I just watched a video on MSN that everyone should see. It is about a popular online broker site(s) that sells people puppies sight unseen for extremely high prices. These puppies sell for as much and often MORE than I sell my dogs, yet have no health testing, no titles on either parent, and many arrive sick, if not near death.
MSN: Did online puppy site sell sick puppies?
If you watched the video you saw a lady who paid $2,000.00 for a golden / poodle mix, then had to sink $4,000.00 into the dog for vet bills. Another lady paid $1,500.00 for a Beagle puppy who died a few days later, after major vet bills. You do not want to be in this situation! Hopefully I can help you to never support a puppy mill with this blog post.
I sell all my poodles from advertising here on the internet. However, everyone online is not as honest as I am about their dogs or business practices. My own experiences locating breeding stock showed this to me early on. Breeders websites say their dogs are health tested, but I could find no health testing results on OFA and they could not be bothered to send me their copies. This is a red flag. So, how can you avoid being taken advantage of, yet still find a quality breeder?
1. Try to purchase a puppy from someone within driving distance to you, if at all possible. First, it will allow you to visit that breeder in person. You can get to know them, develop a relationship with them. If you are close, they can be more involved with you and your new addition. Sure, you might have to wait a while for that breeder to have puppies, but in the long run you will have more than a new puppy. You will have a new friend!
2. If you cannot purchase local, find a breeder who can supply a nice long list of happy owners. Ask to speak to people who have had both healthy and not so healthy dogs. Personally, I think the measure of a breeder is not in how they manage things when the sun is shining, it is when the clouds roll in and they get the dreaded call/email that one of their dogs is sick. Any breeder with any breed will have health issues crop up, I don’t care how careful they are, and yes that includes mixes. We are not God, we can’t control more than probability. The best of us do what we can to stack the odds in our favor. Everything else is a roll of the dice. Just because a breeder’s contract says they will refund or replace for a health issues doesn’t mean they have. I have refunded money for sick dogs and offered replacement puppies (with no requirement the first dog be returned!), and I have the owners out there ready to speak up and say I didn’t abandon them when the chips were down.
3. Look for proof of all they claim. What health testing do they say as been done? Can you locate the testing on a searchable database like OFA or CERF? If not, ask for them to provide copies. Send them no money until you see copies of titles and test.
4. Those of us who breed and do it right are passionate about our dogs, their health, and their welfare. We are careful about who takes one of our babies home. If you can push a button on a website and buy a puppy sight unseen, and that breeder is willing to let anyone with enough money take their puppy, you should RUN from that website as fast as you can. The only group of people who would sell a puppy in such a manner are puppy mills and brokers who deal with puppy mills.
In Summery:
Buy Local. If you can’t buy local, check references and go with someone you feel you can trust. Check for records on all titles and health testing. See if the breeder is as worried about YOU being a good home, as you are about THEM being a good breeder. If so, chances are you found a breeder worth knowing!
~Becky