Close Menu
Contact
Our Branches Contact

Choosing the Right Puppy for You

Trustpilot

By Barking Mad’s in-house dog trainer and behaviourist, Lisa Mercer, of Just Rewards Dog Training

Barking Mad Dog Sitters advise taking time to choose the right puppy for you

Choosing the right puppy is the first step to many happy years of dog ownership

Once you have made the decision to get a puppy, choosing the one that’s right for you could be the difference between many trouble – free, happy years and a worrying, possibly heart-breaking future! It’s so important to do your homework before you go and view any puppies, as once faced with all those adorable bundles of fluff, your common sense can completely fly out of the window.

Puppies arrive baggage free – true or false?

This is in fact, FALSE. Puppies do not arrive with a clean slate. Both nature and nurture have a huge impact as a puppy will inherit genes from it’s parents and these genes will influence the puppy’s genetic potential to behave in a particular way, such as:

How to get it right first time

1. Which breed?

Firstly learn about the breed traits, temperaments, natural instincts and energy levels to ensure you pick a puppy that will suit your lifestyle. For example:

If these needs are not taken into consideration, then behaviour problems will occur. A good breeder should not let their puppy go to an unsuitable home.

2. Choosing the right breeder

When a puppy is born, the first eight weeks learning with the breeder will have a huge impact on the development of all the genetic traits. Even though puppies are from the same litter, they all have very individual personalities. The training and socialisation they receive in their new homes will only influence the genes and first learning, it won’t change their personalities.

Breeder credibility

Do your homework on the breeder. Check their name with the Kennel Club and your chosen pup’s specific breed’s club to ensure they haven’t been black listed for any reason. Ask around on breed specific Facebook pages.

Meeting the breeder – first impressions count

Once you visit your chosen breeder, make sure these points are considered:

  1. What have the puppies seen and heard?
  2. Who and what have they met?
  3. What have they learnt?
  4. How have they learned to play?
  5. What do they do if they get frustrated?
  6. What do they do if they get bored?
Barking Mad Dog Care welcomes puppies to use their dog sitting service, as long as they are fully vaccinated

Meeting your new pup’s parents gives a good indication of the dog they will grow up to be

3. Meet the parents

The early weeks of a puppy’s life are crucial to its development, so take your time and keep your head! It’s vitally important to meet the mother of the puppies to assess temperament. Be extremely wary if she is not around. When you meet her, ask yourself if she is the kind of dog that you’d like to own, because your puppy will almost certainly have inherited some of her characteristics.

Where is the father of the puppies? It’s unlikely that he will be there, so ask who and where he is and if you can meet him. Make sure you are meeting the actual parents, unscrupulous dealers have been known to buy in puppy farmed litters and then ‘hire’ an adult of the same breed to pretend the puppies were bred there.

4. Looking at the litter

5. Handling the puppies

6. Make sure you are prepared for a puppy

7. And finally… choose the one which steals your heart!

 

Share This Article: