To find out information locally (in the Alexandria, LA area) about available pure bred dogs, call the following:                  Haas Animal Clinic  (318) 640-7153 Note that they can only give you information about breeders they are familiar with and would recommend. They DO NOT know where you can find all breeds, just some. They will give you contact information for members of the Alexandria Kennel Club who may have puppies/dogs available, and any other breeders that they know personally and would recommend. Calling this number does not guarantee that you will find a dog of the breed you are looking for locally. Other resources to look for when buying a pure bred dog: Go to AKC's website:     http://www.akc.org/breeds/index.cfm?nav_area=breeds   There is a ton of information on AKC's website that will help you in both your selection of a breed, and also finding the parent club or breeder ads. Once you have selected a breed, the breed standard will come up. Got to the bottom of that page and select the various links. These will point you to the parent club if one exists, and possibly to breeders. Go to Google.com or Yahoo.com or one of the other search engines. Type in the breed you are looking for followed by "puppies" or "puppy". You may see particular breeder's websites come up, as well as one of the puppy finder sites. Go to one of the puppy finder sites. Breeders list their puppies here for sale, often by state. Some of the popular ones are:   www.puppyfind.com     www.nextdaypets.com   www.puppydogweb.com   www.breederinfocenter.com    www.dogbreedinfo.com         There are many others that will come up. Note that we are not promoting the use of any of these sites in particular, but these are the current ones that come up first when doing a search. Have you done your homework on the breed you are looking for? If this is not a breed that you owned before, do research to find out about this breed. Find the parent club's website and find out about the good and bad of the breed. Each breed has particular characteristics in common that may or may not fit into your household. Some breeds are extremely active and can be destructive if not kept busy, and some are extremely calm and laid back. Find the breed that would have the personality that would fit into your household. While looks and personal preferences may make your initial breed selection, make sure you can live with the personality of this breed. A great place to get started is      http://www.akc.org/breeds/index.cfm?nav_area=breeds   Here are things to consider before buying a dog. These are just things to ask yourself and consider before buying any dog. Do you own or rent? A house or apartment? If you rent, does your landlord allow you to have a dog?What are your expectations of this dog?  Watch dog, pet, Conformation Show Dog, Performance Events, Obedience, Companion for another pet.  The personality of the dog may need to be different depending on your purpose of this dog. Do you have a fenced yard? If not, what are your plans for exercising and for your puppy to go potty safely? How and where will your puppy spend his/her days?   nights? Do you have a dog kennel or run? How tall is the fence?   Do you currently have pets? How will a puppy fit into your existing home if you do have other pets?  What will you do with the dog if you move from your present home? Do all members of the household know you plan to get a dog? Are they all agreeable? What previous experiences do you have in training a household pet?  (housebreaking, basic obedience, etc.) What training methods will you use to handle potential problems like whining, barking, chewing, etc.? Who will be responsible for the care of this dog? What happens if he/she doesn't follow through? Are you willing to obtain proper medical care for this dog, such as yearly boosters, cleaning teeth, etc.? The expense of a dog does not end when you buy the dog. The price you pay is a small price compared to the lifetime of a dog. Is anyone in your household allergic to pets? Will an adult be home most days? If you work, what is your plan for caring for a young puppy during the day? (Example - plan on coming home during lunch to let the puppy out, or have a neighbor do it, or keep confined to a bathroom with newspaper down, etc.) What will you do with this dog when you go on vacation? Will the full grown size of the dog be an issue for you? A cute 10 pound puppy is adorable, but when that puppy turns into a 90 pound ball of energy, how will you handle this?