8 Things to Know Before Getting a Pet If You Don’t Want to Spend a Fortune on Vet Bills

For thousands of years, humans have been living together with pets. For a long time, through trial and error, people have been creating new breeds with different looks. Today, our pets are considered family members, and some people even have different rooms for them in their house and give them their own social media pages.

If you’ve decided to get a pet from a breeder, you should consider a lot of factors when choosing one. We at Bright Side have found out some things worth being extremely careful about, and we’re going to share this information with you in this article.

1. The breeder talks to you only on the phone.

If a breeder actively talks to you on the phone or online but refuses to meet you in person or offers to send you the pet, this is an alarming sign.

A very important thing about choosing a good breeder is being able to contact them personally. The best way to know what a pet will grow into is by seeing its parents. Pay attention to the behavior of the pets: kittens and puppies should be friendly and communicative, and the place where they live should be clean and tidy.

2. Ask questions to avoid unpleasant surprises in the future.

A good breeder worries about their pets as if they were their children and are willing to talk about them for hours. They will talk about their food, their schedule, and the temperament of every single animal. You can also ask about the breeder’s experience, like how long they have been in the business, and stuff like that.

You should also be prepared to answer questions: a breeder might ask you about your experience with pets and if you have a place for them to live a comfortable life. Based on your answers, a breeder may refuse to sell you a pet.

3. Don’t rush it.

A good breeder is not in a rush to sell a pet before it’s time. There are certain time limits that make it less harmful to separate the baby from the mother, as well as when they should undergo necessary procedures, such as vaccinations.

When kittens and puppies are really small, the future owner will have trouble understanding their breed. When selling very young pets, a bad breeder might try to sell you a mix of different breeds.

4. Notice pets’ attitudes.

If you see pets hiding from you when you come over, being anxious or even aggressive, you shouldn’t buy any from this breeder. In the future, it might be really hard to change the pets’ behavior.

A good breeder is supposed to help pets with their socializing skills because it’s really important for pets to be able to communicate with their new owners without feeling stress. Pets are supposed to be active and sociable and not try to escape from you while you’re traveling by car.

5. Monobreeds are a good sign.

If you meet a breeder in person but instead of seeing a cozy place, you see cages with different dog breeds, and there’s a Maine Coon locked in the cupboard because he was fighting another cat, the breeder is probably nothing more than a business person that doesn’t really care about the happiness of the animals.

A good breeder pays tons of attention to 1 breed and knows everything about it. The fewer pets they have, the more attention each of the animals gets.

6. They take good care of their pets’ health.

Some breeds are inclined to have some illnesses: big dogs often have heart problems and joint issues, and the same is true for cats. An experienced breeder is ready to show you all the documents and certificates proving that the animals are healthy. And they won’t be against you going to a vet you trust.

7. They’re willing to meet you halfway.

In some situations, you may come home with a new friend and realize, several days later, that a member of your family is actually allergic to it. A good breeder offers you a cooling-off period (about 7 days) to give you time to understand all the responsibility that comes along with the new pet. And if something goes wrong, such a breeder will take the pet back.

8. Pedigree

To be able to take part in competitions and get awards, an owner will need the documents proving that their pet is of a certain breed. An experienced breeder will make sure that they have all the necessary documents and metrics.

If you have doubts about the documents and you’re not sure if they’re real, you should contact the service that issued them and find out if everything is right.

Have you ever had to deal with dishonest breeders?