Best place to buy a puppy

3leigh

Hi folks
I am currently thinking long and hard about buying a puppy (bichon frise) but i am concerned about where to buy one, i have heard about puppy farming and of course i want to avoid this at all costs, so my question is where to begin looking? How do you know if sellers are genuine or not.

xcarlyx

I brought mine from facebook. - turns out when I got there her kitten had just had kittens and rabbits had baby rabbits.

I brought my puppy even though he was only 6 weeks but he took a long time to train.

pets4homes looks a good site, or look at champ dogs for pedigree breeders

janeys

I would suggest going through the kennel club, they have this page here which seems to be a good starting point. Sometimes they know of good breeders and can put you on to the right people.

lostinrates

Kennel club is a place to start, then look Breed clubs hold lists of breeders and the secretary,( or area person if its divided into geographical areas) will likely know who has a litter.

Get to know the breeders, who would you feel comfortable to turning t for advice down the line? Check any breed health requirements etc and that the parents have good results on any tests done.

Please don't buy 'off the Internet' or under age ( this happens occasionally for good reasons but is to be avoided).

AlwaysAllie

Please please please also consider a rescue dog. Either from a reputable rescue centre, or the majority of breeds have their own breed rescue. Google should help a search for this.

AA

rising_from_the_ashes

Research, research & more research:)

Champ dogs is a good place to find breeders & kennel club website

You need to ensure both parents have been health tested for any genetic conditions that breed may suffer from(and see the paperwork)

Find out what to look for - eg labs should be elbow, hip and eye tested, elbow scores should be 0, hips under 15 in total & eyes clear (sorry not familiar with what BF should be tested for but it should be easy enough to find out)

Person_one

With bichons you need to be extra careful. They are one of the most farmed breeds in the country, apparently something like 90% of them are born on puppy farms.

Read every word of this as a starting point!

http://www.bichonfriserescue.co.uk/page_1351928.html

chris_n_tj

Kennel club all the way. Our breeder is KC assured and I have known her for about 10 years. She is also our groomer.

Ollie is a stunning little dog, as is Dexter my Daughters Bichon who came from the same breeder.

Please please be extra careful when buyin g a Bichon, what seems a bargain just might not be. As person_one says they are one of the most puppy farmed breed and have been for years.

If you want details of my breeder please feel free to PM me. I know she can put you in contact with a good breeder, she is well known in the Bichon world and she is a lovely lady.x



Oliver aged 13 months, weighs in at 5kgs and was easy to train. Bichons are willing to learn and like to please, it took us just over a week to house train him and about half an hour to give paw and sit stay.
It just takes a treat or two, they will do anything for food lol. x

PS Even some KC members are puppy farmers.x

isitenough

We found our breeder through the Kennel Club. We decided to go local (within an hours drive) so we could see the pup as soon as was possible from birth (from 3 weeks I think) right through until we took him home at 8 weeks. We went every week and the change we saw was amazing! Seeing them grow was something special. We saw the litter as a whole but didn't choose one until the 6th week. That way we could be sure we were happy with the breeder (and vice versa) and that the pups were going to be right for us.
The breeder was more than happy for us to see them every week and encouraged it. She wanted to know we'd be right for her pup as well. Research is the key.

Kinski

There are loads of good breeders out there but please be aware that the kennel club have and as far as I'm aware still do register litters from puppy farmers, as some of the others have said go to the breed club as they're usually good at weeding out bad breeders or go on the recommendation of someone like chris n tj. I also have a Bichon but my girl unfortunately came to me from a rescue after she had been used as a breeding bi*** in a puppy farm.
This was my girl the day after I got her



over two years on she's a smashing wee dog but she's still terrified of the men in my family and will have a go my sons if she can.

gemini12

I don't know about Bichons but many breeds have their own rescues. Please consider this as there are so many dogs languishing in kennels (yes puppies too). Thy deserve a second chance of a good life.

Also please think about Christmas coming when in many homes routines change and become busier and noisier. Not a good environment for a new puppy. Consider waiting until after the Festive season.