Unlucky Puppies
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Retail Puppies - FAQ
Q. What is a “puppy mill”?
A. The term “puppy mill” refers to a large-scale commercial dog breeding facility. At such facilities, the goal is to make a profit by producing and selling large quantities of marketable puppies. Thus, the breeding dogs live out their entire lives in small cages. They are bred repeatedly. In order to keep costs down, these dogs receive only minimal veterinary care (that which will enable them to continue to reproduce) and are never taken out of their cages for walks or play time. At the worst facilities, the dogs live in outdoor cages and are susceptible to extreme heat and cold. By CCHS standards, the conditions at commercial breeding facilities are inhumane.
Q. The clerk at the store told me that the store gets its puppies from reputable breeders, not puppy mills. Is this true?
A. No. It is not possible for a pet store to maintain a steady inventory of a variety of breeds without relying on commercial breeding facilities. In addition, no reputable breeder would ever sell his/her litters to a retail pet store. See more information on reputable breeders below. To learn more about how breeders feel about pet shops, see http://www.cuhumane.org/puppymills/conduct.html
Q. The clerk told me that the breeders were licensed and inspected by the USDA. Doesn’t this mean that the breeding facility is o.k.?
A. No. The law requires anyone who has 6 or more fertile female dogs at one time to be licensed by the USDA. However, the USDA is also responsible for regulation and oversight of the country’s food supply and is thus responsible for inspecting all facilities that produce beef, pork, poultry, and agriculture products. The USDA is under-funded and understaffed throughout the United States. Unfortunately, commercial dog breeding facilities are not a priority for the USDA and often times, even when inspections occur, enforcement efforts are inadequate. In addition, the minimum requirements for animal care required under the USDA do not provide for an acceptable quality of life for a dog.
Q. But the clerk at the store told me all the puppies are registered with the American Kennel Club and come with pedigrees. Doesn’t that mean anything?
A. Not necessarily. AKC registration is often a marketing tool used by pet shops. The truth is, the AKC registers any purebred puppy whose parents were registered. AKC registration relies on the honor system, and is simply a matter of the breeder filling out the proper forms and paying the fees. It is not a “seal of quality.” In the case of knowledgeable breeders who are devoted to the welfare of their beloved breed, the system works. But AKC registration does not insure health, quality, or even adherence to breed standards. Moreover, an “official” AKC pedigree is just a print out from their database of the previous registrations of the puppy's parents, grandparents, etc.
Q. What is a “broker” such as Hunte Corp.?
A. A broker (a.k.a. a Class B Dealer) is a middle man who buys puppies from commercial breeding facilities and then sells them to pet stores. In addition to moving puppies across the country (usually in a truck), the broker has a kennel facility where puppies are housed after purchase and held before shipment to a destination store. The living conditions at these facilities have been found to be no better than at puppy mills. Inevitably, brokers end up with a number of dogs that are not purchased by retail stores. These dogs might be sold at auction to another dealer or end up at a research facility. Brokers frequently promise that they are obtaining dogs from only the best responsible breeders. However, in reality, they are obtaining their dogs from large scale commercial breeding facilities. Remember, no reputable breeder would ever sell their dogs to a broker.
Q. What does a reputable breeder do that is so special?
A. A reputable breeder (1) will only breed dogs of excellent genetic stock and will not breed dogs that have congenital defects, (2) will only breed a female dog once per year (and only a few times in her life), thus ensuring that she has adequate nutritional stores to support her litters, (3) provides essential socialization of young pups to human contact, (4) provides excellent veterinary care for both the breeding dogs and puppies; (5) carefully screens individuals seeking to purchase their pups; (6) requires puppy buyers to sign a contract promising to return the dog to the breeder if for any reason the buyer can no longer care for the dog; (7) maintains contact and provides assistance to buyers of their puppies; and (8) requires that the dogs be spayed or neutered unless they are satisfied that the buyer is knowledgeable of responsible breeding practices.
Note: If you have decided to obtain a puppy from a breeder, CCHS strongly urges you to ask questions and fully investigate the background of the puppy you are interested in. A reputable breeder will welcome your questions and in turn seek assurances from you that you will provide a good home for the puppy. For a list of questions you might consider asking a breeder, go to http://www.stoppuppymills.org/puppy_buying_tips.html .
Q. Won’t a puppy from a reputable breeder be more expensive than a pet-store puppy?
A. Not necessarily. In most cases, you can find a responsible breeder of any purebred dog who charges less than puppy-store prices. Furthermore, responsible breeders often have “pet quality” puppies (as opposed to “show quality”) and older dogs that have been returned for reasons that have nothing to do with the dog. In addition, (1) you will be certain of your new dog’s health, socialization, and genetic background; and (2) your breeder will maintain an interest in your dog’s well being for life.
Q. Don’t the dogs in the pet store need to be “saved”?
A. Unfortunately, there are more dogs in the United States than there are homes for them. Buying a pet store puppy will not help save dogs’ lives – it will add to the profits of commercial breeders and brokers. And thanks to the profits from your purchase, the puppy you buy today will be replaced by another puppy tomorrow. If you want to save a dog who is homeless and at risk, please consider adopting a dog from a shelter or breed rescue group.
Q. What is a breed rescue group?
A. For every AKC registered breed, at least one breed rescue group has been formed to help those purebred dogs find new homes. Rescue groups are usually small non-profit organizations made up of volunteers committed to saving the lives of homeless dogs of a specific breed. The dogs are often housed in foster homes so that they learn basic manners before being adopted. A good way to find adoptable dogs of a specific breed is to use www.petfinder.com or http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm.