Even puppy mill puppies who
are whisked away from their mother at 4-6 weeks in order to
get them into the store window at 8 weeks of age will be
like their parents. Keep in mind, puppies learn many
lessons in their "native tongue" from their mother
and littermates from 4-8 weeks of age. These are
lessons which will enable your puppy to fit in with a human
family and can not be taught later in life. Puppies
not so instructed almost never adjust properly to life.
In order for your 8 week old puppy to make it to the mall,
it is a certainty that his lessons were cut short and he
will suffer for it.
Puppies
will grow up to be
like their parents.
All puppies carry all the
genetic material passed on by their parents. If both
parents suffered from PRA or hip dysplasia, your little
puppy probably will too. (Be sure you have plenty of equity
in your home if your puppy grows up to have either of these
diseases. You'll need to tap it to pay vet bills.)
However, it's possible your puppy will have problems neither
parent has. Like a hemophilia, a disease that must be
passed on by both human parents to exhibit symptoms, dogs
are also affected by a myriad of health problems not
exhibited but carried by either the sire or dam of a
litter. Only careful screening of breeding stock
and selective breeding will result in uniformly healthy
puppies.
Puppies
will grow up to be
like their parents.
Your pet store puppy may not
be the purebred he/she was advertised to be. If the
puppy's parents aren't purebreds, then he won't be either.
Even if the puppy has it's AKC papers, that is still no
guarantee both parents were purebred.
The AKC is just a registry
and nothing more, which does not exercise any judgment over
the quality of the dogs it registers. To have any dog
judged against the breed standard, one must enter the dog
into an AKC conformation event.
Since the AKC is only a
registry (and a huge one at that), having a litter of AKC
registered puppies requires only two things: ethics plus the
ability to do paperwork and operate a mail box.
Amazingly enough, the AKC operates on an honor system.
This is where the ethics part comes into play. The AKC
assumes that the breeder actually saw the two AKC registered
purebred dogs consummate the act and that those dogs are
actually the dogs whose names appear on the AKC papers.
Unfortunately, breeders whose
focus is entirely on profit usually have few reservations
about misrepresenting a litter's parentage to the AKC.
When a puppy mill's Rottweiler stud dies, they may merely
substitute another dog who looks like a Rottweiler.
Only if they get "caught" will the puppy miller be
unable to register their litters with the AKC.
While the possibility of
getting "caught" is slim, even if lightning does
strike, there are plenty of other registries around.
There are actually registries where it isn't even required
that both parents to be of the same
"breed". One well known registry will
register a dog on the basis of a photograph alone.
Puppies
will grow up to be
like their parents.
When you purchase a puppy
from a pet store, your odds are roughly the same as if you
picked up a puppy from the local shelter of getting a
quality dog that will fit in with your family.
However, you'll pay a lot less for the shelter puppy and the
shelter also offers adult dogs, about whom temperament, size
and personality are all offered as a matter of fact and not
educated guessing.
If you're going to take a
gamble on a puppy, take it on one that will be put down if
it's not adopted.
Take a chance on a puppy that
will not encourage a puppy miller or poor breeder to breed
yet another litter to foist upon and unsuspecting family
that hasn't visited this page.
If you're going to take a
chance, take a chance on a puppy or dog from the local
shelter. It's cheaper and a life depends upon it.
You may use this article on
your website or newsletter as long as the following is
included. Contact Kathy
for a formatted version for your publication.
Written by Kathy
Hendershot-Hurd, this article originally appeared on the
website "A Dog for the Family" http://www.virtualimpax.com/klhh.
