also a red flag for a puppy mill. Watch out for websites that emphasize the convenience of having your pup shipped to you. Again, this is a guideline - many breeders will ship puppies after carefully screening potential buyers.
Allows buyers to select their pups “first come, first served,” or based solely on sex and color, without any input on the pups’ personalities and whether they’re a good fit for that household.
Hands over puppies before they are 8 weeks old. Not only is 8 weeks widely considered to be a minimum amount of time that puppies should be with their littermates, but it is illegal in California to rehome them at an earlier age.
Is heavy-handed with their puppies, doing things like forced downs, “alpha rolls,” holding puppies’ mouths shut for biting, or spanking. These all teach puppies that human hands coming toward them are scary. You want the opposite - a pup who trusts humans and is easily taught to allow all kinds of handling for grooming, vet care, etc.
Extra resources
I know of a few programs that guide breeders through early puppy raising, socialization, and training. The goal is to help breeders raise pups that are confident, friendly, stable, and make great family members. There is no guarantee that a puppy raised with these programs will be confident and outgoing, but it’s a good way to maximize your chances.
Puppy Culture - They also have a Facebook group where you can watch videos and read information about the program. Try doing a search for your breed of choice, and you may find a breeder near you.
Good Dog’s Good Breeder Courses (including the original AviDog A-Z program), along with webinars and articles.
Institute of Canine Biology’s Science of Canine Husbandry course, and several other courses. The blog is also a fantastic resource for those interested in health, population genetics, inbreeding coefficients, etc.
AviDog - They no longer host their A-Z program but still have a list of breeders who follow the program.
Good Dog is a database of vetted breeders that meet minimum requirements for health testing, behavioral screening, and puppy raising.
The Functional Dog Collaborative is a new program that helps breeders whose goals are to produce functional (physically and behaviorally) dogs who fit well into our modern world. Check out the official Facebook group - on Sundays they welcome posts from people looking for breeders or puppies.