Bad Breeders

Introduction

Many irresponsible, bad breeders present themselves as respectable, responsible, reputable breeders. You have to be vigilant and very careful not to become a victim.

Becoming such a victim means you can end up with huge veterinary expenses on top of your pet insurance premiums, as hereditary genetic conditions are often not covered by pet insurance because they are pre-existing.

You are also more likely to have to go through the heartbreak of watching your beloved pet suffer throughout it’s life, and some of those lives will sadly be very short. Each breed has their own selection of health problems bred into them, and bad breeding makes this a lot worse

Image: For diseases each breed is prone to, see here, but keep in mind that bad breeding can make it very much worse. Image Source.

The Dangers Of Falling Victim To Bad Breeders

Dogs from disreputable, bad breeders, which include pet shops, often have more health and behavioural problems because of thoughtless and irresponsible breeding practices.

The vast majority of pet shops that sell puppies are supplied by cruel puppy mills, so buying puppies from pet shops is funding this cruel industry and the bad breeders we are trying to stop (see Puppy Farms).

Image: A puppy farm can be inside an ordinary house, on allotments, or at isolated, remote properties, such as farms. Source

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A Common Scam Of Bad Breeders

A common scam is for bad breeders to supply fake ‘papers’ with their puppies, saying they are pedigree/purebred dogs. They do this in order to charge hundreds of pounds for their puppies.

They are basically con artists ripping people off. These puppies sometimes grow up to have no resemblance at all to the breed their papers claim they are!

Among other things, you can check if a breeder is Kennel Club accredited, here: Kennel Club Accredited Breeders.

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Should You Save A Life Or Encourage More Innocent Deaths?

Not enough people adopt dogs and too many people buy puppies. This encourages people to breed their dogs irresponsibly in an attempt to make money. As a result, nearly four million loving, adoptable dogs are put to death each year in the UK and US alone.

You can choose to adopt a rescue dog which will save the life of one of these innocent dogs, or you can buy a puppy, which will further encourage breeding, add to the already huge dog overpopulation, and increase the already extremely high number of innocent dogs being put to death.

If you choose to do the latter, it is vitally important that you find a reputable and responsible breeder and avoid the bad breeders.

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Breed Specific Rescues

If you have your heart set on a certain breed, there are many dog rescues dedicated to specific breeds. Before you buy a dog it is worth considering saving an innocent dog’s life by getting your dog from one of these rescues.

Personally, I would always recommend choosing a dog based on personality. You can find both general rescues and breed specific rescues throughout the UK and US on the here.

Image: Breed Specifc Rescue Poster. Source

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Misconceptions About Rescue Pets

A common misconception is that pets that end up in rescues do so because they have problems and/or are old. This is incorrect.

The vast majority are there because:

 – The owners circumstances changed beyond their control making it  impossible for them to continue giving their pet the care needed. for instance owner being in hospital long term or passing away.

– The owners purchased the puppy not realising the work, time, effort, or cost involved in training & raising it.

– The owners lacked forethought, getting rid of their pet due to what they term unforeseeable circumstances,  such as having a baby, a relationship break up, moving house, losing their job, or increasing their working hours. (These are in fact events that we all know are possible in life and should have contingency plans in place for).

– The owners were irresponsible by not neutering their pets, causing unwanted litters, which then end up at rescues.

People never seem to learn, continuing the cycle and feeding death row in the animal pounds with innocent victims.

If people continue to buy, puppies will continue to be bred, with many being abandoned. Those abandoned dogs will end up at dog pounds and will continue to die.

Image: Puppies awaiting adoption. Source

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'Good' Dog Breeders

Many people feel that breeding dogs when there are so many already alive that need homes, and are put to death because newly bred puppies are bought instead, cannot be right.

Even breeders that may be considered good and reputable, breed health problems into dogs, causing a life of suffering for the dog, and sadness and expense for the owner. Learn more about that here.

Image: The health of many dog breeds has been ruined. See here for more information. Source

It is a fact that some breeders are far more honest and ethical in their practices than others. The bad ones increase the suffering of the pets. Even breeders that people think are reputable, are often not. Because there are no controls on breeding pets, and because so many buyers do not know how to spot a bad breeder, genuinely ethical and reputable breeders are in the minority of breeders as a whole. Read on to see how to spot a bad breeder and see what to expect from a breeder who is genuinely reputable.

Image: Even though there are ‘good’ dog breeders, there are many more bad ones, such as Alan and Julie Weatherley, who are prize winning dog breeders, who loaded 12 pedigree dogs into a removal lorry for a 200-mile journey in sweltering 30c heat. Source

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What You Should Expect From A 'Good' Breeder

If you choose not to save the life of an innocent abandoned dog from a pound, shelter or rescue, and instead buy a puppy, it is in your best interests to avoid bad breeders.

The information below is to assist you in choosing the right dog breeder if you cannot save a rescue dog:

• A reputable breeder will always have a full waiting list of homes for all their puppies BEFORE the puppies are even conceived

• They never have to advertise puppies, as they would never be irresponsible enough to breed them without already having a waiting list homes for them.

• They will not breed the mother dog very often often as they would not want her health to suffer.

• They ALWAYS do the vital genetic health checks on the breeding parent dogs and examine their family health histories, to check they will not be passing down defective genetic conditions. You must ask to see proof of these tests. If the breeder has carried out all checks, as they should, they will be pleased to show you the proof and will not give excuses about why they cannot show them.

• They carry out health checks specific to the breed and you should also ask for proof of this. Independently research what checks they should be doing for the breed you are purchasing, don’t take their word for it.

• They get all the puppies fully health checked micro-chipped and vaccinated – you must get proof of this.

• They would never wean them from their mothers too early. Anything before 8 weeks is far too early and is likely to cause behavioural problems in the offspring.

• They will ask lots of questions and visit the homes the puppies are going to to check they are good homes. They will offer lots of support and continue to check up on the dogs progress, being willing to take the dog back at any time in it’s life, if need be.

• They do not breed dog breeds that there is already an overpopulation of in shelters and rescues

• They are a member of the Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme (see “Helpful Information” section below). Don’t take their word for it – check.

• They often provide the first years pet insurance free

• Make sure you see the mother with the puppies up close and check she is healthy and alert.

• Because of the cost of responsible breeding, they breed more for the love of the breed and trying to breed problems out of it, rather than for money. It is bad breeders who make money through wreckless breeding and cutting corners, then leave the new owners and innocent puppies with the resulting problems

Image: A depressed rescue dog before he was re-homed. Source

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Helpful Information

RSPCA Puppy Guide

Dogs Trust Guide

BBC Report

Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme (for buyers)

Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme (for breeders)

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The Actions Of Genuine Animal Lovers

Genuine animal lovers who know about innocent, adoptable animals being killed every day in pounds seldom consider BUYING a puppy when they know they would be letting an innocent pet in a pound die that they could have saved instead.

If a person wants a specific breed, there are many rescues that specialise in certain breeds. You would be surprised that most breeds have rescues.

If you would like to look in to adopting a pet, you may find the Adopting Rescue Pets page helpful.

You can find UK and US animal rescues on the Adopt A Pet Here page.

Alternatively, you may be interested in temporarily fostering an animal, until a permanent home can be found for it, or until it is able to return to the wild.

For information about this, visit the Animal Fostering And Sponsoring page. Fostering saves innocent lives.

Image: Poster About Fostering. Source

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What Can I Do To Help?

There is a huge problem of animals being put to death because they are abandoned by owners who did not realise the work and sacrifices involved in owning a pet, and because too many people buy and breed new pets instead of adopting abandoned animals.

You can help by raising awareness of animal adoption, and of the issue of pet abandonment and bad breeders, by sharing the information from this site on social media. Making sure people become aware of these issues will be instrumental in helping to stop animal suffering.

Join groups on social media where people sell animals. Report posts that are selling pets, if it is against the policy of the social media site to do so.

Respectfully let people selling pets – especially for a low price or giving them away free – know about the dangers of doing so. Encourage them to re-home their pet through a reputable rescue, as they do thorough checks and have legally binding contracts that the pet may not be passed on.

With people who post saying they are looking for a puppy or kitten, respectfully encourage them to adopt from a rescue. Let them know they can find rescues in their area through this page, and that there are general rescues, rescues for small breeds only, large breeds only, and rescues for specific breeds only. Many people do not realise that nearly every breed has rescues dedicated to only them.

Let them know that they will be saving a life, and that the rescue space they make available by adopting a pet will save the life of a pound pet who would otherwise be put to death when their short period of time is up at the local authority animal pound.

There are not enough life saving spaces for all the dogs and cats who need them, so every adoption means another pet has avoided being put to death feeling lonely, unwanted and unloved.

If you cannot help stop the deaths of innocent pets by adopting, fostering or sponsoring, you can help by cross-posting pets looking for rescue spaces (see the cross-posting page for details of what to do). Animal rescues are also usually in need of volunteers to help in a variety of roles.

Another way of helping save their lives, if you can afford to spare any money, is to donate at this website:
Pounds For Poundies

Even a small donation could mean the difference between an abandoned pet being saved or put to death. Even just the price of a cup of coffee at a cafe, or a bottle of fizzy pop. The animals on the site also need cross posted.

Image: Report Animal Cruelty to the Police! Source

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Many Other Ways To Help Stop Animal Cruelty

This website lets you know of many more ways to help stop animal cruelty, and there are ways  that will suit everyone, no matter what their personality, lifestyle, or energy level, etc.

Share these ways with other people, on social media for example, to get more people helping.

Educating people about the cruelty that goes on is another way to help, so share the information on this website on social media. You can find this information in the Types Of Animal Cruelty section of this site. Viewing it will allow you to broaden your knowledge of many different types of animal abuse that happens in the world.

One way of raising awareness of animal cruelty issues is by educating people with what you wear.

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