| Puppy Mills ((How to spot them )) Back to Chi facts page This article is intended to educate and help potential buyers be aware of what to look for When shopping for a puppy. Our aim here is not to convince you to buy one of our puppies. But, to encourage you to find a responsible humane breeder. Shasta Valley Chihuahuas.com is the Author of this Article. We are not calling ourselves puppy mills That would be silly. You may click on the home page link at the top left of this page to view the pages of our site or the link at the bottom of this article * One of the first red flags of puppy mill is they are not willing to show parents or pictures of parents. * They may be reluctant to have you come to their house (please read my security and safety requirements at the bottom of this page.) They will offer to meet you somewhere closer to you. Don't fall for that!! * We are always eager to meet our prospective buyer's and show off our dogs! We are so proud of them!!! * They will sell their puppies far to young!! A caring knowledgeable breeder knows that a puppy should remain with it's mother and litter mates until at least 10 weeks of age. They should not even be fully weaned until 8 weeks! They require those remaining weeks with mom and litter mates for their physical and social development. * A caring breeder will care who is getting their puppies. They will want to know who will be caring for the puppy. How long the pup will be left alone. Who will have access to the pup such as young children. What kind of living environment the puppy will grow up in. A caring breeder will want to follow up after the puppy has gone home and offer you their full support should you have any problems or questions * PLEASE, PLEASE, do not purchase your puppy from a pet store or, of all things a flea market!! These puppies almost always come from puppy mills. You will not save money this way. In fact they are over priced when you consider the following; These pups are always below the breed standard, not in good health, have a history of genetic problems costing you $$$$$ in vet bills and a lifetime of suffering for the animal. You are contributing to the awful horror these animals are forced endure by keeping them in business. * It is now illegal under the CKC Bylaws for a member of the CKC to sell their registered puppies to a pet store. The CKC in Co-operation with the OSPCA hopes to make it more difficult for puppy millers to get away with what they are doing. So if you can find a CKC Reg in a pet store it is illegal. * * The tittle "Puppy Mill" does not just belong to those who unscrupulously and mercilessly churn out hundreds of puppies a year While this is often the case, there is another type of puppy mill that is just as common as the larger Puppy mills referred to as the "backyard breeder" * It is not just the quantity of dogs they possess that make them puppy mills. By definition a puppy mill is defined as, People possessing dogs for breeding purposes in deplorable conditions (whether it is 3, 4,20,30,40, or more) that are not either, and/or suitable for breeding due to health concerns or genetic defects (minor or serious). They live Most of their lives in wire bottom cages in their own filth. They are never bathed, their fur is matted sometimes soaked with urine and painful for them to move around because it pulls and pinches on their skin. Because they are most often left to their own devices, puppies and adults commonly eat their own feces and its very hard for their new owner to get them out of it (if they can at all). * * The parents will have fleas for their whole life time and as a consequence the will have tape worms as well Making them weak malnourished and anaemic. Let me be clear if your puppy comes to you with Tape worms, It means they grew up with having fleas There is NO other way to get tape worm the puppy has to have eaten a flea to get it. Even if they eat a tape worm the will not get it!! The life Cycle of the tape worm is; a flea has to ingest the tape worm larvae through the consumption of the dogs blood where the tape worm larvae is found. The dog must eat the flea that has ingested the tape worm larvae for the process to be complete. Of course they are not going to eat a flea off another dog. They bite at the flea because it is biting them. If your puppy has grown up with fleas, tape worms, among other parasites, How well nourished was he or she during those early critical growing and development weeks of his or her life?? * * These dogs may or may not live in a little better circumstances than the larger puppy mills. The breeder does not care who breeds with who or whether or not the animal is even fit or healthy enough for breeding. They care nothing about adhering to the breed standard. Just like the larger operations, the poor female is bred every single heat cycle. ( the female should be rested and only breed every other heat) The Adult dogs are not well taken care of and will even have 2, 3, 4, or more kinds of parasites. Ask to see documentation of their last veterinary exam and that their shots are up to date. They usually are neglected and suffer from the lack of love and attention every dog deserves. They are fed the cheapest low quality dog food and don't always have clean fresh drinking water in nice clean dishes. * The puppies are sometimes registered but most of the time they are not. Why would you buy an unregistered puppy?? If they are registered it is fairly easy for them to obtain their papers through a fraudulent applications. Usually the reason the pups are not registered are #1 the parents aren't, #2 parents are registered without breeding rights because their breeder felt they were unfit for breeding. (Remember a responsible breeder know that the purpose of breeding is to improve the breed). A good Breeder breeds for themselves Looking for that special Champion. Ask the breeder what was the purpose of this litter? They should be able to tell you their goal what they were hoping to accomplish with the particular pairing. Their purpose should never be just to make a bunch of cute puppies to sell! These back Yard breeders = just smaller puppy mills. Seek out the cheapest so called pure breads they can find for their puppy machines. Very often they are not true pure bredes, one of the parents or grandparents can be mixed. Very often they have all kinds of genetic health problems such as luxated patella (very painful) heart or kidney defects and a very serious condition called intra vertebrae prolapse causing total or partial paralysis! Costing $$ upwards of $5000 or more if they can be cured Most times the cost is far to much for the average person and the animal is mercifully put to sleep. * You can help stamp out these Puppy mills!!! * Please do your part and don't finance these awful people!!! * Buying a pure Bred registered puppy will be a little more expensive, excellent breeders take no short cuts! This is my full time job that I have invested so much of my time and money into I am totally devoted to my dogs and puppies. I take great pride in my dogs and I love what I do! * * My policy concerning my prospective buyers is as follows; For my security I will require some references before you come to my home. I will run a check to make sure you have never been charged with animal cruelty or have had any dealing with suspected puppy mills. * When coming to visit I ask that you DO NOT visit any Kennels or pet stores on route. You can bring potential viruses and/or infectious diseases to my puppies and/or dogs on your clothing. I expect my buyers to practise good hygiene and where clean clothing when visiting for the protection of my dogs and puppies. * I will not under any circumstances allow my puppies to be viewed and handled in person until they have reached 8 weeks of age and have received their first shot Home * |