Advice when you're looking for a pet

Choosing the right pet and breed

Please refer to all of the information we provide to make sure your pet journey is a happy one.  The first step is ensuring that you are really ready for a pet, and that it's the right type of pet for you.  Check choosing a pet for advice and checklists for different types of pets.  It’s important that you know exactly what your pet’s needs are going to be, and that you are confident you can provide a good home.   

When you start connecting with breeders and rescues you should feel 100% comfortable with who you are dealing with before you make any decisions to proceed beyond the initial enquiry.  Pets should be coming from good homes, breeders or kennels, where conditions are clean, and the animals are well cared for and happy.   As an online platform we have many checks and balances in place to ensure that breeders are fully registered and adhering to a code of ethics, this includes working very closely with registering councils to ensure compliance, but you need to be careful too.

'With over 10 million Aussie Pet lovers having visited Perfect Pets already, and 30-40,000 people using the site to connect every week, we have to be vigilant and use a combination of good old fashioned teamwork as well as the best and latest technology to keep everyone safe" 

Please read the advice throughout the Perfect Pets site our site when prompted, and importantly - use common sense.  If anything about your interaction is suspicious or worrying you should not go ahead.  If you are told something that sounds too good to be true - it probably is, so trust your instincts.  Please refer to our article Breeder ID Theft and Pet Scams for details about the ways we ensure Perfect Pets is safe, and refer to the information below (Breeder complaints) about what to do if you do have concerns.  We also now provide an up-to-date Perfect Pets Scam List, where you can run a check on a breeder website that you're suspicious about, and you can lodge a report if you're suspicious about a breeder website here.

Identifying and connecting with a reputable breeder

Because we've been helping pet lovers connect with reputable breeders for such a long time we've been able to identify the most important factors around a breeder's practices and standards.  

The blue icons that appear on Perfect Pets breeder profiles and listings can help you understand the breeders practices (eg. see and click on image below).  The breeder's full answers to a set of key questions can be found by clicking on ''show breeder checklist Q&A''.  The questions relate to registration, club activity, treatment of breeding females, health, socialisation, and ongoing support.  The answers highlight responsible, ethical and caring breeding practices.

The Q&A highlights the important questions you should ask if you are thinking about taking on a pet from a breeder. 

Click on the image to view the full Q&A. 

While the icons and Q&A checklist seek to inform quickly and easily, please also read the information on our finding a reputable breeder page which also explains what different registrations mean, and the registering bodies and councils that we work with.   Also note that while these requirements are particular to cat and dog breeders, they are a good guide for anyone who is looking for a caring and ethical breeder of any type of animal.  

Breeder Complaints & Concerns

If anything is worrying about the conditions animals are kept in, or you suspect a breeder is involved in puppy farming (or equivalent eg. kitten farming), please contact us, their veterinary practice (if possible), and the appropriate authorities in your area (eg. RSPCA, Local Council).    While we can and do control the breeders and other members that are listed on Perfect Pets, a lot of pet lovers contact us for advice about their experience with breeders that they've contacted via other platforms.  These links and contacts are for anyone that has had a negative or concerning interaction with a breeder, rescue, or other pet service provider.  It is critical that the relevant authorities and agencies are contacted so that they can take action in their jurisdiction if necessary.  

Without official complaints, the authorities responsible for handling these issues are often unaware, or unable to act.  

Please refer to our list of agencies Australia wide to report concerns about a breeder or any type of animal cruelty.

You can also refer to our Perfect Pets Scam List, to run a check on a breeder website that you're suspicious about, or lodge a report here.