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What You Should Look For When Buying A
Puppy...
- Know the breeder. Visit him, talk to
him; get acquainted with his stock and his breeding record.
- Check his kennel for cleanliness, odor,
clean drinking and eating utensils and the care and housing he
gives his hounds.
- Puppies should be healthy, clean, and
happy with clear eyes and noses. A puppy should stand with all
four feet pointing forward, big tight feet, heavy bone, ears
that reach the tip of the nose, square lips, narrowing face, and
noticeable loose skin around the head and neck.
- Puppies should be
out-going and curious with happy "tailwagging" dispositions,
rather than cowed or shrinking from visitors.
- Age is important. Beware of the breeder
who tries to sell you a puppy that is less than six weeks old.
However, many breeders do not let a puppy go to a new home
before it is 10 to 16 weeks old.
- There is no preference given to color
in the Breed Standard or in the show ring. The colors are: black
& tan, red (sometimes referred to as "tawny"), and liver and
tan.
- Visible faults
can be checked in young puppies--bad bites, feet badly turned in
or out, screw tails, retained testicle/s, and on occasion
entropion. It becomes your responsibility as a buyer to discuss
faults you do not understand with the breeder.
- Puppies should have been started on
their first set of immunizations and been wormed before they go
into a new home and the purchaser instructed to have the puppy
examined by a veterinarian and to follow his advice to the
letter about all follow-up vaccinations.
- It is the breeder’s responsibility to
supply the purchaser with detailed feeding instructions, a
complete medical record, a three or four generation pedigree and
the AKC registration application ("blue slip") or registration
certificate. The buyer should be informed as to whether the
puppy is being sold with "limited registration" or not.
- Beware of Re-sale
Puppies! These puppies are usually the only kind available for
purchase from pet shops. Some states have very stringent
consumer protection laws, which can be construed by a purchaser
as implying quality. Resale puppies are quite often shipped as
young as five weeks of age. They have been bred from poorly
nourished dams that have been inadequately cared for during
pregnancy. In addition, the unknowledgeable and inexperienced
"backyard" breeder may sell his inferior pups to a broker for
resale in pet shops. There are no bargain
bloodhounds!!!
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