Me and my husband are fortunate enough to have three wonderful children who have a lot of friends. Many of their friends have pets such as rabbits, kittens and dogs. I think you know what I’m going to say. Our children have been going on about buying them a puppy for a while now. I wasn’t too sure but said I’ll have a think.

That sounded a little mean, however they still weren’t quite old enough to understand just how much hard work having a puppy can be. Space is not an issue, we have a wonderful large house with gardens at the front and back, enough room for a puppy to exercise regularly and explore. While the kids were in bed my husband and I did a little research online to see which breeds would be suitable.

We found out that Labradors are quite docile and great with children; Westies are sometimes noisy while poodles can be a little snappy. We looked at many pictures of cute puppies for sale on a reputable website and thought about buying a Labrador pup. We read how to take care of pups and dogs especially hygiene issues, which would be very important having young children. It’s advisable to check out the parents of the puppy too, making sure the dog has a pedigree. You’ve got to give it the right food as well as worming tablets and vaccinations as the pup grows older.

After a talk we decided to purchase a Labrador pup. The kids were very excited, so much that the next day we called at many pet shops. There were plenty of pups for sale, but no Labradors. We also tried a few animal rescue centres, again some wonderful dogs, but no Labrador puppies. The children were getting a bit upset so we promised to all have a good look on the internet a little later on in the day.

You can, via the internet, read about the different breeds of dogs for sale as well as many other animals. Surprisingly there are a lot of dogs and pups that are free, as long as they are taken care of in good homes.

After doing some more research we came across a reputable website selling puppies and also buy and sell sites. Apparently breeders and pet owners from all over the UK advertise their animals to be bought and sold online. There were many delightful pups to choose from, however we all felt the same, it was going to be Labrador.

Labradors have wonderful temperaments and great personalities, so this would be the ideal choice. They are very easy to train, are alert and extremely obedient when older. Labradors are great with kids too and are very protective of their owners.

We bought a beautiful black Labrador called Buster online who is now very much part of the family. The kids idolise him and he in turn loves them, we’re all so happy.