All kinds of races and crosses, one even cuter than the other. What should you pay attention to when buy a puppy? To delve into this, you can avoid buying a puppy from a wrong puppy farm. A number of things must be in order at all times. With good preparation you prevent problems and hasty decisions. Below the story behind the wrong puppy breeding farms and how much money they make with it.

What is faulty puppy breeding?

Every year, 150,000 puppies (Animal protection, 2016) are smuggled into the Netherlands by dog breeders in a trunk and crates, to breed them and sell them on to people for cheap. These dogs probably come from Eastern European puppy factories, where the living conditions are not good. Breeding as many dogs as possible at the lowest possible cost price entails great risks.

Not to mention the mother dogs who have to empty litters on the conveyor belt and do not get any rest. The consequences for the puppies are often that they develop behavioral and health problems. When a dog is extremely busy or calm, this is often attributed to his character. While it almost always has to do with physical limitations or bad raising. As a result, the immune system weakens at a later age.

Malicious dog trade

The motto in rogue dog trade is to be able to breed as many litters per mother as possible. The suffering of the parents who sometimes never see the light of day and have to produce puppies in succession is great. Puppies from this trade are often sick and regularly show behavioral abnormalities such as fear, aggression, uncleanliness. The rogue dog trade does not screen for hereditary conditions or exaggerations.

Why is it so important that you take the time to do this?

Besides the behavioral and health problems, there is much more to be found behind the rogue trade in puppies. For example, how many litters has the mother dog already had to produce? How many days has she seen daylight in her life? How many puppies didn't make it? How were they brought up? Do they receive hormonal injections to breed up to three litters a year? So it is very important that you are aware of this.

The checklist when purchasing a puppy:

• Is the mother dog present?
  One of the important factors to check that it is not a wrong puppy breeding is when the mother dog is present. The mother's behavior provides a lot of information about the puppies. The mother dog teaches the young puppies everything and she is very important when it comes to parenting. She learns how the puppies should be behaved, that they should not bite too hard and more about what dog behavior looks like. Don't trust it when the breeder says the dog is even gone, or is out with a walker. Agree to come back another time if the mother dog is present. If not, then you are most likely dealing with a broker.

• How do the puppies react?
  Young puppies well accustomed to humans should not be anxious about visits. If the pups are crawling away when you come to watch, this can be a bad sign. Of course it differs per breed how enthusiastic they are, but a healthy, social and people-friendly puppy likes to visit you and is very curious.

• Are the puppies chipped and registered in the name of the seller?
  In the Netherlands it is mandatory to chip and register on the puppy since April 1, 2013. The puppy must be registered in the name of the breeder before the puppy is 8 weeks old. This way it is always possible to find out where the puppy comes from. So always ask for this.

• Does the breeder provide clear information and also ask questions?
  A good breeder puts the welfare of the puppies first and he will also ask questions to find out if you are the right owner. He also tells not only the good sides but also the less nice sides of the breed. He cares about his puppies and wants them to end up in a good house. Sometimes you get a little food, a cloth or a toy that smells like the nest. It's also nice if he can always call you after purchasing the puppy. So if you notice that the breeder is only interested in selling, this can be a bad sign.

• Can you visit more often or just once?
  With a responsible breeder there are no special offers of low prices and certainly not that you have to decide at once whether you want the puppy. It is much nicer to visit the nest several times, if you would like to.

• Are you in doubt?

Even if the whole checklist is correct, but your feeling says that it is not correct. Then don't do it, there are plenty of other sweet puppies out there. Especially puppies in the shelter who want a new home!

Sources: Animal protection. (2016, November 1). Bad puppy trade. Consulted on 4 August 2020, from https://www.dierbescherming.nl/foute-puppyhandel

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