How to choose a breeder

Choosing a breeder is not choosing an ad. An irresistible photograph and a fair price say little about how a dog or a cat was born and raised.

In Portugal, an ad selling a dog or a cat has to show the breeder number issued by the DGAV, the animals' age, the size of the litter and the microchips of the young animal and of the mother. The sale can only happen at the place of breeding or in a licensed establishment, and the invoice names the animal, its microchip, the breeder number, and the seller and the buyer.

No law measures care. A responsible breeder is in no hurry to sell, asks about your home and your routine, and agrees to take the animal back if one day you cannot keep it.

Also search for the animal's photograph online. If it shows up in other ads, it may be stolen, and the ad may be a scam.

In person or on a live video call you asked for, not a recording. A seller who will not show you the animal alive, with its mother where she is still around, is the single strongest signal in this list.

When you see the litter, look at the mother and the place. The mother should be there, healthy and calm, and the young playing with her and each other. The place should feel like a home, not somewhere rented for the occasion. Ask the mother's age and how many litters she has had. And do not decide on the first visit, and do not let your emotions get the better of you. Remember that five minutes on a video call may not be enough to spot warning signs.

Be wary of excuses for not showing the mother (“she is at the vet”, “she is asleep”, “she is out for a walk”), of a handover arranged at a petrol station or a car park, and of anyone who shows you another litter in place of yours.

In most of Europe a puppy may not leave its mother before eight weeks, and in several countries that is the law rather than guidance. Ask the birth date, check it against the paperwork, and treat an offer to collect earlier as a reason to walk away.

In Portugal, the consumer group DECO PROteste advises waiting longer: a good breeder does not hand over a young animal before 90 days, without its first vaccinations and worming, and early separation is one of the main causes of behaviour problems. A young animal that does not yet eat on its own may be younger than the ad says.

For cats, Cats Protection, a British charity, says they should not leave their mother before eight to nine weeks, and that they learn to cope with people and noises between two and eight weeks: ask how they were handled.

Hip and elbow scores, eye examinations and the DNA tests the breed actually needs — for the sire and dam of this litter, not “the programme”. Ask for the certificates themselves. On this platform a screening result carries a note saying whether a moderator has read the document behind it.

A good breeder runs medical and genetic tests on the parents, says DECO PROteste, but a piece of paper is not proof. If the certificate comes from a public database, such as the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), check the number and the animal's name on its site. And a pedigree or a club registration does not guarantee health: the RSPCA lists a breeder who presents one as a guarantee among its warning signs.

Tests have an age, too. The OFA certifies hips and elbows only from 24 months: if the breeding animal is younger, ask what exactly was examined and when.

As documents you keep, with the vet’s name on them. Then book your own vet within a couple of days of collection — an independent check is the only one that is yours, and it is what turns a later problem into something you can act on.

In Portugal, the ad must give the microchip number of the young animal and of the mother, and a sale involves an invoice (or a declaration of transfer) and a veterinary declaration attesting the animal's health, according to the DGAV. The health booklet should carry the vet's stamps and the vaccinations suited to the animal's age, says DECO PROteste. For dogs over three months old, the rabies vaccine is compulsory.

Vaccines and worming come in a series. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) recommends several doses for young animals, two to four weeks apart, the last at 16 weeks or older, because the mother's antibodies can block the vaccine, and a booster at 26 weeks or later. The RSPCA gives worming for puppies at about two, five and eight weeks. So it is normal for the series to be half done when you collect: ask for the schedule and the dates of the next doses.

The microchip has to be registered in the SIAC, Portugal's pet registry. Changing the holder needs the consent of the seller and the buyer and has to be reported to the SIAC within 15 days. Ask the breeder to do it with you at handover, not afterwards.

What the contract says about a health problem found in the first week, in the first year, and who decides. Ask whether they would take the animal back at any point in its life. A breeder who has thought about the answer has usually thought about the rest.

A sales contract usually states who sells and who buys; the animal (microchip, breed, date of birth, parents); the price and what has already been paid; the date and place of handover; and what happens if there is a health problem, including whether the animal can go back. We did not find a Portuguese model contract published by the DGAV, the Portuguese Order of Veterinarians or the Portuguese Kennel Club. The public model we found is the Puppy Contract, a free British sales contract for puppies, created by the RSPCA and the Animal Welfare Foundation and also recommended by Dogs Trust. You can use it as a list of questions even if the breeder uses another.

What if the owner can no longer keep the animal, through a serious illness, a hospital stay or death? Ask the breeder before you pay. Some contracts say the animal goes back to the breeder when the owner can no longer look after it: check whether yours does, whether the breeder takes it back or helps find it a home, and at what cost. Also put in writing, in the contract or separately, the contact of someone you trust who can tell the breeder and look after the animal until then.

Read what the contract asks of you, too. Many guarantees only apply if you take the animal to a vet in the first few days (Dogs Trust suggests 48 hours) and leave out contagious or breed-typical conditions. No breeder can promise there will never be a problem: what counts is what is written about what happens when there is one.

A breeder has no reason to ask for a passport or an identity card, and a photograph of one is enough to open accounts in your name. We will never ask for a password either — check any link claiming to be us against the address bar. Or email us at support@breedradar.com and ask before you act.

The full details are only needed at the end. The SIAC declaration for transferring a microchip asks for an identity document number, and the invoice asks for your details. Fill them in at handover, in person, not by message.

Be wary of anyone who asks for a photo of your ID card to “reserve” the animal or to “confirm your identity” before showing it to you. If you have already sent it and something feels wrong, speak to your bank.

No sale is made through this platform and we hold no deposit, so we cannot reverse one, recover one or arbitrate a dispute. What protects you is a written contract, a receipt and a payment method your bank can trace — never a bank transfer to a stranger, a gift card or crypto.

Scammers tend to ask for money in stages: first a deposit, then new transport and shipping fees. Action Fraud, the British fraud-reporting centre, describes victims being asked for further payments of that kind, and a photograph does not prove the animal exists.

Payment methods are not all equal. Action Fraud warns that a bank transfer gives little protection and that a credit card and PayPal give a better chance of getting money back; none guarantees it. Agree in writing how much you pay and when, and keep the contract and the receipt.

If you have been cheated, keep the ad, the messages, the proof of payment and the seller's details, speak to your bank at once and report it to the authorities.

Here you can see which public register each breeder came from, and reviews that keep before and after the sale apart. A seal says only what a moderator saw, and an absence of complaints is not evidence of good practice. Use us to ask better questions, not to stop asking them.