I bought a westie puppy a few weeks ago, she's soooo cute! her name is tina. what I want to ask is about the lady I bought her from. when I rang up, she said she had 3 litters available so we went to see the youngest litter, they were 6 weeks old and all realy cute. the thing is, whenever I meet people in the street when Im walking her, they ask how old she is and all the usual things, when they ask where I got her from and I tell people, they say the lady is a known puppy farmer and I shouldnet have brought her as Ive been ripped off. Can you tell me if this is true? I dont want to say the ladys name incase I cause trouble she seemed very nice and we did get to see the mum of the pups. we paid £400 for her, is this ok? she is a lovely little dog and It makes me sad when people say things like this, one person even said I should take her back and demand a refund! as If I woulkd do that!!! she is my baby! can I get an expert advice please?

It is possible that this person might be a puppy farmer. Most breeders these days tend to have one or two bitches and only breed to continue a certain line, which they have spent years developing. I do know of some breeders who by circumstance rather than design have two bitches they want to use in a breeding programme being mated at the same time more or less.

If many local people are saying this, it could well be true. It might be worthwhile to speak with your vet and arrange to have your puppy checked. Most vets do know who is producing a lot of puppies on a regular basis in their areas. They also know the overall health status of the dogs in these breeding kennels. If your puppy is healthy and has no problem the vet can detect, and you only want the puppy as a pet, then it won't matter where you got it from.

However you would know in future not to go and buy from those kennels again. When you saw the mother was she in with the puppies? That is usually a good indicator that the bitch you have been shown is the puppies mother, as you would see her tolerate the puppies better than a strange bitch.

Hi, I wouldn't worry about what people are saying cos theres no point.  At the end of the day even if this person does turn out to be a puppy farmer it's not going to change how you feel about little Tina, its not like you are going to get rid of her now because of where she came from.  IMO you should just put this down to experience and make sure that if ever you get another dog be absolutely sure about the breeder.  Enjoy your little dog I'm sure she will be fine, BTW Ive got a westie whose origins are a tad shaky (we didn't buy him, he was given to us) and hes a sturdy little blighter :D 
Clair