RECOGNIZING BREEDER TYPES

What is a Reputable Breeder?
How do I recognize a Reputable Breeder?

A REPUTABLE BREEDER

A reputable breeder always has honorable motives for breeding. A reputable breeders priority is to better the breed always giving thought to health, temperament, structure, quality and appearance. Their love of the breed guides their desire to develop a line that meets their ideal picture while protecting the true characteristics of the breed.

A reputable breeder strives to widen their knowledge base. They continuously educate themselves on health, temperament, structure and legal issues. Often they mentor others and are in the forefront of breeder education. They not only belong to the Canadian Kennel Club and National Breed club but are also active members in their local all-breed club as well.

A reputable breeder participates in dog-related activities (shows, trials, training, rescues). They are interested in the whole dog not just producing puppies. Reputable breeders want to showcase their dogs to ensure they are maintaining the true breed standard and characteristics.

A reputable breeder performs appropriate health testing on all breeding dogs for genetic diseases affecting the breed to ensure health and longevity remain a priority.

A reputable breeder ensures all registration papers, pedigrees and health certificates, and ownership records are always well maintained and readily available. They will ensure all new puppy registrations will be submitted to the appropriate governing body in a timely fashion and explain this process to you.

A reputable breeder ALWAYS provides registration papers and NEVER agrees to withhold them for a lesser sale price or sell them to you for an additional fee.

A reputable breeder only uses an appropriate purebred governing body recognized by the Canadian Animal Pedigree Act to register the puppies such as the Canadian Kennel Club. Registration papers issued by unregulated registries such as the Continental Kennel Club are not accepted for purebred registration by the Canadian Animal pedigree Act.

A reputable breeder sells pets with spay/neuter contract, tries to stay in touch with new owners and follows through with lifetime support.

A reputable breeder takes a pro-active approach and home raises all puppies to ensure proper socialization. All dogs and puppies are kept in a clean safe, structured environment to ensure optimal mental and physical health.

A reputable breeder never treats their breeding dogs as livestock for the sole purpose of producing multiple litters in an effort to supply public demand as an income source.

Reputable breeders sell all puppies for fair market value, which reflects the diligence that went into the breeding and production of a well-rounded healthy puppy. Puppies are kept till they reach eight weeks of age prior to being discharged to their new homes to promote optimal mental and physical growth.

What is a Puppy Mill?
How Do I recognise a Puppy Mill?

THE PUPPY MILLA Puppy Mills motive for breeding is to make a profit. They are not interested in preserving or improving the breed but use breeding as a main source of income. They often pretend to have some knowledge of the breed and appropriate breeding practices to confusing the public in believing they are a reputable breeder

Puppy Mills may occasionally do some minimal genetic testing but rarely do they do complete appropriate health testing on all breeding dogs. This cuts into their profit margin. They may offer registration papers or undocumented paperwork as false proof of quality or offer the bare minimum due to increased public awareness.

Puppy Mills do their best to masquerade as a reputable breeder. Beware fancy websites designed to portray them in a positive light.

Occasionally Puppy Mills are Canadian Kennel Club members however this is to ensure discounts when registering their multiple litters. Fortunately some known Puppy Mills are banned from the Canadian Kennel Club because of unethical breeding practices. Rarely are they Breed Club Members or Local Dog Club members as this cuts into their profit margin and they have no desire for a commitment to the breed or for continued growth or education. Belonging to such clubs also requires an agreement to follow a “code of ethics” which they are unwilling to comply with.

Puppy Mills often issues papers via generic, unrecognized "registries" due to being suspended from the Canadian Kennel Club for unethical breeding practices or because they have no supporting paperwork to have the puppies registered under the Animal Pedigree Act. Puppy Mills also like to use these generic registries because they give the illusion of registration yet have no expectations other then collecting the price of registration in their own unrecognized database.

Puppy mills rarely participate in dog-related activities. This un-necessarily cuts into their profit margin. The Puppy Miller's main clients of brokers, pet shops and auctions do not care about the quality of the parents or puppies but they will often tell their public puppy buyers that “shows and trials are too political" as an excuse. Unfortunately it is the unsuspecting public who pays for this in the long run.

Puppy Mills generally raise their puppies outside of the home where they receive very little socialization and minimal care. The animals are fed the bare minimum using low-grade, low cost food that utilizes only cheap ingredients. Often the dogs and puppies are kept in substandard conditions and/or makeshift facilities. Cleanliness can vary from kennel to kennel but Puppy Mills are not always easily recognized as to what they really are just by the state of their kennels.

Puppy Mills will sell their puppies for a high price to the unsuspecting
general public yet sell at a low bulk rate to brokers and pet stores. Puppies are discharged as early as possible to avoid additional expenses yet the Miller has full knowledge that this prevents necessary mental and physical growth being obtained from the mother during the weaning process.

Puppy Mills do everything they can to maximize profit and minimize costs while trying to present a positive front to the unsuspecting public. If in doubt trust your instincts and go elsewhere.

What is a Back Yard Breeder?
How do they differ from a Reputable Breeder?
The BACKYARD BREEDER OR BYB.
The “Back Yard Breeder” is NOT someone who raises puppies in their homes instead of a kennel. Many reputable breeders and Puppy Mills home raise their puppies and do not have large kennels. The difference between the three is motive, ethics, intention, knowledge, ability and effort.

A Back Yard Breeders motive for breeding is to produce puppies as a secondary source of income. They are usually unfamiliar with health testing or have only enough basic knowledge to be dangerous by breeding dogs that are unhealthy representatives of the breed and by sharing false and/or incomplete information to the general puppy buying public.

A BYB only breeds to any convenient, local dog without concern for health, structure, temperament or true breed characteristics. Their focus is mostly on current dogs, with no records or knowledge behind the dog’s pedigrees. They may even refuse to acknowledge the possibility of any health problems in their dogs so claim testing is unnecessary. Quite often they don’t even know what the CKC recognized Breed Standard is.

A BYB obtains their breeding stock from Puppy Mills, other BYB’s, the newspapers and often will go so far as to try to obtain dogs from the pound and rescues organizations.

A BYB does their best to masquerade as a reputable breeder. Beware fancy websites designed to portray them in a positive light

A BYB may or may not be a breed club member however is generally not committed to the club and often resist being mentored in responsible breed practice and breed education due to the effort needed to improve.

A BYB rarely attends dog-related activities. This would greatly cuts into their profit margin and privately they do not care about the quality of the parents or the puppies. They often tell their public puppy buyers that “shows and trials are too political” as an excuse yet will be quick to claim their dogs come from Champions. These Champions are usually so few and far back in the pedigree as to make this a completely false statement.

A BYB may commit a criminal offence against the Canadian “Animal Pedigree Act” by illegally charging more for Registration papers as well as an inflated cost for indiscriminate "breeding" rights.

Conditions in which the dogs and puppies are housed may vary greatly depending on available income, usually makeshift accommodations in the basement barn or yard. Food utilized is usually cheap with low-grade ingredients to maximize profit and minimize costs.

A BYB puppy is generally sold below the market value to un-screened buyers to move puppies out quickly. Often puppies are let go at less then 6 weeks of age resulting in abrupt weaning and preventing necessary mental and physical growth being obtained from the mother.