Most people probably haven’t even heard of puppy farms. If so, you probably haven’t given them much thought. However, if you only remember part of the pet’s health information, you should never remember to buy a puppy for him.
Puppy farms are places, often quite far from cities, where unscrupulous dealers put profits before the well-being of dogs. Bitches that are bred in puppy farms are treated similarly to battery hens. Mother dogs are kept in small pens, never see natural light, are given no space or time to exercise, and are bred so frequently that they become pregnant immediately after giving birth most of the time. The bodies of these bitches are weak from being bred too often, never being able to exercise, and receiving the absolute minimum food for their needs. Overcrowded conditions mean disease among dogs on farms is rife, compromising pet health.
Breeders who want to make the most profit as quickly as possible ensure that bitches become pregnant as soon as possible after giving birth. Adding to this cruelty, they also take cubs away from their mother’s care too quickly to make a profit sooner. As a result, puppies from puppy farms are likely to be weaker and less healthy than other dogs. That is if you’re lucky: they’ve likely been exposed to life-threatening diseases on puppy farms and are likely to have at least minor behavioral problems due to their unhappy life on the puppy farm.
In a survey of dog owners, 95% of them said they would never consider buying a dog from a puppy farm. However, some animal welfare charities suspect that as many as 900,000 people may have inadvertently bought their dog from a puppy farm, dealer or pet store. Many dog owners shop online or in newspaper ads, as well as in pet stores that are often supplied by puppy farms.
The advice of the kennel club is to buy directly from breeders to ensure the health of pets. Dog dealers are supplied by puppy farms and often pose as simple breeders, so when looking for newspaper ads, beware of anyone selling more than one breed of dog as they may be dealers. . When buying a puppy from a breeder, always insist on seeing the puppy with his mother and his siblings. If a breeder makes excuses as to why you can’t see the mother, walk away, he is almost certainly a dealer. The kennel club has a registry of pedigreed puppies that you can look up if you want to buy one.
With 150 stray dogs being killed every week by local authorities unable to keep up with the demand for unwanted pet services, the mass breeding of dogs on farms becomes even less justified. This is why many charities advise people looking to buy a dog to consider getting a rescue dog. They may not be pedigrees, but this actually means that they are likely to be healthier and you will be able to guarantee that they have been cared for at the rescue center rather than being treated like a commodity by dog breeders.