As you may well have seen, I was on The One Show last week presenting a film about the problem of puppy farms.

This is one of the most underhand ways in which puppies from puppy farms are sold – using emotional blackmail to take advantage of decent people’s shock when confronted with a puppy that is obviously suffering or being kept in poor conditions. Not giving in to this kind of planned emotional blackmail is one way of fighting back against the puppy farmers, but there are also some other key tips to remember when looking for a new puppy:

• • Always see a puppy with its mother in the place where it was bred. If the breeder can’t show you the mother, be suspicious. Ideally see the father too.
  • Check vaccination details carefully. Vaccination cards are easy to fake – if the vet’s contact details are not visible or have an address from outside of the UK, the vaccination card may be a fake.
  • Bear in mind that pedigree certificates are never a guarantee for the condition of your puppy and may not even mean you are being sold a pure-bred puppy.
  • Never buy a puppy just because you feel sorry for it.
  • The cost of care, vet bills and pet insurance could total more than £10,000 over a dog’s life!
  • A dog needs at least 1-2hrs of exercise and mental stimulation everyday. Do you have the time?
  • Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 a pet owner has a legal duty to ensure the welfare of his animal(s).

If you missed the film – and also the cute Staffie puppies on the show afterwards – can can still catch it on the i-player this week at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00r5zzl/The_One_Show_04_03_2010/