How to Choose a Reputable Dog Breeder: Questions to Ask

If you've decided to buy rather than adopt, the breeder you choose matters more than almost any other decision in the process — it affects your puppy's temperament, its socialization, and its odds of inheriting a preventable genetic condition. A reputable breeder expects to be questioned closely, and will ask you just as many questions back.

Start With Health Testing, Not Looks or Price

Every breed carries some risk of inherited conditions, and the single biggest difference between a responsible breeder and a backyard one is whether they screen for the conditions known to affect their breed before breeding a dog at all. According to the American Kennel Club, responsible breeders document genetic and orthopedic screening — commonly through the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) for things like hip and elbow health, alongside breed-specific DNA tests — going back multiple generations, not just for the specific parents of your puppy. If you're set on a particular breed, check what that breed's national parent club recommends testing for before you start looking at litters; our Golden Retriever breed guide and Labrador Retriever breed guide note the health screenings commonly recommended for those breeds as an example of how this varies by breed.

Questions to Ask Any Breeder

Drawing on AKC's own guidance for prospective puppy buyers, a responsible breeder should be able to answer all of the following without hesitation:

• "Have both parents been health tested for this breed's known conditions, and can I see the documentation?" A verbal "yes" isn't the same as a certificate you can review.
• "Can I meet the mother, and ideally the father?" Seeing the mother's temperament and condition in person tells you far more than photos.
• "What's your experience with this breed, and are you involved with a breed club?" Active involvement in a parent breed club or dog sports is a reasonable signal of long-term commitment to the breed rather than a one-off litter.
• "How are the puppies socialized before they go home?" Early exposure to normal household sounds, people, and gentle handling matters for temperament later.
• "What's included in your health guarantee, and what's your return policy if something goes wrong?" Reputable breeders generally offer a written contract and are willing to take a dog back at any point in its life rather than see it end up in a shelter.
• "Will you stay in touch after I bring the puppy home?" Breeders who see themselves as a resource for the dog's whole life — not just the sale — are a good sign.

Signs of a Responsible Breeder, in Person

Whenever possible, visit in person (or, at minimum, do a live video call) rather than relying only on a website or photos:

• The environment is clean, and puppies appear to be in good weight, alert, and comfortable around people.
• The breeder interviews you as much as you interview them — about your home, your experience, and your plans for the dog — rather than simply taking a deposit.
• Puppies stay with their mother and littermates until at least eight weeks old.
• The breeder focuses on breed standard and health rather than marketing novelty traits like unusually small ("teacup") sizing, which the AKC flags as a sign of prioritizing trends over soundness.

Red Flags Worth Walking Away From

• Multiple different breeds or litters always available, which is more typical of a high-volume commercial operation than a small, dedicated breeder.
• Pressure to pay a deposit before you've asked any questions or seen documentation.
• No willingness to show you where the puppies are raised, in person or by video.
• No health testing documentation, or vague answers about what testing means.
• Puppies offered for pickup well before eight weeks of age.

If any of this describes what you're seeing, it's reasonable to treat it as a puppy mill or backyard-breeding red flag and look elsewhere — no single "good" trait elsewhere in the process makes up for a lack of health testing.

Where to Start Looking

The AKC Marketplace and individual breed national parent clubs (searchable through the AKC's own breed pages) are reasonable starting points because listed breeders have at least agreed to AKC's code of ethics — though that alone doesn't replace doing your own due diligence with the questions above. If cost is a major factor in your decision between buying and adopting, our guide on what it actually costs to own a dog covers the first-year numbers beyond the purchase price, and a genetic-testing history is also relevant to how pet insurance handles breed-linked genetic conditions later on. And if you haven't ruled out adoption, our guide to what to know before adopting a rescue dog lays out that path in the same amount of detail.