PLEASE do your homework before committing any money to the purchase of a puppy 
            whether by a deposit or full purchase price.  A reputable breeder with not try to pressure 
            you into any decisions on purchasing a puppy.  A reputable breeder will have the confidence 
            to know that if you don't purchase their puppy that someone else will and therefore they 
            will not put pressure upon you to make a decision.   They are backed by good breeding
            which speaks for itself. 

            STAY AWAY from breeders that force you to pay full payment on the puppy that you have 
            selected with a short time period such as 24 - 72 hours which is ludicrous.  Most breeders 
            cannot tell until a puppy is three weeks old as to whether or not its bite is correct or not.  
            ( I had one bad breeder from Arkansas swear that she never knew that the female pup that 
            she sent to me was deformed and had a horrendous under bite until I called her from the 
            airport upon the arrival of my deformed puppy.  This was truly unbelievable...but that's 
            another horrible story.) Even if you really don't plan to visit the breeder, see how they 
            react when you ask to visit your puppy.  Do they welcome a visit?  They should.

            MOST BREEDERS will not know if the puppy you have selected has an umbilical hernia that will 
            need surgery at a later date until it is examined by a veterinarian at the age of six to eight 
            weeks old.  If you have paid in full when a problem is detected then you will most likely have 
            to take the puppy with the problem or wait for another puppy at a later time which could be 
            years or never.  You WILL NOT get your money back from these breeders. 

            DO NOT  buy from a breeder that will never communicate with you by phone.  Their websites
            might say cute things like "we're usually out playing with our puppies so the best way to
            reach us is by email "or "we're out on the lower back forty..".  INITIAL communication by email
            is understandable but you should want to eventually talk BY PHONE with the person with whom 
            you are entrusting your money.   Sometimes the fact that they won't make long distance calls
            is due to bad credit and they have been denied long distance services.  They depend on YOUR
            deposits/payments to pay their bills. 

            BE CAUTIOUS of websites that are one page set-ups that do not state the kennel owner/breeder's
            name(s) and physical location of their kennel/home.  They shouldn't be in business if they 
            can't provide that openly.   There are many puppy mills that have a DIFFERENT ONE PAGE 
            WEBSITE for every breed of dog that they are raising.  They don't want the buyers to know that 
            they run a puppy mill so it is a clever disguise.   Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are
            helping a poor puppy out of a bad situation because you are just clearing the path for the
            next one that WILL take its place.  No breeder can truly focus on multiple breeds properly.

            RESEARCH the registry of which  your puppy is eligible for registration.  Does a sheet of paper
            make the puppy?  Absolutely NOT...but...if you are going to pay an amount of money for a pure
            bred puppy and can get one whose registry guarantees that it is purebred why not go with the
            registry that you know to be true by research.  One of the oldest and best registries is the A.K.C.
            The American Kennel Club forces breeders to DNA their stud dogs for proof of parentage and 
            while other registries may offer testing, they don't make it mandatory.  Mandatory DNA testing is 
            not fool proof since there are those that know how to "skirt it" but it is BY FAR the best registry 
            that is available today.  Why spend $500 - $1000 for a puppy with an unknown registry when 
            those same amounts will buy you A.K.C. assurance?

            CONTACT THE FUTURE REGISTRY  of the puppy that you are interested in purchasing.  There
            again the website should have a physical address, people staffing the phones at all times, 
            departments such as customer service, etc. and a definite list of the board of directors.  Stay away
            from "family owned" registries.  Remember this...criminals are VERY CLEVER and are VERY 
            BELIEVABLE.  Don't let yourself be cheated.   

            REMEMBER  A new dachshund in your family can be a commitment of up to eighteen years
            and you will want that decision to be backed by good breeding through a reputable breeder that
            backs their puppies. DO NOT SUPPORT PUPPY MILLS !!!!!!

                           If it doesn't feel quite right then the chances are that it's not right at all.