The best place to buy a puppy is from a reputable breeder.

There are many resources available to find a local breeder of the type of pup you want. Especially with the internet, you can basically type in the breed name in a search engine and come up with lots of sites to visit! 

The reason I strongly suggest buying from a breeder is, a good breeder not only takes in consideration the breeds standard, (what the breed is supposed to look like) but also the temperament, health, etc. These are very important things! You not only want an attractive dog, but you want a dog that is healthy, friendly, intelligent, outgoing, and not hyper or unruly. 

Often times you can purchase a pup from a breeder that is pet quality, meaning that it is not "show" quality. Usually this is for some minor reason, for instance, improper coat texture, tooth alignment, etc. Nothing that would affect the puppy health-wise or temperament-wise.

You can be more certain of aquiring a healthy, stable pup buying from a reputable, experienced breeder.

My #1 rule for buying a puppy is NOT to buy from a pet store!

Yes its hard to resist those cute, furry faces in the pet shop windows. But, irregardless of what the pet store owners say, these puppies come from puppy mills, and backyard breeders. 

What's a puppy mill you ask? Puppy mills are breeding facilities that over breed and under-care for many breeds at one time. These dogs often live in filthy conditions, stacked up in small, cramped cages, never to feel the grass under their feet. They are often malnourished, and dirty, living in feces and urine. Many times they are having litter after litter of pups, many of the pups dying, with their bodies remaining in the cages with the other pups and mothers. Long story short, the conditions are deplorable, not fit for any living being.

Backyard breeders, well that covers the laymen that is breeding their pet because its cute or they want to see the miracle of birth, or their neighbor wants a pup just like theirs. These dogs are bred with little or no regard of hereditary defects, diseases, temperament, and the breed standard. Yes these people do often mean well, but their inexperience in breeding and genetics prevents them from producing quality pups.

Many pet stores say, "these pups are from reputable breeders". Well I can promise you, there are NO reputable breeders that would put their precious pups in a pet store for sale. Its just not going to happen! The price of pups from a pet store are no bargain either. You can likely get a good pet-quality pup from a professional breeder for similar prices to that of most local pet stores.