How to avoid a puppy farm and help stop puppy mills

The term ‘puppy farm’ is one not many of us have heard before.  Your mind can automatically conjure up an image of a sunny, farm-land filled with bouncy puppies roaming around.  Sadly, this image couldn’t be further from the truth.  Puppy farms, Puppy mills and Commercial Breeders are all broad terms used to describe the unfortunately common practice of breeding puppies in their hundreds to sell to the general public for profit over the pup’s welfare.

In recent years, puppy farms have pushed their way to being the number one animal welfare issue in the country and, sadly, Ireland has the reputation as being the Puppy Farm capital of Europe with all manners of breeds of pups being bred in their thousands and sold nationally and/or smuggled to other European countries to be sold there. Puppy farmers will breed the puppies most in demand and popular at that time for profit, from Cocker Spaniels, poodles and Bichon Frises to their common crossbreed like cavachons, labradoodles, cockapoos and schnoodles etc.

 Puppy farmed pups can come with all hosts and mannerisms of behavioural and healtg issues. This is due to their being bred in stressful conditions and filthy whelping boxes. Puppy farmed dogs are bred for profit which means they are never usually health-checked before being sold and their parents are never screen-tested before being bred. This can result in problems arising in the puppies after they are sold including social problems, fleas and worms, hip and elbow dysplasia, parvo virus from not being vaccinated, heart murmurs, ‘roach back’, breathing problems, spine deformities to name a few.  These are the genetic issues that can arise in puppy farmed dogs but also, pups bred in a puppy farm environment can often be sold very sick, or have worms, fleas or other health issues picked up from living in a dirty environment. Often the new owners of puppy-farmed pups don’t know about their new family member’s health problems until they have them home or on their first vet visit, then when they try to phone the breeder, it’ll be a wrong number or disconnected.  Puppies that come from commercial breeders often grow up to have severe stress and anxiety which can prevent them from becoming well rounded, confident dogs in later life. This can be due to the fact the mother dogs are bred when they in poor health or in high stress environments, often crammed in pens with dozens of other breeding bitches. The stress hormone, cortisol, can be rampant in their pregnancy and can then have a negative affect on their pups. This can result in anxiety and fearful issues being a huge problem for the puppies and their owners when they’re purchased in later life.

On puppy farms, the ‘breeding bitches’ are housed in ‘whelping boxes,’ for their entire lives and used as breeding machines to churn out pups litter after litter.  They never see daylight, go for walks or get cuddles and when they cannot produce puppies anymore they are usually ‘discarded’ without a second thought.  Their pups are sold on while still cute and cuddly while the breeding dogs will be kept at the puppy farms their whole lives.  Puppy farms are rife in Ireland and kept secret by puppy farmers who will keep doing what they are doing while there is profit to be made.  It is a heart-breaking practice, both for people and dogs, that must be stopped and the best way to do it is by raising awareness so people know what to look for to spot a puppy farmer and know when to walk away.

Puppy farmers have been around in Ireland for quite some time now and have become very good at selling the idealism that their pups are bred at home  and will often use terms like “perfect family dogs, raised with children”, “bred in a home environment” and “ikc registered and microchipped” but more often than not, these terms are untrue. There is not a lot of regulation for puppy farmers particularly when it comes to their adverts selling the puppies. They can say whatever they think they need to say in order to make a sale.

We will always recommend adopting a dog as opposed to buying as shelters such as PAWS are filled to the brim with homeless, abused and unwanted dogs, both crossbreed and purebred, of all ages and sizes and characters looking for a second chance at finding a forever home after finding them selves in a shelter, often, through no fault of their own.  If you are on the lookout for your next family pet, then we would always highly recommend checking in your local shelter or pound for your perfect dog first as you will never know what you will find. If you must buy then please read ahead at our guidelines on how to avoid a puppy farm at all costs.

Avoid websites selling dogs, especially dogs.ie. Avoid looking in the buy and sell newspapers or on adverts. A reputable, responsible breeder will not advertise their dogs in this manner. Contact the Irish Kennel Club, or IKC for short, and see if your chosen breed has an Irish Breed Club. If so, contact the Breed Club and they will point you in the right direction of an ethical breeder.  If you do find yourself in contact with a breeder, then always insist on inspecting the breeder’s premises. A reputable breeder will be more than happy to have you come to view where the puppy is coming from. A puppy farmer will almost always offer to meet you halfway or in a carpark as they do not want you to see where the pups are housed, they will often have reasons for wanting to do this to avoid suspicion, covid has been the perfect excuse recently, but never purchase a dog without first meeting the mother dog and seeing where you dog is coming from.  When you do go to see the Breeder’s premises, ensure that you see the mother, and puppies, and that they are in the house.  Some breeders may have the dogs outside, which might not seem so bad, but this means they may not have been properly socialised. An ethical breeder will keep their puppies indoors to ensure the puppies are used to all sounds found in the home: the television, hoover, phone, and are used to people coming and going.
The mother dog should be in good condition, with bright eyes and she should be introduced to prospective new owners as well. She should not be underweight, despite a ‘breeder’ telling you the puppies will take it out of her; a good breeder will make sure the bitch has a constant supply of high-quality food to keep her healthy. She should look the picture of health with a waggy tail and be happy to interact with people and not act fearful or stressed.
The puppies should be curious and excited to see new people, they should be plump, but not potbellied, they should be bright-eyed and their coats in good condition. There should be no dirt matting their fur. They should not have any marks, redness or loss of hair or have swollen bellies, indicating worms.  The puppies should not cower away from you, and should not stay huddled together. The puppies should be confident enough to investigate the stranger in their midst. If they aren’t, then it’s quite likely they haven’t been socialised.

Questions to ask the breeder:

• Health concerns of the breed. Nearly all breeds have some prevalent health problems, if the breeder claims that they have no health concerns at all, walk away.
• Temperament, personality of your chosen breed. A good breeder will be able to talk about their chosen breed for hours on end.
• How suitable they think you are to the breed. If they claim that the breed suits everyone, or they’re grand with everything, walk away. Every breed is different, it is simply impossible to compare a chihuahua to a collie etc.
• How long they have been interested in this breed and how many show titles do the bitch and dog have.
• How many puppies they have. If more than one litter at a time, walk away, the same goes for having dozens of pens or dogs in one place.
• If they have a waiting list. Most reputable breeders will have a long waiting list of people wanting their puppies. If they dont, best to wonder why not, it’s likely because they are breeding to supply the market, a reputable breeder would only have one to two litters a year.
• If they are a member of their breeds’ Irish Club. Most reputable breeders will be members of their breeds club, clubs set up with in interest of their breeds welfare.

Remember, a good breeder will always welcome questions and be able to answer any question you may have.

Never buy a puppy because you feel sorry for him/her.  You may think it is the right thing to do but, in fact, you are just helping to pay for further puppy farms and the puppy farmers will quickly replace a sold pup as soon as you buy it.   The only way to try and stamp out puppy farms is to not give them the business they need to continue.
This is the only family member that you can choose, so make sure you do your very best to find the perfect, healthy puppy to bring into your home.  If you come across a puppy farm, then make sure you report it to the Gardai.
As a nation of dog-lovers we must take a stand against these cruel practices and do our part to help put a stop to them.  Please spread the word and help put a stop to puppy farms nationwide.  This is for your benefit as well as the general public, a purchased puppy farmed dog will likely just cost you a lot of heart ache and veterinary costs down the line.

This article was inspired by one of our rescues and former puppy farm ‘breeding bitch,’ Jasmine the shih-tzu.