Stories

Beware Of Unscrupulous Breeders

Are you keen to buy a pedigree puppy, think twice before you contact a Breeder by email, and buy the cutest looking puppy shown by him over his website or sent to you by email! Chances are that the puppy is unwell, not cared for and will die soon after reaching to your home. Not all breeders are unscrupulous, but there are plenty that are. So how do you go about finding a reputable Breeder? Here is some advice.

1. Never buy a puppy by looking at his picture over the Breeder's website. Insist on visiting the kennel / house where the mother and pups are staying. If the breeder suggests that the visit is not necessary, you should smell something fishy.
2. If the breeder hesitates to give the address of his kennel or his house where he has housed the mother and her puppies, stay away from such a breeder.
3. During your visit make sure you have full access to the kennel / house. See if the place is clean and the dogs have ample kennel space and look healthy and well cared for in every respect. A reputable breeder will always welcome this visit. In fact a good breeder should check your family background, how big your house is, whether all family members will welcome the puppy, whether any one in the family is allergic to animal coat and suggest which breed will be ideal for the size of your house.
4. When you visit the kennel / house, make sure the dam (mother) is on the premises and available for you to see. This is an absolute must! Only if you see that the mother is healthy and her puppies are healthy and happy with her, you will be satisfied that the puppy you plan to buy is healthy.
5. Ask for the age of the puppy. Do not take away the puppy from the mother before he or she is 8 to 10 weeks old. It is not only cruel to the puppy to be on his own at the age of 6 weeks, but it is necessary for the puppy to get mother's milk till he or she is 8 to 10 weeks old, to get immunity from mother.
6. Ask for the pedigree that describes the lineage of the puppy. The pedigree should include not only the name and registration numbers of the parents but the grand parents and the great grand parents as well. Such pedigree is issued by Kennel Clubs.
7. Ensure that the breeder is a member of a reputed Kennel Club. If not, then stay away from him. If he is a member, then take his reference from the Kennel Club in writing.
8. Ask for the health certificates, vaccination cards and records of visits of veterinarian. This is very important as some breeds of purebred dogs have a history of inherited health disorders. If the breeder does not have any health cards and advises that it is your responsibility to take the puppy to a vet after you purchase it, smell a rat. If the mother has not been vaccinated, chances are that the puppies do not have the immunity, and hence can contract the diseases easily.
9. Insist on being provided with a signed bill of sale stating that the puppy is being sold as a purebred. This is an important legal document and should be dated and signed by the breeder, should include the breed of the dog, your name, breeder's name and price paid for the dog. If you don't have this bill, there is no proof that you bought the puppy from the breeder, and later on if you find that you have been cheated, you cannot take any action against the breeder.

Unfortunately presently there is no law in India to govern the business of breeding of purebred dogs, and therefore it has become a profitable tax free business for people to breed purebred dogs. Such unscrupulous breeders use their female dog like a puppy producing machine, mate her at every heat, and go on producing puppies every six months and earn thousands of rupees. The mother is kept in horrible unhygienic condition, and due to constant mating her health is poor and the puppies born are also not healthy. It is therefore very important that before buying a puppy from a breeder, all the above things are taken care of, so that you don't get duped.

Finally, if you have had a bad experience with any such unscrupulous breeder, make a noise, spread the word of your bad experience with the particular breeder through the email network, internet blogs so that others do not fall into the trap.