How to Buy a Puppy Online Tips
Read these 7 How to Buy a Puppy Online Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Puppy tips and hundreds of other topics.
How Do I Pay For Puppies Online?
You have decided to search for puppies online and you found the dog of your dreams. Now, comes the challenging part. You need to decide on a way to pay for your new best friend. Obviously, you can't just use a wad of cash from the ATM, which is what most local breeders prefer. Mailing it would be a huge risk and you'd be completely out the money if it was lost in the dead letter office.
If the breeder accepts credit cards, you can both feel safe. The credit card company offers you protection in case something goes wrong with the purchase and it also allows the breeder to avoid worries about bad checks. While some people are concerned that a breeder who accepts credit cards may be a puppy mill, the reality is that many hobby breeders have their own business and can simply use their equipment to make the charge on your card.
Checks are a good option for the buyer, but can cause a few tense moments for breeders. Nothing says bad news like a thin little envelope from the bank. The breeder cautiously opens it to read that a customer's $900 check bounced like a basketball and is just grateful the puppy hasn't been shipped out yet. If the breeder isn't willing to accept a check, see if C.O.D. is an option.
Designer Breed Puppy For Sale
Remember when mixed breed puppies were a bad thing? People wanted purebred dogs because those dogs had certain characteristics. Today, people frustrated by the health and temperament problems of many popular breeds are searching for a designer puppy for sale instead.
The problems began when a certain breed was the dog to own. For instance, Dalmation puppies were huge after 101 Dalmations was first released. Problems arose because breeders were unable to fill the demand for puppies. Some breeders were blinded by dollar signs and dogs that were pet quality were bred to make more puppies. The breed was so damaged that it took quite some time to recover.
So, people who loved breeds that had serious problems decided to shake up the gene pool by breeding two different breeds of purebred dogs together to create designer breeds. Cockapoos, Goldendoodles and Labradoodles are just a few new dog breeds you can find.
While it can be a challenge to find the dog you want locally, a search of a site like puppyfind.com can help you find the designer breed that is right for you. If you aren't sure which designer breeds are available, try searching for a dog by size or upkeep and reading about the different types of dogs. You may find that the dog of your dreams is a Puggle.
Puppy Buying Advice For Online Shoppers
You buy your underwear, your groceries and your vintage collectibles online, so when you decided your family was ready for a puppy, it was natural to decide to hop online. As you began to shop, you realized that you might need a bit of puppy buying advice. After all, puppies, unlike coffee or snack foods, are very much alive. To shop for puppies online, you should:
- Utilize the internet to its full potential by really researching the breed you decided on. Puppyfind.com offers some very nice breed profiles that can help you decide if buying an adorable little Yorkie is really the right choice for you. You didn't realize these dogs were so yappy? Perhaps a dog like the Basenji is a better fit.
- Search for puppies in the breed of your choice and carefully read the breeders' descriptions and look at the puppies' pictures. Choose several puppies you like the look of and contact the breeders.
- Check into the breeders' reputation and get more information about the puppies.
- Make your final choice and get the house ready for your new arrival. Don't forget to puppy proof any areas your little guy will have access to.
Find Local Puppies For Sale Online
You keep hearing that you can find puppies for sale online. However, you don't want to buy a puppy without seeing it and the parents in person (or dog) to be sure you really are going to be happy with its looks and personality. This means that searching for a puppy online is out of the question, right? Actually, it is still an excellent option, especially if you go to a site like puppyfind.com, which makes regional searches simple.
- Choose the dog breed you want to buy. If you aren't sure which breed is right for you, the site should offer search options to help you narrow the choices down. For example, puppyfind.com lets you search by size or upkeep. From there, you can choose a breed that strikes your fancy.
- Refine your search by limiting results to puppies in a specific state. If you don't find any puppies in your state, consider searching again in a nearby state. Unless you live in the middle of Texas, which is one big state to get across, nearby states are probably an hour or less from your location. It can be well worth a slight drive to get a puppy that is right for you and your family.
How to Buy a Puppy Online When the Breeder Is Not Nearby
Many times, people research puppies online to find a local breeder. However, what do you do if your search of a site like puppyfind.com doesn't return local results, but there are some very promising litters on the other side of the country? The answer is simple. You learn how to buy a puppy online. To buy a puppy online, you should:
- Search for puppies without limiting your search to a specific area. Instead, limit your search to a certain breed. Sites like puppyfind.com also offer other search options, such as searching by the size of the dog or by the amount of time and effort involved in maintaining your new dog.
- Take a close look at the results. You can compare pictures of the puppies available to get an idea of which puppies have an appearance that is closest to the breed standard.
- Contact several breeders to find out more about their puppies. Ask questions about the breeder's kennel and the parent dogs' dispositions.
- After you choose your puppy, talk to the breeder about the details of shipping.
- Pay for your puppy and the shipping fees or talk to the breeder about other options, such as having the puppy shipped C.O.D. Then wait for the big day to finally arrive.
Find Puppies Online
When you can't find a litter of the breed you want to own locally, a good solution is to go virtual with your hunt. You can find puppies for sale online from even the most obscure dog breeds. There are several options you can use on your search.
If you don't buy your local newspaper, you may want to check out the newspaper classifieds online. Most newspapers offer several weeks or months of classifieds in a conveniently searchable online format. You may just find a litter of the breed you want to buy was advertised several weeks before. The breeder may have a puppy left from that litter or may be expecting a second litter from another dog.
Another way to look for puppies online is to go to akc.com and check the breeder referral service. Some breeders list their AKC registered litters on the site. However, litters registered by other organizations are not allowed to be listed and many breeders who do have AKC registered litters do not use this service, which means the selection is limited.
A third option is to look for puppies using a site like puppyfind.com. This site has many listings for litters of different breeds and is not limited to AKC registered puppies.
Is Buying a Puppy Online a Good Idea?
Everything you've read about selecting a puppy talks about looking at the puppies, the parents and the breeder's facility before you make your selection. So let's say you're looking for Labrador Retriever puppies for sale for example, you're a bit hesitant about the thought of shopping for a puppy online. Is buying a puppy online a good idea? Actually, buying a puppy online through a site like puppyfind.com can be an excellent idea, especially if you are looking for a breed that isn't available in your area.
While seeing both parents and viewing the breeder's set up is good advice, most local breeders aren't going to be able to give you those options, either. Often, the breeder only has the mother on the premises and has used a stud dog as the father. This dog could be at a kennel halfway across the country or even in another country all together. If the mother dog competes in agility competitions or is working on her championship, she may not be around either, especially if you are looking at an older puppy.
Because of concerns about disease, most breeders do not allow visitors to enter their kennel area. Instead, they bring the puppies that are to be sold to a separate space for prospective buyers to see. Even if they have safeguards in place to protect against diseases, the breeders may be concerned that visitors will stress a high strung new mother in the kennel.
Finally, if you are worried that buying online means you won't be able to turn a puppy on its back to see if it is submissive, it is time to be honest with yourself. Are you really going to decide not to buy a puppy because it wouldn't lie still in an uncomfortable position after it gave you that big, sloppy puppy kiss?
