I've been looking at different sites and have noticed many of the people who got "scammed" in some way or another missed obvious warning signs. I've seen several complaints where people said they "ordered" a puppy from so and so. That makes my skin crawl! It's not like you're at a drive thru, we're talking about a living animal. Another person was complaining about how the poodle she bought weight six pounds at a year old and she was promised he would only weigh 2-3lbs. She wanted to return him to the breeder! How can anyone have a dog for a year and not bond with it at all? People say the places they got there puppies from were filthy and they "rescued" their pup, but does that mean they shouldn't expect problems. Yes, I bought a dog from a BYB, and I accept responsibility for that. Anything that has gone wrong and might go wrong in the future is at least partially my fault, right? At least the BYB I bought Harley from kept their yard and their house clean and they obviously loved dogs. I can't believe people admit to buying a dog from overcrowded cages covered in waste and then act shocked and angry when the puppy ends up sick.

I agree, Rottluvr, even though I got my dog from a questionable place, I will take the best care of her as I can and will do the required research for any future pets. Let me add another pet peeve of mine. A guy just told me that he had to give away his two dogs because it was too much. He's married with a one year old and another baby coming, so they gave away the two dogs and now have a snake. I can understand if the dogs were a problem due to allergies and such but when they got the dogs, I'm sure they knew that they were going to go have kids. I know that no matter what, it's always a surprise how much work kids will be but dogs are not disposable and that's what I hate about this....society is such a disposable one....who cares that there is more and more waste being dumped into the ground to suck the life out of the Earth, let's treat our dogs as garbage too. I call it the Swiffer syndrome because Swiffer has introduced ridiculous products which increase waste and the 'out of sight, out of mind' philosophy of today's society. Swiffer's not the only and first company to do so but I was shocked when it first came out that they would come up with such ridiculous products. Sorry, a bit off topic...

Sometimes I think people probably act on their emotions, too, as far as buying a dog from a place where he's living in a tiny feces-filled cage. They are overcome with compassion for the animal and want to take it away from that and make it better. In some cases, they do take it as a lifetime responsibility, but I think that other times they are thinking only in the here and now. Then when expensive health problems arise, or mental issues that cause behavior problems, it is more than they want to or even are able to deal with.

In some cases, I understand them not keeping the dog... thouands of dollars in vet bills, maybe even over and over, or an aggressive dog that bites, is just not something that is not feasible (or even desirable, in the case of a biter) to keep around. Some people, especially without children, may be prepared to deal with and work with aggression or other serious behavior issues or health issues. I think that most people who are being spontaneously compassionate are not prepared for these things.

Taking the dog back because he is 6 pounds instead of 2 pounds is just asinine, selfish, and superficial.

I'm kind of vocal about that as a breeder... If you buy a puppy strictly because of availability, price, or the fact that the breeder asked YOU no questions... you're going to get burned. It'll happen 9 times out of 10. I've made that mistake as a pet owner. Ibought a dog because she was the right sex, color, price and was ready to go right now... I ended up with 20 times the vet bills of what I paid within the first 2 years...

I HATE HATE HATE how all the breeder legistlation that is out there right now makes it sound like Shelters are full because of breeders. In reality, the whole ball of wax is the pet owner's responsibility. If they didn't buy from the shady breeders, they would stop breeding(supply and demand). And most of the dogs dropped at Shelters were put there by pet owners who "gave up".

We don't need legislation to regulate breeders. We need pet owners to be smarter. The term breeder doesn't imply quality. It's no different than how some pediatricians are good and other's aren't...or some dentists are good and other's aren't.

You'd be shocked by how many people contact me after they have gotten a puppy from another breeder with questions. I feel bad for them... but on some level they need to acknowledge that there were warning signs that their breeder was less than great before they got the puppy.

I'm also guilty of the "rescuing" a dog who has a bad breeder... quite frankly... I wish people understood that you might be saving that one dog, but the breeder will in return breed one more whole litter. And if you aren't willing to commit to ALL the problems that come with that dog - taking it home, loving it, and dropping it off at the shelter a year later is NOT a good plan on any level.

Abbylynne, I couldn't agree with you more. Dogs don't go from the breeder straight to the shelter. Somewhere inbetween is at least one owner who rehomed the dog, turned the dog in or let it run loose. If people got a pet and kept it for life, the market for puppies would decrease and a lot of the "just in it for the money" breeders would move on. I also think if people stopped and thought about the fact that this puppy is going to be part of their lives for 10-15+ years, they would do more research and require more from a breeder. Instead they buy a puppy and when it's not as cute, the kids get bored with it or reality sets in and they realize they actually have to train the dog, then they dump it. A few years later they start the cycle over again and blame the previous problems on the breed.

I started this post b/c it seems like a lot of puppymill/petstore/BYB customers don't want to own up to their part. Yes breeders should screen buyers, do health testing, etc., but the simple fact is that the majority of "breeders" do not. Many unscrupulous breeders proclaim right on their websites that they base their business practices on supply and demand. If buyers demanded health testing and guarantee, they would supply it. It bugs me that people will hand money over to anyone with an available puppy and then put all the blame on the breeder when things go bad. I too was naive when I bought Harley, but I accept responsibility for my part.

I also agree that we don't need breeder legislation. Instead, we need buyer education and better enforcement of anti-cruelty laws. To me it doesn't matter whether someone has two dogs or twenty, they should be held accountably for any and all abuse.

It seems to me there should be education on both sides. When I purchased both of my boston pups (from different breeders) I did so only after a lot of soul searching about the long term commitment and both breeders before accepting my offer to purchase their puppy requested personal information about me and my family, which I was happy to provide, this gave me more confidence that they were bonafide breeders.
On a side note, it seems to me that there is a real problem nowadays with the erosion of the family unit. In England they predict by 2010 19% of boys and 22% of girls will be obese, due to poor diet (ready made microwave meals are a big culprit), add to that the lack of respect that some children exhibit to their peers you have to ask if parents are unable or unwilling to care properly for their own children what hope do animals have?

Good point! I hate how my neighbors treat their dogs and lately I've noticed that many treat their kids poorly as well. I also think a big problem here in the states is people want instant gratification.

I agree with I think these people down the street from me are running a puppy mill there is all these dogs and puppies I can hear barking and whining all night and day so I called the rescue center and I haven't heard them for awhile thank god people make me sick on how they treat there animals anymore the other day my neighbors dog got ran over and she took him to the vet and put him down because she didn't want to pay the money to fix him and she has had him for 3 years.

It's totally about instant gratification. You wouldn't believe, running a waiting list, how many people I have who will decide after waiting 2-3 months for a puppy that they just don't want a dog after all. I often wonder what would have happened if those people had gotten a puppy right away? I've had one instance where life just happened to make it impossible to keep a puppy several months after a family got it - but some of the excuses and reasons are BAD.

I think that's the thing I'm always nervous about as a breeder - is that person going to want a dog in 6 months. I'm always a lot more comfortable placing puppies in homes that have had a Sheltie previously.

And I talk with a lot of people who did find a puppy right away and didn't do their homework first...

It is a supply and demand thing. And until the average pet owner gets their head out of 1960 and decides that they expect their breeder to have the same standards of pet care THEY plan to, puppymills and BYB's are going to flourish.

And frankly, one of the biggest problems is that a lot of pet owners THINK they want to have "just one litter"... most reputable breeders won't agree to this - so what they are left with are the BYB's, Puppymills, and pet stores. They expect their breeder to promise them the moon and the stars and bend over backwards to give them a quality dog - but they don't want to agree to anything. I have clauses in my contract stipulating the quality of food I expect to be fed, what vaccination proceedure I want followed, etc... Too many people what their breeder to give them a great guarantee and promise a puppy that will be trained in 5 minutes - but they don't want to agree to maintain the same standard of care they wanted their breeder to give their dogs.

If your breeder isn't going to ask YOU to do anything - don't expect to ask your breeder to be honest or reputable. It works both ways. If you want a contract that promises you "perfect" or you get your money back and then some... then you'd better be prepared for the breeder to have their nose in how you're raising that puppy. If you don't want a breeder asking you to do anything at all - go to a Puppymill and they will sell you a puppy with no questions asked - but you're not going to get any promises from them, and if you do... they won't stand behind them. You get what you give and you don't get something for nothing!