A responsible breeder is not the one with the best photographs. They are the one asking you the most questions.

What a good breeder does

• Lets you meet the dam, with the litter, at the place they were born
• Shows you health screening for both parents without being asked twice
• Registers the litter with the JKC and hands over the card and pedigree at collection
• Keeps puppies until at least eight weeks, and will not be rushed
• Asks about your home, your yard, your hours and your experience — and is willing to turn you down
• Takes the dog back, at any point in its life, if you cannot keep it

Four reasons to walk away

• You cannot see the mother. There is no acceptable version of this. Not “at the vet”, not “at my sister’s”.
• Meeting in a car park. You are being kept away from where the dogs live, and there is a reason.
• Papers to follow. They will not follow. Registration happens before the puppy leaves.
• Several breeds available. Serious breeders keep one breed, occasionally two. A menu is a business.

Check the number before you pay

Ask for the registration numbers of the sire and dam and search the register while you are standing there. A breeder with nothing to hide will wait the thirty seconds. A reaction to being asked is itself the answer.

The other option

If what you want is a companion rather than a show or breeding prospect, the shelters and rescues in Kingston and Montego Bay are full of dogs who would suit you exactly. The JKC exists to protect the purebred register; it has never argued that a purebred dog is the only dog worth having.