So, you’ve decided to get a new pet, and you want to do your research. Naturally, you turn to the internet, our go-to place for browsing before we shop.

But buying a pet is nothing like other online shopping – we have a responsibility to make sure that animals bought and sold online are protected from cruelty, by giving the health care, socialisation, and the environments they need to grow up happy and healthy.

So how can you make sure that the pets you see advertised online are coming from responsible breeders? Well, if you aren’t going to visit your local shelter or animal rescue in the first instance to find a wonderful pet looking for a second chance, it’s important to know what the warning signs are for pet ads online.

We’ve put together the four red flags that you absolutely should look out for when searching for a pet online.

The most important thing to remember, though, is that you should never buy an animal online without meeting them in person first.

Meeting your new pet before you bring them home is important for so many reasons: you need to see them in real life so you can assess their health and behaviour, check their home environment to be sure they don’t come from a puppy farm and even just to see that the spark is there between you!

If you buy a pet over the internet without meeting them first, you could inadvertently be supporting puppy farms or poor breeding practices. Not to mention the fact that you could fall victim to a scam, leading to emotional (and financial!) heartbreak.

To help you screen through the thousands of ads posted daily, keep an eye out for some of these ‘red flags’ in ads which might indicate something amiss:

• ‚ÄòSix-week-old puppy‚Äô or ‚Äòsix-week-old kitten‚Äô: no trustworthy seller will rehome a puppy or kitten before 8 weeks of age. At this age, they won‚Äôt be fully weaned and will have poor immune systems. Transporting very young animals long distances is dangerous and can lead to dehydration and susceptibility to disease, and sellers that care about their animal‚Äôs welfare won‚Äôt offer this. Always wait until puppies and kittens are at least 8 weeks old before considering bringing them home.
• ‚ÄòDelivery can be arranged‚Äô: no reputable breeder should be willing to part with their animals without meeting the new owners first. Good breeders will want to meet new owners and ask lots of questions to ensure their puppies or kittens are going to suitable homes; and likewise, you should want to meet the breeder and see the animal in person first, along with its mother and ‚Äì if possible ‚Äì father.
• ‚ÄòParents DNA tested‚Äô: on surface value, this looks like a positive move. But unless proof of DNA testing is provided, and the diseases tested for are known to be associated with that breed, it doesn‚Äôt mean much. Additionally breeders should be able to tell you what they plan to do about those test results (e.g. not breed from dogs that carry those diseases or conditions). Many breeds have specific health issues, so researching the breed you‚Äôre looking for thoroughly (including talking to a vet) will help you identify what type of test to look for.
• Limited information: be concerned if the advertisement doesn‚Äôt tell you, for example, whether the animal is microchipped or not; whether it is desexed or not; and how it has been bred or sourced. Lack of information can indicate a dodgy seller who‚Äôs hoping you don‚Äôt notice the absence of important facts.

Check out The Smart Puppy Buyers Guide and The Smart Kitten Buyers Guide for more tips on bringing home a new pet.