Signs of a Responsible Dog Breeder
A reputable breeder will:
✅ Invite you to visit and meet both puppies and parents.
✅ Maintain a clean, spacious, and caring environment.
✅ Conduct health testing and share veterinary records.
✅ Offer a contract with health guarantees and a return policy.
✅ Ask you questions to ensure a good match.
The Hidden Risks of Irresponsible Breeding
Sadly, not all breeders follow humane practices. Some focus on producing as many puppies as possible, often in overcrowded or unsanitary environments. Puppies born under such conditions may suffer from:
Genetic or hereditary diseases
Parasites and untreated illnesses
Fear, anxiety, or poor social skills due to isolation
Even legally licensed breeders can operate as high-volume commercial kennels, often referred to as puppy mills. These facilities may meet minimum legal standards but still fail to provide proper enrichment, exercise, or socialization. Puppies from such operations can face lifelong health and behavioral issues.
Why You Should Always Visit in Person
Photos and videos can’t tell the full story. By visiting the breeder:
You can see the dogs’ living conditions and emotional wellbeing.
You’ll observe how the puppies interact with people and other dogs.
You’ll meet the mother dog and evaluate her health and temperament.
If a breeder discourages in-person visits or insists on shipping your puppy, that’s a serious red flag. Reputable breeders are proud to show you how their dogs live.
What Responsible Dog Breeders Do
A responsible dog breeder puts the health, safety, and wellbeing of every dog first. They take pride in raising puppies that are healthy, socialized, and well-adjusted.
Here are the hallmarks of responsible breeding practices:
Don’t sell puppies sight unseen. They want to meet you and your family to ensure their puppies are going to loving, responsible homes.
Care about where their puppies go. They will ask questions about your lifestyle, home, and experience with dogs before finalizing a sale.
Do not sell puppies to pet stores, online brokers, or third-party resellers. Reputable breeders prefer to work directly with buyers to maintain transparency and accountability.
Are proud to show how their dogs are raised. They invite you to visit, meet the mother dog, and see her physical and emotional wellbeing firsthand.
Ask thoughtful questions and help match you with the right puppy. Often, the breeder will help choose a puppy suited to your family’s needs and activity level.
Provide plenty of exercise and enrichment. Their dogs receive positive mental and physical stimulation every day.
Ensure consistent veterinary care. Responsible breeders schedule yearly checkups, follow vaccination schedules, and complete pre-breeding health exams.
Maintain clean, comfortable living environments. Their dogs are groomed, healthy, and show confidence and curiosity.
Socialize their puppies properly. Puppies stay with their mothers and littermates for early learning and social bonding before going to new homes.
Breed thoughtfully. They give female dogs time to rest between litters and retire them after a few carefully planned breedings.
Health-test parent dogs before breeding. They screen for genetic diseases and follow breed-specific testing standards (including OFA and DNA tests).
Do not produce continuous litters. They often have waiting lists and breed occasionally to improve or preserve the breed—not for mass production.
Focus on one or two breeds. This allows them to gain deep knowledge of each breed’s traits, health, and temperament.
Welcome transparency. They encourage visits and are open about their breeding practices, environment, and veterinary care.
Belong to breed clubs and follow codes of ethics. Many reputable breeders are members of local or national kennel clubs that promote responsible breeding and discourage online or pet store sales.
Provide lifetime support. They will take a puppy back at any time if the new owner can no longer provide care.
❤️ Why It Matters
Responsible dog breeders are dedicated to improving their breed and ensuring every puppy grows into a healthy, confident companion.
When you choose to buy from a breeder who follows ethical practices, you help promote humane treatment, reduce irresponsible breeding, and make a lasting difference for dogs everywhere.
But the puppy comes with papers?
Just because the breeder’s puppies are registered with the AKC, CKC or APRI etc. does not mean the puppy will be healthy or well-bred nor does it mean the breeder is responsible. Registration papers do not guarantee health or quality and they do not mean the puppy is a show dog or that the breeder is good.
While you are visiting the breeder, listen to your gut. Would you let the breeder take care of your dog if you went on vacation? Don’t buy the puppy because you feel badly for it.
That is not rescuing. That will only keep the breeder in business and the suffering of the breeding dogs will continue.
Meet the mother dog before you buy a puppy. Avoid puppy mills.
When buying a puppy, you want to make sure it was born in a loving and clean environment. To be sure, meet your new puppy and meet the mother dog in person before you buy it. The puppy should have an overall healthy look to him and should be a happy well adjusted puppy.
Make sure his eyes are bright and he is clean and happy. Look at his body language make sure his tail is up and wagging. Is his posture good? Does he hold his head up, is he curious? Does he run up to you or does he cower and avoid you? Is the kennel where he lives clean? Is the breeders house and property clean. Listen to your gut. Here are photos of legal USDA dog breeders, the ones who sell and ship puppies online.
There are so many risks to buying a puppy online. Since your puppy will live for 12-15 years, it is important to see firsthand where it was born. Just because two purebred dogs are crossed does not mean they best traits of both breeds are seen in the offspring. Make sure the breeder is not a puppy mill.
Pick your puppy up in person, meet the mother dog, see her mental and physical condition. She should be clean, happy and well adjusted. If you don’t see the kennel in person and meet the mother dog you are taking a very big risk and could get an unhealthy and poorly bred puppy that may have poor genetics, hereditary defects, parasites and anxiety.
It is not safe to buy puppies online. Never have a puppy shipped to you by airplane, truck or driver service, nanny and meeting the breeder halfway or in a parking lot is also out of the question. These deliver methods are tactics to keep you from seeing the property. If you are not able to pick up the puppy in person, see the mother dog and where she and all of the breeder’s dogs live, you are likely supporting a puppy mill. Here are photos of legal USDA dog breeders, the ones who sell and ship puppies online.
Over 1 million puppy mill puppies are sold online each year and it is in your best interest to make sure your new puppy is not coming from one of these breeders. There is no excuse for a breeder that won’t let you see where the dogs live.
It takes time to find a new puppy. Your puppy will be a part of your family for 12-15 years so it’s important to find a healthy well-bred puppy. Do your research online but never take a breeder’s word for it even if they send you photos and videos.
It’s important to go to the breeders home in person and see where the dogs live and how he treats them. Responsible breeders should have no problem with that. Know what red flags to look for.
Always meet the mother dog, see her mental and physical condition and where she lives before you buy a puppy. See where and how she and all of the breeding dogs live.
A puppy mill is any dog breeder that puts profit over the health and well-being of the breeding dogs and puppies produced. These breeders vary in size from small breeders — ten to twenty dogs — to very large breeders that have hundreds of breeding dogs. Puppy mills are legal. Here are photos of legal USDA dog breeders, the ones that sell and ship online.
Puppy mills keep the mother and father dogs pregnant and sell the puppies. The breeding dogs are forced to breed twice a year or at every heat cycle and they are usually kept in wire cages, many times stacked.
The breeding dogs are not groomed, they are not given opportunity to exercise nor do they know the touch of a loving hand. They are denied veterinary care and most are living and breeding with painful conditions such as urinary tract infections, ear infections, rotten teeth, infected eyes, tumors, infected mammary glands and sore feet from standing on wire cage floors.
The puppies they sell are poorly bred. Many are delivered with parasites and health issues. Puppies from puppy mills have genetic and hereditary issues that may not show up for weeks, months or years.
It is important to know that any breeder can be a puppy mill. It’s hard to imagine the breeder you are talking or texting with could be a puppy mill. If the breeder has excuses why they won’t let you see where they keep the breeding dogs or you are not able to meet the mother dog in person, we suggest you find another breeder.