Reputable Breeders

When thinking about buying a dog, you really need to consider if you will be able to take care of it or not. For example, leaving it at home all day long without anyone there can make a puppy or a dog feel anxious and nervous - this may cause a change in his/her behaviour.

A responsible breeder will:

Spend time chatting to you on the phone and will arrange a time for you to visit to meet their puppies, along with their mum and siblings, in the place where they were born and raised.
Be happy to have more than one meeting to ensure you and the puppy are compatible.
Be happy to answer all of your questions and ask you just as many to make sure their puppies are going to a good home.
Be happy to use The Puppy Contract.
Be happy to show you their Local Authority license if they are breeding and selling pets as a business (to make a profit).
Provide genuine paperwork/certificates for puppy vaccinations, microchipping (which is a legal requirement), worming and results for health test where relevant.

A responsible breeder won't:

Rush you into parting with cash in exchange for a puppy.
Try to fob you off by saying that the mother is at the vets, asleep or out for a walk. If mum isn't there, then the puppy wasn't bred there.
Offer to deliver a puppy to you or meet you somewhere random like a car park.
Say 'it's normal for the breed' about any health issues like snoring - all puppies should be born with the best chance of living happy, healthy lives whatever breed they are.
Use kennel club registration (or any other registration) as a guarantee of quality or health and happiness.

If anything seems suspicious, it means it is. Don't be caught out