How to Purchase a Dog

By eHow Pets Editor

Instructions

Step 1:
Visit local pet stores and ask where the puppies come from to be sure you are not supporting puppy mills, the huge, money-making manufacturing operation of producing puppies. The Humane Society of the United States strongly opposes pet shops because they often sells dogs that come from puppy-mills.
Step 2:
Learn about backyard breeders in your area. Many backyard dog breeders have good intentions, but some don't. Responsible breeders breed one breed, study the bloodlines, prove their dogs in shows, and provide references, health certificates and any show titles. The kennels will be clean and accessible to you to see the puppies and interact. They allow puppies to be socialized in their own home before they are weaned. A good breeder will be an expert on his breed and provide you with lots of helpful information.
Step 3:
Visit the puppies/dogs available from the pound or local animal shelter. Adopt one, and you'll be saving an animal from euthanasia and supporting the important services the shelter provides. Your local animal shelter is also a perfect place for families on a budget, as adoption fees are generally low and include spaying/neutering, micro-chipping, county registration tags, rabies vaccination and sometimes more.
Step 4:
Consider private animal rescue organizations that adopt purebred dogs from shelters and rescue dogs from puppy mills or other abusive situations. They responsibly control pet over-population, so pets will be already spayed or neutered. Prices will be a little higher than a shelter, though, because they generously pay for the pet's care out of their own pockets.
Step 5:
Do your own homework on the breed you are selecting to make sure their adult size, temperament, shedding and hereditary inclinations are a good fit for every member of your family. Use the library as a great source of breed books with pictures.
Step 6:
Plan for a vet visit as soon as your bring your new puppy or dog home to be sure he is properly vaccinated, micro-chipped, spayed or neutered and has received a clean bill of health!

Tips & Warnings

Consider adopting a dog over 1 year old, because he will already be house-trained and socialized. Generally the dog will also be full-grown by this time, so size won't be a surprise.
When adopting a pound puppy, consider that nobody knows the reason for abandonment, and the dog may be destructive or aggressive as the result of abuse. Many times, all a shelter dog needs is love to fit into your family.

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