Buyers Checklist for Beginners: 7 Things You MUST Know Before Buying That Dog
39m | Sep 30, 2026Buying a hunting dog can get expensive fast—especially when you get the dog home and realize it isn’t anything like what you thought you were buying.
In this episode of Thoughts of a Dog Man, I’m talking directly to new and beginner handlers about some of the questions I think you should ask BEFORE money changes hands.
This episode came from a real conversation I recently had with someone who has been trying to build his beagle pack. After buying a few dogs that didn’t quite fit what he was actually looking for, one thing kept coming up:
“I wish I would’ve known what questions to ask.” So that’s what we’re getting into.
Before you start asking the seller questions, what do YOU actually need?
What does that seller mean when they say a dog is “started”? Has the dog only been worked in a starting pen, or has it actually been hunted on wild game?
When somebody describes a dog as fast, medium-speed, hard hunting, close-working, or a good check dog—what are they comparing it to?
We also talk about asking the question a lot of buyers forget: “What DON’T you like about this dog?”
If possible, go watch the dog yourself. Bring your own dogs or dogs you’re familiar with so you have something to compare against. Pay attention to what you actually see—not just what you were told before you got there.
And most importantly, be willing to walk away.
You don’t owe somebody a purchase because you drove three hours, used their time, or feel bad leaving without the dog.
The goal isn’t necessarily to find a perfect dog.
The goal is to gather enough information to decide whether that particular dog actually fits YOU.
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One question to remember before you hand over the money:
If you hadn’t driven all this way and spent all this time looking at the dog… would you still buy it?
