Having been bred on puppy farms, puppies often became sick or died shortly after being sold to their unsuspecting new owners. A new law, called Lucy’s Law, was introduced to clamp down on this unscrupulous trade. It now means that puppies can no longer be sold via third party puppy traders or pet shops.

Any breeder worth their salt will have entered their breeding dogs into competitions and you should be able to find proof of this by searching for the names. So yes, papers DO matter -just as much for a pet as for a show dog.

The average price for a puppy without papers is $800. While it might be tempting to jump on a “bargain” like this, don’t do it: German Shepherds have a variety of breed-specific health issues. Only responsible breeders who test and select the healthiest dogs for breeding will produce the best puppies.

The difference between a pedigree and a non-pedigree dog is just whether the dog is registered with a club or society, and if their family history can be traced. A non-pedigree dog will not be registered anywhere and you might not know both dog’s parents or any of the grandparents.

There are different opinions, as well as a variety of factors, that influence the answer to this question. However, most veterinarians and breeders would put the optimum age to bring home a puppy somewhere between 8-to-10 weeks old.

Moreover, if an owner moves home or changes telephone numbers, these details should be updated. Failure to keep these details up to date means that, in the eyes of the law, the dog is no longer considered microchipped and a fine can apply.

The definition of a purebred is a human or animal with unmixed breeding over many generations. An example of a purebred animal is a Rottweiler dog. Of or relating to an animal having both parents of the same breed or variety. An example of purebred is a cat whose parents were both Siamese.

For some dog enthusiasts, a puppy without registration papers is like an orphan without a birth certificate. A least 48 dog breed registries exist worldwide. U.S. registries include the American Kennel Club, the National Kennel Club and the United Kennel Club.

You can expect to pay anywhere from $800 to $2,000 for a high-quality, completely black puppy. This is significantly more expensive than the $500 to $1,500 you can expect to pay for a usual German Shepherd. However, this is still much cheaper than you might expect for a large dog.

The term crossbreed refers to dogs with parents from different breeds – for instance, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Poodle, creating a Cavapoo or Cavoodle as they are otherwise known. Sometimes crossbreeds are bred together for a long enough time that they are eventually considered a new pedigree breed.

The Cockapoo, like all hybrid dogs, is not recognised as a pedigree breed. A cockapoo is classed as a crossbreed or mixed breed dog by The Kennel Club. No authoritative breed registry for this dog type currently exists.