Collecting Puppy On Saturday

[Penelopee]

Hello, I am collecting our 3/4 Pug Puppy this Saturday. He will be just over 8 weeks old. It will be our first Family pet. I am worried I feel he will be a big responsibility which I don't doubt we will fail at but I am worried, it seems scarier than a baby. Firstly pup has been Microchipped but not Vaccinated, is this normal? I paid £100 deposit in cash and I have asked if I can pay remainder by cheque (so I have evidence of payment) however breeder has said cash only, again is this normal? We have everything ready for his arrival. I am worried that he will be 5 mins of excitement for our 5 year old.

CSJ is a decent food, but even if that is what they feed it's a total red herring.

Noone keeps three litters in their house - can you imagine doing that? I'll guarantee they are kept outside and brought in for viewings.

IF you get a receipt it wont have their name and address on it.

These people are raking it in and obviously care nothing for where the pups end up.

Sounds like a puppy farm to me, so many red flags. I'm sure you'll still buy the dog though, make sure you get very good insurance, a friend had a puppy farm puppy and it only lasted a week before having to be put down due to unexplained fitting.

Three litters at once?
This is a puppy farmer.
Don’t buy this puppy.
You need to do some research. Pick an actual breed or rescue. Never shop online for a pup.

Start the insurance as soon as possible, I started mine 2 weeks before picking up the puppy. My breeder didn’t vaccinate the puppies and used the vets use different vaccines and you may need to start again excuse - really it was just cost cutting for her.

Gosh I would be really concerned if I were you OP. What are you going to do?

why didnt you wall away as soon as you saw three litters?? Report the breeder and do not get this puppy.

Where did you see the dogs advertised? I concur with PP, sounds like farming to me. Also, did you see copies of the results of the relevant health tests that both parents had before breeding?

The OP needs to walk away but if the breeder is above board e.g. licensed for the number of litters and declares their income there is nothing to actually report as technically they are not doing anything wrong in the eyes of the law.

Gosh I would be really concerned if I were you OP. What are you going to do?

Ignore the rest of the thread pointing out the puppy farm and get the puppy anyway. And justify it by saying once she realised it was a puppy farm she couldn’t leave the dog there so was in fact “rescuing” it?

I find that’s what most people who knowingly buy puppies from a non reputable source do.

Btw a colleague got a pug from what they now know was a puppy farm - it cost them 3k in health issues a week after they got it home and now costs them £100/month in ongoing vets bills, which will likely last the dogs lifetime.

Please don't bring this puppy home (though I have a feeling that will fall on deaf ears).

We waited months for our beagle pup. Spoke to breeders, spoke to people who'd already had pups from their litters, met the parents, then met them once the bitch was pregnant, and met the pups on more than one occasion before bringing them home.

I think between messaging our breeder and bringing our puppy home was a 7-8 month wait. It felt like eternity but it was 100% worth it.

Our puppy came KC registered, chipped and with all its jabs (came home at 12 weeks old) and we received copies of paperwork for parents' health tests plus lineage going back to great grandparents. We also got free insurance, a blanket with mum's scent, a toy of his and a bag of food, plus care instructions and all his vet history and proof of vaccinations.

He's the best family pet ever and I'm so glad we waited and got him from a reputable breeder.

Five litters per year is the threshold for registering for a dog breeding licence, so three simultaneously doesn't leave a lot of room. Plus all the red flags already pointed out on this thread. Have a look at the property - can you see sheds/kennels? Have a look on Google Earth too.

Ask to see their licence.

I don’t understand how they can have 3 litters at once?? How the heck does that work?

Three litters doesn't mean a puppy farm, it just means it could be a commercial breeding business, as oppose to a family pet. That doesn't mean you are getting an unhealthy dog. Well done on ensuring you saw mum and dad.

You need to ask the breeder when their last vet check was - I would assume at the time of microchipping. If they microchip themselves, then you need to see separate proof that the dog has seen a vet. You should ask for dates of any worming treatment they have received.
Obviously it is a concern that they didn't vet you as potential owners, but unfortunately not all breeders do that. I would book a vet appointment the day you pick the puppy up, for a check and vaccinations.

In regards to your son, - puppies and children shouldn't really have much interaction until the puppy has developed bite inhibition and learnt manners (several months). Limit their play time, inside try to get them to practice calm sitting down together, and make sure they are closely supervised. You want the puppy to bond on to you. Your son can get involved by having his own lead during walks (so one lead you hold, separate lead he holds), helping you measure out the food, choosing which toy the puppy plays with etc.

Three litters doesn't mean a puppy farm
... but it doesn't indicate the kind of environment you want to buy a puppy from either.

missyB1 - three bitches mated at around the same time, with either 1 or more dogs. Happens in breeders. There must be a year between puppies being weaned and the bitch mated again, and a bitch may only have 4 litters in her lifetime (or 2 via cesarean). Bitch must be between 1 year and 8 years old.

@Nesssie “commercial breeding business”? What’s that if not a puppy farm?
My bitch has two seasons a year. Not completely regular. How many bitches do they keep in order to have three litters at the same time? And how well are those dogs cared for and socialised.
Avoid.

Wolfiefan I’m not going to get into the same argument with you but Commercial licensed breeder- legal, welfare standards, licensed. Yes dogs may be kept in kennels but they are up to standard, heated, fed, watered, socialised.
Puppy farm- illegal, no welfare standards, dogs stacked in cages in barns, taken away from mum, shown with a fake ‘mum’, back to back to back litters, no vet checks, worming, vaccinations. All the horrors you see in the newspaper.

Now you may not agree with licensed breedings who do it for a living (neither do I, but I accept that not everyone wants a rescue dog) but they are very different from puppy farms.

In fact puppy farmers are far too clever to have 3 litters on show, they create the ‘perfect family’ to fool people into believing the mum and dad are their precious family pets.

Op- did you see a copy of their license? You can request their license number and check with your local council to ensure they passed the welfare checks.

Nessie- i’d say a puppy farmer is anyone who breeds dogs on a large scale for profit. Same as a sheep farmer or any other farm.

Dictionary definition “to make one’s living growing crops or keeping livestock”

If it’s licensed yes there will be minimum welfare conditions and it is all legal. Still would advise people to keep away.

I totally agree that advising people to find a different puppy and why is good as then people like the OP can make an informed choice.

The problem with labelling just about every breeder as a puppy farmer is then you get the posts saying report them but lots of these breeders are doing absolutely nothing wrong from a legal or even welfare position. I think it also probably can do the opposite where the OP may think well they aren't a puppy farm as they understand one to be and thus ignores all the other more relevant points on why the puppy might not be the best to buy.

The breeder may be legal. They sure as shit aren’t breeding with the best interests of the dogs or puppies. They want cash. They can’t socialise that many pups effectively and are very unlikely to see the adults as more than livestock. And when they’re done breeding?
I have higher standards than to fund people like this. Dogs shouldn’t be farmed for cash.

Puppy farm. 3 litters at the same time, trendy crossbreed involving pugs, no questions asked from the breeder, selling at 8 weeks instead of 10-12. Yes a professional breeder might well have more than one litter at a time but generally they will be pedigrees not a jug (eh?) crossed with a pug because they will be trying to get show quality dogs.

I don’t think o/p is coming back...

Every time someone posts about getting a puppy they get scared away. Some people don’t agree with breeding. Some people don’t agrrr with crossbreeds. Fine. She already paid the deposit. She’s getting the puppy. What we could have done was advise her how to best proceed, so vet check and vaccs asap. Answer her question about helping her son and puppy form a good relationship.
Instead, another one scared away.

Yes a professional breeder might well have more than one litter at a time but generally they will be pedigrees- nope, supply and demand. Not everyone wants to wait 2 years and pay £2000 for a pegidree wolfhound/lab/spaniel. Some people just want a reasonably priced, non shedding, hypoallergenic, small sized cockerpoo to fit in with their family now. And that’s fine. And so breeders will breed them. It’s not about furthering lines and making show quality dogs.

Some people just want a reasonably priced, non shedding, hypoallergenic, small sized cockerpoo to fit in with their family now. And that’s fine

Chances are that that is not what they’ll end up with though buying on a whim or from a commercial breeder. A dog is a 15 years + commitment. At least o/p might have more of an idea of the kind of dog she’s getting. If she still wants to give them her money that’s fine. But at least she is making an informed decision.