Choose a Healthy Puppy

 When choosing your puppy, try to make sure he is healthy and well cared for. A puppy should never be sold younger than eight weeks of age.  While they may have been weaned for a few weeks, they still have things they need to learn from their liter mates for normal social development.  Some breeders wait beyond 8 weeks, and that’s OKAY! At eight weeks of age, the pup should have had at least one vaccination for distemper, parvo, hepatitis and parainfluenza and received at least one dose of dewormer.  Also, look for the following traits:

Active, playful and well-socialized; puppy should not appear fearful

Bright eyes, with no discharge of any sort

No nasal discharge

Clean ears and skin

Pink gums and correctly aligned teeth

Well-proportioned body

Shiny coat

Good eyesight and hearing-check this by jingling your keys and seeing if the dog responds. Always have your new puppy examined by your veterinarian as soon as possible. If there is a medical problem, you should be able to return the pup to the breeder.