Many people mistakenly believe that all puppies come from pet stores. You might be surprised to learn that out of all the puppies that find homes in the U.S. less than 4% of them come from pet stores.  

There are 4 ways to obtain a puppy. These are:

• Buying the puppy from a pet store
• Adopting the puppy from an animal shelter
• Receiving the puppy as a gift from a friend, family member, acquaintance, or stranger whose dog had a litter
• Buying the puppy from a private seller

Out of all these options, 37% of people get their dogs from animal shelters and 34% get their puppies directly from dog breeders. These dog breeders are known as “private sellers.” Pet stores also work with “private seller” breeding kennels. 

When choosing which private seller to buy a puppy from, there are many things you should know, ask, and do, in order to ensure that you end up purchasing your puppy from an ethical breeder who sells healthy, happy, socialized puppies. 

One of the greatest benefits of getting a puppy from Petland Texas is that Petland has done all of the hard work for you in terms of choosing the most ethical dog breeders with the highest standards. 

Not everyone is close to our Petland Texas locations to take advantage of our “no puppy mills” guarantee by purchasing a Petland puppy from us. That’s why we put this helpful guide together.  

In this article, we’re going to lay out everything you should know before you buy a puppy from a private seller. 

WHAT IS A PRIVATE SELLER?

The term “private seller” refers to a dog breeder. A dog breeder is its own company, and these companies tend to sell their puppies at competitive retail prices similar to the prices you will find at a reputable pet store. Private sellers also typically sell purebred and designer hybrid puppies.   

The government regards “private sellers” of dogs as “dog breeders,” and therefore imposes regulations on those breeders, luckily. Depending on the state where the private seller is operating, they may have to be inspected and licensed. Though there are moderate laws in place to ensure that private sellers do not victimize their dogs, the fact of the matter is that the “humane treatment of animals” is technically subjective. And in the eyes of the law, puppies are regarded as merchandise. 

This means that just because a private seller adheres to the laws and regulations doesn’t automatically mean that they treat their dogs humanely. 

But don’t let this deter you. There are plenty of responsible, ethical private sellers out there. In fact, the whole reason a lot of these private sellers got into business was for the purposes of providing the general public with trustworthy alternatives to puppy mills. These types of private sellers love dogs, love raising puppies, and have fashioned their facilities with animal welfare in mind.

QUESTIONS TO ASK A PRIVATE PUPPY SELLER

There are many questions you can ask a private seller to help you identify whether or not they’re ethical, responsible, and worthy of working with. We’ve put together a list of questions below. 

The good news is that you can and should ask these questions over the phone. We don’t recommend that you visit the breeder yet to ask these questions, and the reason for that is because, on site, the puppies will probably cloud your judgment. Who can continue conversations about breeding practices when there are adorable puppies who need you to pet them right now! 

When you’re on the phone with a private seller be aware that they will probably have questions for you, too. Or, they may ask you questions in person later on. This is a good sign. Reputable puppy sellers, before they home their puppies, have a process to screen prospective puppy owners in order to make sure that their puppies end up in loving homes. This is what makes them good dog breeders.

Questions to Ask a Private Puppy Seller:

• Are you required by state law to be a licensed breeder, and if so, can you provide evidence of your license? According to the number of litters they manage, the breeder may or may not be licensed, but most reputable private sellers who produce 3 or more litters will obtain a license to substantiate their ethics.

• Can I see the puppies with their mother at the place where they’re being weaned? Puppies from private sellers should always be seen with their mother at the place where they were born and are being weaned. If the breeder gives you a lot of excuses as to why you can’t see the puppies, be very skeptical of them.

• Have the parents been screened for health conditions relevant to the breed, and can you show me the health reports? Many purebred dog breeds are susceptible to specific genetic disorders. Reputable breeders know about the common disorders of the breed they specialize in and they involve vets in their breeding and weaning practices to test for disorders and monitor the health of their puppies. This is to say that reputable private sellers only use breeding dogs that are in excellent genetic health so as to massively reduce any chances of their puppies having health issues.

• How many litters has the mother dog had? Veterinarians across the board, as well as the American Kennel Club, agree that a female dog should not have more than 4 litters in her lifetime.

• How old is the mother dog? Veterinarians across the board, as well as the American Kennel Club, agree that a female dog should not breed if she is younger than 1 year or older than 8 years.

• Can I visit the puppies a few times before I decide to buy one? Again, the private seller should expect and be accustomed to their potential customers seeing and visiting the puppies prior to purchasing one. This has to be within reason, of course, since puppies sleep most of the time and need to be with their mother. But if a private seller refuses to allow you to see the puppies at all until they’re on sale on the market, then that is a major red flag that their breeding standards are low.

• At what age will the puppies be able to leave their mother? The general industry standard is 8 weeks old. Commercial breeders who supply puppies to pet stores, as part of their regulation requirements, will not release puppies that are younger than 8 weeks. But unregulated and disreputable private sellers may opt to “move merchandise” and sell their puppies as soon as a buyer is interested.  

Hopefully, this article has provided you with a foundation to begin researching puppy breeders to find a responsible dog breeder near you. If you want to know how to find ethical dog breeders in Texas, check out our Cares page, and learn about our strict vetting process.

On behalf of everyone at Petland Texas, we thank you for being responsible and going the extra mile to make sure you aren’t inadvertently and accidentally supporting a puppy mill.