Questions to Ask When Buying a Puppy on Craigslist

The questions

Open any question to see why it works.

1. 1

   Can I come to the house where the puppies are living?

   A seller who will only meet at a gas station, a parking lot or a park is hiding the conditions, the mother, or the fact that they are a middleman rather than the breeder. This one question filters out most of the bad listings on its own.

2. 2

   Can I meet the mother?

   The dam should be on site and comfortable being near her litter. Her size, coat and temperament are the best preview of what you are buying, and the line that the mother is at a cousin's house is the standard answer from a reseller.

3. 3

   What date were the puppies born?

   A specific date beats an approximate age every time. Puppies taken before eight weeks miss the weaning and bite-inhibition period with their littermates, and several states set eight weeks as the legal minimum age for sale.

4. 4

   How many litters do you have available right now?

   One family with an accidental litter is a very different situation from someone advertising three breeds at once. Multiple simultaneous litters, especially of different breeds, is the shape of a broker rather than a household.

5. 5

   What has the puppy had so far: vaccinations, deworming, a vet visit?

   Ask for the clinic name and a record with dates and product names on it. A handwritten note saying shots were done at home tells you nothing about what was given, whether it was in date, or whether it was ever refrigerated.

6. 6

   Can I call your vet?

   The willingness matters more than the answer. A seller who names a clinic that can confirm the litter was seen has given you the only piece of third-party evidence available to you before you hand over money.

7. 7

   Have any of the puppies been sick, and did any die?

   Parvo, giardia and coccidia move through litters quickly, and an honest breeder will say so. Diarrhea, lethargy, or a runt that was lost in the last few weeks changes what you are walking into and what your first vet bill looks like.

8. 8

   What health testing has been done on the parents?

   Every breed has known problems with published tests behind them: hips, elbows, eyes, heart, and DNA panels for particular conditions. An answer of both parents are healthy and have never needed a vet means no testing was done.

9. 9

   What are you feeding them, and how often?

   You want the exact brand so you can keep it going for a week and avoid an upset stomach on top of the stress of moving house. Vagueness here usually means the litter has been eating whatever was cheapest that week.

10. 10

    Why are you selling them?

    Listen for a story that holds together across messages: a planned litter, an accident, a family situation. Answers that shift between replies, or that read like a template pasted in, are a sign the listing is not what it appears to be.

11. 11

    Can we video call so I can watch the puppy moving around?

    Live video is how you defeat stolen photographs. Ask the seller to pick the puppy up, pan around the room, and hold up something you name on the spot, such as a spoon or today's date written on paper.

12. 12

    How do you want to be paid?

    Requests for gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency or a payment app with no buyer recourse are the clearest sign of a scam. Cash handed over in person, after you have seen the puppy, is the ordinary answer.

13. 13

    Do you want a deposit before I have seen the puppy?

    Deposits taken sight unseen are the most common way people lose money on these listings. If you pay one at all, pay it in person after a visit, and get the amount, the terms and the refund rule written down.

14. 14

    Do you ship, or use a transport company?

    An offer to ship a puppy to a stranger is the setup for the follow-on scam, in which a courier company then asks for a crate fee, an insurance fee and a vaccination fee. Buy locally and collect the dog yourself.

15. 15

    What paperwork comes with the puppy: a bill of sale, registration, a microchip?

    Ask for a written bill of sale with both names, the date, the price and the puppy's description, whatever happens with registration. Registry papers are easy to promise and slow to produce, so treat them as a bonus rather than as proof.

16. 16

    Would you take the puppy back if it did not work out?

    A breeder who wants the dog back, at any point and for any reason, is telling you they care what happens to it. Someone who has never considered the question is selling a product and has not thought past the handover.

17. 17

    Is there a health guarantee, and what does it require from me?

    Most guarantees run for a short window, cover a narrow list of congenital conditions, and offer a replacement puppy rather than money. Read what it actually promises now, because you will not want to read it for the first time at the vet.

18. 18

    How have the puppies been socialized so far?

    Handling, household noise, meeting new people and short car rides between three and eight weeks shape a dog for life. A litter raised in a garage or an outbuilding with little handling can take months of patient work to catch up.

19. 19

    What is this puppy like compared with its littermates?

    Someone who has watched the litter can tell you who is bold, who hangs back, who complains in the crate and who sleeps through the night. A seller who cannot tell the puppies apart has not spent time with them.

20. 20

    Can I take the puppy to my own vet within forty eight hours, and what happens if something is found?

    Agree this in writing before any money changes hands, including who pays and what the remedy is. A seller who refuses an independent vet check is telling you they expect the check to find something.