The Truth About Puppy Mills And What To Avoid

An individual or family looking to add a new puppy to their home should be aware of the puppy mill industry. With so many consumers in the market for pets, some individuals have jumped into the business of breeding dogs for greed. They usually are not pet lovers, themselves. So, what is the typical life history of one of these pets that you may purchase at a pet store, via the Internet, or simply out of the classifieds? It will shock you.

Most puppy mills will usually consist of anywhere from 60 plus animals. There have been some larger documented puppy mills that have housed upwards of a thousand dogs. The dogs are typically fed once daily, sometimes twice, if they are lucky. The waste is usually cleaned up once a week. The dogs are usually housed in either cement floored cages, or in a rabbit style cage with a wire bottom where the faeces and urine stacks up. Most of these housing areas are very small, and the dogs have to sit and sleep in their own faecal matter. The puppies that are stuck in the wire bottom cages sometimes have their paws and legs get stuck through the holes. This can rip open the flesh, and the germs and faecal matter that has collected on the wire infects the wound. Most puppies that become ill are simply killed. Vermin such as rats, mice, fleas, ticks, worms, and flies are prevalent in these puppy mills.

With such a large quantity of animals it is impossible to handle the animals, comfort them or socialize them with the human touch. They are just considered noisy and smelly products.

So where do all these dogs come from at the puppy mill? A few selected females are singled out as the breeders. They will stay at the puppy mills until they are dead. These poor animals spend their life mating and delivering. When their insides have broken down due to malnutrition and overwork and they no longer are viable to the mill, they are simply killed and another breeder is put in its place. It is not uncommon for disease and inbreeding to occur at these mills. If you have purchased a dog that just seems like it has no sense, or is ill, it is not the dogs fault. It was probably inbreed. The dog’s papers may say they are purebred, but truly these papers only list the father and mother, and not the history of each.

When it’s time to ship these dogs out for sale, the clean up process begins. They are usually wormed a few days prior to their departure. They are bathed close to the time of sale. They are sprayed with odour fighting sprays to disguise any stench. If their eyes are runny, or pussy, they are wiped cleaned and sent on their way.

Where do these puppy’s go? Your local pet store, and other animal outlet centers. Where else would they get their inventory? It is reported that pet stores sell approximately half a million animals per year. These animals aren’t coming from the loving pet owner who just had a litter.

There are laws to protect the consumer who has found themselves with a sick puppy. It is hoped that these laws will force the industry to take better care of the animals they breed, and that the pet store owners are more particular about the animals they stock. You can find a pure breed dog at your local animal shelter. It is strongly recommended that you start your search for a new pet there and boycott the pet chains.