I shared some of my tips for finding a responsible breeder yesterday, but today is all about the bad breeders!
It’s your responsibility to educate yourself about the breed you’re interested in - it’s going to make finding your puppy so much easier. You also need to find a good breeder, but how do you tell if the person you’re talking to isn’t a responsible breeder?
They tell you they don’t do any health testing of their breeding stock “their breed doesn’t have any health problems”. Their dogs don’t look healthy, have poor coats or act lethargic. They don’t belong to the national breed club, national kennel club or local kennel clubs “oh, those clubs are all full of politics”. You can’t get a referral from previous owners of their puppies, their vet or from the national breed club. They don’t show their dogs or do any kind of competing. Their dogs don’t have any titles (we’ll get more into titles in a separate post). They sell to pet stores, in store parking lots or to wholesalers (who then sell to pet stores). Their female dogs are bred more than twice in a row. They breed more than a couple of breeds and always have lots of puppies. They advertise their puppies as “tea-cup” or poo-mixes - this is why educating yourself about your breed is so important.
There are no absolute rules, and there are responsible breeders who have large kennels, with lots of breeding stock or who don’t show - but pay attention to warning signs!
image: Stock.xchg
Tags:
backyard breeders,
bad breeders,
buying a puppy,
choosing your puppy,
dogs and puppies,
how to choose a responsible breeder,
puppy mills 