Summary: With the increase in the number of people selling puppies online has come the increase in the number of puppy scams. We provide some ideas to prevent you from being victimized in the process of buying a puppy.
Avoiding Puppy Scams
No one wants to be scammed. Some breeders unknowingly scam prospective buyers. They inadvertently produce puppies that they did not know had defects or diseases that are passed on from their parents. They simply do not know enough about breeding to ensure quality. The parents of the puppies were not bred properly. Some breeders are more truly dishonest. They may claim that they have puppies and even show you pictures of puppies however, chances are that there are no puppies and pictures are taken from another kennel.
Do not get involved with so-called breeders that do not have a permanent address, land line phone, and lots of references. You want a breeder that really cares about the breed. They should portray a deep knowledge about the breed and how to care for them. Raising a litter of puppies is not cheap and is very time consuming to do properly. A reputable breeder should be reimbursed a reasonable amount for the time and money that goes into the puppy and its parents.
Beware of someone who is willing to give you a puppy for too good of a price or one who won’t speak to you on the phone. Breeders who claim they can ship you out a puppy in a few hours should raise red flags. In order to fly on an airline, a puppy will need a health certificate from a veterinarian. It will also have to be at least 8 weeks old. To book a puppy to fly and obtain a health certificate would be extremely difficult to do in a short amount of time.
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Check with the parent club / Breed club———- of America – there is usually one for each breed. They sometimes have a breeder referral list. Also check the health problems for that breed and ask for written copies of testing on the parents.
A breeder should be able to send you pictures of the litter and refrences for people who have previously purchased from them.
Another way to check – if the parents are show dogs do a search for their name and they will come up under show entry results. Sometimes you can even find pictures of them.