To wonder why on earth people still buy from puppy farms?

[hennaoj]

Why oh why do people buy puppies from the likes of Kelly's Kennels and Douglas Hall Kennels?

This is where the poor puppies come from. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-32308177
Surely people know that you need to see the puppies mother before buying? Never mind the fact that these puppies won't be dna health tested.

I think these places exist simply because rescues make it too difficult to adopt.

I can't interpret this as anything other than an admission that when it comes to animals some people have no shame in putting their wants before an animals needs.

It's harder to adopt a baby than a dog or a cat and the pain of not being able to have children is arguably more intense than not being able to have a dog but no one would condone locking women in cages in dark sheds to breed them for profit and then transporting the babies in buckets to the place of sale, hoping that your profits aren't affected by too much "stock" dying en route.

Owning a pet is a want not a need. You are not an animal lover if you will turn a blind eye to animal cruelty to get what you "want".

You do not have a human right to own a pet.

Because they really don't care. They trot out 'excuses' but it's really just as simple as they don't care. We want a dog. We don't care that actually we probably aren't at the right stage for a dog. We will go buy one.

We found the breeder of our Maine Coons by asking our vet. It turned out that there was someone on his list who showed them and was starting to breed them. We had three cats from her. All three were 'slight seconds' but we knew what we were getting. The first was a crossbreed MC moggie as she was as testing out whether she could cope with raising kittens in the house. That stunning bundle of fluff lived for 16 years. The second was a pedigree MC but pet quality. She succumbed to cancer at 14. She was a typical MC who would play fetch with paper balls.

We waited for nearly three years for one in a specific colour that my husband really wanted. The kitten had a really tough start in life and although he was show quality the breeder wanted him to go to a family home. She knew we would love him. He was always a bit odd. She had moved by then so we collected him at a service station with lots of giggles from us and her as it looked so dodgy but we had become friends. My children have very happy memories of visiting her and her cats in the biggest cat playground ever that her husband had created in their garden.

She isn't breeding anymore. There are good breeders out there but it costs money and you have to wait.

I think these places exist simply because rescues make it too difficult to adopt

Years ago I used to frequent the doghouse on here. Every time someone posted saying 'no rescue will rehome to us', I would find out where they lived and provide details of small local rescues who were much more open to taking individual circumstances into account. People never went down that route. Either because they just would not wait for the right pup, or because they actually knew that with both parents working full time and having 4 children under 10 that they didn't really have the ideal set up for a puppy....it's virtually always a case of we want a puppy and we will go get one now. No thought and no care for the suffering animals.

If you are happy to acquire a dog bred in horrifically cruel conditions just because you WANT one then you probably shouldn't have a dog at all. In fact I think it would mark someone out as an incredibly unsuitable dog owner.

Exactly

Can't believe people are basically saying 'don't judge, some people can't afford it!' As if that justifies enabling dogs to be treated so deplorably

Ignorance is the only acceptable excuse (and even that's pushing it with all the publicity there's been). If you think 'adoption is hard' is a reason to actively choose a puppy farm dog then you should not have any pet.

Yes, arseholes who lack the self-control to do their research, find a reputable breeder, put their name on the waiting list and wait for the right puppy to become available. They want a puppy and they want it now, and if they could get one from a supermarket while picking up bog roll and baked beans they'd probably do that.

I swear some people put a lot less thought and research into buying a puppy than choosing their next car.

When I wanted a puppy of a specific breed, that I had researched extensively, I waited 18 months for the right one, and drove 220 miles to pick the one I wanted from the litter.

When I wanted a second one, I did another 200+ mile trip to a "reputable" breeder. When I got there, the place was immaculate, but the dogs were in runs in the garden except for the bitch that had had the puppies. They were in a outbuilding, spotlessly clean, warm and cosy, but I went right off the set-up when the breeder showed me the treadmill they used to exercise the dogs. They lived in the middle of nowhere on the edge of a moor, ffs! That was a well-regarded show breeder, too.

Needless to say, I didn't get a puppy from them, but lucked in a few months later when a breeder whose values I really respected unexpectedly had a puppy available because the person who was going to have her had developed some serious health issues. That puppy became the most fantastic dog, and was my devoted companion for nearly 18 years.

I'm too old for another puppy now, but am considering getting an older dog, maybe one that's retired from showing.

I knew someone who bought a pup from Kelly's kennels, as much as I tried to tell them how fucking ignorant and stupid they'd been, they just couldn't see it. Puppy's farms and their welfare just aren't on some people's radar.

We're talking about puppy farms not buying animals in general. It's fine to BUY a pet just maybe not from a wicked breeder who keeps your dog's mother in a pitch black cage in her own excrement. But what do I know?

This is good advice. I wanted a dog from a rare(ish) breed, and got in touch with the breed club secretary. I practically had to pass an audition to get her to give me details of breeders.

I also met breeders at dog shows, which was a great way of sussing them out.

@LakieLady Does going on a breeder list still exist these days ? It seems to me most pups are available with 6 hours of browsing scumtree 🤬

There was a katie price episode where they took princess to Wales to get a frenchie puppy for her birthday, it was brought out into a yard and Katie asked Princess if it was what she wanted?, if not they had other breeds to choose from. If that didn't scream puppy farm, what does? It was the poor puppy that soon after got squashed and killed under an armchair.
My point is loads of people don't give a shit where they buy their 'products ' from and portray themselves as animal lovers, which they clearly are not!

Ignorance and wanting something they can’t buy ethically so they willingly turn a blind eye to get the affordable option.

Often the types who buy from Primark and H&M without any consideration or thought of ‘hmmm I wonder how they managed to make this T-shirt for £3, how long did it take and what did the worked get paid’.

Yes we did report it, obviously.

I think so, certainly in some breeds, especially the more rare ones. I know someone who breeds field spaniels, and they tend to keep a list.

But then do people want "breeds" these days? They mostly seem to want designer mongrels.

My hairdresser has a dog that is supposedly chihuahua x bichon x dachshund, bought from a backyard breeder hundreds of miles away during the pandemic. He's a smashing little dog, and seems very chilled and happy, but it could so easily have been very different. And I can't see chihuahua in him at all, he's just a little brown crossbreed.

We've recently got a labrador puppy but it took months of searching. We have a 5 year old so no rescues would be suitable for us, and there are not many labs/goldens on their lists anyway. We tried the Irish Kennel Club route. We tried the Labrodor club stall and they wouldn't really engage with us. We used Google to try to find KC registered breeders and I'd say only 1 in 10 responded to our emails.
We eventually got the best boy, but it was really hard work. If the kennel club wants to support responsible breeding they should make it much easier / less exclusive to find well bred pups.

I've never had a dog, but DH wants one. If I wanted to get one, I wouldn't know where to start. I've just googled "puppies for sale" which I'm sure will lead me straight to a load of puppy farms. But they look fine - I wouldn't be able to tell at first glance there's anything wrong.

When you want "a dog", the first step is surely to ask yourself "what sort?". If you don't know, narrow it down a bit: what size, what exercise needs, what sort of temperament, grooming needs etc.

I knew I didn't want a big dog, but I wanted a dog with some spirit and attitude, so that meant terriers. I wanted a wire-haired breed, as they don't really moult. I went to a couple of dog shows and checked out all sorts of terriers. I felt that Scottish, Sealyham, West Highland, Glen of Imaal etc were a bit small, I wanted something leggier.

I've always been very taken with wire-haired fox terriers, but a friend had recently lost his two in quick succession and was broken hearted, and I opted not to get one in case it made him miss his even more. So I considered Welsh terriers (ruled out as there was a health issue in the breed at the time), border terriers (ruled out by my then husband, on the grounds that they look "pugnacious" - twat), but could find no negatives, at least from my point of view, with the lakeland terrier, so that's I got. And I had them for 23 years altogether, and they suited me very well.

Now I'm too old for a breed that can walk 15 miles a day without a second thought and needs at least 3 miles a day, I'm looking to get a whippet from a rescue. I'd have a rescue greyhound if I had the space, but my house is small and greyhounds don't curl up.

So work out what you want in a dog, what is manageable in terms of size and grooming, and what is practical. That should narrow things down a lot. Read up on the breeds you like the look of, especially temperament, health and exercise needs. Go to some dog shows (the dates for championship shows will be online, try Fosse Data or Higham Press), look at the breeds, talk to the breeders. And there must be loads of groups on FB for specific breeds. Contact the breed club. But most of all, when you go to choose one, have a good look at how they're kept.

We eventually got the best boy, but it was really hard work. If the kennel club wants to support responsible breeding they should make it much easier / less exclusive to find well bred pups.

Some breeders would say that if it's hard to find their puppies, they know they'll go to people who are prepared to put in some effort to find the right dog.

But then people start looking elsewhere and end up buying from a puppy farm.

Because they are thick and not dog lovers and the poor dogs will probably end up in a rescue home, dumped or free to a good home ad within six months.
No excuse with wash with me they are dispicable people who buy from the cunts who run these places.
I am sick of "the rescue homes won't let us adopt" excuses. There is a large one near us who we regular help and visit whenever they have an event and they are always rehoming dogs. They are careful to match with the right people with the dog, especially with small children. We often see families taking a dog with them.

But you can say the same about most farmed animals. Every seen footage of a pig farm?

What’s wrong with it? It is a farm. They’re providing animals to meet a demand. As with any farming industry welfare practices vary between providers. They’re basically livestock. Don’t see people on here crying about intensive cow and pig farming practices when tucking into a bacon cheeseburger.

That's the reality of it.

Yes, it can be VERY difficult to adopt, especially if you have young children. But this is absolutely no excuse to buy from puppy farms or so-called 'licensed' breeders.

But people are often blind and/or unwilling to listen. Which is how my granddaughter ended up with a puppy that probably came from a puppy farm.

There are lots of restrictions on rescue dogs (understandably) and they don't always rehome to families with young children. Also people often want a puppy as in a dog that literally grows up with their kids. I'm not defending or condoning puppy farms but thinking of reasons people might use them.

A month or so ago I was in pets at home when a woman came in with a puppy tucked under her arm. It was about 10 minutes before closing time , on a Sunday, and she said she had picked up the puppy an hour ago. She followed the assistant around the shop asking what she would need for it. What type of food/what type of lead/what type of bed etc.
I was quite amazed that she had picked up an animal but seemed not to have any idea about what it needed (and had 10 minutes to find out and get it! )

Just looked back on this thread and so many saying it's difficult to adopt.
We are perpetuating the myth.
Makes me wonder if the puppy farmers have done a great job in brainwashing everyone into thinking they'll never succeed at a rescue to make sure everyone thinks the same so people go straight to them instead of checking out the local rescue homes first.
Last weekend at the one near us they had an event and rehomed nine dogs. Every dog and family are assessed thoroughly first.

There is, proper dog show breeders.
Theres plenty of them at the dog shows that I go to, there's breed clubs who you can contact to find such a breeder. Or phone one, ask questions and they will give you a list of good breeders that they know.
I met my dogs breeder at a show but before that another breeder recommended them to me.