Questions to Ask a Dog Breeder Before You Buy (a Canadian Buyer's Script)

A list of questions is easy to find. What almost no one tells you is what a good answer actually sounds like, and which replies should make you close the tab and keep your deposit in your pocket. A responsible breeder will not flinch at a single question below. A flipper, a puppy mill, or a scammer will deflect, rush you, or get defensive. This is the script a Canadian buyer can use on a call or a kennel visit, organized so you can tell the difference between a breeder protecting the breed and a seller protecting a sale.

Quick facts: vetting a breeder before you buy

Why these questions matter more in Canada

Most Canadian buyers find a breeder online, and the right breeder for your home is often several provinces away. That distance changes how you vet. You frequently cannot drop by unannounced, so the questions, the video calls, and the paperwork carry the weight an in-person visit would normally carry. It also means the answers about how the puppy will travel to you and who arranges it are part of the breeder conversation, not an afterthought.

Canada also has its own registry landscape. The Canadian Kennel Club registers many purebreds, individual breeds have their own recognized registries, and "registered" can mean very different things depending on who issued the papers. Knowing what a dog registry actually is before you ask lets you tell a meaningful registration from a meaningless certificate printed to look official. The questions below assume you will verify every claim independently rather than take a screenshot at face value.

Health and genetics

This is where a good breeder shines and a careless one stalls. Ask directly:

• What health tests did both parents pass, and can I see the results?
• Which conditions are common in this breed, and how does your program screen for them?
• Has the puppy seen a vet, and what is its current vaccination and deworming status?
• Have you ever produced a puppy with a hereditary problem, and what did you do about it?

A strong breeder names the specific tests without hesitation: hip and elbow evaluations, eye and cardiac clearances, and breed-relevant DNA panels. They will point you to results you can confirm yourself, such as an Orthopedic Foundation for Animals record or a DNA report, rather than just telling you the dogs are "vet checked." The phrase "vet checked" on its own means a vet looked at the puppy once. It is not health testing of the parents, and the difference is the whole point.

The parents and the litter

• Can I meet the mother, or see her live on video with this litter?
• Who is the father, and do you own him or use an outside stud?
• How many litters do you produce in a year, and how often is this dam bred?
• How are the puppies being raised, in your home or in a separate building?

You want to see the dam interacting with the puppies, ideally on a live call you did not schedule a week in advance. A breeder who can only send still photos, or who has an excuse every time you ask to see the mother moving around, is a breeder you keep questioning. Puppies raised underfoot in a home are exposed to the household noise, handling, and routine that build a stable adult dog.

Registration, papers, and identity

• What registry are the puppies eligible for, and what will I receive and when?
• Will the puppy be microchipped or tattooed before it leaves you?
• Can I verify the parents' registration numbers myself?

Responsible breeders expect this and make verification easy. They give you registration numbers you can check against the issuing body, not a single blurry image of a certificate. If a breed has a dedicated registry, that registry's own breeder list is a far better starting point than an open marketplace. For the Olde English Bulldogge, for example, the breed's recognized registries publish their own member breeders, and a buyer is better served going there than to a general classifieds dump.

The contract, the guarantee, and the deposit

• Do you use a written contract, and may I read it before I pay anything?
• What does your health guarantee actually cover, and for how long?
• If I ever cannot keep this dog, will you take it back?
• How much is the deposit, what does it hold, and is any of it refundable?

A take-back clause is one of the clearest signals of a breeder who cares where their dogs end up for life. The contract should spell out the guarantee in plain terms. Be cautious with a deposit that holds a specific puppy before you have seen the litter or before the puppies are even born, and never wire money to hold a puppy you cannot confirm exists. If the purchase is happening entirely online, walk through our guide on how to safely buy a puppy online in Canada before you send a cent.

Green flags and red flags: decode the answers

The answers that should end the conversation

Some replies are not yellow flags to weigh, they are stop signs. End the conversation if a seller offers a puppy younger than eight weeks, refuses every attempt to see the mother alive, will not let you read the contract before paying, demands payment by wire or gift card with no buyer protection, or pressures you to decide immediately. A real breeder has waited months for this litter and will happily wait a few more days for the right home. Urgency is a sales tactic, not a sign of a good dog.

It is also worth remembering that the questions run both ways. A breeder who does not ask you anything, who will sell to the first person with the money, is telling you how much thought went into the breeding. The best breeders interview you as carefully as you interview them.

Frequently asked questions