There are many ways in which a person can acquire a new four-legged family member. Whether or not you decide that a puppy from Cydweli Corgis is right for you, we want you to be educated and informed on the options that exist. A pet is a financial and emotional investment and it is easy to get smitten by a cute little face and wagging tail. Before you purchase that puppy, ask yourself what you are buying, who you are supporting, and what this purchase will look like in the long run. Below are just six ways you can purchase a puppy and things you need to consider.

 

Backyard Breeders

This is the most common way for many people. These are the dogs you buy off Facebook or other online sites from individuals who have bred their pet dog. These dogs are not CKC registered, do not come with a health guarantee, do not offer life-long breeder support, and are not bred with the intention of improving the quality and standard of the breed.  These dogs are usually a mixed breed and offer no reliability of their adult size, weight, temperament, or propensity for health problems. Remember that it is illegal in Canada to advertise a dog as purebred unless it is registered with a recognized kennel club such as CKC, AKC, UKC, and others. These dogs often end up in shelters when a person can no longer keep them since the "breeder" will not take the dog back. These breeders do not screen their buyers and will sell on a first-come, first-served basis. They often allow puppies to go home as early as five weeks; the puppies are barely weaned at this age!

 

Puppy Mills and Pet Stores

Puppy mills are individuals who breed massive quantities of dogs strictly for profit. Similar to backyard breeders, their dogs are not purebred,  not health tested, and often live in deplorable conditions. Puppy mills are known to have hundreds of dogs at any time and bitches are bred back-to-back in every heat cycle to produce as many puppies as possible, which are most often sold to pet stores and then to an unsuspecting buyer. These puppies receive no proper socialization, training, or stimulation, and are often fraught with behavioural and health problems. Similar to backyard breeders, the pet store cannot guarantee the breed, size, temperament, or health of the dog, since they have no information, dogs are not tested, and remember - if your life changes they will not take back your dog either.

 

Rescues

Rescuers are a bit of a mixed bag. There are some ethical rescues and far more unethical rescues. Rescues often import dogs from other countries, provide them with veterinary care, and then adopt them out. Most require an application and/or a home visit, but many do not. Again, the history of these dogs is unknown and therefore so is their breed, adult size if still a puppy, and propensity for health problems later in life. Many dogs are not in rescues long enough to thoroughly temperament test them and dogs are put through one traumatic experience after another. Rescues will sometimes take a dog back if your situation changes and some rescues will take in a dog you can no longer keep. Some will claim to be "no-kill" which is not always a good thing. In short, rescues are hit and miss for adult size, temperament, health concerns, breed traits, and long-term support. Often dogs from backyard breeders and puppy mills will end up in rescues, so you now have the concerns of a rescue dog combined with the concerns of a dog from a backyard breeder or puppy mill. When considering a rescue dog, it is important to do your due diligence, ask many, many questions, and insist on a seven day trial in case the dog does not work out.

 

Private Rehoming

Sometimes you will hear of someone who needs to rehome their dog because their personal life circumstances have changed. These dogs will always have come from a backyard breeder, puppy mill, pet store, or rescue. Ethical breeders do not allow their dogs to be rehomed and always include a "return to breeder" clause in the contract. Sometimes adopting another person's older dog will work out great for both parties and other times it doesn't due to undisclosed health or behavioural issues.

 

Purebred Breeder - Ethically Questionable

A purebred dog (this means both the sire and dam are registered with a kennel club, most often the CKC here in Canada) and the puppy will also be registered. However, a purebred dog does not equal a well-bred dog. The registration papers simply mean the lineage of both parents can be traced back several generations and the dog is in fact the breed as claimed by the breeder. Breeders are not obligated to do health testing or temperament testing, proper socialization, screening of puppy buyers, or contracts on their dogs for them to be purebred. This means that while you can be sure to receive the breed you are interested in, and it should have a predictable adult size and weight, their propensity for health problems and temperament issues remain undetermined.

 

Ethical Purebred Breeder

Ethical purebred breeders are your most assuring source for a new puppy. Ethical breeders ensure their puppy buyers are well-vetted, do not sell on a first come first served basis, often have a waiting list, and ensure their puppies receive significant socialization, vaccines, and a microchip. Their puppies are ALWAYS registered with a kennel club and they provide detailed information on both the sire and dam. Note it is very common to not be able to view the sire (father) in person as we frequently use a sire from another breeder or do an artificial insemination. Ethical breeders will provide health testing results on all conditions pertinent to their breed. Common health tests include eyes, heart, hips, patellas, elbows, and genetic diseases (in Corgis we test for degenerative myelopathy, a disease similar to ALS in humans). An ethical breeder will always breed with the goal of eliminating genetic diseases from the breed, and will not breed substandard dogs who will be predisposed to health problems later in life. This is delicately balanced with improving the breed standard while maintaining the original function of the breed. It cannot be done at once and often takes several generations! Further, this does not mean that the dog will not develop any health problems. Hip dysplasia, for example, is a common problem in all breeds. We will not breed a dog who has hip dysplasia and intentionally create it in a puppy, however, a dog can still develop it as it ages or through injuries in dog sports and play. It may seem that the price of a purebred dog from an ethical breeder is higher, but the opposite is true. We go to great lengths to ensure that your dog will live a long and healthy life. You should not have unexpected veterinary bills for genetic diseases and you should not have severe behavioural issues if you continue the hard work of training and socializing when you bring your puppy home. You ARE expected to engage in regular veterinary care, training, exercise, and a healthy diet to ensure the longevity of your dog. We will always support you over the lifespan of your dog, and will insist the dog is returned to us should your circumstances change and you cannot keep him or her. Additionally, due to the developmental stages a puppy experiences, we will never let a puppy go home before 10 weeks, although 12 weeks is ideal. Your puppy still has so much to learn from mom and siblings.