An excellent way to evaluate the quality of a puppy is to evaluate the source. The usual options are:

• Pet Shop, Broker or Commercial Kennel
  These outlets rely heavily on impulse buying. Pups are bred and raised as a cash crop and sold at a high profit. This is possible because little has been put into the care of these pups or their mother. Little or no attention is paid to the temperament and appearance of their breeding stock or the pups. Commercial sources rarely accept responsibility for a puppy after it is sold.
• Backyard Breeders
  Usually this is the person who owns a Wheaten and thinks it would be fun to have puppies or that it would be an education for the children. Sometimes it’s an effort to recoup the original cost of the dog. These breeders rarely know the breed’s history or standard and still less about grooming, care and health issues. Like commercial breeders, backyard breeders make little or no investment in the health of their breeding stock. Breeding stock may not be certified by a licensed veterinary ophthalmologist (ACVO) or certified clear of hip dysplasia via OFA or PennHip methods.
• Quality Hobby Breeder
  The very best choice for a quality pup. Here, breeding is a serious labor of love. A quality puppy is the result of the breeder’s dogs, dedication to the breed and an abiding responsibility for all the dogs the breeder has produced for as long as they live. A quality pet comes from a careful breeding program in which the characteristics and temperaments of the pup’s ancestors are known to the breeder. Animals being bred undergo careful evaluation and medical screening. This breeder strives to produce a pet that epitomizes the breed standard – the blueprint of what a Wheaten should be. The quality pet is carefully socialized and bonded to humans. A well socialized, people oriented pup is the outcome of positive contact with humans from the first days of its life. A quality puppy comes from a quality breeder.