Cindy’s Other Blog

We have all seen those adorable faces and tiny whiffling noses pressed up against the glass and been tempted to get a puppy from the pet store. Have you ever considered though where those puppies are sourced from, if not a local breeder?

Pet store puppies are rarely bred by reputable breeders, they are sourced from puppy mills. Most people won’t have heard of a puppy mill. Soon, you will probably wish you hadn’t.

A complex of small cages and run with the express purpose of breeding dogs on a rapid cycle. Scores and scores of puppies are bred in this way to end up in the window of pet shops across the continent. The lucky ones, that is, who survive.

Puppy mills pups tend to suffer from poor health, temperament issues and hereditary conditions. At the mill, they are taken away from their mother before the recommended weaning time of 10 weeks, therefore not receiving the right socialization and benefits of being fed by their mother.

Their substandard living conditions, where they are housed in cages, sometimes with many others also lead to health and temperament issues, as they receive little chance to bond with humans before being shipped to the petstore.

It is responsible when breeding puppies to take into account any diseases a breed is prone to, and to carefully select dogs to mate, otherwise you end up with a walking wagging time bomb. Good breeder will make proper vet care, immunization and health a priority.

They should be able to provide a breeding line for the dogs, papers and any other information necessary for looking after the puppy. In addition, pedigree dogs should come with a guarantee, each breeder will differ on this, so check your small print, but the guarantee should not require you to give back the puppy if he falls ill.

There is no such ethos at the Puppy Mill, where money talks fast and loud. They breed dogs regardless of health, disease or family history, which is a recipe for disaster.

Breeding dogs are kept in miserable conditions, without proper attention to their diet, health or exercise regime, and forced to breed every time they are in season, physically exhausting the dog, and leading to weaker puppies. At the end of their breeding life, the dogs are often killed or abandoned.

There is legislation in place but puppy mills still exist. Consumers can help stamp out these intensive dog breeding plants buy only buying puppies from reputable breeders ( visit the premises, get recommendations), consider adopting ( this is the most humane way to stop the industry and to help rescue a dog who has been abandoned), refuse to buy from pet stores ( many of them do not know or mislead their customers as to the origin of the puppies).

It is imperative that you don’t buy a puppy from a mill to rescue him. It is creating a demand for another puppy to be bred into a life of suffering. Contact the appropriate bodies, and demand they take action.

Puppy mills, tragic and inhumane as they are, are a problem caused by the consumer, so use your spending power wisely and put an end to these hellish establishments.