These days when we are looking for a new item, we increasingly turn to the internet to gain choice and value for money, be it finance, insurance, leisure items or food shopping. All of them have been improved by our experiences online. However, when searching for a new puppy to join the family a few things stand in your way.

With the internet shopping power-house of Ebay not allowing pet adverts, the UK classified site Gumtree not allowing pet adverts from breeders – where else can you turn to find puppies for sale?

Fortunately there are now a range of online platforms which allow breeders to advertise their pets to the online community. From specialist pet advertisers like Pets4Homes and SellYourPets to more general classified websites like Ad Trader and Freeads.co.uk these sites all contain thousands of puppies looking for a new home, from families looking to rehome their pet’s offspring to breeders looking to rehome a prize-winning pedigree.

There are two main advantages to online classifieds compared to your local newspaper classifieds or even your local pet shop. The first is the range of breeds they have, whether you are after a cockapoo, lurcher or a shih tzu you will be able to find at lease one breeder looking to find homes for their puppies on these sites. The second is the ease with which you can search for puppies for sale over whole regions. For example, if you are looking for rare breed like a Presa Canario, you are unlikely to be able to find one for sale in local adverts but will be more successful when searching across whole regions like Scotland, Essex or Kent which these sites all allow you to do.

When looking to buy a pet online there a few checks and precautions that you should take to try and ensure that you avoid unscrupulous puppy farmers and scams. The RSPCA’s Get Puppy Smart has a range of advice for people looking to give a puppy a new home but a few of the most useful checks are:

Visit the puppy at the breeders home and always ask to see the mother.
Beware if the seller claims they are in a different location to the location of their ads or is based abroad.
Check vaccination cards and make sure you can see the vets details; if possible, check these.
If the owner claims a puppy is KC Registered ask to see the certificate. Make sure that you receive a Kennel Club Breeder Certificate when you buy the puppy.
Do not pay a fee for the puppy to be “shipped\”.

It is always worth considering whether you can give a home to an unwanted dog from a rescue centre or from the RSPCA. You can of course visits your local animal shelter to see if they have any suitable pets for rehoming but independent rescue centres are also becoming aware of the potential for finding owners willing to give their puppies a new home and are now also advertising for free on many of the leading classified sites.

Author Bio: Richard Chilcot is an author specialising in animal related stories including puppies for sale such as Shih Tzu puppies, Cockapoo puppies and lurchers for sale.

Category: Advice
Keywords: pets, dogs, puppies, for sale, classifieds, buy, animals, leisure, hobbies, adoption