12/22/2024
Welcome to the puppy mill capital of the United States, we’re happy to have you and your money….
Did you know Missouri is the puppy mill capital of the US? Did you know not all puppy mills look like the ones you’ve seen on the ASPCA commercials? Did you know they have gotten smart at scamming you out of your money? Did you know that the adorable puppy you see posted on fb for a great price is probably riddled with health issues or genetic behavioral issues? Did you know we as the consumers are the only ones who can stop puppy mills?
For the purposes of this post the terms “puppy mill” and “backyard breeder” will be used interchangeably and as one. While they are technically different, at the end of the day they both boil down to “someone who breeds dogs irresponsibility and unethically for profit, without regard to the animals’ current or future wellbeing.”
Christmas is quickly approaching and with that comes a flood of posts of people looking to buy or sell puppies online for the holiday.
Man, who doesn’t want a puppy for Christmas? As someone with chronic puppy fever (like baby fever, but for puppies!) that’s like a dream gift for me! A tiny, adorable, cuddly baby dog on Christmas morning wrapped in a big red bow is a Hallmark movie come to life.
But before you make that dream come true maybe we should stop and consider a few things…
Am I mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially prepared to commit to a 15+ year commitment?
Am I prepared for the puppy to teeth on me and my children? Tear up my favorite shoes, p*e on my kids backpack, or eat a whole seasons worth of Doctor Who dvds? 🥲
Am I prepared for the lost sleep while potty training? How about when the puppy turns into a large dog? Am I prepared for training them to walk on leash, come when called, and be confident and respectful of the world around them? What if my dog develops health issues? Am I financially prepared to vaccinate to stop the preventable and prepared to fix the unimaginable? Have you done the research to make sure you are getting a breed based on lifestyle vs looks? To make sure you aren’t buying a race car when what you really need is a good, dependable minivan?
So you’ve answered all these questions and you feel prepared, this is a commitment you are READY for. Great! Now what happens if your world falls apart and everything you had planned for is gone in the wind? Is the person that brought your dog into the world going to be there to support you? Because they should be. If your dog suddenly develops a health or behavioral issue, your breeder should be there for you. If you suddenly become ill or unable to care for your dog, your breeder should be there. If you realize you can’t predict the future and all the plans you thought you had in place and all the questions you had answers to are suddenly all wrong, YOUR BREEDER SHOULD BE THERE!
If the person you are getting your dog from at the (and I cannot emphasize how minimal this is) bare minimum will not take the dog back for ANY reason, run, run right now! I don’t care how cute the puppy is, how cheap it is, or if your neighbor’s, brother’s, sister’s, cousin, has a puppy from this person, run.
Why? Because when life happens if they don’t take your puppy back, it ends up in my list of shelter dogs I need to train and help care for. Do you really want your sweet puppy living in a small cage just shy of 24 hours a day for weeks, months, possibly even years? In case you were wondering, the answer is no. Just trust me, the answer is no, and I say this as someone who works with a top notch rescue whose volunteers put in the work to provide excellent care for our animals.
Unfortunately, in a couple of weeks shelters all around the country will be flooded with Christmas puppies and in 6-8 months, we will be filled and overflowing with teenage Christmas puppies.
So besides taking your dog back if “sh*t hits the fan”, what else should you look for and ask?
1. Are the parents health tested to breed standards and what are their OFA and/or PennHip scores? If they tell you “the vet said they are healthy” or don’t know how to answer, run. Health is genetic and if they can’t PROVE their dogs are healthy with cold, hard, facts, don’t give them your money.
2. Do they show the parents in conformation, compete in a breed related sport, or are they successful working dogs? If the answer is no or “well they are good pets” or “those things don’t really matter,” run. Just because a dog has the ability to reproduce, does not mean it should. Quality over quantity.
3. Ask them about the temperament of the parents and grandparents, even about past litters. Just like I inherited my love of dogs and ADHD from my grandfathers, certain personality traits and behavioral issues are genetic. Is there a history of any types of aggression towards dogs or humans, what about reactivity, anxiety, or even car sickness? Are these things you can deal with? Contrary to popular belief it is not *all* in how you raise them. Don’t be shocked when your untrained terrier kills the chickens and your untrained border collie wants to herd everything that moves… and don’t be shocked when someone who breeds for profit produces dogs with unstable temperaments.
4. Ask them what their socialization protocol is. This will vary even among good breeders, but they should at least be willing to discuss it and have a solid protocol in place, something more than “we have kids and other dogs in the house” and it definitely should be better than “they were raised in our barn, mom did all the socialization.” On this note, puppies should not leave mom and siblings until 8-12 weeks old, both ethically and legally.
5. How often are they selling puppies, how many breeds are they breeding, are they selling breeds you can’t find on the AKC or UKC website? None of these have one right answer. Some good breeders have more than one breeding bitch, some good breeders have fallen in love with more than one breed, some good breeders have FSS breeds and are working towards AKC/UKC recognition, some good breeders breed PURPOSE bred mixes (NOT “designer” dogs). The short answer is use your discernment, can you feel the passion for the dogs or for the money? A good breeder is in it for the dogs, not the money.
6. Speaking of money; a dog from a good breeder isn’t cheap, but if you need to take out a second mortgage to afford the dog… 🫣 On average most popular breeds are somewhere between $1,500-2,500, some breeds are closer to $4,500 if it’s a preservation breed. If it’s much below or above that I would be suspicious, especially if they don’t checkout on the points above. If you can’t afford a well bred puppy, wait and save the money or adopt instead. You can get a shelter dog for $25 at some places and it will be just as good quality as the $700 backyard bred one from that Facebook post! (Want to know why? Because they came from the same place, it’s the same dog 3 weeks after you told them no, they couldn’t sell the puppy so it ended up at the shelter. Talk about a steal of a deal!)
7. If they have a website, what does it look like? Is it mostly about the puppies they currently have for sale or is it mostly about their breeding program and the dogs they have produced and use to breed? Again, are they clearly passionate about the dogs or the money?
8. Does the breeder care about you, the human in the relationship? Do they ask about your lifestyle, your breed experience, your plans for the dog, etc? Do they pick the puppy out for you based one who is a best fit for your lifestyle, needs, and wants and not just on looks? Because they should care as much for you as they do your puppy, if they don’t… say it with me, RUN!
Some of these points are more flexible than others, but the world is full of nuance and humans are beautiful individuals. Use your best judgment and I hope you can take these as a guide because when money is involved the only ones that can stop puppy mills and backyard breeders are us, the consumers. If you really want to save that puppy from the bad situation, leave it, turn around, and drive back home. Do. Not. Ever. Give these people your money, ever. All you have done is doomed another dog to an awful life. I know how sickening this is, trust me, but every penny these people make just keeps them going. Instead report to local authorities and support local rescue organizations working to put an end to these places.
Good breeders are incredibly important, without them we wouldn’t have high quality dogs being produced for important jobs like service work, police work, farm work, search and rescue, and most popularly, the work of being a pet. While dogs from shelters can be amazing at all these jobs too, they shouldn’t have had to ever start at a shelter in the first place, dogs deserve loving homes from start to finish.
Whether you choose to adopt or shop, do it responsibly and make sure your money is going to people who are passionate about dogs not money. Raise your standards, you deserve better and so do the dogs.
And for the love of Pete, if you can’t be responsible with intact animals, spay and neuter! Just about everywhere in the US has a low-cost or free spay and neuter program within skipping distance. And if you end up with puppies (or kittens), place them responsibly, and make sure they NEVER end up in a shelter! If you felt called out in this post, then suck it up and do better.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
-Maya Angelou
