Breeding Ethics
Why Buy from a Good Breeder?
With all the scams, puppy mills, and poor quality dogs and puppies in today’s market, it’s become more important to find a reputable breeder! It will be worth your time to find a breeder that is knowledgeable, good to work with, maintains quality and intent in their breeding program, and who abides by a breeder’s code of ethics. Puppy mills or bad breeders are not just breeders with a particular number of dogs, or poor sanitation and poor quality facilities. They are breeders who sacrifice the care and condition of their dogs to make money. They can also be breeders, such as back-yard breeders, who know little about the breed or the act of breeding, but decide to breed their pet for various unprofessional reasons. Breeding is about being purposeful in bringing new lives into our world, while taking responsibility for those lives for their entirety. Only with expertise, careful planning, and a love for the breed, does a reputable breeder make good choices to bring puppies into the world, with the best chances for good health, a confirmation as close to breed standard as possible, and the chance to live a long happy life. 
Scammers are taking pictures from reputable breeders and "sell" them on classified puppy sites. You can recognize a scam: 1. Seller does not answer questions directly and is a poor communicator. 2. Seller asks for payment through Western Union Wire Transfer only (with a false name, can't be traced and they're gone before authorities catch them) 3. Seller will not give additional information such as a pedigree, or additional pictures. 4. Seller does not attempt to educate you about the breed, is not knowledgable about the breed, and only pushes payment instead of placing the dog/puppy An Ethical Breeder Does the Following: 1. Breeds with the intent of improving the breed. Does not breed with the goal of making a profit. The costs & sales have to balance each other but if done ethically, breeding is not “profitable” if labor & expenses are accounted for. (See Below) Puppy mills make profits by providing a lack in care, facilities, and mass producing in unhealthy conditions. 2. Chooses breeding adults based on health, disposition, and confirmation guided by the breed standard. Breeding pairs are matched based on these characteristics to make the next generation better. 3. An expert in the breed. Is knowledgeable about the health defects of the breed, the history, proper care, characteristics, etc. Provides health care screening and testing as appropriate for the breed. 4. Only breeds 1-3 breeds, is an expert in each, and does not cross breed. Very few crosses have meaningful purpose, such as Labradoodles to create a hypoallergenic service dog. “Designer Dog Breeds” are irresponsible and only contribute to pet overpopulation because many crosses lack the goal of ethical breeding- “to improve the breed”. 5. Provides safe, sanitary, and appropriate facilities, maximizing the healthy conditions, offering exercise, entertainment, and comfort of the dogs and puppies. 6. Dogs are kept clean and appropriately groomed. 7. Feeds premium quality food and maintains appropriate weight and condition of the dogs and puppies. 8. Provides one on one care to a whelping bitch, ensuring the safe delivery of the puppies. Monitors her before, during, and after whelping for abnormalities or complications. 9. Minimizes her stress and protects the health of the puppies for the first few weeks after whelping by not allowing public visitation. 10. Appropriately socializes puppies to loving touch and developmentally appropriate interaction at appropriate ages. 11. Does not wean and remove puppies from their mother before 6 weeks of age, and does not adopt puppies to families until at least 8 weeks of age. Although human socialization is very important at 4-8 weeks of age, even more important is dog socialization by their mother and litter mates. Human socialization is most important at 8-16 weeks of age. 12. Places puppies and dogs in forever homes appropriate for that puppy or adult. Screens prospective buyers to ensure that the breed is what they are looking for and that they are able to provide a proper home for a dog and for the breed in particular. 13. Is responsible for each puppy for its lifetime and is willing to keep any puppy that is unable to find a proper home. This includes assisting buyers in finding the dog a home if they are unable to keep it for it’s lifetime, or finding foster care for the dog until appropriate placement is found. 14. Gives appropriate, and at least standard, health care guided by a licensed veterinarian. Willing to take extra initiative to care for an individual dog or puppy, despite extra costs involved. Considers life quality and acts responsibly in the humane end of life care for a dog or puppy. 15. Keeps accurate and detailed records of the medical care, pedigree, and registry information according to the registering association’s guidelines. DNA samples are collected and registered according to the guidelines of the registering association. Dogs and puppies are appropriately identified, preferably by microchip implantation. 16. Offers puppy health guarantees. Appropriate guarantees are a money back guarantee shortly after purchase. This allows the buyer to ensure the puppy is healthy and free of communicable disease. A congenital or hereditary defect guarantee should also be offered for at least 1 year. 17. Retired breeding adults are never placed in shelters or euthanized if they are appropriate for a pet home. They should be placed in an appropriate, quality, forever pet home or provided foster care until that home is found. 18. Never sells to brokers, pet stores, or preferably not to back yard breeders. Educates buyers about the risks involved in buying from these sources, and educates the public about why back yard breeding is not ideal or appropriate. 19. Sells puppies with limited registration with a spay/neuter contract unless the puppy is sold to another ethical, reputable breeder. 20. Networks with other ethical reputable breeders and/or is a member of an association supporting their breed. 21. Shows fairness, integrity, honesty, and respect in all aspects of their personal and professional life. Good communication is imperative for good customer service, veterinarian support & interaction, etc. Is Breeding Profitable? Here’s a very rough estimate of the costs incurred in the care of 1 Bitch and 1 Dog for a year, offset by their single litter of puppies, should they have 5 puppies born and all of them survive. This does not include the costs of facilities, facility supplies, office supplies & equipment, or unforeseen medical expenses such as a c-section delivery, complications, medications, ultrasounds, etc. 1 Bitch’s Medical & Physical Care for 1yr -$1355 1 Dog’s Medical & Physical Care for 1 yr -$1355 Litter of puppies born, 3 males, 2 females Medical Care & Vet fees, Registration fees, Care of litter until 8wks of age -$ 400 Total cost of cares -$3110 Sale of puppies $3600 Total "Profit" from 1 litter $490 Manual Labor involved: 3hrs per day, 365 days/yr= 1095hrs per year or $0.45/hr So does a job sound appealing if they offer you 45 cents per hr and these additional terms: “You must supply all facilities (kennel & equipment) and facility supplies (sanitizing solutions, latex gloves, trash bags, paper towels), office supplies, photography equipment, computer, and postage. You will handle all customer relations on your own time without pay, which includes meetings on weekends. Should any unforeseen business expenses occur, you’re responsible to pay for them out of pocket. Overtime is mandatory without notice and could include around the clock shifts. You are required to work all holidays, or hire your replacement out of pocket, should you need vacation or personal time. The job can and will entail emotionally difficult decisions, faced with the loss of life and unexpected complications. It may also entail dealing with difficult customers who have unreasonable expectations, giving no thanks when the expectations are fulfilled, and you must be polite, reasonable, and fair at all times.” So why would I choose to accept 45 cents/hr with unappealing requirements? I wonder that myself some days! It’s a passion with unlimited reward when you do your job well and a family’s eyes get bright with excitement to welcome a new puppy as a member of their family. It’s rewarding and an exciting challenge to perfect a breed’s characteristics. It becomes a passion that you love and are willing to accept the negative terms, hoping that in the end everything financially balances so you can afford to do it the next year. So why are puppy mills such a problem?
It requires breeding a bitch every cycle, mass producing as many puppies as possible, and skipping costs at every opportunity to make a profit. With skipping costs comes a lack in care, poor quality facilities, poor sanitation, and a lack of attention to the quality or health of the breeding dogs. The severe puppy mills abuse the animals by refusing proper care to the animals to cut costs. The only goal is to make money by selling as many puppies as possible. They wean puppies from Mom at 5wks of age, put them directly on food (without monitoring their adaptation to the transition), and sell whole litters to brokers, who then sell them to puppy stores. The puppies are not vaccinated before leaving, are exposed to unhealthy conditions, and arrive stressed and sick. An unknowing family buys this puppy not knowing anything about the quality or health of the lines, and the puppy may or may not live several months or years depending on its start to life and genetics. By purchasing this puppy, it turns profit and encourages more mass production of puppies. When the puppy mill is done breeding the bitches and dogs beyond their breeding capacity, they are either euthanized or sent to shelters. They are considered no more than livestock and contribute to a world of pet overpopulation as unwanted animals that may or may not end up in a pet home, ever knowing the loving touch of a human.
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