Having A Dog Shipped?

Question

Is it safe? Can I trust that it will be the same puppy in the picture? Any specific website that has a good reputation for shipping puppies?

Answer 1

No responsible breeder would ship a puppy to someone they'd never met...so those all-breed puppy websites are -- you guessed it -- packed with irresponsible breeders.

You take a risk when you buy from them, not only in whether the puppy you get is the puppy you want, but also whether or not it will actually be a happy, healthy, decent representative of its breed.

You'd do much better looking up the breeder referral services of the Parent Club for whichever breed you are interested in, and getting the names of breeders in your area...that way, you can visit the kennel, and they can meet you. If you're in the USA, look up your breed at http://www.akc.org and check the links on the left.

Answer 2

Shipping a puppy is safe if you stick to the better airlines. Whether or not you have chosen a reputible breeder, and that they are going to send you the puppy in the picture is another story tho.. You never know..
Alot of people have ordered puppies online and gotten very sick puppies, or puppies just full of genetic problems.. It all depends on the person you are dealing with and their reputation.
You don't want to buy a puppy from anyone who has more than a couple (2) breeds of dogs.. There is no way that someone can have more than 2 breeds and know everything there is about them all and be doing everything they can to make sure that their dogs are healthy, quality dogs.. Find someone who concentrates on the breed you are interested in, make sure that they are members if the American Kennel Club or the Canadian Kennel Club, and members in good standing. You can call the clubs and ask about breeders. They won't give you specifics but you can find out if the person has been in trouble before. Breeders who aren't members of a legitimate kennel club often tell you that it's because they think the club makes too much money or some ridiculous excuse.. More often than not it's because they were kicked out.

Answer 3

Most reputable breeders will not ship dogs without you seeing them. I would question a breeder that does so and find out their history with other dogs they have sold. You could be getting yourself into a puppy mill that may be selling you a dog that could end up with major health problems. If your looking for a specific breed, look local by going to the breed website. Call around to local breeders, it's best to know for sure what dog you are getting and to prescreen temperment before you bring it home. A dog is a family companion, that is a long term commitment. It's not worth skimping on at first as it may end up costing you more in the long run. Good luck.

Answer 4

Why are you shipping a puppy? Can't you find a puppy in your area? (Check puppyfind.com). I have heard some horror stories about shipping (one where a dog got out of the cage and got lost.. still not found months later). Also depending on the size of the puppy there may be real concerns... tiny pups not having food for long periods of time and becoming hypoglycemic and dying... I just wouldn't trust it myself.
I just thought of something else if you are talking about those offers of dogs being shipped for free from Cameroon DON"T they are all scams and just want to steal your money.

Answer 5

You are asking about the sender not the shipping method. You also didn't say from where the dog would be shipped. Same country? Same state?

You should check to see if the sender is a registered breeder; check the credentials.

On a personal note, I think it would be extremely stressful for a young puppy (probably just being separated from its mother) to be shipped. Buy locally..or better yet, go to the pound.

Answer 6

I have had both great results and devastating results with have a pup shipped from a breed I do not personally know.

When we chose our male, he was the only one in the litter with a cowlick down the center of his nose, so there was no bait-n-switch there.

When I had a female shipped to me, it was very obvious from the second I took her out of the crate that it was not the pup the breeder had sent pictures of. After informing this "Greeder" that Inter-State Fraud was a Class A felony, she became very willing to refund ALL of my money and she paid to have the pup shipped back to her.

After that nightmare, if the pups aren't tattooed, I go in person!

Both Delta and Continental are great.

There is no such thing as an AKC Registered Breeder. There are Registered Kennel Names, but not Breeders. The stipulations the AKC has in order to have a Reg. Kennel Name is ridiculous:

The applicant(s) must be a breeder in good standing with the American Kennel Club, whose record of breeding and registering dogs identifies the applicant as a serious hobby-breeder, whose breeding activities are non-commercial, and whose past registration practices have been satisfactory to the American Kennel Club and in conformity with its rules and regulations.


"The applicant(s) must have bred at least 5 registered litters in the past 5 years or have owned stud dogs that produced at least 40 registered litters in the past 10 years.


An individual applicant who does not meet the breeding requirements but who is a breeder of at least one AKC-registered litter, may be granted a name on a five year provisional basis. If at the end of the five years, the requirements have still not been met, the registration of the name would not be renewed.

(basically you have to be willing to produce a litter per year (5 litters within 5 yrs) or own a dog that has sired at least 40 litters in the past 10 yrs (that's 4 litters a year). 40 LITTERS? OMG, that's about 320 pups. Personally I feel these stipulations suck and they pretty much want you to breed constantly)

Entire Regulations at link below

Answer 7

No. Sadly most are a scam. You could be getting anything or nothing......especially if you pay with a credit card, you can be a victim of idenity theft.

Unfortunately a lot of the online sites are run by puppymillers:
http://www.prisonersofgreed.org

Puppymill dogs aren't bred for anything but money. If you do get a pup, it could have serious problems.

You want a reputable breeder. See the site and at least meet the mother dog in person.

Answer 8

shipping is wrong. my family is a big family of breeders and if the breeder cares about the puppies they wont ship them. my sister got a little Maltese that was so baldly damaged mentally that the vet said it would be best to put her down at 9 weeks. a pore little life was killed and 400$ down the drain.My grandparents experience is that a lot of puppy mills ship. because people know not to buy from pet stores.

Answer 9

Take it to the airport and ship the dog by commercial flight. You'll need a crate (approved for shipment) and some other items. Call the airline. I use American Airlines all the time. They have never done me wrong or my dogs.

Answer 10

I personally wouldn't ship a dog because it is a very stressful experience and can potentially physiologically damage a dog. Also, they could get injured while being shipped, so I'd go and get the dog myself.