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June 3rd
You’ve probably heard the term “puppy mill” used before. But what exactly does it mean? And what can you do to spot them?
“Puppy mill” is used to refer to breeders that produce large litters of puppies without any concern for health, safety, or proper living conditions. Their only interest is to make as much money as possible with as many puppies for sale as possible.
Here’s what you need to keep an eye out for if you want to avoid puppy mills.
When looking for a dog online, you’ll find websites that promise puppies right away, and allow you to choose from a huge selection of young dogs. Although this may seem convenient for consumers, it’s a big red flag.
It takes a lot of care- and money– to properly breed dogs and raise dogs. If a breeder is offering too many puppies at once, this could be a sign that they are not properly raising each dog.
The puppies are also much less likely to get proper veterinary care. Getting vaccinations and health checkups is expensive, and puppy mills cut costs by skimping on the healthcare of their dogs.
There are large breeders that offer a range of breeds while still maintaining high ethical standards. However, this is fairly rare. If you notice that a breeder offers a wide selection of breeds, you should take extra caution when dealing with them.
That’s because it takes a lot of attention and care to properly breed a dog. A skilled breeder knows the breed well, and focuses on producing healthy, happy puppies free of heritable diseases.
Breeders that focus on too many different types of dogs often don’t have enough knowledge about any one breed. They can put the health of their puppies at risk, just so that they can offer a greater variety of dogs.
Many puppy mills will try to convince you that they are legitimate by advertising their breeder certificate.
However, a breeder certificate is not actually a guarantee that they follow ethical standards. A piece of matter itself means little if you can’t see the quality of the breeder’s management.
When you’re an experienced breeder, you want the best for all of your puppies. That means you will go to great lengths to ensure that they find a safe, happy home.
Puppy mills, however, care little for their dogs. They’re simply chasing profit, and want to sell as many dogs as quickly as possible.
That means many puppy mills don’t ask potential dog owners any questions. Instead, they try to rope you in with quick checkout processes, promising that you’ll get your dog within just a few days.
Owning a dog is a big commitment, and no purchase should be rushed. Just as you should do research on potential breeder, any good breeder is also going to want to know more about you. If they don’t ask any questions, that’s a sign they care little for their dogs.
When picking out your puppy, make sure that you do plenty of background research on any potential breeders.
If you notice in the photos that the dogs seem to be living in cramped conditions, or that the area is not clean, the breeder could be running a puppy mill.
Are you searching for a new puppy? At Uptown Puppies, we help you connect with the top breeders and businesses around using our puppy finder.
All of the breeders and companies we work with are committed to the highest ethical and breeding standards. That means no puppy mills, and no backyard breeders.
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