Puppy and dog checklist

Before you go

• The advert names the breed, the age, the sex and where the animal is. If it does not, ask.
• A licensed seller must publish a licence number and the issuing council. Ring the council and check it; they will tell you.
• Agree that you are seeing the puppy with its mother before you travel.
• Know which health tests this breed needs, by name, so you can ask for the certificates.
• Never agree to meet anywhere but the home the litter was raised in.

The minimum age

A puppy may not leave its mother before 8 weeks. This is not a guideline. A seller offering a six-week-old puppy is breaking the law and, more to the point, producing a dog that will be harder to live with for its whole life.

On the day

• Is the mother there, relaxed, and clearly living in the house?
• Do the puppies go to her, and does she respond to them?
• Do the puppies look like her?
• Where do they sleep? Ask to see it, not a photograph of it.
• Are they clean, bright-eyed, moving freely, with no discharge from eyes or nose?
• How do they react to you? Curious is good. Frozen and hiding is not.
• Ask to see the health test certificates with the parents' registered names on them.
• Ask what they are eating, how often, and what has been done so far: worming, flea treatment, first vaccination, microchip.

Questions worth asking

• Did you breed this litter yourself?
• How many litters has this bitch had, and how old is she?
• What is the sire like, and can I see him or a photograph and his paperwork?
• What have the puppies been exposed to so far: the hoover, the doorbell, children, the car?
• What happens if it does not work out?

Walk away if

• The mother is "at the vet", "at the stud's", or otherwise unavailable.
• You are offered several breeds at once, or a new litter is always ready.
• You are pressed to leave a deposit today.
• You are asked to pay by bank transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency.
• The price is well below the going rate for the breed.
• Anything about the room, the smell or the seller's answers does not add up.

Before you pay

• Get the contract, and read it. It should cover the health guarantee, what happens if you cannot keep the dog, and any registration endorsements.
• Insure from the day you commit. Anything that appears before cover starts is excluded for life.
• Pay in a way you can trace. If you use Pawgrove Payments, your balance is held until you confirm the dog is home with you.