Unfortunately, bread breeders still occur, in fact, they often indicate that they are recognized, so many people also think that the puppies are in good hands. However, they are often not tested and they breed purely for the money. They often have many litters in their company where no parents of the puppies are present. They usually do not grow up in the house but in sheds. The puppies are offered cheaply which makes it sound tempting, but please don’t fall for it.
What is a bread breeder?
The name almost says it all, a bread breeder breeds dogs (sometimes other animals as well) purely for money. In fact, they often do not even breed even if they call themselves a breeder, but the puppies are bought in large quantities. They are often located in large companies where they can house several nests. There are often many different puppies for sale and they sometimes live together with 10 or more puppies from different mothers. Although it is purely about earning, the puppies are often offered much cheaper than if they come from a good breeder. This is because if the price is so much lower, many people want to go for cheap so they can sell many puppies.
How do the puppies get there?
Sometimes they breed themselves but then they let the bitch give birth as often as possible while normally 2 to 3 litters is about the maximum if you want to keep the dog healthy and dog-worthy. However, it often happens that the puppies are sometimes bought from abroad. They are bought up in large batches, so that the purchase price is almost nothing. The puppies are transported to the Netherlands by van. Sometimes the puppies are even sold with forged passports. This means that the breeder does not have to maintain mother dogs and does not have to wait during the gestation period.
Licensed breeder
Real breeders of a particular breed are often registered with a breed club. So if you have a particular breed in mind, it is best to get information from an association. Many bread breeders are also licensed but not tested on how the animals are bred and sold. If one breeds more than 3 litters per year, it must be indicated by which one is ‘recognized’. However, recognized breeders breed with purebred dogs, if you want a cross such as a Boomer, it is best to bet on a private person who will raise the puppies in a homely atmosphere. The mother of the puppies will also be present. Good breeders do everything they can to socialize the puppies already and start potty training.
The circumstances
The conditions and care of the puppies are often poor, especially when there are no viewers. The puppies are taken away from the mother at 4 weeks, fed with sugar water to keep them alive and often they do not see a vet and the parents have not been tested for health. Often the dogs are kept in sheds and you do not get to see parents. Sometimes they will bring the breed you want to your home within a week so you don’t get to see the conditions at all. The puppies are not socialized at all and often the bread breeders do not know what to say about the behavior of the parents. If you want to recognize a bread breeder, pay attention to:
- How many puppies are walking around
- Whether the parents are present
- How the puppies are kept
- What the puppies look like (ears clean, eyes clean and clear, overbite / underbite, butt clean)
- Whether the breeder can answer questions regarding specific breed characteristics and coat care
- The prices, the puppies are often remarkably cheap, do not be tempted because that is because they buy the largest
- Often they try to sell by breeding the dogs as cute as possible, so be careful because mini Maltese, for example, are not purebred dogs and there are often health problems involved
- Normally puppies should not leave the nest until 8 weeks old
Stop brooding
The only way to stop breeding is to not buy puppies. This is very difficult as the dogs are sometimes poorly cared for, so you may be extra tempted to bring a puppy, but if you do not buy a puppy, the bread breeders will lose money. If in the end nobody buys a dog, they will have to close their business automatically. Do you suspect that you are dealing with a bread breeder? Then you can report it to the animal police.
