What points should I look for when buying a puppy?
Posted by Dog Supplies Advice in Dog Supplies Q&A, tags: buying a puppy, dog care, dog questions & answers, dog supplies, dog supplies adviceWhat points should I look for when buying a puppy?
First of all, resist the temptation to choose the poorest-looking specimen (the runt of the litter) just because you feel sorry for it. Such an animal begins life less well nourished and with less immunity to disease than average, and because of the treatment it has received from its littermates it may grow up to be excessively timid, or in some cases very aggressive. Any puppy that has little or no contact with other dogs during the important socialization phase of its life (an orphaned puppy, a single puppy or one which has been kept alone for a long period in a pet store cage) will respond abnormally to other dogs. For example, it will usually be very nervous of them and refuse to mate with them, and often it will fight dogs at the least provocation.
Choose a friendly, alert puppy which is neither the most extrovert and pugnacious in the litter, biting all its littermates, or the most timid, which shrinks from human contact. Ideally, it should play happily with its littermates, show an interest in what is happening around it and not be unduly distressed (struggling and crying) when it is picked up and examined. Nervous individuals will be very upset, even panicky, if turned on their back or stared at, or if they hear a sudden noise. Dominant animals, that can prove very difficult to control later in life, will show their resentment at being handled by continually struggling and biting. A well-balanced future pet will tolerate most handling, after only a momentary struggle, without any undue alarm or aggression. If you are able to observe the litter at feeding time it will be easier to spot the most dominant and the most submissive members.
The testing of an animal’s response to noise, to being handled and to an unfamiliar plaything, like a ball of paper, is best carried out in a separate room where there are no other dogs to distract it. These tests, which no reasonable dog breeder would object to, will allow you to make a fair assessment of the puppy’s future personality; indeed the probable success of guide dogs (seeing-eye dogs) can be predicted with fair accuracy by studying their behavior as puppies.
If you are buying from a breeder, a good time to pay a visit to assess the puppies’ characters is around five weeks old. If you are not sure of your own ability, it is a good idea to ask a more knowledgeable friend to accompany you. However, your chosen puppy should not leave its mother for further two or three weeks, that is, until it is properly weaned at about eight weeks old.
The social development of a puppy takes place between the ages of three and fourteen weeks, and primarily between four and twelve weeks old. During this period a puppy learns to relate to other animals, including humans, and its experiences at this time determine its behavior throughout the rest of its life. Around eight weeks is a particularly impressionable age when fear responses develop and an unpleasant event at this time can have a psychologically damaging effect on a puppy. The ideal age for a puppy to begin relating to humans is between six and eight weeks old. If it is removed from its mother much earlier than this, it may be unable to relate to other dogs, as mentioned above. On the other hand, a puppy which remains with its mother beyond twelve weeks of age and has little human contact, tends always to be apprehensive of people and difficult to train; this has been confirmed in the training of guide dogs.
A puppy should appear adequately nourished; neither abnormally thin, with prominent backbone and ribs, nor potbellied, and it must be able to move freely. Its eyes should be clear and bright, and both the ears and eyes should be free from any discharges. The pup’s coat should be clean and well groomed, with no obvious hair loss or any yellow staining of diarrhoea beneath the tail. The skin should be soft and pliable without obvious lesions or signs of parasites, the presence of which often causes continual scratching.
It is best not to take young children to visit breeders’ premises because they are likely to fall in love with any puppy that they see, and this may make it difficult for you to leave without making a commitment to purchase.
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