Here is a list of question to ask a breeder before you buy a puppy.

1) How many litters do they produce in a year?

2) How old are the parents?

3) Have they had health testing done (eyes, heart, thyroid, and any other test pertaining to the breed, simple vet exams aren't enough)

4) Can they show you proof of the test results?

5) Is their paperwork in order? (pedigrees, registrations,health tests, exams, medical records,etc)

6) Do they have references you can check out?

7) Are they opposed to you checking with their vet?

8) Are they knowledgable about the breed(s) they are breeding/selling? (you should be as well so that you will know if it's hype you are hearing or truth)

9) Are their prices in reason with the quality, temperment, bloodlines,health testing done?

10) Do they have their adults and puppies temperament tested?

12) Do they offer a health guarantee for genetic defects?

13) Do they have a contract? (they should, this is important)

14) do they have a buy back/take back clause in their contract ? (this is important and should say that they will buy back/take back/help rehome any dog/puppy produced by them at any time for any reason)

15) Do they sell on spay/neuter contracts? (They should, again very important)

16) Do they offer contact info so you can contact them after the sale if you should have questions or concerns?

17) Do they feed good quality food? (again important and says something about the breeder)

18) Do they send home a puppy kit with food being fed,info about the breed, grooming info, 3-4 generation pedigree, first vaccinations and health certificate from the vet), registration info?

19) If purebred are the puppies registered with a legitamate registry? (AKC, UKC, CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) beware of the "scam" registries such as ckc (continental or canine kennel club), ACKC (American Canine Kennel club), WWKC (World Wide Kennel Club) among others.



There are other things but this is a start and the major questions to ask.

My breeder docks the tails but does not remove the dew claws.
They don't HAVE to be removed, but you need to be more aware of it (be sure to clip the nail, a lot of people forget).

I'm debating whether I want Pixie's removed or not when I have her spayed. I'll probably leave it alone. She's an indoor dog and we have hardwood floors and leather furniture - so not carpeting or fabrics for it to catch on and tear (either the fabric or her poor little nail).
Most of the people I work with have dogs.... A couple of them didn't even realize what a dew claw was much less if their dog still had it or not (I made them all go home and check). It seems the labs/retrievers/rotties had them removed, the smaller dogs (maltese, my yorkie) did not.
I'm going to bring it up with my vet at her next visit and see what their recommendation is....