NEVER, EVER, EVER purchase a puppy from a pet store. These puppies are almost always the left overs that breeders could not sell, or from puppy brokers who get them from puppy mills.   AKC, American Kennel Club; CKC, Continental Kennel Club; UKC, United Kennel Club; NKC, National Kennel Club.  These are groups which maintain registries of full blooded animals. The breeders who register their animals through any of these clubs is answerable to the club. If they sell genetically inferior animals, you have recourse through the kennel club to have the breeder's priveleges revoked for registering animals with them -- if the breeder is not responsible to the purchaser. In addition, the kennel clubs normally offer services which are beneficial to the full bred pet owner. For example, pedigrees, DNA testing, dog showing in conformation, agility, and others. BUT BE AWARE that each kennel club accepts only dogs in its own club for showing at its sanctioned events.   THE CHIHUAHUA RANCH OFFERS CKC REGISTERED PUPPIES FOR SALE. WE ARE LISTED IN THE BREEDERS ON THE CONTINENTAL KENNEL CLUB WEB SITE.   APRI, American Pet Registry Inc., is just a place to register your pet as yours.   AKC, CKC, UKC, NKC, APRI, and many more registering clubs are available. Do you need to know about them, and why is registration important?
If you contact a person or kennel you locate on the internet about a puppy THAT IS SO ADORABLE and just what you have been looking for, first of all, ask the person for more pics of the puppy and of the parents. Many unsavory people out there copy a picture of a puppy from another web site to offer it for sale (although they do not have the puppy). They will not have pics of the puppy from birth until current, nor pics of the parents.   Next, ask for the names and numbers of people who have purchased from them, preferrably from a state other than where their kennel is located (this is to keep you from having only their family as referrences). Contact these people.Ask them about the puppy they bought, and what their experiences with the kennel have been.   Run a google search on the kennel to see if there are complaints listed against this kennel, and what the nature of the complaint is.   Ask if you can come and visit the kennel, and when. (Even if you don't plan on going, they don't know that. Tell them you are going to visit friends in the area and could stop by on Tuesday.) If they say no, you don't want to get a puppy from this place at all.   Ask how they keep their males and females separated for breeding. How they keep records of the dams and sires of litters. How the females are cared for while pregnant and what their whelping (birthing area) is like. How are the puppies kept and raised during the first two weeks and after. If they hesitate or won't answer, you probably don't want a puppy from here.   Ask how many litters they have a year and if they sell only their own puppies that they have bred. If they say they sell for other select breeders, don't get a puppy from there, it's a puppy mill or broker, and you are looking at all sorts of potential health and psychological problems in a dog from a puppy mill.   If at all possible, do visit the kennel and see the puppy in person, its parents, and the conditions in which it is raised.   Ask them what happens to puppies they can't sell--and there always is some. These puppies should never be in a dog shelter, taken to a flea market, or disposed of in some other way. Preferrably they are pet in the home, and criteria should be available regarding those placement homes.   ALWAYS GET A PUPPY CONTRACT. Be sure to read it completely before signing it.   DEPOSITS are non-refundable, so be sure before you place a deposit.   Protect yourself with information   INTERNET SEARCHES produce any number of individual kennels. You can locate mass listing sites like Puppyfind or Pet Tomorrow. But you don't KNOW any of those people, site managers, or listers.   Horror tales run rampant (and many are true!) People have sent their money in, trusting the advertisers, and either didn't receive any puppy, or they received a different puppy than they thought they were getting, or one that was genetically damaged.   Not everyone who uses these listings are crooks. Burns Chihuahuas lists on Puppyfind, Pupcity, and others. But you want to be sure before  you purchase a puppy from someone.   What is a person to do? How can you find out?		DOES THIS MEAN I DON'T WANT YOU TO HAVE A CHIHUAHUA? Not at all. I just want you and the puppy to be  happy for a long long time. Chihuahuas don't change families well, so be sure you really want him before you decide to bring one home. If you decide you made a mistake, he won't understand why you don't love him anymore and sent him away.   NOW, THINK ABOUT IT  Don't impulse buy a puppy. Chihuahuas live 15 years or more. This is a life time commitment. Take a enough time to count up the physical, emotional, and financial investment this means. Don't jump in without considering how this will impact your life and that of your family. This is a new family member. He or she will be living INSIDE your home, under your feet. Chihuahuas are not outside animals. They are family.   TAKE The TIME to research the breed you want. Check out books from the library, or buy one from the pet store. What are the benefits of this breed? What are the weaknesses?   Now,  check with the various kennel clubs to find reputable breeders in your area. Although most breeders will ship a puppy to you, this is added stress on the puppy and expense to you.    Ask people in pet stores with a dog you like where they got their puppy.   Visit breeders near you and see how they raise their puppies. Ask questions. A good breeder will want you to be very sure you know how to take care of their puppy before you take it home.