“Pets Listings in the Newspaper?”?

I bought a 11 week Shih Tzu from a newspaper ad, I talked to her and so did my mom she seems really nice. She was kind enough to let me choose if I want more brown on the fur or more white on the fur,lol. She had three female and 2 males for sale. I bought a female.

Now here’s my question is it bad to buy from local listings? (she lives nearby)

I’m picking up my puppy soon,what should I ask?

By the way the puppy has been checked by a vet, had it’s shots, and been dewormed.

Buying from the newspaper listings usually means you are dealing with a Backyard Breeder. Now not all BYB’s are the same. Some mean well but just miss the mark of being a responsible. Other’s are just out for the money.

There are breeders who are devoted to their dog breed and know a lot about it, give a lot of thought to why they are breeding a bitch to a particular stud, take excellent care of the mother and puppies, take lots of time socializing the pups, and are selective about who can buy one of the puppies. They will show you the parents if available, and if the parents are not there for some reason, they will have photos. (Often they have driven hundreds of miles when their bitch came into heat, to breed her to just the right stud, despite awful weather and lots of things to do on their calendar.) They will take time with your questions. No wonder the puppies may cost a good bit… and chances are the breeder is actually making very little on the puppies. A breeder like this is wonderful to work with.

Then there are breeders who keep their dogs in poor conditions, breed the parents because they happen to own them both, feed low-cost, low-quality dog food, may be breeding many different breeds, may have dozens of dogs on their place, don’t socialize the puppies, and will sell to anyone, including pet stores.

These folks usually won’t know much about the breed or the health problems it can have.They probably won’t let you see the mother, because she lives in unsanitary, crowded conditions they don’t want you to see or because she is so worn out from having litter after litter of puppies that she looks terrible. Their puppies may also cost a good bit too… this is how they make a living. Or if there is an overstock, you may be offered special sale prices. These places are called puppy mills.

These two extremes are easy to spot. But many breeders fall somewhere between the extremes, and then you will have to use your own judgment. I ask a lot of questions on the phone with a breeder before I will even go to their place, and I have weeded out some breeders that way.

Any breeder may be able to provide AKC papers. The good breeders will do this, often after you have had the puppy spayed or neutered at the right age if it is pet quality. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the AKC papers have anything to do with quality.

Also beware of the phrase “Champion lines.” All that means is that one ancestor somewhere in the past was a dog show Champion. If your breeder shows dogs (and many of the best breeders do, or have in the past), they will likely love to talk about exactly which dogs in the puppy’s ancestry were Champions and why.

As well as general questions about the breed and its health problems, ask why this particular mother and father were bred to each other. Ask which of the puppies in the litter are show quality and which are pet quality, and why. Ask for the breeder’s opinions about the personalities of the ones that interest you.

*How were the puppies socialized? This word includes whether the puppies lived in the house, or if not, were taken there at times to get used to the normal sights and sounds of household living

*how much they were handled by people — this is essential for a dog that will bond with people, and must happen during the early weeks

*their exposure to other dogs, cats, children

Other questions include what guarantee the breeder offers, and at what age the puppy can go home with you. (It shouldn’t leave its mother and the litter before 8 weeks, as a rule of thumb.)

After you have talked with the breeder a while about you and your home, you could ask their about which puppy they think would be the best match for you.

There are “puppy temperament tests” that have been developed, but there is some controversy about how accurate they are. Still, you can do a variety of things and come to some opinions.

One thing to do is to clap your hands behind the puppy’s head, without letting it see you. If it doesn’t respond, it may be deaf.

Cuddle the puppy, play with it for a while, walk away from it, and observe its actions. It should be friendly, neither overly aggressive nor timid. If there is more than one puppy in the litter that you are considering, do these things with each one. If you are only considering one puppy in a litter, it’s still useful to do the same things with another puppy, just for the comparison.

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