Vetmobile Puppy Services and help finding your new friend

Some people will spend less time choosing a dog who could be part of their family for fifteen years than they do selecting a new car which they can swap in a year. 

My biggest piece of advice is be prepared to wait for the perfect dog.  It’s worth being realistic about the type of home you can offer so that you choose the ideal breed or cross breed for your setup. Having a highly motivated and driven working dog in a home where there is not much exercise available every day is more likely to bring on behavioural issues. Equally asking a naturally non aerobic dog to do hill walking and agility every day might compromise its health!

Puppy farming is sadly very common and can be hard to spot for a concerned new owner. The best way to avoid this is to ensure you get to see the whole litter with their mother, suckling, as then you can be sure you are seeing the mother, not just an adult of the breed you are buying. They start to wean at about 3-4 weeks of age so be prepared to wait to take your puppy home. Adverts that say pups are ‘ready now’ and don’t have pictures of the pups throughout their lives can be a clue that they are not in the home they were born in. It’s also worth being wary of places that have several breeds, again unless you can see the whole family.  

It’s vital to meet the puppy’s mother as her temperament will heavily influence that of your new family member. You need to know if she is friendly, also get an idea of her health. Are there any health schemes for the breed you are looking at? Don’t only ask if they were hip and elbow scored, ask what the numbers were and then check this against the breed average.  It‘s worth the effort, as hopefully you will have done all you can to ensure a great start for you all.

Now you just get to enjoy them!