| Finding
a Westie can be fairly difficult, depending on where you live and how long you
are willing to be on a waiting list. Reputable breeders and rescue organisations
want to be sure that people who adopt Westies will be able to provide appropriate
and loving homes for each individual dog. Expect breeders to ask lots of personal
questions about your lifestyle! One of the first concerns that comes up
is whether a Westie is really the right breed to fit into the lifestyle of potential
adoptive family or individual. For
someone who wants to adopt a Westie, one of the important things to be sure of
is that they are getting a healthy, sane puppy or adult dog. There are puppy
mills that breed dogs without worrying about socializing puppies, or whether the
parents are genetically healthy. And it is too late to change your mind
after the family falls in love with the dog, just to find that she or he has a
debilitating health problem. Finding
a Reputable Breeder Clik
here to get a list of the names of reputable Westie
breeders close to you.
Identifying
a Reputable Breeder The
article Questions to ask a breeder will take you to a
list of questions and the kinds of answers that reputable breeders should be able
to provide.
How
To Pick A Puppy - Temperament Testing This
link will take you to an article on temperament testing
a puppy. Many breeders, however, will not let you pick which puppy you may
have - but the test article can provide you with some ideas for questions to ask
about why the pup they offer you is the right one for you. To know how to do the
tests, click here.
A
Puppy or an Older Dog - Which is Best? What
are the advantages of having a puppy instead of an older dog? Why would
an older dog be better? Click here to find out!
Puppy Mills Puppy
mills are a terrible problem in the dog world. The owners of puppy mills have
one goal in mind - to collect money. Puppy mills range from large outfits with
hundreds of dogs in small cages to a family with sometimes only one breeding female.
The very worst puppy mills
are little more than factories, and these are the places that provide puppies
to pet stores. They are essentially farms where female dogs are bred twice a year
every year until they are physically exhausted. They live in cages for their
entire lives, never getting walks or individual attention from people. Pups
from these farms often have health-related problems, due sometimes to genetic
problems and sometimes due to the conditions the pups were kept in, and sometimes
due to the huge distances that they are shipped to the pet store. Adult
dogs, exhausted breeding stock that the farm wants to make another buck from,
are often subject to medical conditions related to their non-stop breeding history,
or from the filthy or inadequate conditions they have lived in all their lives.
The 'backyard breeders'
is also a kind of puppy mill. The backyard breeders may be very nice persons who
have a pet animal and decided to make a little money with their dog, or perhaps
started out breeding a little for the sake of the children. These are breeders
who just produce puppies without regard to improving the breed, researching genetic
problems and providing support to the families who buy their puppies.
See also our article: Alternatives sources for getting a Westie
Importance of having a contract when buying a puppy
A contract protects both you and the breeder. Read what are the advantages of having a contract and what should be included in your agreement.
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