Puppy Buyers Beware

Four times per year, bloggers unite in an effort to create a better world for animals through Blog the Change for Animals.

In January, I ‘blogged the change’ by encouraging people to consider the adoption option – but since I acknowledge that not everyone wants to adopt, today I am going to blog about the best way to purchase a puppy.

Well actually, I lied. I am going to blog about the worst way: The puppy mill.

You’ve probably heard of them, and most likely, someone has told you not to support them. But has anyone told you why not? Or how to spot one?

As far as the why – picture walking through endless rows of cages stacked upon cages, your nostrils assaulted by the stench of urine, feces, and worse. Dogs of every breed imaginable peer back at you from behind bars, their eyes full of fear. They have never met a person who has treated them kindly. None of them have ever had the pleasure of lying in a warm bed, felt the soft stroke of a loving human hand, or the simple joy of playing with a ball.

These ‘purebred’ dogs hardly resemble the ones you might see prancing around the ring at Westminster. Their overgrown coats are filthy and matted. Their ribcages protrude grotesquely. Many of them are ill. They are kept in enclosures so small they can barely turn around and have nothing to stand on but chicken wire. The luckiest are those housed in the uppermost cages, because their excrement falls through the wire, splattering the dogs below.

It is similar to a scene out of Auschwitz – only with dogs as the victims.

The males are practically starved, since they don’t need extra nourishment for developing pups. The females are fed somewhat more, while they pump out puppy after puppy, often having multiple litters each year. When Mama can’t produce any more pups, she is disposed of like an empty egg carton.

Often, she is killed.

And even if you can somehow close your heart to the fact that the parents of that cute puppy you want to purchase are being treated worse than most laboratory rats – can you ignore the fact that the same cute puppy will probably be crippled or die an early death – thanks to a preventable disease?

I recently learned through the Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions, that puppy mill owners buy and sell these dogs as if they are livestock. Often, the primary selling point is how many puppies they can bear – and genetic diseases aren’t even taken into consideration. Cancer, deadly heart defects, progressive blindness, hip dysplasia – all things that a reputable breeder would screen out before breeding their dogs – aren’t even discussed. After all, if the final purchasers of these puppies (you) aren’t going to bother to ask, why should the breeders?

“But, I didn’t buy my dog from a puppy mill,” you argue. “I bought it in a ‘reputable’ pet shop.”

Because of the puppy mill taboo that put many pet stores out of business in the past, some stores now claim that they only sell puppies that they obtained from ‘reputable’ breeders. They are lying. Reputable breeders do not sell their dogs through pet stores. Ever.  (More on that later.)

“Phew,” you think. “I didn’t go to a pet store. I bought mine from an online breeder because I couldn’t locate that breed in my area. They even have their own website, and the dogs are AKC registered.”

Websites are selling tools, and those photos of dogs frolicking in the fields and running through streams are often furthest from the truth. According to the ASPCA, “89 percent of all “breeders” selling over the Internet are unlicensed by USDA.” This means no one is regulating how they treat the animals under their ‘care’ or what types of conditions they are being housed in.

You might wonder, “Well what about that AKC registration number?”

Most people don’t realize that the AKC merely assigns each puppy born from two purebred parents with an identification number, similar to your social security number. That’s all. From the AKC’s own website: “The AKC is a registry body. AKC does not breed or sell dogs, it cannot guarantee the quality or health of dogs in its registry.”

So that AKC number doesn’t mean much.

The truth is, reputable breeders produce dogs for one reason alone – to better their breed. And because of this, they want to know where their puppies are going. They don’t sell them in pet stores, or through brokers, and they rarely sell them online.

So how do you determine if you have found a reputable breeder? The first thing you will notice is that when you contact them, they will ask you more questions than you ask them. They want to know if you have any experience with their breed and why you want one. They want to know if your lifestyle matches the breed’s needs. (Can you provide enough exercise? Are you willing to spend money on grooming? Do you have children coming in and out of your home?) A good breeder will require you to sign a contract. They will want to stay in touch with you so they can follow up on the health of their line of dogs. Usually, they will take the dog back if you can no longer keep it – for any reason. And, most importantly, they will provide you with documentation proving that both parents were screened for genetic diseases. 

When shopping for a purebred dog, ideally, you should meet at least one of the parents, and see how the dogs are housed.  Even if you cannot find the breed you want nearby and decide to purchase a dog online and have it shipped, (which many reputable breeders refuse to do), the breeder will still follow the same protocols as described in the previous paragraph. If you are paying by credit card in an automated transaction and never speak to a soul – you are definitely not dealing with a responsible breeder.

Another good sign that you are buying from a legitimate source is if the pup’s parents have titles which are signified by letters that can fall before or after their names. The more, the better. Letters in front of a dog’s name signify that the dog’s has received titles in conformation which means their structure meets the breed’s standard. (Correct weight, height, shape, etc.,). Letters after a dog’s name show that the dog has proven its worth by competing in obedience, hunt tests, agility, or other similar venues – which is a good indicator that the dog is temperamentally sound.

A dog with titles before and after its name is more likely to be the best representation of the breed. After all, what good are looks if you haven’t a brain?

One final caution about purchasing puppies: While searching for your perfect companion, you may also run into a ‘backyard’ breeder – one who falls in the gray area somewhere between puppy mill and reputable breeder. They will often invite you into their homes and let you see how their dogs are housed. You will probably meet the mother, and sometimes the father might be on the premises as well. These ‘breeders’ may tell you how they had a nice dog, and so did their friend, so they decided to breed them. Or, that the litter was an ‘accident’ because both of their purebred dogs aren’t fixed. (Be especially wary here – because the parents of the ‘ooops’ litter might also be siblings.)

While backyard breeders often have good intentions, and their breeding dogs are generally not subjected to the same cruelties as those living out their days in a puppy mill, their puppies do not come with health clearances or titles, and they have no way of proving whether their line of dogs are structurally or temperamentally sound.

Don’t care about health clearances or titles? You should. If you purchase a puppy from anyone other than a reputable breeder, you are taking the same chances as if you picked a dog up off the street – and might end up with a sickly, fearful, or even aggressive dog. Or one that keels over at an early age from a deadly disease that could have been screened out through medical testing. Plus, you just might be supporting the horrific, inhumane treatment of your puppy’s parents.

At that point, why not just adopt, and save a life instead?

But if you absolutely must purchase that perfect purebred pup, my best advice is to always ask about health guarantees, titles, and contracts. If the breeder balks, gives you excuses, or doesn’t have a clue what you are talking about – then you are not dealing with a person who cares about preserving the very qualities that drew you to that breed in the first place. And if you are truly wise, you will ask these questions before you visit the breeder and have a puppy curled in your lap, or before you begin scrolling through photos of cute pups on the internet.

As for those pet stores with adorable pups peering out at you from behind glass – don’t even walk in the door. According to Say No To Animals In Pet Shops, one of the easiest ways you can help put an end to puppy mills is to “Support all of your local pet shops that do not stock puppies, kittens and other live animals.” Why give any of your hard earned money to businesses that support such cruelties?

Still not convinced? I leave you with this:

Please check out these other great writers who are also “Blogging the Change” for animals today: