Updated August 2026
Bringing home a puppy should be something you remember for the right reasons.
Unfortunately, not every puppy is bred or sold responsibly. Some are produced in poor conditions, removed from their mothers too early or passed through dealers who make it difficult to discover where they were born.
A puppy farm is not always an obvious collection of sheds or kennels.
The person selling the puppy may meet you in a pleasant-looking home. They may have a polished website, convincing photographs and reassuring answers prepared for every question. The home may simply be a temporary setting used to disguise where the puppy came from.
This guide explains how to recognise potential warning signs, what to ask a breeder, which documents to check and when you should be prepared to walk away.
The quick answer
Before agreeing to buy a puppy:
- Make sure you are ready for the time, expense and responsibility.
- Research the breed or type carefully.
- Visit the puppy where they were born and raised.
- See the puppy interacting naturally with their mother.
- Never agree to meet in a car park, service station or other convenient location.
- Ask about health testing, veterinary care, microchipping and socialisation.
- Check a breeder’s licence with their local council when a licence is required.
- Use the free Puppy Contract.
- Do not allow yourself to be rushed into paying a deposit.
- Walk away if the breeder, paperwork or environment leaves you uncomfortable.
If you have not yet decided whether a puppy is right for you, start with my guide: Are You Ready for a Dog?
What is a puppy farm?
A puppy farm is a breeding operation in which producing and selling puppies take priority over the dogs’ welfare.
The scale can vary considerably.
Some puppy farms keep large numbers of breeding dogs in unsuitable kennels. Others operate through smaller networks of breeders, dealers, transporters and apparently ordinary homes.
Common welfare problems may include:
- Dogs being bred too frequently
- Poor hygiene
- Inadequate veterinary care
- Little appropriate socialisation
- Puppies being removed from their mothers too early
- Puppies being transported long distances
- Inherited health problems being ignored
- Buyers receiving false or incomplete information
- Breeding dogs spending much of their lives confined or isolated
A puppy may look clean when you meet them. That does not tell you how they or their mother have lived.
Start by making sure a puppy suits your life
It is easy to begin searching for puppies before thinking through what puppy ownership involves.
Puppies need considerable time, patience and supervision. They need help with toileting, settling, chewing, sleep, handling, training and learning about the world.
Before contacting breeders, think honestly about:
- Your working hours
- The time a puppy may spend alone
- Exercise and enrichment
- Training
- Grooming
- Insurance and veterinary costs
- Holiday care
- Your home and outside space
- Children and other animals
- The adult size and strength of the dog
- Whether you can manage unexpected medical or behavioural needs
My first-time dog owner guide explains these responsibilities in more detail.
Making this decision before looking at puppy photographs helps you choose with your head as well as your heart.
What does Lucy’s Law mean?
In England, commercial third-party sales of puppies and kittens under six months old have been banned since April 2020.
Commonly known as Lucy’s Law, the rules mean that someone looking for a puppy must deal directly with the breeder or use a legitimate rehoming organisation.
Licensed breeders must show puppies interacting with their mother in the place where they were born.
You can read the government’s explanation of Lucy’s Law and third-party puppy sales.
An online advert is not automatically illegal. However, the person advertising the puppy should be the breeder, and you should still visit the puppy at the place where they were born and raised.
Do not accept delivery as a substitute for seeing the breeding environment.
Does every dog breeder need a licence?
Not every person who breeds a litter requires a dog-breeding licence.
In England, licensing requirements generally apply to someone who:
- Breeds three or more litters within a twelve-month period and sells puppies from those litters
- Breeds and sells dogs as a business, regardless of the number of litters
Whether somebody is operating as a business depends on more than simply the number of litters.
A small, responsible hobby breeder may not need a licence. Therefore, the absence of a licence number is not automatically proof of illegal breeding.
However, if the advert states that the breeder is licensed, or the scale of their operation suggests that a licence should be required, ask for the licence number and check it with the relevant local council.
Local breeders who require a licence should apply through their council. Information for this area is available from Barnet Council’s animal-welfare licensing service.
The government also provides current guidance on buying a dog and checking a seller.
Warning signs in puppy adverts
A puppy-farm advert may look professional.
Do not assume that good photography, a well-designed website or numerous testimonials prove that the breeder is responsible.
Look carefully for:
- Several breeds being advertised by the same person
- A continuous supply of puppies
- The same telephone number appearing in numerous adverts
- Identical wording being used across different adverts
- Unusually vague information about the puppy’s parents
- Claims that the mother is unavailable
- Offers to deliver the puppy
- Pressure to pay a deposit immediately
- A price that seems designed to force a quick decision
- Several supposedly accidental litters
- Puppies described as unusually tiny, rare or exclusive
- Sellers who avoid speaking on the telephone
- Requests to communicate only through messaging apps
- Photographs that appear to have been taken in different homes
- A location that changes after you make contact
You can search the seller’s telephone number online. You can also use a reverse-image search to see whether the puppy’s photographs have appeared in other adverts.
These checks do not replace a proper visit, but they may reveal inconsistencies before you travel.
Questions to ask before visiting
A responsible breeder should be willing to answer questions.
Before arranging a visit, ask:
- When was the puppy born?
- How many puppies were in the litter?
- Can I meet the mother?
- Can I see the puppy with their littermates?
- Where were the puppies born?
- Where are they being raised?
- How old will the puppy be when they leave?
- What food are they currently eating?
- What socialisation have they experienced?
- Have they been examined by a vet?
- Have they received any vaccinations?
- Have they received worming or flea treatment?
- Are they microchipped?
- Which health tests have been completed on the parents?
- Can I see the original results?
- Is the breeder licensed?
- Why did the breeder choose to produce this litter?
- Will there be a written contract?
- What support will be available after the puppy comes home?
Health tests should be appropriate for the particular breed or type. A general statement that the parents are healthy is not the same as showing relevant test results.
The Royal Kennel Club provides further advice on finding a responsible breeder.
Visit the puppy where they were born
Never agree to collect a puppy from:
- A car park
- A service station
- A railway station
- A roadside meeting point
- A hotel
- A rented property that does not appear lived in
- The seller’s vehicle
Do not accept an excuse that meeting elsewhere is more convenient.
You need to see where the puppy lives.
A normal family home does not need to be immaculate. A litter of puppies creates mess, noise and disruption. What matters is whether the environment appears safe, suitable and genuinely lived in.
Look for:
- Clean water
- Suitable bedding
- Enough space
- Puppies who can move and explore
- Appropriate interaction with people
- Evidence that the mother lives there
- The rest of the litter
- Toys or safe objects to investigate
- Puppies responding naturally to their surroundings
- A breeder who handles the dogs calmly
Think about what you can hear as well as what you can see.
Are there numerous dogs barking elsewhere in the property? Are parts of the building kept closed? Does the breeder prevent you from seeing areas where the dogs appear to be kept?
One concern does not always prove that the property is a puppy farm, but several inconsistencies should not be ignored.
Make sure you see the mother
You should see the puppy interacting naturally with their mother.
Simply being shown an adult dog is not enough.
Watch how the dogs respond to each other. The mother should appear familiar with the puppies, and the puppies should behave naturally around her.
Be cautious if:
- The supposed mother shows no interest in the puppies
- The puppies appear wary of her
- She is immediately removed
- The seller will not let you observe them together
- You are told the mother is at the vet, out for a walk or belongs to somebody else
- The mother appears to be the wrong age or type
- The seller produces a different explanation each time you ask
Dealers sometimes use another dog to pose as the mother. Spending time observing the dogs makes this more difficult to disguise.
The RSPCA’s puppy-buying guidance also recommends seeing the mother and puppies together.
Do not take a puppy younger than eight weeks
A responsible seller should not allow a puppy to leave before they are at least eight weeks old.
Those early weeks with their mother and littermates contribute to physical development, communication and learning.
A very young puppy may seem especially appealing. Taking them early is not giving them a head start.
If the seller is willing to let the puppy leave before eight weeks, walk away.
Do not accept explanations such as:
- The mother has rejected them
- The puppy is already independent
- The rest of the litter has gone
- The breeder needs the space
- The puppy has bonded with you
- Collecting early will make training easier
A genuine veterinary or welfare issue should be supported by professional advice and appropriate arrangements, not used as a sales technique.
Check the paperwork carefully
Paperwork can be forged, altered or used to make a poor breeder appear legitimate.
Ask to see original documents rather than photographs sent through a messaging app.
Depending on the puppy, the paperwork may include:
- Microchip information
- Veterinary records
- Vaccination records
- Worming and flea-treatment details
- Health-test results for the parents
- Pedigree or registration documents where relevant
- The breeder’s licence number where required
- A written sale agreement
- Information about the puppy’s current food
- Care and socialisation information
Check that names, addresses, dates, microchip numbers and descriptions agree across the documents.
Kennel Club registration alone does not guarantee that a puppy has been responsibly bred. Treat registration as one piece of information rather than a substitute for your own checks.
Use the Puppy Contract
The Puppy Contract is a free resource developed by the Animal Welfare Foundation and the RSPCA.
It helps buyers and breeders record important information about:
- The breeder
- The puppy
- The puppy’s parents
- Health screening
- Veterinary treatment
- Socialisation
- The circumstances in which the puppy was bred
A responsible breeder should not object to reasonable questions or written records.
Download and read the Puppy Contract before you begin contacting breeders. It is far more useful before a visit than after you have already paid a deposit.
A responsible breeder will ask you questions too
The conversation should not be one-sided.
A breeder who cares about where their puppies go will want to know about you.
They may ask:
- Who lives in your home?
- How long will the dog be left alone?
- Have you owned dogs before?
- Do you have children or other pets?
- What exercise and training are you planning?
- Are you allowed to keep a dog in your property?
- What will happen when you go on holiday?
- Why have you chosen this breed?
- What support do you have?
Do not be offended by sensible questions.
A breeder who will hand a puppy to anyone able to pay is not demonstrating much concern about the puppy’s future.
Good breeders may have a waiting list. They may decide that a particular puppy is unsuitable for your home. They may also ask you to return the dog to them if you can no longer provide care.
These are generally encouraging signs.
Do not let urgency make the decision for you
Puppy sellers understand how quickly people become emotionally attached.
You may hear:
- Someone else is coming this afternoon.
- This is the last puppy available.
- I can only hold the puppy if you pay now.
- The price is going up tomorrow.
- The puppy has already chosen you.
- You will lose your deposit if you ask for more time.
A puppy is a commitment that may last well over a decade.
You are allowed to go home and think.
A responsible breeder should understand that you need time to read documents, discuss the decision and possibly arrange another visit.
Pressure is a reason to slow down, not speed up.
Buying a puppy to rescue them keeps the trade going
Walking away can be extremely difficult when you believe a puppy is suffering.
You may feel that buying one puppy will at least give that individual dog a safe home.
Unfortunately, paying the seller makes the operation profitable. The space may quickly be filled by another puppy.
The Royal Kennel Club’s guidance on avoiding puppy farmers advises people not to buy a puppy from a suspected irresponsible breeder, even when it feels like a rescue.
Record the details you can safely collect and report your concerns instead.
Consider adopting from a reputable rescue
Buying from a breeder is not the only way to welcome a dog into your life.
Rescue centres and rehoming organisations care for puppies, adolescents, adult dogs and older dogs.
A responsible rescue should assess the dog, discuss what is known about their history and try to match them with a suitable home.
Rescue dogs are not automatically damaged or difficult. Some settle remarkably quickly. Others need more time, predictable routines and patient support.
If you are considering this route, read Adopting a Rescue Dog: What to Consider.
What if you have already bought the puppy?
People who buy from irresponsible sellers are often deliberately misled.
Blaming yourself will not help your puppy.
Arrange a veterinary appointment and explain everything you know about where the puppy came from.
Take:
- All paperwork
- The seller’s details
- The original advert
- Vaccination information
- Microchip information
- Details of any medication or treatments
- Information about vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing, discharge or unusual behaviour
Your vet can examine the puppy and advise you about vaccinations, parasites, nutrition and any further investigation.
Give your puppy a calm start. Avoid introducing them to everyone immediately or filling their first week with activities.
My complete Bringing a Puppy Home guide explains how to approach the first days, sleep, feeding, socialisation, exercise and training.
Reporting a suspected puppy farm or dishonest seller
Where you report a concern depends on what you have witnessed.
Possible routes include:
- The seller’s local council for licensing concerns
- The RSPCA for suspected cruelty or neglect
- The police where a crime or immediate danger is involved
- The advertising website or social-media platform
- Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service
- Your vet if you are concerned about the health or age of a puppy you have bought
Keep copies of:
- The advert
- Messages
- Telephone numbers
- Names and addresses
- Payment records
- Photographs
- Licence claims
- Vehicle registration details, where safely obtained
Do not confront somebody if doing so could put you or the animals at risk.
The government’s buying a dog guidance includes current information about reporting suspected illegal trading and animal-welfare concerns.
Your puppy-buying checklist
Before making a decision, make sure you can answer yes to these questions:
- Have I properly considered whether a puppy suits my life?
- Have I researched the breed or type?
- Have I spoken directly to the breeder?
- Have I visited the puppy where they were born?
- Have I seen the puppy interacting with their mother?
- Have I seen the littermates where possible?
- Is the puppy at least eight weeks old before leaving?
- Have I checked the breeder’s licence where one is required?
- Have I seen original health and microchip records?
- Have I checked relevant health tests for the parents?
- Have I read and used the Puppy Contract?
- Has the breeder asked questions about my home?
- Have I been given time to think?
- Do the advert, breeder, puppy and documents tell a consistent story?
- Am I comfortable walking away if something feels wrong?
If you cannot answer yes, pause the purchase.
There will be another puppy. You do not need to make a decision while you are uncertain.
Frequently asked questions
Can a puppy be advertised online legally?
Yes. An online advert is not automatically illegal.
However, in England you should buy directly from the breeder or adopt through a legitimate rehoming organisation. You should still visit the puppy where they were born and see them with their mother.
Should I pay a puppy deposit before visiting?
Be extremely cautious about paying before you have completed your checks.
Do not send money simply because somebody claims that several other buyers are waiting. Visit, check the breeder and puppy, read the written terms and make sure you know whether and when a deposit is refundable.
Is a licensed breeder automatically responsible?
A valid licence provides useful evidence that the breeder is known to the relevant council and subject to licensing conditions.
It does not remove the need to visit, observe the dogs, check health information and ask questions.
Does every breeder need a licence?
No.
Licensing depends on the number of litters and whether the breeder is operating as a business. A responsible small-scale hobby breeder may not require one.
If a licence is claimed, check it with the council that issued it.
Does Kennel Club registration prove a breeder is responsible?
No.
Registration may provide useful pedigree information, but it does not replace checking the breeder, living conditions, health tests, paperwork and welfare of the dogs.
What should I do if the puppy’s mother is not there?
Do not buy the puppy.
A dealer may claim that the mother is at the vet, belongs to a relative or has gone for a walk. Leave and report your concerns if you believe the puppy has been illegally or irresponsibly bred.
Can I take a puppy home before eight weeks?
A puppy should not be sold or permanently separated from their mother before eight weeks old.
If a seller encourages early collection, walk away.
Can a rescue centre have puppies?
Yes.
Reputable rescue and rehoming organisations sometimes have puppies as well as adult and senior dogs. Availability varies, and you may need to wait for a suitable match.
Preparing for your puppy
Once you have found a responsibly bred or properly rehomed puppy, the preparation begins.
You will need to think about:
- A safe sleeping space
- Puppy-proofing
- Food
- Veterinary care
- Insurance
- Microchip registration
- Toilet breaks
- Training
- Rest and sleep
- Gradual socialisation
- Appropriate exercise
- Care when you are working or away
My Bringing a Puppy Home guide takes you through the first year.
If you live in Finchley or a suitable nearby area and need daytime help, my puppy visits and puppy support service can include toilet breaks, feeding, calm enrichment and support with your puppy’s routine.
Choosing where your puppy comes from matters.
Taking your time now can protect you from avoidable heartache and, more importantly, help prevent low-welfare breeders and dealers from profiting from dogs.
