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Your Purebred Puppy
Michele Welton's Honest Advice about Dogs

Your Purebred Puppy is run by a real dog expert with 40 years experience – Michele Welton, an obedience instructor, behavioral consultant, breed selection consultant, and author of 15 books on choosing dogs, training dogs, and raising healthy dogs.

Michele puts her lifetime of experience to work for you and your family dog. She offers honest advice  for every stage of the journey with your canine companion.

Everything on my website is FREE!

Hello, my friend!

I'm Michele Welton, and my mission with Your Purebred Puppy is...

  1. to provide honest information and advice  about dogs.
  2. to help you to find the right dog for your family, and to help you raise and train your dog to be well-behaved, healthy, and happy.
  3. to caution people about the widespread misinformation on the internet and in common beliefs about choosing, training, and caring for a dog.

What misinformation?

Siberian Husky

Here's a sentence from the AKC Siberian Husky Standard: "His intelligence, tractability, and eager disposition make him an agreeable companion and willing worker." Well, that sounds great, doesn't it? It makes the Siberian Husky sound like a Golden Retriever. The reality is much different. The Siberian's 'eagerness' and 'willingness' are displayed when you're taking him for a long run or hike or offering him food, but not when you want him to do anything resembling obedience. In addition, the Siberian is independent and can be obstinate, prone to sulking or theatrical screaming when he doesn't get his own way. He may howl at the moon, dig craters in the yard, chew holes in sofa cushions, and stalk cats. And he can be a master escape artist who loves to roam. But you won't read any of THAT in the AKC Siberian Husky Standard.

checkmark"Official" dog breed standards describe the ideal (perfect) dog of each breed. The people who craft those standards freely admit that there are no such "ideal" dogs in real life.

Thus, breeders are said to breed "toward" (aim at) the ideal dog described in their breed's standard. But when temperament flaws, behavior problems, and health disorders are in the genes  of their breeding stock, breeders can only produce puppies that match the realities of all those problems. And unfortunately, that's the case in purebred dogs today – lots of temperament and health problems embedded in the genes.

So here on Your Purebred Puppy, my honest advice  describes the breeds as they actually are – not as official breed standards wish they were, nor as breeders pretend they are. I tell you the truth about the realities (good and bad) of each breed.

You need honest advice  about a breed's true pros and cons in order to make wise decisions about which puppy or adult dog will be compatible with your family.

2 young puppies  on the grass

New puppy? What's your plan for raising and training her? Which training method is best? Should you put her in a crate to housebreak her? Can she sleep in your bed? What should you feed her? How will you keep fleas and ticks off her? Which vaccinations should she get? Should you let her have a litter? How much exercise will she need? On my website and in my books, I share my honest advice about everything you need to know to raise and train a fantastic family companion!

checkmarkThe internet is dominated by articles and websites filled with conflicting and inaccurate information about dog training, feeding, and health. Many people are eager to share their opinions based on little more than something they heard, or what minimal experience they have. They are not experts, though they speak as if they were. They might even try to shame you or bully you into adopting their inaccurate beliefs.

Many articles on those sites aren't even written by people.  There has been an explosion of articles "written" by automated software/artificial intelligence that churns out hundreds and thousands of articles a day. This software "scrapes" phrases and bits of information from around the internet and pastes them together to make pages that do well in the search engines.... even when the information is distorted or misleading or absolutely wrong!

The owners of such sites only care about making money by placing lots of ads on the new pages. They are not dog experts, cannot offer honest advice, and don't care about you,  your dog, or the accuracy of their pages.

My honest advice  helps you avoid all the misinformation. Please, please, do not assume that if you find something on the internet, even when a website "assures" you that it was written by a dog trainer or veterinarian, it must be true. Because in truth you don't know who is actually behind that site.

My site on the other hand is written entirely by me.  My honest advice  will not lead you astray.


white pup biting at sofa fabric

Instead of a destructive or out-of-control pet, imagine having a faithful, obedient dog who continually looks to you for direction. When you call him, he comes. When you say, "No," he stops what he's doing. No chewing on the furniture. No jumping on guests. No digging. No accidents in the house. No growling at people or other dogs. No chasing cats. No yanking you down the street when you go on walks. If this is the kind of "doggie experience" you want, provide your puppy with three important things: (1) A structured life filled with routines; (2) positive and negative consequences; (3) calm, confident leadership. You'll find my honest advice for all three things on my website and in my books.

checkmarkMany dog owners are hoping they can solve a specific behavior problem with a "quick tip". They don't realize that most dog behavior problems are a symptom of an improper relationship between them and their dog.

So bouncing around the internet looking for scattered "tips" is a good way to get confused or misled. Instead, raising your puppy to be well-behaved is best accomplished with a cohesive, unified, integrated training program based on developing a respectful relationship between you and your dog.

My honest advice  about training your puppy or adult dog is to focus on developing the correct relationship based on respecting how dogs view the world, and on what they need from you so they can become happy and well behaved.

I have many pages here on Your Purebred Puppy that can help you choose, find, feed, train, and care for your family companion. I hope you enjoy your visit. And bookmark this home page to come back whenever you want or need my honest advice

All best, Michele Welton

checkmarkTo read more about Michele, her family, her experience, her pets, even her favorite T-shirt... please visit Michele's About page.

Would you like to start reading Michele's expert, professional, honest advice about dogs?

We've been online for over 20 years – one of the most popular and trusted websites about dogs. Enjoy!

Four dog breeds sitting in a group

Dog Breed Reviews

Pros and cons of 180 dog breeds – what's good about 'em, what's bad about 'em.

Boerboel puppy sitting attentively

Dog & Puppy Training

I'll help you train your dog to be well-behaved – my practical balanced  training method is based on respect.

Puppy carrying his dog bowl in his mouth

Dog Feeding & Health Care

My sensible feeding & health care advice will help your dog live a longer, happier life.

Happy girl with her new dog

How to Find a Good Dog

Everything you need to know about breeders, pedigrees, health checks, rescue dogs, purebred and crossbred puppies.... so you don't get stuck with a risky pet.

Michele Welton with BuffyAbout the author: Michele Welton has over 40 years of experience as a Dog Trainer, Dog Breed Consultant, and founder of three Dog Training Centers. An expert researcher and author of 15 books about dogs, she loves helping people choose, train, and care for their dogs.

My best-selling books – now available  FREE  on my website


book coverRespect Training For Puppies: 30 seconds to a calm, polite, well-behaved puppy is for puppies 2 to 18 months old. Your puppy will learn the 21 skills that all family dogs need to know. Click here to read for free.
book coverTeach Your Dog 100 English Words is a unique Vocabulary and Respect Training Program that will teach your adult dog to listen to you and do what you say. Click here to read for free.
book cover11 Things You Must Do Right To Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy helps your dog live a longer, healthier life. Get my honest advice about all 11 Things before you bring home your new puppy, because some mistakes with early health care cannot be undone. Click here to read for free.