Picking the right dog, with the best breed can be a very challenging task. This is because the choice that you make can greatly affect the rest of your life as a pet owner. And the investment involved is not a joke at all – well bred pets can be really expensive.
This is the reason you should be as meticulous and as careful in choosing your pet breeder as you are in choosing your pets. So to help you out, here are some of the most important questions that you should ask your pet breeder before making that final choice.
The Price. A general rule about buying pups from breeders is, the better the breed, the more expensive the price. So to make sure that you get the most out of your investment, try to visit as many pet breeders as you can and compare their prices, the breeds that they offer and the potential offspring. Do not be shy in asking about the reason for the price differences. Good breeders should not have any price difference between male and female pups and even registered or unregistered pets.
Health tests. Make sure that all the necessary health precautions have been done for both the mother and the father. A good breeder should have eyes, hips and thyroid checks even before the dogs start to mate. And most importantly, the tests should have appropriate medical documentation, all written in paper to show to you and all the other interested clients. Some genetic problems may take years before it emerges and can only be detected upon testing so never get your guard down when it comes t these kinds of issues.
Know what kind of program your breeder is focusing on. All good breeders have a program to follow for the purpose of improving the line of the dogs. So if you are in a more active lifestyle, then pick breeders whose goals revolve around improving physical fitness and working ability. If you are looking for dogs that can simply make good companions or guards, then focus on these kinds of programs as well.
So there you have it. Although these are not the only issues you need to deal with, the three stated above are basically the most important so always keep them in mind when purchasing your pet!