You have decided that a dog will move in with you. Now the only question is where it should come from. Usually there are three possibilities here: From the breeder, from animal welfare and as a private sale.

A Dog From The Breeder

The breeder is always a good place to go if you are flirting with a puppy of a certain breed. Serious breeders are also happy to give you information about “their” breed in advance. Here should be truthfully reported about the breed and not only the good qualities are mentioned. Possibly a responsible breeder will even advise you against the breed if your living conditions and the needs of the breed do not match.

It may be that they have to wait a few months for a puppy, because the bitch of the breeder must first be covered or because the current litter is already taken.

One advantage of pedigreed dogs is that only healthy animals are ever mated with each other, thus reducing the risk of hereditary diseases. Usually the puppies have already been examined by a veterinarian and have received the basic vaccination.

Pedigree dogs from the breeder have their price. Depending on the breed and breeder, you can expect to pay several hundred euros. Because the rearing and care of puppies is time and money consuming, so few breeders become rich through their dogs.

Unfortunately, there is still a market for dog traders. Little puppies are snatched from their mothers much too early, then driven around in cars for hours and finally offered somewhere at cheap prices. Neither the mother dog nor the puppies have received veterinary care or even been vaccinated. Please refrain from buying such a dog. Maybe a dog can be saved by it, but all the more are “reproduced”. Only a lack of decrease can stop the animal-cruel dog trade!

Advantages

• You will receive a purebred dog with pedigree.
• The puppy is vet checked and vaccinated.
• You will get a puppy that you can still raise according to your ideas.
• The breeder will advise you which puppy will fit best into your family.

Disadvantages

• Possible waiting time
• The price
• Mostly only puppies are available, no older dogs

Features For A Reputable Breeder:

• At most two different breeds of dogs should be bred
• You can see the mother of the puppies
• The puppies are allowed to move freely – at least temporarily – and thus get to know a normal everyday life.
• The puppies are not handed over before the eighth week
• The puppies have been examined by a veterinarian and vaccinated.
• The breeder inquires about their living conditions
• You can visit and get to know the puppies before they are given away

A Dog From Animal Welfare

Countless animals are waiting in animal shelters and foster homes for a new home. Therefore, it is basically a good idea to consider whether the future four-legged friend should perhaps come from animal welfare. But here, too, you should think carefully beforehand whether and if so, which dog could fit the given circumstances.

Older dogs often have a troubled and unpleasant past, which can manifest itself in difficult behavior. Many of these “quirks” can be eliminated or mitigated with a loving and consistent education, others you unfortunately never get out of the dog. Because only out of pity one should not take a dog to himself. Nothing is worse for a shelter dog than having to give up a new home after a few weeks.

Despite some initial difficulties, many “used” four-legged friends are wonderful companions and loyal companions for their current owners. And for some, an older, calmer dog is better suited than a rambunctious puppy. If it should be a dog of a certain race, the view is worthwhile itself also here into the Tierheim. Especially large breed dogs are waiting there for a new owner.

Advantages

• You give an animal a new home
• There are also older animals
• The dogs are vetted, vaccinated, chipped and mostly neutered
• The protection fee for shelter animals is much cheaper than the purchase price at the breeder

Disadvantages

• The dogs are mostly mixed breeds, where, in the puppy age, often neither the size, nor all included breeds are known.
• Dogs, which are mediated from abroad to Germany, can usually only be selected online based on photos and videos.
• Older dogs sometimes have bad experiences
• Up to the admission into the animal protection often bad or no veterinary care

A Dog From Private

This refers to dogs that you can get from private people. So whose puppies got, but who are otherwise not breeders. The resulting puppies are often unplanned and therefore mixed breeds. Please inform yourself beforehand, which breeds are in the little ones and if they fit to you. Here, too, you should make sure that the puppies are separated from the mother only from the 8th week, you have learned normal everyday life and are already vaccinated.

Sometimes older dogs are also given away by private people. Various personal reasons, such as an emerging allergy or a move can cause people to give up their dog. Here you should arrange in any case several get-to-know appointments. So you can assess whether the dog could fit to you.

Advantages

• Free or favorable delivery
• Possibility to give an older dog a home without having to go to a shelter first

Disadvantages

• No optimal conditions for raising puppies
• No proof of parentage of puppies
• No right to veterinary care and vaccinations for puppies
• Possibly existing “quirks” in older dogs