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With the lifetime cost of a dog topping $30,000, our guide to buying that perfect pedigree pooch ensures you make the right investment
To buy a healthy pure-bred you’ll need to find a reputable dog breeder. Check out the pre-vetted breeder list on the Canadian Kennel Club’s website (ckc.ca). As Canada’s only official pure-bred registry, CKC provides support and education to potential dog owners and to the dog-breeding community.
Before you hop in your car, pick up the phone. Most responsible breeders won’t sell a puppy to just anyone that shows up at their door. They’ll want to talk to you first and ask a few questions about your motivations. They may even ask to visit your home, to be sure that you’ll provide a safe environment for the puppy. Pass this test and the breeder will invite you to come meet the dogs.
Surrounded by playing puppies it’s easy to forget the purpose for visiting a breeder: to assess their facilities. If you see cramped, dirty dog-quarters or dogs that are not treated like pets (loved, played with and given lots of exercise time), find another breeder.
If, everything checks out, it’s time to bring your new pup home, right? Not quite. Breeders plan well in advance for the placement of their litters. Plus, you’ll need to wait at least eight weeks after your pup is born before it’s ready to leave its mama. During your last visit, the breeder will want payment and should provide you with a Contract of Sale as well as the pup’s registration papers.
The best breeders offer up to four weeks of Kennel Club Pet insurance, which starts the moment you take your puppy home. Many also provide written lifetime guarantees covering genetic diseases and temperament problems. Although you won’t get your money back, this guarantee means you can return your dog at any point in its life, for whatever reason.
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We purchased two beautiful puppies from ‘Baby Barks’ in Carstairs ,Alberta. We were on the waiting list for a few months and we had to submit an application then they provide your choices of their available puppies. Once that is done, they choose a match for you based on your wants and needs. When you purchase a second puppy you can usually get a discount. They breed beautiful Shitzu/ bichon mix puppies which are rated number one in Canada for support dogs. Their facility is kept absolutely sterile and clean, they have plenty of room to run around and even have access to an outside area. Their puppies are regularly seen by a vet and every measure is taken to ensure their puppies are protected from Parvo, and other diseases you are even required to remove your footwear. Our puppies are wonderful and very healthy. The Shitzu/Bichon puppies do not shed and typically only grow to maybe 10 lbs, they have a perfect temperment for a support dog. Baby Barks is the only reputable breeder that specializes in this specific breed in this region, I highly recommend them and I speak from my personal experience.